Been driving my 54 F100 around now that it's 90% done. I put a Speedway Mustang II cross member under it with manuel steering when I built it. That sucker steers pretty hard & after looking at switching it to P.S. the cost isn't cheap. Was wondering if anyone put a Ford Ranger P.S. rack set UP, pump, hoses onto an after market Mustang II cross member.
Use a '88 T-Bird rack. They are under $90 at Autozone, with core. It bolts in place of the manual and uses the same tie rod ends. The input splines are larger, and higher in count. It can be run with the matching Ford pump, or with a GM Saginaw P-pump (classic one, looks like a little ham can), or even a Saginaw TC pump. Speedway has Saginaw to T-Bird rack hoses, pre-made.
Thanks gimpyshotrods, that's the mechanical info I was looking for. To many lurkers on this sight that worry about puntuation & miss spelled words. .
X2 on the Tbird rack. I love your Merc. On my wish list for sure. Have you posted pics of it previously? I think that iwannaflattie was just joking with ya.
RDAH, how hard is it steering? I guess since you want to go with power steering that answers most of my question but I'm right in the middle of building a truck with M II crossmember/suspension and was going manual steering but now having second thoughts. How did the Speedway stuff fit up? My project is a '41 Corn Binder.
See if this helps you...I put a mustang 2 power rack in my 51 chevy car using the GM pump,.. the steering was way way to easy ,... I tried the so called pill you put in the pump it was to slow down the pressure,.. the steering was not much better,.. I put an adjustable control valve from heidts and that helped some what,.. looking back at it and if I was doing it again I would find a way to use the Ford power steering pump,.. as I was told the GM pump puts out to much pressure for the Ford rack,... I don't know anything about using the T Bird rack.... As for the Spelling Police their out there not much help with the question but quick to let you know you spelled something incorrect... Don't let it get to you there are many good people on this site to help with the questions... Miller
The "real" MII power racks are becoming rare, and expexsive. The T-Bird racks are still common (they were use in several models), cheap, and operate properly at the pressure and flow of a GM pump. Oh, and get the "one-piece" (not TRW) rack, 3.0 turns, lock-to-lock. The others steer too fast.
I have a Cavilier rack on my 54 Merc with a Ford pump. Steers way too quick & easy, but it's better than manual or "manuel" steering. I have a 302 w/AOD in my 54 truck which I thought would be light enough on the front for a manual rack. I was very wrong. I'm not bragging, but I have 13" biceps & this sucker does turn hard. Hand over hand for sure. 225-70-15 radial tires up front. Thanks again guys I really appreciate your contributions.
Degenerate, the complete Mustang II rack set up from Speepway was no problem. Used the tubular A frames with coil springs & shocks. I did find that a couple of bolts were too short & not going into the lock nuts at least 3 threads. Most Hardware stores have plenty longer ones if you need them.. I think the whole set up was $1300.00
Yep right here is your answer. I used a 88 T-bird power rack from NAPA for way under $90. Had to buy a kit with washers to cut down GM pump pressure. No problems after that.
You didn't say how your frontend is aligned or how big a tire you're running but maybe a little less caster would ease the steering. There is a world of difference between 2# and 4# with manual steering.
Contact ElPolacko..... I think you also need to adjust your alignment. If I remember correctly, you need to add Caster? this will ease steering. I realize you have a big heavy vehicle, but I know many people who add caster I think up to 7 degrees, and it eases steering....
Make sure the T-bird rack has three turns lock to lock before you leave the store. It seems most of the time around here the two and a half turn units are put in the same box. I use them with the Flaming River Variable pressure low-Flow pump and you would not believe how much better they work than the GM pumps. I have done all that you could do to the GM pumps over the years to many of the cars I have built but nothing beats the Flaming River set up. http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c0012/s0003/FRPMPSB-V They are on eBay for $200 or less.
Well got my 88 t-bird rack & sure enough it was two & half turns lock to lock. My local bumper to bumper store gives the same number for a 3 turns lock to lock. I took it back & they will call the rebuilder to get a 3 turn lock to lock. Oh the fun of parts interchange.
You have that backwards. Adding caster adds forward stability and helps the car go straight. Decreasing caster makes the steering lighter and more sensitive to driver input. the typical Mustang II runs about 1-2 degrees of caster, and your right, some of us have jackedit out to as much as about 5- 6 degrees for high speed road work.
It seems that all of the Ford production power racks are "roughly" 3 turns. The manuals are 4 turns. 82-88 Tbird racks I've dealt with, are just under 3 turns lock to lock (more like 2 3/4 - 2 7/8). Some of the 1980-86 Mustang racks are a little over 2 turns lock to lock. I kind of remember the Mustang GT's have a quicker ratio. And all of the 80's racks are 3/4" x 36 spline (instead of 9/16" x 26 spline). Check you threads for the power hoses, some are metric and some are American.
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