Rack and pinion

I'm gonna change out the steering box on my 1971 VW pan based wide body but wondered if anyone has ever converted to rack and pinion and if so what was the result.
Looks like a new steering box is around $90 plus shipping so makes me wonder what it cost to convert and would it be money well spent or a wast of time.

Thanks

How serious do you want to get with it?
I did a complete conversion with a Baja box and some creative welding. It works very well, even without a dampener.
I also used drop spindles and VW tie-rods; out the door cost was less than $200.00.

Did this take a lot of welding and fabrication, or was it largely a bolt-in conversion? I have always wanted to got the R&P route, but I don't have the skills for a lot of cutting and welding.

Since your car went from VW steering to R&P you should be able to compare the two fairly easily. Is the R&P significantly lighter and more responsive, or is it just a matter of degree? What about bump-steer problems?

Cory,

Good Morning.

What is second picture illustrating? Below the Steering Rack, you have a link and Rod end. Was that link & Rod End part of your old steering linkage?

Nice Job.

Jack

Hmmm... After looking more closely at the pics I see that your installation wouldn't work on a Beck because of the different way in which the front beam is attached to the chassis. The Beck doesn't have the center tunnel. Instead, the chassis tubes connect at the shock towers. Rats. Anyway, nice job.

The rack has been modified a little. In the first picture, the rack sits as it looked when we opened the package. The bungs on the bottom of it were cut off and replaced with a piece of steering shaft. The steering shaft has ends on it cut to the VW tie-rod threads, and the ends are in turn plugged with eyes cut from other tie-rod pieces. The u-pockets came from a VW Beetle.

The real work was making it fit on top of the tunnel in an effort to keep the tie-rod runs level from one side to the other. We plasma-cut a plate and mounted it on the tunnel directly behind the fuel cell. The bolt holes dictated the height and the shape of the plate, with the inside contour for the top of the tunnel having been done in cardboard first. It took a day to complete.


Turning the wheel from top center to bottom center, one-half turn, is a complete turn of the wheels. The steering is so tight, and the wheels track so well, that there's no need for a dampener.

Cory,

Do you think your rack & pinion setup would clear a VW Gas tank installed in the standard position on a Pan Based Speedster?

If not what would not clear?

Thanks
Greg B

Greg, in my case the fuel tank wasn't a factor. Let me do a little homework and get back to you.
That RHD car Miles has still hasn't sold, so I'll make some measurements and let you know. It's CMC-based.

Pain -Well, we can fab up just about anything. We have the plasma, torchs welders etc.
Point is I'ed rather spend the time and $200 or so bucks then the time and $90-$100 on a new old school streering box. Do you have any further pics.
Bad news. My son just finished inventing fabing and installing a turbo system from scratch for his 1985 BMW toy. I'm afraid he's now got his eye on the Speedster. His research is coming through on papers. Oh my! I think I'm in trouble...LOL

Hey, guys. Lane and Greg, it looks to me like it will fit both makes -- but the brake fluid reservoir plumbing might be in the way on the CMC.
Lane, The tunnel is only used as an attachment perch for the steel plate. There are a number of ways to weld metal into the car; you might be better served to contact Carey and see what he would recommend for components, but I'll be happy to lend a hand.
Greg, I think your spindle setup might complicate matters, but not unrecoverably.
Looking at the page in the more current of the two CMC build manuals ( https://www.speedsterowners.com/library/cmcmanual2/images/cmc53.jpg ), there should be enough room to put one in, although how you'd weld the plate in and fit the u-joints and shafts together would be a tough call without being right in front of your frame head with the wheels off.
Is there a chance you could turn your wheels all the way to the left or right and measure the height directly over the top of your tunnel to the underside of your fuel tank? And then, maybe an eyeball from one side to the other to see if you have a straight shot to run the tie rods across?
If you repeated my experiment, this is the rack you'd be trying to fit, with modifications to the bungs to incorporate VW Heim joints:
http://www.mooreparts.com/AC425155.html
They're common on heavier-duty off-road VW projects, apparently, and the $165 here is within ten bucks of what mine cost.

Cory, I've been admiring the pics of your R&P install. What a nice job you did, and at a price that should be tempting to others.

2 cents worth.

Thanks, Jim! Glad you're back.
The Wrench did the lion's share of this assembly, but he made sure my hands were in it enough to do it again if I ever wanted to -- in a Bug or whatever. I'm confident I could duplicate this.
I made the templates, plasma-cut the pieces and did most of the finsih work to make it presentable (which may be why it looks so much rougher than the rest of the car), but he did the welding and measurements.
There's a whole lot more to the Hoopty now than when you went under the weather -- sure is nice to hear from you!

For you guys interested in trying this, I dredged these photos up from my May, 2006 folder.
The first picture is all of the pieces laid out on the bench before we got started with putting it in place. The rest are sort of obvious, with the exception of details and math. I'm happy to help anyone who wants to do it.

This just popped up. Might fit the bill with a minor mod or two. Seller's only gonna get ten bucks at the moment. The auction ends today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/914-Porsche-Steering-Rack_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ46093QQhashZitem300053944366QQihZ020QQitemZ300053944366QQrdZ1