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So everybody is familiar with the steering issues with the first gens. My daughters 83's steering box was especially bad, probably over adjusted by the PO. Anyway I've done everything I knew to help, including replacing the steering box with a used one. Nothing really helped and it was so bad that I was hesitant to send her out in it , especially since Deals Gap Rotary Rally is soon and she would be driving the mountain roads. Im confident in her driving, but .... you know how it is being a dad.LOL
I was hopeful that a solution would become available, and it has. MTheory,inc (I think thats right) here on the forum, He is a talented fabricator and has been studying this problem for years and has engineered a solution that is bolt in, maintains the stock steering and suspension geometry, including ackerman, and does not require any mods to the vehicle other than trimming the steering shaft. It maintains the original rear steer configuration, bolts in to the original mounting locations for the steering box and idler arm, uses the stock steering knuckles, is compatible with AC, and is completely removable should you at some time in the future wish to go back to stock steering. ( can't imagine that ever happening, but it is possible)
So as soon as it became available I pounced and thought I would make a thread of the install. BTW, It completely transforms her car. It finally has the smooth, precise steering that these cars should have had from the factory, with no weird steering characteristics.
So I removed the hood, unbolted the AC Compressor, prepping to remove the steering box
After the fact I realized that I could have saved a ton of work by cutting the steering shaft off of the box with a sawzall or cut off wheel prior to removal. This would have eliminated removing the hood, battery and unbolting the AC compressor. Oh well........
Then I removed the steering wheel , ignition switch and combination switch:
got the box, drag link and idler arm assembly out:
next step is trimming the steering shaft, and drilling a dimple for the u-joint set screw.
,
at this point it is a simple procedure to bolt in the frame with the rack, using the stock fasteners from the steering box and idler arm, connecting the tie rod ends and the u joint at the rack and getting a front end alignment. Here it is on my work bench. You can see the bracket that secures the lower end of the steering shaft. it bolts onto the studs of the brake master on the inside of the firewall. A tip here is to leave the mounting bolts loose till you have the u-joint slipped over the shaft on the rack.
Here is a pic of where the frame bolts to the frame on the right side. Plenty of clearance for the stock exhaust manifold. I had other under vehicle pics, but they were all too dark. (Pardon the lack of cleanliness .
It totally transformed her car. on the first drive I could not stop grinning. there is absolutely no slop. None. Very smooth with low steering effort too!! It also turns small circles in the parking lot, turning radius is really good.It took me about a day to install, could have been less if I had pulled the sawzall out rather than removing the hood, battery and AC compressor. It was really easy to install.
I was so impressed that I bought a second one and installed it on my modified car, Here it is along with my daughters car that got the first kit,
It has coil overs. roll center correction etc. etc.etc......The kit fit / installed / and functions equally well in both my daughters totally stock 83, and my 79 with highly modified suspension. It is a really well thought out kit.
here is a pic of the underside of that one:
These pics make it look like the rack is close to the oil pan, but it is not actually that close, it has adequate clearance every where, including underneath the oil pan. I feel like these cars now have steering on par with a modern sports car.
I would just like to say that when it is in good condition the original steering box is not as bad as some people make it out to be. In fact i have a another 79 model with the steering box that is good enough that I don't notice it when I drive, so for now it will remain stock, but I know that there will come a day when it will wear out and with no real way to deal with that it is good to know that there is a solution.
I want to thank everyone who has purchased the kit. It has been a massive success.
Due to the excellent reception of the SA/FB rack kit I'm gonna do a limited run of my performance transmission mount/crossmember.
The crossmember is modeled after the oem 84-85 that incorporates bushings on the outer ends so it's fully isolated.
Two main things this mount does is it restores the factory transmission output shaft angle in relation to the pinion to the correct angle (most factory mounts are collapsed do to age and heat.
The other is it restores that proper sport car shifter feel without overdoing it with a short throw shifter giving clean crisp shifts from the factory oem shifter.
As always it's completely bolt in with no modifications to our Rx7s that can't be undone.
It breaks down like this.
OEM Transmission
79-83
84-85
Turbo 2 transmission (86-88)
84-85
79-83
The "holy grail" of rack & pinion conversions is finding a rack that replaces the center link and uses the same tie rods.
edit: And to retain the same geometry the inner tie rods on the rack need to be where the stock ones connect to the center link.
Back in the day one of the first rack kits was by CP Racing and they used a similar design with bracing towards the front, but it got in the way of the oil drain plug.
It used a VW Rabbit rack.
Is Mr. Fabricator going to post in this thread. I think of number of us with sloppy steering would probably be placing orders riht now as log as he was well-known board member with a good reputation. Thanks for the review and pictures,
@rwatson5651 How much and where do I send the money? Wow! You kept this a secret from us the whole time. Shame on you! No beer for you! Just kidding, still no beer.
Guys, I can vouch for what Dr. Watson said (in this case). I found the fabricator through a different path. My Miata shop (Mazcare) put me on to this rack and pinion setup. For any of you guys that know Charlie, he told me about this rack and pinion setup. This is a quality piece. Other than trimming the steering shaft, it is completely reversible. But you won't want to. This rack plugs right in and connects with the stock steering knuckles. I have after market control arms (T3) in my car and it plugged right in. Driving the car is like driving a modern rack and pinion steering. You won't need a power setup, the ratio is is quicker than stock in near center, but not difficult to turn. I had a FB power steering box with no pump in my car for awhile. This is much more drivable at low speeds. If you want to know how tight it is ask Ray Green, he was surprised how responsive it was while sitting in the car in parking lot. This kit has evolved over a few years and address many of the drivability and installation issues with previous kits. I second Robert's recommendation! If you are looking for modern steering solution for your 1st Gen contact MTheoryInc@yahoo.com.
You should PM me for that information, I dont want to break any forum rules.
For in-depth pics and specs search it on eBay.
If anyone has specific questions on functionality, fitment, or installation I'm here.
Kit is all inclusive.
This is the third generation rack setup I've built starting back in 2005. They were all for my rx7 and in no way bolt in deal. All of them worked very well but due to age of rack used (dodge Omni) the internal bushing is NLA I moved on to the more modern Honda rack.
The second setup I built was bolt in with the new Honda rack but difficult to build.
After Dr Watsons investigation into the second version he had to have one also. The second version was visual stunning but the daunting task of building another lead me to build the third version here now. Which due to testing delayed Dr Watson almost 1year before he would get his.
What car does the rack come from, and does it need to be modified, like cutting threads off the ends?
I remember a complaint about the CP Racing rack kit was excessive bump steer, did that play into the rack selection?
You're welcome, I've been the steward of my 85 gslse for 22 years now and for me the only weak spot was the steering box.
88-91 Honda manual rack, zero modification to inner tie rods and off the shelf supplied outer tie rods. Everything is off the shelf and readily available, no modifications to them.
Tie rod selection played more of a roll than rack did with potential bumpsteer issues.
The kit requires 2 cuts, 1 on the oem steering shaft and the 2 on the steering shaft cover tube.
All components of this kit bolt in place of the existing steering box/idler arm and drag link including using existing mounting holes.
Works with virtually every engine/exhaust combination from 12a stock to 13b rew single turbo.
Any wheel combination from 13 to whatever.
Keep your air conditioning!
It's been installed on a completely stock 83 12a to 85 gslse zero rubber in the suspension 13b rew with a few different combinations in between.
This whole thing really kinda transpired organically as I had little thought to build one other than for myself.
Because the last thing you want to do when you get home is the same thing you did all day at work...
Some of the more notable places I've worked is a shop in Atlanta called AmericanV8 that specializes building 67-69 Camaros when we built the "twin engine 69 camaro", Google that.
please don't ask why and no that's not an illusion. 😆?
Can either MTheory or rwatson please take a pic of the steering shaft at the firewall?
My car has the RE-Speed rack kit and I'm wondering if mine is cut down too far.
I'm considering switching over because while the rack feels good, I'd like the tighter turning circle back.
Also the tension rods were replaced with custom control arms that can't be replaced since RE-Speed is no longer around, though that's not too concerning since they're tubular and plenty beefy.
To use this kit you will need cut the inner oem steering box shaft at exactly 28-1/4, the cut is to be made on the flat at the transition from round to 17mm DD.
If it was to short one could make it the correct length (within reason) by using the supplied collapsible shaft repair kit.
I thought the Respeed kit supplied a new lower shaft that slide into the top oem shaft?
That's correct. There's a piece that slides over the stock shaft and attaches at the nylon collapsing pins and makes it 3/4" DD shaft from there to out of the firewall.
His pics on ebay look great. Looks very well designed and fitment looks spot-on. I have been looking for a used ReSpeed kit for years... I'm so glad MTheoryInc is making these and making them WELL with the factory geometry and common parts.
That's correct. There's a piece that slides over the stock shaft and attaches at the nylon collapsing pins and makes it 3/4" DD shaft from there to out of the firewall.
Do you have the original oem lower shaft?
Possibly still attached to the steering box.
Okay stupid question time: Is it possible to cut the steering shaft with it still in the car? I'm a little scared of my combo switches falling apart from old age trying to take the shaft out.
Okay stupid question time: Is it possible to cut the steering shaft with it still in the car? I'm a little scared of my combo switches falling apart from old age trying to take the shaft out.
Unfortunately it will have to be removed temporarily while you prepare the inner shaft and outer cover on the bench.
03-10-22, 11:11 AM
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