Bergman does appear to have the Borgeson setup sorted out. I know he was pretty active here on them and I believe he helped resolve some issue Borgeson had with it's first iterations.

I just finished the installation of the steering box.
For the full story, click on this link:


https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...n-steering-box-in-a-1970-charger.246108/

Where did you get the "no cut" coupler? I literally just received my universal coupler from Jegs yesterday but may send it back if there's a no cut option.

Interested in hearing the driving impression

Same here

I posted a link to my thread at For B Bodies Only. At the moment, the site is down for some upgrade.
I don't mind sharing it to all that care to read.
Beforehand, I had a Firm Feel Stage 3 chuck with Fast Ratio Pitman and Idler arms. 2 3/4 turns lock to lock. Steering was very stiff once you got past the slop. The on center slop was similar to what a stock box has but since the steering effort was so high, there was a stark difference in feel between the slop and when the tires actually started to steer. It felt like manual steering with a slight assist.
This was annoying and NOT confidence inspiring. Driving on curvy roads meant crossing over the slop at every turn. Straight line driving meant frequent corrections to maintain a line.
In fairness, some of the poor characteristics could be blamed on wide tires and alignment....maybe.
I bought the steering box and associated parts from Bergman Auto Craft. In this $895 kit was the hybrid coupler that just slipped in place of the stock one...it has the splined end welded to it that fits the Borgeson box. There is no modification of any kind. This all fits without modification.
After filling the reservoir with AC/Delco fluid, I started the car and rotated the wheel left to right. This sucked the pump dry so I topped it off. The swap required almost a full quart of fluid. Steering now is much lighter and is 3 1/2 turns lock to lock like stock but the feel is vastly different. This box is a 14-1 ratio, stock is 15.7.
Steering effort can be described as follows.....If you rate a stock power steering car at a 0 and my Stage 3 box with Fast Ratio arms at 100, the Borgeson effort comes in around 35. It is power assisted but not boosted.
It feels much like a late model car where it is comfortable to steer without feeling like a workout. The wheel returns to center like it should. No buzzing or humming like I have heard from some. There is no slop at any point in the steering range. Response is immediate but not twitchy. It absolutely IS confidence inspiring.
Finally, I mean no ill will to Firm Feel. If I had this chuck of mine in another car with stock idler and Pitman arms, it wouldn't feel so bad. This project included a new coupler which replaced a seasoned unit that may have had some wear to it. The reduced steering ratio results in easier steering. The factory Mopar power steering was never intended to be a performance unit but was modified to be one.
However.... I had less than 15.000 miles on the FF box so I did expect a bit better life from it. I've driven a couple of cars with the Stage 2 unit and in retrospect, that is a better setup to live with if one were to choose a rebuild.
The Borgeson is almost double the cost and will be out of the reach for many people but the feel is far better. It gives owners an experience similar to a modern car.

I'm glad you're happy with the box. Nice writeup too. Next time the car is apart I'll add a zerk fitting to the coupler adapter - good idea.

Thank you. I took the idea from Mopar Action magazine tech editor Rick Ehrenberg. He used to post here occasionally.
My writing style with captions is a bit like his work as well.

Can you expand on this?

Is the 0 to 100 steering effort?
Over assisted stock is 0, too easy?
FF at 100 is to hard, like it's not even PS?
If that's the case, 35 seems a little low?

"Steering effort can be described as follows.....If you rate a stock power steering car at a 0 and my Stage 3 box with Fast Ratio arms at 100, the Borgeson effort comes in around 35. It is power assisted but not boosted.
It feels much like a late model car where it is comfortable to steer without feeling like a workout."

Sorry if I didn't state it clear enough.
In an arbitrary and unscientific scale, let's say a stock Mopar with an overboosted power steering car rates a 0. My Firm Feel Stage 3 with Fast Ratio arms was at the other end of the scale so I rate that as a 100. The Borgeson feels about 1/3 as hard to turn as my old setup. Some of that is due to me returning to the stock length Pitman and Idler arms. Those really did increase the effort to steer.
In short, my old setup did feel like manual steering.

Greg thx for the write up
could you show a pic looking down from the top to show coupler attachment
and alignment
are you bringing the car to de anza next week

thx Jim

Here is the condition of the car right now.

The steering coupler at rest is at a slight angle but not much. I centered the steering wheel by removing it and clocking the adapter.

Sad thing....The car was running great and while out test driving after the steering box installation, it started clattering and running rough. The oil pressure was fine so I relashed the valves. It ran quieter but still ran poorly. I pulled the intake and found 3 lobes going bad on the cam. Now with the engine out and cam & lifters on the bench, it looks like 7 lobes were going bad!

that sucks been there
i hate to even ask what type of cam and the manufacturer
are you still going to make it to de anza or going to skip it
i probably will be selling some stuff

I will be there as a spectator. I thought of selling stuff but I'm not sure yet.
The cam is a Mopar Performance 528 solid. The cam lost 7 lobes. It might have been oil related. I had a Lunati solid in there for awhile that still looked great when I pulled it. Last year I changed to a synthetic oil. Respected Mopar engine guy Dwayne Porter said that high detergent oils are bad for flat tappet engines because they can scrub the zinc off the surfaces instead of letting them in place to protect things. Also, he advised against using additives like I was using....the Comp Cams break in supplement. He said often times, the unique chemistries of the oil and the additives don't cooperate with each other and they can actually cancel each other out. This can make matters far worse than having no zinc in the oil at all.

good info
i like your homemade engine trans cart
ill see you next sunday

Good time to replaced the smashed header now that you have the extra room around the steering box. Are you going to stick with a flat tappet cam or step up to a hyd roller?

Smashed header....Yeah, if I wanted to spend $1000 for a set of headers, now would be the time. I have found that with the lift, header replacement isn't that hard to do. Maybe some time later.
I thought that I was solidly in the roller cam category but I have backed off from that. I knew it was more expensive but holy smokes....I'd be spending just shy of $3000 for what I'm told would be a minimal power increase. Add in the risk of over-revving and dealing with failed retrofit hydraulic roller lifters....No thanks. Cam. Lifters. Pushrods. Timing set with roller bearing, Cam button. Timing cover. Distributor drive. Did I miss anything? It would be a huge stroke of luck if all those parts were actually in stock right now too.
Dwayne Porter agreed with you, Andy...The solid flat tappet cams can be hard to beat. I have a Lunati that I ran for a few years that still is in excellent shape and the lifters were stored in order. Dwayne thinks my oil was possibly to blame for the failure of this 528. I measured the lobes today. 10 lobes lost.....I had a 1.56 number on 4 lobes and less than that on the other 10.

Damn. That's a lot of shrapnel. How does the rest of the motor look? I rolled two lobes on a flat tappet in a SB once and ended up having to do a complete rebuild.

With all that steel powder going thru the engine you'll want to pull the oil pump and clean it/check it over as well as drop the oil pan and manually clean it out. You'll probably find some steel sludge in the pan.