37 Ford Build...........Continuation

[kwhizz]

This has got nothing to do with any of the Muscle cars talked about on this site........But....Just in case you ever become exposed to these issues this will help in the Knowledge Base.....There is a link at the bottom of the page to the original build for the "New" guy's here.......

Just for what it's worth to anyone else doing this type of a swap in a Street Rod or other with a Mustang II type suspension........I had a issue that it seemed to be VooDoo magic that nobody (Suspension manufacturers included) seemed to be able to address correctly and really understand.........Now.....these guys....Heidt's, TCI etc all sell their kits with the option of Power Steering.........Now......The problem comes in with the GM pumps putting out way too much flow and pressure for the Mustang II racks....The II rack uses 2 GPM and 900 PSI.........the GM pumps (depending upon which one you have) flow from 2-3.5 GPM and 1100 - 1800 PSI.........so.....There is a major mismatch and the car are way too "Twitchy" at highway speed.....so....when you call and ask what to do they recommend the Heidt's bleed off valve or a flow restrictor out of the pump.......these Band-aid fixes basically take the sharp edge off the problem but don't really solve it.........
With that said......I did the Band-aid fix and was able to drive the car many miles, but......at Highway speed you had to be aware to the "Quick" steering sensitivity of the car.......so....The comfort level of driving the car was O.K......But it really wasn't O.K....
The car was so perfect in every other aspect that I just couldn't leave it alone and I had to educate myself to get into the world of this VooDoo magic to resolve this issue...
Now.....I've got the GTO Power Steering pump on my car which has the 2-2.5 GPM flow and 1100 PSI.......The normal Mustang II Power Steering rack is 2 1/2 turns lock to lock......after researching a little bit I found out that the 84-86 Ford Thunderbird Rack is a bolt in replacement for the II....and it is built to operate at the GM pump pressure and it's 3 turns lock to lock..........
I just swaped the racks out and went out for a test ride.........absolutely "Perfect"....I don't understand why these guy's that sell this stuff don't have this knowledge at their fingertips.....or supply the T-Bird racks with their kits....Now....If I was building a Auto cross car the T-Bird rack might be a little slow.....But...for the normal street driven car the steering is just too quick.....

















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