The pump will 'growl' when you reach the end of travel in either direction, as you are then "deadheading" the pump. If it growls during travel [before reaching the end of travel], it likely still has air in the system.

 

Cruising Davey,

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I only just got back from the USA late last week. I'm glad that you have been pointed to the Borgeson website. Jeff there is a mine of information and can talk you through any problems that you might encounter if you go this way. But I'm sure there won't be any.

Call me if you want any more info on the system.

Regards from Down Under.

aussiejohn

 

Thanks 'AussieJohn'. Yeah, that system is something to consider.

Cruisin Davey G !

 

If you need to replace your entire system, the Borgeson system should be considered. If your system is [relatively] intact and nearly functional, it would be a sizable expense for not that much gain, IMO.

 

Yeah, I looked @ that System & it pretty much is like the stock steering, except it uses the conventional way power steering units work, where the pressure line goes to the steering box, like in most power steering cars & trucks.

I also 'toyed' around with replacing the system with 'rack & pinion'. BUT, because we're running an air managenment system, there are other things to consider. Like 'bump Steer' for one.

But, the stock system seems to be working like it should. The only thing I don't like about the Corvette Steering, is that there's 2 many components in it that use fliud or has fliud going through them & the more pieces that are fluid driven, the more chances for leakage. AND, I haven't seen a Stock C3 Corvette System that DOES NOT leak, in one way or another.

I have put brand new components, not rebuilt, on the system & all is good for about 2 or 3 months & then the leaking starts. Very minor at first, but still leakage.

That's probably reason #1 why this Borgeson System is so great. Less fluid driven components, less chance of leakage.

Sooooo ..... if you're a 'NO Leak Freak', then the Borgeson System is the way to go, at any cost !

Cruisin' Davey G !

 

Davey-One of the threads linked earlier is my write-up on the Borgeson installation I did on my 68.....definitely one of the best improvements I've made to the car my problems with the stock system we're mainly rebuilt parts that didn't work right....got tired of replacing parts, sending them back, constantly working on the system etc. went with the Borgeson and was done with it Sounds like you're doing OK with the system you have now other than leaks

Where is Southgate? Family lives in the Clio-Montrose area, beautiful state, wish I could visit more often

 

Southgate is a Suburb, down the Detroit River from Detroit. Clio-Montrose is in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. It's a good 3 hours or so from where I'm at. Real pretty up there.

I say the same thing about California; I've only been to California once, well, twice, if you want to count my short 'stint' @ Oakland Army Base, B4 being shipped out to southeast-asia, for all of that 'fun going on in the jungle', way back when.

Yeah, I'm keeping the Borgeson System as a 'Plan B' for right now.

If my system goes to 'failing' or starts to 'leakin' too bad, then I just may 'spring' for the 'Borgeson' stuff

Speakin' of '68's ...... I'm looking for a pair of 'beater' door panels from a '68. Need them for my '72 Project. My Kid's got some Ideas on what to do about the interior & he sez the '68 panels will 'fill the bill'. They don't have to be 'perfect', hell, they don't have to be even average. Just not broken in half or anything like that. AND, with or without all of the trim doesn't matter either.

We're doing some 'trick' stuff for the Interior. to give you a 'clue', we're adding a 'double din' receiver with a 5" touch screen, complete with GPS, in the area where the small guages are, or were, as the case maybe, it will be complete with an I-Pod Dock. [Can't live without my I-Pod ] So, that means that all of the guages will be 'forward' of the steering column. We're using Dakota Digital's Just wanna do something different.

Cruisin' Davey G !

 

Crusin Davey- that is a beautiful car & I think the Borgeson swap would compliment yourcar. Believe it or not I have a 78 with 25k miles & NO p/s leaks but after reading this thread you started all but the orig. pump.is off the car & boxed for long term storage. Your post led me to the Borgeson swao & mine will be here late this aft. Like tou & otherson this forum I can't stand a leak & my low mileage motor had a drip at both ends & I am in the middle of a motor/trans. rebuild so this was a perfect time for the Borg. swap to hit me between the eyes. Thanks to your post I will probably never have a leaking power steering unit. Whatever you & your boy decide to do I can tell you two will have a noleakr too. Good luck & thanks for bringing it up. lonebull I'm fairly new at this computer thing & I don't yet know how to correct typos. "noleakr" wasn't a typo though- other mistakes were. I'm glad to hear you & your boy are able to work together- that IS great!

 

Thanks ... Glad I could be of Assistance.

Yeah, My Vettes a Project All Right My Kid & I work on it together & I guess we could or should start our own reality show, much like 'orange county choppers', They argue with the 'old man' on that show, pretty much the same with me & my kid, but not always. Sometimes whenever we don't agree on something, I just let him go with it, rather then argue. Hell, showin's better then tellin' anyway ! He's like most average kids who thinks the 'Old Man's All Wet' But he's a good kid & learning all the time.

Think our next project will be a nostalgic front engine dragster. If anything, that'll keep all of the neighbors happy

Cruisin' Davey G !

 

I'm running the Zoops system on my car.

I ran it for a while with the stock system and the Type II pump and worked fine. I had a modified steering box built by a member here but have moved to R&P steering since.

Mine also had the reduced pump flow orifice and lower pressure valve for R&P.

Once I installed the Hydro-boost I increased the flow from the pump to get a little more assist (flow) for the brakes and steering.

Sorry I didn't stumble across this sooner, may have been able to help you out.

You've got a very nice car.

Keep us updated on your progress.

Neal

 

There's a guy in the for sale section who seems to have a good supply of 68 parts, maybe he has what you need

 

Hey Neal: Thanks !

What Zoops Alternator are you using ???

AND, do U got any pics of your 'front-runner' , to post ????

Cruisin' Davey G !

 

Hi: Thx for the 'Heads Up'. If it's the same guy, I'm thinking. His name is George. Been trying to touch base with him about those panels.


Cruisin' Davey G !

 

Not very good but here you go.







I'm running the single wire 100 amp alternator.

Neal

 

Neal: Thanks for postin' 'em.

Yeah, your's look like an older zoops. Very similiar to mine. Also, mine's on a SBC.

We've been working with Zoops.

The front-runner we got came with the GM 105 amp alternator, but we wanted the much larger 150 amp one. Zoops never put that one on the 'front-runner' we got. So, they machined us a new main bracket to accomidate the bigger alternator. We had some problems in the mounting of the runner & couldn't get the alignment for the belt right. the system kept throwing the belt. So, with much deliberation, we fabricated a 'spacer' for the alternator mounting bolt & now it's working OK, We still gotta do some fine-tuning to the other pulleys, but it basically works pretty good now.

Zoops said that our front-runner with the larger alternator, is a proto-type & they hope to put it into production. So, they've been working with us closely on this one.

David from Zoops has been real good to us & I would recommend their products in a 'heart-beat'. Great bunch of Guys.

I looked @ Billet Specialities units too, but didn't feel confortable in wanting to 'deal' with them. Don't ask me Y.

March Pulleys struck me as being real 'uppity' when it came to their products. We tried to 'deal' with them, but it seemed like they could take our business or leave it.

That's Y we went with Zoops. They seemed real genuine in wanting to help us out & working with us. They went way out of their way to accomidate us in making sure we had what we wanted.

I like where you mounted your reservoir. I wanted to mount mine pretty much in the same place, but didn't have the room you have. Big Blocks are a little bit wider than small blocks, giving you the X-tra space for that option.

We ended up mounting the reservoir to the radiator cradle on the driver's side, pretty much in the same area that the stock A/C drier is on the passenger side. It's tucked down in there pretty good, but it may be a real 'hassle' to try & get the top off, once we mount the hood. But, I'll 'deal with that.

Anywho, there was a guy posted here that has a Vintage Air Front-Runner on his Vette. I never even thought about looking at their system, although I do have their A/C system mounted in the interior.

The Car's been a real good project so far. With the exception of getting 'screwed' by a couple of painters, one of which I took to court, but ended up not 'fairing' as well as I wanted to, with the decision, things have been going well with the car, so far. My Son's done a great job on it, as he's the one doing most of the 'grunt' work on it. I told him "The Old Man's not going to roll around on the floor working on it"

Well that's life !

Cruisin' Davey G !

 

I had the same experience with the same three companies.

I called each prior to purchasing the Zoops set-up a few times.

I actually purchased the system from March but ended up sending it back due to the tension pulley hitting the upper control arm shaft on the passenger side.

I purchased the Zoops system and installed it as the instructions said with not issues.

I had an issue with cooling my engine and had contacted Zoops about their water pump, what flow and rotation and they voluntarily sent me a replacement at no charge. I explained to them that I wasn't sure it was the pump I was chasing a cooling issue and they sent it anyway.

I all so contacted them about my issue with the R&P and Hydro-boost and they offered to up the flow on the pump if I wanted to send it back to them. I opted to do this myself so I didn't send it back to them.

I've got nothing but good to say about them and their customer support.

I do feel that they need to add a brace from the intake to the A/C compressor to add a little more stability.

I need to contact them and offer this suggestion for their BBC set-up.

Neal

 

Neal: Yeah, I really like their 'demeaner', when talking to them. It makes you feel comfortable when you have to call & confront them about issues, if you catch my drift. Not afraid to pick up the phone & call 'em, if a problem arises.

Before my kid & I decided on their system, we headed down to Columbus, Ohio to the GoodGuys Show there last August, to meet them & talk 'face to face'. They were real helpful in helping us to making up our minds about which front runner to use. Not every Company makes this type of stuff yet for the Corvettes, because of the fact that too many 'Corvetters' are 'Purists' & really don't want this stuff on their Vettes. That's OK with me, as I think it should be a 'personal preference' thing. But as more & more youthful hobbiests pick up corvettes, they seem to want the 'trick' stuff that they see on the 'Street Rods' on their Vette. They Don't especially like Street Rods & want a Corvette, and they just want the 'cool' stuff on it too!

So, more & more places are beginning to include Corvettes in their Product Line Up.

It was just a few years ago, that March Pulleys, when they were still here in Michigan, were the only ones making a bolt-in system for the C3 Corvette.

Billet Specialities told us they didn't have a direct bolt on system for our Vette, but would help us out to getting theirs bolted up right onto the car.

Zoops also told us pretty much the same thing, but after meeting them at the GoodGuys Show, they were VERY interested in working with us to get their front runner on the car, especially when they saw pictures of the 'Project' & our intentions on showing the car @ major shows. They treated the car like one that would 'showcase' their product. They were the only Company that gave us this indication & this probably was the 'Clincher' for us wanting their front-runner on our car. It's like they want it on the car as bad as we wanted it on the car !

So, they're good poeple. Hard to find that in today's 'Super-Dog-Eat-Dog-World' !

One other thing ..... I'd like to know more about how you mounted your reservoir in the place you did on your engine. What parts did you use, did you have to make brackets, etc. If you would do that, I would appreciate that.

You can also PM me too, if you want !

Cruisin' Davey G !

 

I cut a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum plate that matched the shape of the bolt holes that are normally used to mount the accessories to the front of the head on a chevy engine (3 holes).

I purchased the reservoir and bracket from Zoops for the power steering system.

I used three spacers, one on each bolt used to bolt the piece of aluminum to the front of the head. The spacers were around 1/2" thick. The spacers were to space the piece of aluminum off of the head so that I could bolt the reservoir bracket to the piece aluminum from the back side.

Hope this helps

Neal

 

Well, the Power Steering's Working Real Well, BUT there's a problem with the pump, coupled with the fact the the 'Front-Runner' still has an alignment problem with the belt & now the belt is 'Fraying'.

Sooooo ..... we talked to 'Zoops' & since our 'Front-Runner' has the larger 150 amp Alternator mounted on the runner & Zoops never did that before, this makes our runner a 'proto-type' one & Zoops wants us to send it back to them, for further 'fine-tuning' & adjustments on it.
We also told them about the pump making all that 'noise', so they said to send that back too. We may just end up with another front runner from them, althogether. They've been great to us & I would recommend to anyone out there to check their web site www.zoops.com & if you're in the market for any of their products, by all means, do business with them. They've been real nice about all of these problems, with us.

There's a possibility that the pump's making noise because of the mis-alignment of the whole system. So, after the Holidays, it all goes back to them to get straightened out.

Great bunch of guys @ Zoops !

The Vette's now @ the interior place to get that done.

Man..... whatta Project ! It's been fun !

Cruisin Davey G !

 

Dude--

I am so glad you can see the light at the end of the tunnel... Know this was driving you bonkers!!!

Rogman