PST has brand new manual steering boxes for $323. My factory box is shot, so a new one is a good option unless they are Chinese junk. They have 24:1, 20:1 and 16:1. My car is a '72 Satellite project. It will be a street car, and I'd like to do some auto crossing with it occasionally. The body is lowered 2" and the suspension will be upgraded all around.

Has anyone experienced a 20:1 or 16:1 box? I imagine that the steering effort will be increased, but how much? My front tires are currently, 245/45/18. It has a 360 engine with the new Tremec TKX 5 speed.

Thanks!

I put a 20:1 ratio in a manual steering 70 Cuda years ago. Parking lots were a bear, but once the car is rolling (like walking speed) it’s no big deal. Above that it was wonderful. Your manual tranny though….hmmm….do you do a lot of parking lots or u turns on narrow roads?
The change it makes while driving is huge…much better.

Originally I installed a Firm Feel 16 to 1 box but had to change it out due to its leaking...
Next I installed a Flaming River box, originally said it was 20 to1 but is actually 16 to 1...
It does take some effort to turn the wheel if parking, especially harder if U add radial tires...
Also size of the steering wheel matters, harder with the smaller tuff wheel.
But on the road moving no problem, easy to handle..

Just my $0.02...

Thanks! That helps. It will just be a fun weekend car. Nothing serious as far as auto crossing goes.

Cool. Sounds good! I bought a 15" steering wheel. Thanks!

I put a factory 16:1 box in my Coronet a long time ago. Maybe back in the 90's? Made the car undrivable so I pulled that box out and sold it to a road race guy who put it in his Valiant. It was too hard to steer for him so down the road it went.
I ended up with a 20:1 box in my Coronet but it was still too stiff so I eventually yanked it out and switched to a Borgeson power steering box. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the info. That's why I am concerned about switching.

My Coronet is 4000 lbs with a big block and 55 series 17 inch tires up front. A lighter car with skinny tires would be easier to steer but mine was impossible to drive at low speeds with the 16:1 box. I was able to drive the car for years with the 20:1 box but it was a pain at low speeds, especially if you had to shift gears while turning a corner.

Alignment specs make a a difference as well. Manual cars usually had different specs to ease steering, those specs however are not optimal for handling.

My 51 Plymouth has always been manual steering, 18.2:1 is the ratio. It has a 17" steering wheel and zero caster, zero camber and zero toe for it's specs. I added as much caster as I could, a hair of toe in and I forget the camber off hand. Running P245/50R17's. I don't really notice the effort, except at a stop. Just about any movement at all will decrease the effort to practically none.

Wow! Hearing that I wouldn't be able to go auto crossing with the car! Thank you!

Thanks! I knew I would get great answers on Moparts. I tried google and YouTube first, but no luck there. I have a Borgeson PS box that I was going to put in my '72 Charger, but it looks like I will be putting it in my Satellite! I think the Borgeson is 20:1

I called the PST tech line, because it was their box I was interested, but the guy was no help at all. Now I know more about it than him! Ha ha! Thanks again everyone!

I used a Corvette PS pump with the Borgeson box. Had to build the mounts to hang it on my big block since there wasn't anything available that worked. I'm glad I did the upgrade since it makes the car so much easier to drive. I had a PS column in my stash of spare parts so that made the conversion easier.

By my math, the 20:1 box isn’t worth the increase in effort for how little it effects the steering rate.

I’ve been using a 16:1 manual box since 2020, with 255/45R18 tires, aluminum headed 440, A-833, car weighs at least 4180 and 3°+ caster. Compared to the 24:1 ratio box, the increased effort was noticeable. I do drive the car quite a bit. Yes, when stopped it is hard to turn, parking lots aren’t fun. And it’s a work out in Autocross but I feel like the faster ratio outweighs the increased effort. It’s nice on dirt tho

All boils down to personal feel though, I can definitely understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea

Nice work! I was amazed that my post is still up near the top. Hopefully a lot of people besides me are finding everyone's help useful too!. I have a new Borgeson PS box, and saginaw pump on the shelf, just incase the manual steering becomes unenjoyable.

I was researching the PSI requirements of the Burgeon box on nights when this project was keeping me up at nights. Ha ha!. Thanks again everyone!