Rack and pinion.... which one and why?

[RyanG85]

I'm going with rack and pinion steering on my 65 Restomod. Looking for opinions on which one from those of you with real world experience. I'm leaning towards the TCP manual rack. My main concerns are turning radius and bump steer. Open to all suggestions and opinions. Plan on going with an aftermarket tilt column also.

Thanks.

 

[Horseplay]

I've been wrestling with this same decision for well over a year. I think I have read every post, comment, review, install thread ever written about mustang racks. I've talked to owners of all the various brands, ridden and driven some cars and have come away with no clear winner. There are a couple I wouldn't touch for free but there are also a few owners swear by. There's a lot of personal preference in this area.
I was all set to take the plunge and pick up a TCP unit until I came across the Borgeson power steering box. As it is still relatively new to our cars I haven't yet made the purchase as I am trying to find actual opinion from someone who is running one. This is proven tech and has been for a long time. To me, it has me thinking this might be the better way to go altogether.

Here's a link

https://www.borgeson.com/mustang.html

 

[RyanG85]

Thats an interesting option... I like the simplicity of the manual rack better but shouldnt run into the usual rack problems with the conversion box.

 

[PJ Moran]

You've probably read more than one post from me on this subject. I went with Unisteer back when they had first come out with their kits and were promoting it (discounts) on VMF.

I wanted power steering. Period. The first thing you have to decide is power or manual. Manual is cheaper and simpler. Power is nicer for normal driving.

The Unisteer kit is harder to install than they made it sound. I had to do lots of trimming of my car and their cradle to get it to work on my car. I'm not crazy about how it mounts to the car, but it's OK.

I went with an Ididit tilt column, too (which they included in the kit I bought). Either the column was too long or the intermediate shaft was too long - one had to be shortened. It would have been a ton easier to shorten the IS, but shortening the column resulted in better U-joint angles. So, I sent the column back to Ididit to have it shortened about 2".

The Ididit column tube is narrower than the stock column, so I had to make a sleeve out of PVC pipe so that I could use my stock firewall mount and seal. That turned out really slick, but it's another heads-up for those going that route.

It's done and in and looks and works great, really. No leaks, no problems, feel is just right. I probably lost some turning sharpness, but not enough to complain about. I haven't measured it, but just looking at the geometry, bump steer is minimal.

I bet the TCP setup is better in most ways, but it's WAY more expensive. "Worth it" is a personal decision.

If you go power, you have to make some decisions about pumps. Stock Ford pumps don't work well with GM racks (Unisteer). I have no idea what TCP says on the matter, except that you "have to" use their KRC pump. I have a March serpentine pulley setup and was thereby forced to choose between Ford and Saginaw pumps. That made my decision easy, and the Saginaw pump works great. If you're not dealing with "custom" pulley/bracket setups, you can adapt Unisteer's pump (they even include hoses) or TCP's pump just as well on their kit.

If I had it to do over, I'd again go with Unisteer strictly because of my March / Saginaw situation. I would not let the rack dictate what kind of bracket/pulley system I had to use. The TCP system might work with a Saginaw pump, but you'd have to try it yourself to find out.

 

[67rtmcshelby]

bought the Unisteer manual r&p and sold it before getting it out of the box because of the install problems I read about.
Went with stock manual steering with Shelby quick steering and 1" drop and camber kit.
Steers great...except when not moving of course

 

[RyanG85]

Thanks for the detailed write up. I'm looking for a clean installation without much modification. I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with the manual set up. I like the road feel better and being a small block car, I should be fine. One question on the PS racks, do they have a heavier feel than a stock PS Mustang? I hated the feel of the stock power steering. Steering effort was way too light and car seemed to almost wander.

 

[Shaun]

Thanks for the detailed write up. I'm looking for a clean installation without much modification. I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with the manual set up. I like the road feel better and being a small block car, I should be fine. One question on the PS racks, do they have a heavier feel than a stock PS Mustang? I hated the feel of the stock power steering. Steering effort was way too light and car seemed to almost wander.

If you went power, use a KRC pump. They have interchangeable flow valves so you can tune the assist for more feel/less assist or more assist/less feel.