I have a 69 grande equiped with the old loosy-goosy steering. I'm interested in upgrading to a power rack and pinion setup. I know that there are many bolt-in kits available for this, but they all seem pretty pricey and furthermore, I would like to try my hand at fabricating one from a unit obtained from a salvage yard. Of course this brings with it a set of issues that must first be considered. The steering linkage of the older mustangs is made behind the pivot point of the spindle whereas many cars equiped with rack and pinion (example; mustang II) have the steering linkage infront of the pivot point of the spindle. So if I want the car to steer like a car (ie. goes left whe the wheel is turned left) I have to find a donor with the linkage behind the spindle. Also, the width and travel of the donor unit must be close to that of the stock steering. Lastly, it is not completely obvious where to mount the unit to give proper steering geometry. Does anyone know of a donor unit that would work for this? Also, if anyone has done something similar, any added info would be greatly appreciated.
Fabrication of power rack and pinion for 69 mustang
Jun 01, 2006
2 Replies
I have not done this. But consider this. Those pricey kits are not charging for just the part you know. They are charging for the time and thought that went into them.
To minimize bump steer the inner spherical joint on the rack and pinion needs to be close to the location of the lower control arm inner pivot point. This is when the steering is straight ahead.
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