The rack works very well but does not have as much turning radius. I'd talk to other hambers for their input. I would stick to the vega if possible. Food for thought, RGV
I have one of each ... 32 Roadster with a Vega box 32 3W with a Uni-Steer rack. The rack steers easier ... but like already said ... does NOT turn as tightly. I am planning on putting a Uni-Steer on the roadster ... over the winter months, before the 08 cruising starts
The rack thing seems to me to be an idea for the sake of an idea. Boxes work fine, different length pitmans can have a big effect on ease of steering vs. turns lock to lock. It's a trade off you choose. I'd go box.
Since we started using the Canadian built Vega boxs we have had no problems. We have installed several racks on new chassis but no feed back, just what is said above.
Enjenjo posted awhile back about the unisteer and it's wider turning radius. His soulution was to use the double eyed tie rod end that you need when there is only one eye on the right steering arm for cross steer applications. Think through what happens in this application and you would indeed get more degrees of turning using this tie rod end. It effectively moves the steering input closer to the king pin resulting in more radial movement of the spindle for every inch of travel of the rack. Steering effort would be somewhat elevated but the trade off would be worth it imo. Frank
Seems like the owner/developer/sales rep/whatever of the Uni-Steer was on the HAMB when this was being discussed several months back. If I remember right, he commented that there was about the same amount of "drag link" travel with the Uni that there was with a standard Vega 6" eye to eye pitman arm. I wonder if some of the short radius steering comments done earlier were due to overly long steering stop nuts? My 32 with pretty much standard Vega/dropped axle front end steers easily and has a sharp turning radius. The 32's pitman arm is 5" eye to eye which does cut down on drag link travel due to the shorter arc described, but it does go far enough for proper steering. The steering is a little slower than a stock 6" Vega pitman arm, but t's not really noticeable. Steering wheel diameter is 14" fwiw. Vis a vis the Uni's short travel comment, Deuce Roadster's a pretty knowledgeable guy and I'm sure he's got it set up right. Not to mention he has experience with both the Vega and the Uni and I'm inclined to believe the voice of experience more than the voice of a salesman....
I have no experience with the rack but will chime in anyway. The rack will have a shorter drag link and therefore have more bump steer. If the rack drag link is attached to the tie rod, the bumpsteer will be worst. I agree that they are ugly but are mostly hid. I would like to know the strength. I suspect they are from a goff cart. My Vega has taken me all over the country and 10 trips to California. I have over 120,000 on the car. Steers extreamly easy and no bumpsteer. What would I use? I am going to try to use either a 40 Ford box or a F-1 in the channeled roadster rebuild. If you take the boxes apart, you will not believe the difference in quality and strength. The Vega looks like a cheep tin toy. They do work good thou.
I have Vega boxes in two cars. It's two finger steering at 70mph with bias ply tires. The uni-steer is a little high tech for me.
[quote=Andy; I suspect they are from a goff cart. WRONG! The unit is exctly like the one they make for Mustang II and other applications as far as strength is concerned. It's just shorter and application specific with only one tie rod. Frank
I was faced with the decision ... when starting with the 3W ... Vega or Uni-Steer. All the original Vega donor cars I found ( over 25 Vegas ) were worn out, high mileage sloppy units or had the box missing. ... I had read here the repro Vega boxes were junk. I drove a friends 32 5W with the Uni-Steer and liked it. My Roadster ... with a original Vega box ( with a aftermarket steering arm ) drive GREAT ... once you are moving ... but parallel parking is somewhat difficult. I had open heart surgery ... ( 5 bypasses ) ... so my chest bone has been cut and I lost a fair amount of upper body strength ... The Uni-Steer is much easier to turn when parallel parking ... with the same size diameter steering wheel. PLUS ... the 3W is for my wife to drive ... and I wanted it to steer easily. What little bit I have driven the 3W ... the longer turning radius has not caused any problems ... As for Uni-Steer being a golf cart item ... It appears to be real hefty ... and Maval makes a bunch of racks ... @ $469 ... it was about the same $$$ as a new Vega box after you added the cost of a new steering arm and a drag link. http://www.unisteer.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=8000460-02&Store_Code=UNISTEER I am not promoting the use of either ... I just answered the guys original question using my experiences ...
Not to get too far off the subject, but it looks to me like the Saginaw 605 power steering box would be a viable proposition in a Deuce or similar. I think you can still get these as rebuilts at parts houses. Looking at the pics, aside from the intermediate steering shaft angle the big problem would be motor mount clearance. Room for the pump shouldn't be a problem. As crowded as the engine bay is in my 32, a power steering pump looks to be an easy install. 605 Vega
Thanks for the link to your coupe build, always enjoy pictures of project cars. I to have had triple bypass and understand the chest discomfort. Mine was 11 years ago, the breastbone problem lasted over 2 years. Now you a part of an elite group, the Zipper Club. The vertical scar on you chest is "yo zipper". Rusty Springs
I did the 605 for a customer with a 32 sport coupe. He also had a upper body strength issue. He used the GM pump with fabbed hoses and a little creativity for the exhaust. The last time I visited with him it was working great and a pleasure to drive.
Got pics? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I forgot to mention that the 605 has the same mounting bolt pattern as the Vega.
I have had both borgeson/mullins boxes and a flaming river box. If you go with the vega style just make sure it is not the quick ratio I liked the mullins box a lot better than the flaming river. The flaming river made the car really dart around at interstate speed. The mullins box was a lot better to drive over all.
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