Fabrication of power rack and pinion for 69 mustang

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.

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.


"jeramy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>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.
>

"Tiger Pilot" > wrote in message
news:TJMfg.178298$bm6.34643@fed1read04...
>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.
>
>
> "jeramy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>>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.
>>
> there are a few articles in some back issues of "muscle Mustangs and Fast
> Fords" addressing these issues. the biggest problem if i remember
> correctly is the size of the unit (length and tie rod travel) in order to
> avoid bump steer and over travel. I beleive that some of the late model
> racks come very close to the size you need.

>