New rack and pinon from unisteer at sema

[cold85]

In my pop rodding mag they said unisteer has a new rack and pinon bolt in for b & E body mopars that will convert with no fab work and will be under 1000.00 dollars. i called unisteer and they said it would be ready in a few months. The guy said it was direct bolt in. I think i will take the power steering off for that.

[hammer4406]

Where can I find imore info on the new rack & pinion set up? The price sure beats Magnum Force and Reilly Motorsports set ups!

[doctorpimp]

I would like to see more...

[cold85]

the company is www.unisteer.com but they do not have it listed yet but i called them and the guy said it would be ready in a few months

[Silver R/T]

sounds interesting

[68ChargerJMP]

Sounds cool, if I hadnt already dropped some money on my new gearbox from Firm Feel. I also seen where TimeMachines is coming out with a true bolt-in Viper independent rear for b and e bodies.....$10-14k!!!

[Mike DC (formerly miked)]

$14,000 for a rear suspension?!? 

I expected to hear that it was several thousand bucks, but that's nuts.  I mean, an actual Nextel Cup NASCAR tube chassis can be bought for way less than that.  For $14,000 you could probably pay a racecar shop by the hour to custom-design & fabricate that rear suspension for you.

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[68ChargerJMP]

Looks like a 8 3/4 with leaf springs for me.

[CHARGER_FAN]

Where can I find imore info on the new rack & pinion set up? The price sure beats Magnum Force and Reilly Motorsports set ups!

DUDE! We need more info on that '70!

[NorwayCharger]

Mopar B/E-body Rack & Pinion Steering Conversion
www.unisteer.com
800-338-9080

Text from Popularhotrodding.com

For too many years, Mopars have been on the bottom of the list when it comes to developing and selling high-performance handling products. Now Maval Manufacturing is doing something about it with its rack-and-pinion Unisteer conversion kit. Thanks to Maval, glacial handling, poor steering response, and excess weight can now be a thing of the past. Maval uses a 17:1 hydraulic rack and packages it with all the necessary brackets, steering pump, hardware, and hoses. The kit costs around $1,000. The manufacturer claims the kit is a simple bolt-on and requires no major modification.

[Blakcharger440]

Ummm..it looks like the rack bolts in behind the K-frame? This would cause alot of interference with many headers wouldnt it??? Also it seems that most rack systems are bolted in front of the K-frame?

[CHARGER_FAN]

I'd like to see pics of that baby installed.

[Mike DC (formerly miked)]

We'll have to see how that thing fits.  It looks like a geat setup so far.  R/P setups are much better at road-feel and they weigh a LOT less than the stock stuff too.

The worst thing about R/P setups is that they're more fragile than an old-school recurculating ball steering box.  You don't see R/P setups on many trucks & Jeeps.  (Seems like somebody could make a "fusible link" part in the linkage.  Something that's made just weak enough to break before the gears in the expensive R/P setup start stripping . . . )

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[Silver R/T]

Im looking forward to this, WOuld like to buy one when theyre finished with it

[dkn1997]

I'd like to see pics of that baby installed.

from your lips to god's ear:

[Silver R/T]

so it mounts on front of kmember?

[dkn1997]

unless the pic is reversed, would have to be the back. note the steering coupler is on the left.

[Silver R/T]

is there any word if they are going to re-design it so it mounts on the front of K-member?

[dkn1997]

don't know, but that unit picturred is for a 68-70 B body, and the K it's on is 71 or newer, just a mock up. so it's not even pictured on the correct K frame in the pic.  seems like it would almost have to be on the rear of the K to work, header clearance could be a bitch.

[Silver R/T]

Might as well design unit that would work with headers in first place. ill snap it for $1k bucks

[NorwayCharger]

http://www.bigblockdart.com/index.php?topic=1620.0

More info..

[CHARGER_FAN]

is there any word if they are going to re-design it so it mounts on the front of K-member?

If they mount it in front of the K-member, they will have to completely change the way the tie rods connect to the spindles too. That will drive the price even higher...probably about doubled, depending on if there are existing parts to retrofit, which I doubt.

[The Ghoul]

im in for a grand.
My plans were to just get one of the new quick ratio manual box for the simplicity, less engine drag, and header clearence.. but it would fit better into the whole G-ride concept if I could keep wide meats on the front and still be able to steer. I like it... I hope they can be used on 3rd gens.

[Silver R/T]

will have to wait till someone actually tries it with headers

[Silver R/T]

Ive sent them an email, we'll see what they reply

[Blakcharger440]

Heres another dumb question about this setup....How is that going to save weight??? The only thing being removed is the steering box,but you just added a whole rack and pinion setup to the mix and to me it looks to be even heavier than the box itself...so you are adding weight.     

[Mike DC (formerly miked)]

Those rack & pinions are definitely lighter than the factory steering box. 

The factory PS box is something like 30 pounds (not including the factory steering linkage, which is substantial too).  But a R/P might not be half that.  The gearing hardware is smaller overall and the linkages going out to the spindles are tiny.  Even the outside of the setup is cast aluminum instead of iron.

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Here's a thought: 

Is there an off-the-shelp R/P that would work on a Mopar?  With all the modern cars out there now, there are TONS of these things being produced in various sizes.  Seems like there would be something that might fit right. 

And the Unisteer ads say their steering ratio is 17:1 (whereas the factory PS ratio is 16:1).  Which makes me wonder if they might really be selling us an off-the-shelf steering rack with some brackets & hoses added.

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[dkn1997]

Which makes me wonder if they might really be selling us an off-the-shelf steering rack with some brackets & hoses added.

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you might have hit it on the head there.  If you can weld, does not seem too hard to make those brackets.  I suppose somebody will at some point just sell the brackets for those that can mount them to a rack and source all the little parts.  sort of like scarebird brakes. they sell you just the bracket and parts list and you get the rest as opposed to ssb  or others who sell you a 600 dollar kit.

[CHARGER_FAN]

Which makes me wonder if they might really be selling us an off-the-shelf steering rack with some brackets & hoses added.

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you might have hit it on the head there.  If you can weld, does not seem too hard to make those brackets.  I suppose somebody will at some point just sell the brackets for those that can mount them to a rack and source all the little parts.  sort of like scarebird brakes. they sell you just the bracket and parts list and you get the rest as opposed to ssb  or others who sell you a 600 dollar kit.

Just need a little hotrodder ingenuity here & you're set. Not every cool thing needs to be available in a "kit".

[Steve P.]

As most of us know pictures lie like hell. Many of us have learned this the hard way. I have looked this unit over and read what is available and my humble opinion is simple.

Yes, it will be lighter than a factory power steering system.
Yes, the ratio will make it feel better.
Yes, it will be cool to be able to say, my 60's muscle car has rack and pinion steering..

HOWEVER,,,, until they put the rack in front of the "K" member and get rid of any and all clutter that causes problems with oil pans, headers, starters, frame strength and ground clearance for all of the formentioned, I think this is just smoke and pretty paint...

Mopar did a pretty damn good job of building this front end. It has lasted many years without much hassle. I personally don't like the "AFT" steering design. I understand why they did it, but it takes away from having a large low profile oil pan. I grew up dodging the pot-holes of upstate New York. Skinny little 14" tires were little help for your K's and controll arms.....