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12/31/2006 - UniSteer Rack and Pinion, Mock Motor In |
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 I worked on getting the column prepared so I could insure I had the steering shaft routing ready before I drop in a block/head and see how it is going to work. It took an awful lot of sanding/grinding to get the double u-joint and bearing to fit onto the steering shaft. |
 Here the shaft is installed and the support bearing has been pressed in. Since the inner tube had a plastic support bushing that was originally exactly where the new bearing is, I used the the old plastic centering bushing, ground off the tabs that pressed it up the tube to keep the inner tube from moving around. |
 Here is the double u-joint pinned to the steering shaft with the included roll pin. They even included a proper sized drill bit to make it work. Of course it's always fun to try to drill through a tube. I drilled one side of the u-joint in the drill press, lined it up on the tube and piloted one side of the shaft. I then drilled the pilot through the shaft, then the full side hole and piloted the other side of the u-joint inside. I then went back to the drill press to get the u-joint hold drilled. |
 Here is a more accurate alignment of the steering shaft. I still have to the hone out the heim joint / support bearing provided so the steering shaft will fit through so I can get the support bearing lined up and installed. You can see the support bearing bracket mounted to the frame. Obviously header choice is going to be limited due to the center location of the pinion. |
 Here is a close up of the double u-joint and the steering tube coming through the firewall. Apparently the goal is to keep the tube as close to the firewall as possible to keep the u-joint angles down. |
 All is not well in the tie rod end area though. Not sure why this would make it into the kit when it's clearly marked NOT COMPLETED. Looks like it's only missing the boot that covers the joint but I haven't opened it yet until I talk with Uni-Steer. Of course this is one of the end for the 70 model which I need with the 70+ spindles I'm using. |
 After some honing I finally was able to get the DD shaft to fit through the support bearing and finished checking how things would line up. The adjustability in the bracket seems to work but it it somewhat limiting. |
 I needed to drop in the mocked up motor to build the TKO cross member and I was too curious on how/if the Headman headers would work with the rack so I dropped in the motor. |
 Just another angle of motor install. It actually went in very easy without the tranny. |
 Once installed here is how the rack looks from the drivers side with a Cobra T pan. Plenty of clearance. I do have 1/2" spacers between the block and motor mount but have used them for header clearance for a long time. |
 I was pleasantly surprised that the steering shaft wasn't routed directly through one of the header tubes... Actually I was amazed since it really appeared they were not going to work. I think I can make them work with just some minor massaging to clear the shaft. |
 With the mock up motor in I couldn't resist dropping on the intake, alternator, etc to see how things will fit/look. You can see the braided line routing I plan on using. The high pressure side will be on the passenger side and the return back through the original fuel line routing. |
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