trying to convert my 71 dart to a rack and pinoin any one know how it can be done ?

i can tell you how not to do it.i went to the local salvage and found the lightest rack i could find,came home cut the k member so it was inside of it,got all the brackets made and welded in hooked up the tierods and turned the steering wheel right and the wheels went left.i had grabbbed a rear steer rack never even thought about it being front or rear steer.

What are the chances!? I guess you ended up with a GMC quadra trac rack? Those were notorious for crapping out early on too. Still in this thread for the info...I want to go this route on my bee without all the fancy tube K member if at all possible. I have some lightening ideas for the factory K. All ears!

buy it, install it and be done with it. http://www.reillymotorsports.com/store/home.php?cat=268

I never did it on a Dart but I have mounted a few racks...
you need to mount the rack so its level with the
steering arms on the lower arms at curb height...
the inner pivots on the rack is important(length
of the rack).. they should pivot the same as the lower arm
so you dont get toe in/out... being that the upper
arms are shorter than the lower arms the top ball
joint is moving in a different arc and tends to change
the toe in
Rack length is very important

When you build it, like said the rack length is important. Better off too short than long, and get the bump steer correct over all else. You can fudge (less than correct)
Ackerman angle. (position of outer tie rod) It will just produce some tire scrub and make the car harder to push while in a turn. Poor bump steer that is off will upset handling at speed.
On the ackerman angle, I have virtually zero on the race car. Works very well if going in a straight line (drag only) or correcting in an out of shape situation. But not for the street.

Buy a kit from bondo Bob- bob's profab. Great price, great customer service, knows what he is talking about and he is a member here and sponsors one of Josh's class.
419-927-4570

I'm kind of interested in using a rack in my E-Body but I want to keep it period correct, maybe something like this shot of the rack in the Motown Missile Cuda.



As far as rack length goes I have always gone for a slightly longer rack & shortened the RH end of the rack so the pivots on the rack ends are exactly on the same line of pivot & height as the lower arm bushes (at normal ride height & a straight ahead steering position).

Control arms on the spindles need to be about half the length of a stock A body steering arm for proper turning radius. I cut and welded mine, then tested the welds for strength. If you are concerned about welding on them, find a professional welder that will finish welding after you cut, locate and tack them together again. I drilled out the ends to 3/4 inch then sleeved them back to 1/2 inch with steel tube so I could use hiem joints and spacers for correct tie rod height.