[b][/b] Have 66 ply Satellite with no power steering...I want to install rack and pinion set up.. never done this before.. who sells kits and what is involved in doing the job..Thanks for any help...Larry

As far as I know there is no good R&P kit that doesn't include a complete front suspension replacement.

Unisteer makes a kit for later B and E bodies, but many say it has a horrible turning radius.

http://www.unisteer.com/bolt-in-rack-pin...-kit-black.html

Instructions available on that page to give you an idea.

Unless there have been some developments since I last looked into this, turning radius is a problem. This is because a steering rack has less travel to it than a pitman arm on the end of a steering box. To get around this issue, modern cars have shorter steering arms as cast onto the steering knuckle. The old mopar steering arms are part of the lower ball joint assembly, see pic above. The ones I have looked at do not have enough meat to relocate the tie rod hole, even if you could drill a tapered hole like OEM. So generally you're left with either living with an increased turning radius or change out the whole front suspension to run a steering knuckle made for rack and pinion.

Once upon a time I saw someone made some adapters that attached to the steering arms to relocate the connection further inboard, however to they didn't look safe. They were bolted to the original tie rod end hole and the other side was sort of clamped around the steering arm. I did one time see something that looked like custom machined steering arms but they didn't have good pics of how it mounted.

I did some reading from the hot rod guys who do a lot of mustang II based aftermarket front end stuff and they also say it's critical that the rack and tie rod ends are mounted in such a way that everything is straight. No ends angling up/down or fore/aft. There are also spacers you can put inside the rack to prevent bump steer because the distance between your control arm pivots needs to match the pivot length inside the rack at the inner tie rods.

Lastly, there's the cavalier rack. Still suffers from the same travel issues but mounts differently and I think some custom idler arms/mounts that would connect to your stock center link could be made in such a way as to correct the turn radius problem. Would take a bit of fabricating and I imagine some lathe time to cut the tapered holes.

Cutting the tapered hole isn't an issue

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Tapered-Ball-Joint-Reamer-7-Degree,2918.html

But rack travel is an issue.

Here's an idea, not too sure I like it though

http://www.mustangsplus.com/1970-1972-1973-Mustang-Bump-Steer-Corrector-Kit.html


Article

http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/chassis-suspension/mump-0602-how-to-correct-bumpsteer/

My take is from a hot rod background, take it as you please.

The issue is the tie rod hole needs to be about an inch closer towards the ball joint then the current location. The exact distance would probably have to be determined. Anything more then a 1/2" would be an improvement.

On the 40s and 50s Mopars, the steering arms were thick and wide enough new holes could be drilled and the holes tapper cut with a 7 degree tapper reamer. Generally, as long as both sides were moved the same amount, things were good. The good news is that the ball joints are forged steel, they can have the eyelets cut off, a section of the arm removed and the eyelets welded back on. Good welding procedures would make the shortened steering arms plenty safe enough for the purpose they serve.

Use of the Cavalier rack (a rear steer version of a Dodge Intrepid rack) would make the process more simple and keep the bump steer to factory Mopar levels. The Cavalier rack has the inner tie rod connections at the center of the rack, with two mounting bolts. The process would involve making a center link that would bolt to the rack with the center bolts and would be the same length as the Mopar center link for your car (personally I would modify your car's center link to bolt to the Cavalier rack). Then you use the correct tie rod assemblies for your car to attach to the new center link that attaches to the rack. You are essentially attaching the rack to your center link and eliminating the steering box and idler arm. The resulting geometry (and function) is the same as you car left the Mopar factory with.

The Cavalier rack mounts in rubber bushings set in brackets bolted or welded to the car's frame rails. You will need to use a combination of steering column u joints and shafts to connect the rack to your steering column. If the rack is properly mounted, the relationship between the column and the rack won't change.

You simply need to get past the point of thinking the material your steering components are made from some mystical material that can not be altered. People have been altering steering components for years. Gene