Rack and pinion steering on my 41 pickup

[Fordestes]

I would like to install power rack and pinion steering on my 41 ford pickup and leave the rest of the suspension alone, Anyone know if this is possible?
I have searched the other sites and have not found any info. on the subject
no doubt it has been done before , what is the best power r&P set up to use?
what setup would be heavy enough to support the heavy flathead and the rest of the vehicle, I was thinking about connecting it to the existing spindles.
would appreciate some help.
thanks !
fordestes

[my2nd40]

Unisteer is what you are looking for. I see them at the the Street Rod Nationals every year, and they look like a well made product. Do a search over on the HAMB site and you'll find some posts relating to this subject.

[36tbird]

I have a '40 box in my '36 Ford pickup with a flathead. Steers great! Had power steering in my '40 Ford and I over controlled it one nite on a slick road and spun it. I don't think you need power steering in these old cars. My 2 cents.

[DICK SPADARO]

bad idea nothing wrong with the 40/1 box.

[okiedokie]

I have a friend who is physically challenged due to Polio in his youth. He is also a hotrodder. Another friend put a power rack on two of his cars for him. A 32 roadster and a 32 coupe. The old time machinist that did the nachine work on the brackets also designed one for his 39 Ford coupe. He also built a few others for friends, at least two of which are installed and working great for several years now. I do not remember which racks were used. I do recall that later [46-48 ?] were required for clearance. These were made to install on dropped axles with the wishbones split slightly. I had the opportunity to drive my friends 39 coupe, it was [still is, although he is no longer with us] absolutely the best driving hot rod I have driven. If you would like the details pm me and I will get them for you.

[okiedokie]

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Forgot to add the collapsible shaft in the steering to allow movement.

[hbleadsled]

Unisteer, 1-800-338=9080 ,www.unisteer.com , steve, is who you want to talk to. Harold, central coast Ca.

[hbleadsled]

Power steering pump that looks like Ford might have made fits on gen. bracket ,looks like a 3th water pump pulley,from BLUNDELL SPEED MACHINE .1-714=744=1900 ext.225 735 n cypress, Orange, Ca. 92867

[Pete]

Unless you want a rack for esthetic reasons, you might look into the early 60's Nash or late 50's/early 60's Ford power steering cylinders.
They have a linear instead of rotary control valve and do NOT require any mods to the existing steering..Beside the cylinder all you need is a pump and small reservoir.
They connect to the pitman arm on side steering or the right spindle on cross steering.

[treb11]

to avoid MAJOR bump steer problems, the rack should be mounted to the axle. much more trouble than its worth. install a late saginaw gearbox with a replacement mounting plate. boxes can be either the 525 manual box or a power steering box, although room quickly becomes a premium. do not use a Vega box, too light for the size of the vehicle

[Fordestes]

Thanks for the input, I am physically handicapped, and p/s would be a blessing provided it will behave ok on the hiway.
D.R.ESTES

[George/Maine]

This is a case where you would be better off with a clipped out truck,i'm sure someone would trade.I just got my 39 on road today with Heights frontend rack and pinion using stock steering wheel its about the same as stock, but man does this good down the road know like a sports car.

[George/Maine]

[mj40's]

Originally Posted by treb11

to avoid MAJOR bump steer problems, the rack should be mounted to the axle. much more trouble than its worth. install a late saginaw gearbox with a replacement mounting plate. boxes can be either the 525 manual box or a power steering box, although room quickly becomes a premium. do not use a Vega box, too light for the size of the vehicle

I'm running the Saginaw 525 (non power) on my 40 pickup with reasonably narrow tires on 5" rims in front and tube axle. It steers great and rides smooth. The stock 40 pitman arm also fits the spline of the Saginaw box. Cheap and easy to install with a frame adapter for the 525 box. I ran the same set up on my 40 Coupe for years and nearly 300,000 miles.

[aandkt]

Is the 36 pitman arm the same as a 40 for a rack

[Ken/Alabama]

Originally Posted by Fordestes

Thanks for the input, I am physically handicapped, and p/s would be a blessing provided it will behave ok on the hiway.
D.R.ESTES

A Saginaw 605 power steering box is what you need . Run one on my 40 for years. Made a bracket to mount the pump on the left head and run a truck water pump on that side with a double sheave pulley to drive the pump. You will need to remove the original steering box mount from the frame and fab another to move the box over as close to the frame rail as it will go and down just a bit, not a big job, if I remember correct one of the original bolt holes will line up with the 605 box. The stock 40 Ford pitman arm will fit the 605 box . I didnt have any clearance problems and Im running a pair of cast iron Fenton headers.

[chuck stevens]

I used a unisteer rack in this model A pick-up, it has a solid axle, and a transverse spring, four bar, and a panard bar. Goes down the road like it's on rails, the steering effort is a little easyer than stock v8's. On the down side you lose some turning travel, in other words it doesn't turn quite as tight lock to lock.