Electric power steering and Rack and Pinion

[pantera928]

Just a curiosity question. Have any of you tried electric steering or rack and pinion on your N & A Avanti IIs?

It looks to me that adding electric to the factory steering just provides more assistance but doe not improve responsiveness. Correct?

Is there a consensus on a steering rack that can be added to these cars and if so, with the existing hydraulics or electric assist?

 

Thanks

[John D]

crickets... I don't think there's any magic swap/mod here. The 64 Commander 6 I had (same basic suspension in good shape) became much more responsive with a big (1-5/16") front sway bar adapted in from an Olds W30. Short steering arms add responsiveness and PS helps overcome the added effort that they cause. Heard someone say they liked soft springs and big sway bars in these. 

 

[pantera928]

18 hours ago, John D said:

crickets... I don't think there's any magic swap/mod here. The 64 Commander 6 I had (same basic suspension in good shape) became much more responsive with a big (1-5/16") front sway bar adapted in from an Olds W30. Short steering arms add responsiveness and PS helps overcome the added effort that they cause. Heard someone say they liked soft springs and big sway bars in these. 

 

Yep, just crickets. I was hoping someone out there had tried something.

[John D]

when I first saw our RQB2978 advertised, "rack and pinion" caught my eye so i had to check it out. Well actually it has an entire front suspension/chassis from a c4 'vette spliced to the original frame. Handles awesome. 

[pantera928]

How much modification was required to do all of that? Got any pictures?

Is the front end lowered?

[AD]

There was an extensive write-up on electric power steering on this forum a couple of years ago~

 

 

[John D]

good EPS writeup. FWIW the ones Toyota used in early Prius and other small cars have a ECM default mode that gives a pretty good fixed assist rate. I got a complete setup with ECM out of a 2010 corolla out of the local pick n pull for under $100. Contemplating use on my 59 stude pickup but I have to convert from column to floor shift first.

[John D]

23 hours ago, pantera928 said:

How much modification was required to do all of that? Got any pictures?

Is the front end lowered?

A buttload of work was done. I spent about half an hour looking at it all on a lift before I test drove it. Yes the wheel well arches are re-arched to 63/64 dimensions, and body dropped back down. At the Bell museum last month I measured several Stude Avantis and this one is over an inch lower to the ground (from top of fender and top of arch). 245/50r16's. 

[pantera928]

Might be more than i want to do at this time. I have a lot of projects going on.

 

Yours is over 1 inch lower to the ground than a Stude version?

 

Thanks

[John D]

lol yes. I was beefing up the rear springs to better match up with the c4 front stiffness, and it seemed high in the back. So I was eager to measure some stock 63-64's, it's more low in front. Tops of wheel arches are about 29" high all around (give or take a bit) on every stock one I measured at the museum, including another one driven there, our Veronica is 27+ish up front. 

Diff Pinion angle was poorly set up the way i bought it (worth another thread) so I dropped the back an inch with tapered blocks to also get back under 29, I'm pretty happy with it for now. 

[John D]

by the way it was real easy to hit the x member hard on speed bumps with the old soft Lark rear leafs, but the stiffer ones seem to have cured that. So yes she's low.