Manual Steering- Do you like it

On my 67 Belvedere convertible w/340, both the power steering gearbox and pump need rebuilding. My friend has a very nice manual steering gearbox that he will give me. I know I will need the adapter and a different pulley-not a big deal.

Just curious for those using manual steering: do you like it or is it a pain in the butt? It's been several years since I have had a mopar with manual steering. The car is just a weekend cruiser.

with a good tight box and a proper frontend alignment they steer great and way better feedback than power steering .

I love manual steering.

You'll be fine

Did you like it when you had it? Have you injured or have problems in your shoulders or arms? Lots of turns of the wheel to park one. I prefer manual steering for the feel.

I remember it being easy to steer-it has been awhile. I just hear a lot of people complain. I have never cared for power steering with mopars and I don't want to spend all the money for a firm feel box.

Thanks for your input!

Haven't driven a MS '66-'67 B, but my early Bs were fine - a little slow for some maneuvers, but low effort and excellent feel. I've had several '68-'69 Bs with MS, only one that took effort to park was a Hemi with 265/50 front tires.
If you like to pitch a car around, PS is handy.

Works ok in my big block Dart

I drove a manual steering, so to speak, 64 300 for years. I say so called because the pump locked up and I ran it without a belt for years.

Which is more strenuous than a normal manual steering setup.

No problems.

But I don't spaghetti arms either.

My A body is manual steering, no problems but it is lighter than your B. Alignment spec and steering wheel sizes are different between the two types.

This Having the alignment done right makes a big difference with a manual box.

Hey welcome aboard fisherman

Gus

thanks Gus I was looking for a welcome wagon fourm but never found one .

I probably go with manual. If I remember correctly, feels a lot better at higher speeds and wont leak.

Got any pictures of your car?
I have a super rusty one out back that I am tearing apart and one in the garage that I am about to go full tilt on.

I changed my 63 to manual steering and I am so glad I did as I love it. My car weighs over 3700 lbs and steers so easy driving that the only time I know its manual steering is when turning the wheel without the car moving any and even then its steers easier then I thought it would. And manual steering gives the driver a much better feel of the road. Ron

I have pictures- how do you post them?

I've had a 20:1 manual in my '66 Charger for many years. Got it from Firm Feel. I love it.

Advantages: Simpler, no potential for leaks, saves weight, saves power.

I've had both in alot of cars and alot of it depends on how you drive your car. If you value quick steering skip the manual. My only complaint which is a big one, this ratio sucks.

Same opinion here. I've also had both and found it depends on what I used the car for.

During the post click file manager and pick your pictures.

Manual for me, every time. Less weight, less complexity, more road feel, more room under the hood! In a big-block A-body space is at a premium and they're already front heavy. Even in my 440 with a 6-71 blower I didn't find the steering effort to be noticeable except when parallel parking (and not too bad even then).

This is a matter of personal preference.
Myself, I like manual steering.
The less the draw on the motor the better.
Short, Fat tires will make it bit harder.
The trick for me is keeping the car/truck in motion when in tight situations like parking.
It can be a bit tedious if your not used to it.
In my opinion, MOPAR had the best manual steering.

I live 30 minutes from a 4100 foot mountain pass, Deer are a part of life. Sometimes you are in the wrong place no matter what you do or drive. The manual steering works just fine at freeway speeds.

67ply was just looking for some opinions and this is turning into a bitchfest. The bottom line is each have their pros and cons.

Main points to consider here is the last hundred of a second in E.T. was not pointed out. It has a warm motor and it's a weekend cruiser.

Here is a scenario for you. Here is your powerful rear wheel drive machine fishtailing a bit. Time to steer out of it, maybe even lock to lock or as mentioned "the deer". That's going to take more time because manual steering ratio was meant for parking a car.

When Steer and Gear sold me a steering box for my last project they asked 3 turns or the original 4 turns lock to lock. I went with 3 and consider that an upgrade.

I have had both manual and power in 70 Cudas. To me the preference depends on the transmission if your going to drive the car hard. My automatic Cuda had manual steering with the 20:1 sector shaft--it was great. My 4 speed Cuda has power steering with the fast ratio pitman--it's great.

Manual steering in the Road Runner and big block Demon. The Road Runner is easy to manuver and so is the Demon.

I currently have manual steering in my 67' 440 Belvedere and am counting the days until I swap to a Firm Feel box. I did it in my 71' Duster 340 I had and found for a cruiser it was just more relaxing to drive.

As a side note I firmly believe the faster ratio of the power box saved me from an accident in the Duster when someone cut across in front of me. With the slower 24:1 of the manual box there is no way I could have swerved in time to keep from T-boning the little old lady.

I've had both. They both work fine. I like the input of manual steering. But power steering works great cruising. It really is a matter of personal preference. Neither way is crazy hard. I wish these guys would fight nice, and just help the poster out. They ask questions for answers, not arguments.

git yerself one of these yer babys

I prefer power steering by "Armstrong".

The 2 power steering Mopars I've had gave little road feel.
Make my steering via a manual box.

What about the 14:1 Jeep box?
Anybody here try that? I might try it on my 67.

I am fortunate enough to have two 68 B bodies, one with power steering and the other manual and a 4 speed.
For driving, the manual steering is great. for maneuvering in the city, it is Ok and requires you to plan ahead and remember how much effort and revs of the wheel, it takes to make that corner.. and
Parallel Parking.. Forget it.. No No No...it is not a pretty or happy event.
The Power steering is great for low speed, parking and little effort is required for anything.. very easy to drive. Not for anything related to road feel or handling.
So,
Yes I like parking and driving in city traffic with Power steering.

I have both. My '69 RR has PS and is easy to move into and out of garage. At speed, I feel it wanders a bit (the alignment is good).

I also have a '65 Belvedere SS clone with probably the slowest ratio steering in the world. 3 point turns into the garage is fun! However, it goes straight down the road with little wandering. I would never put PS on the '65 for nostalgia reasons. They both have their place

Going to PS in the GTX, degenerative arthritis is a [censored].

On these old cars I hate power steering. One of our road runners had it, but I swapped it for manual. All 3 of our other cars are manual and love it.
The power steering feels like you could put 35" mud tires on the front and still turn the wheel lock to lock w/ one finger. There are ways to cut the pressure down, but the manual boxes are nice enough that I'll never bother w/ trying to do that.

And painful.

And as far as I know, incurable.

Very nasty crap for sure.