Having just cut the steering rack mounts out from putting them in as the book said (far too high), what angle do you suggest I weld them in at now?

Adam

i would wait till you have all the weight on the car and make the brackets so the side rods are parralel to the ground,slot the bolt holes as well to get it just right,it makes a lot of diffo to handling if its wrong

ditto conrod, but i think that the rods should be parallel to the lower bones rather than the ground (nearly the same thing i guess usually...)

Better get on with the other bits then!

Did you folk shorten your rack or bolt it in as is? If you bolted in unmodified, do you get any wierd bump steer issues?

I'm strongly considering cutting my rack in half and sending it to the machine shop for shortening. Having never driven a Locost, I assumed the bump steer must be horrible.

--Thanks, Chris

The escort rack is nearly perfect for the locost. The sierra rack needs shortening befor being put in an indy etc...

Really? I have a standard book chassis and my rack looks to be around 3" too long. But I suppose this depends on the rack mount location and the donor uprights as well. I used an MX-5 donor.

So no horrible bump steer issues then?

Chris,
Ditto Conrod 100%. Bump steer issues, yes. Do a search for bump steer on this forum and read all about it!

Speaking from experience the escort rack is too long. You can minimise bump steer to an acceptable degree, within the range of suspension travel, but it's a compromise.
It's sensitive to careful positioning of the standard escort rack. Otherwise it can be very twitchy.

Dave,
Was about to order a LHD Escort rack but note your comment that it is a compromise. Is the shortened Sierra a better option.
If my thinking is right, a UK "rear steer" RHD rack would work for a "front steer" LHD lcost when inverted/turned around. Has anyone seen a rear steer rack in the scrappies that they would think is perfect "if only it were a front steer" e.g. Ka, Puma, Smart, whatever.
Cheers,
Alf

Alf:

Can you not find a rear steer RHD rack in NA? Most FWR cars came with this. I considered a Honda CRX rack and planned on flipping it.

--Chris

Alf:

Can you not find a rear steer RHD rack in NA? Most FWR cars came with this. I considered a Honda CRX rack and planned on flipping it.

--Chris

I think that it has been discussed in the past that a RHD mini rack is suitable for use in a lhd car , MGB is also supposed to be a suitable donor and is front steer. I have considered shortening an escort rack as i have some bump steer but found that it is not a major issue .
Paul

quote:

---

Originally posted by SilverFox
Dave,
Was about to order a LHD Escort rack but note your comment that it is a compromise. Is the shortened Sierra a better option.
If my thinking is right, a UK "rear steer" RHD rack would work for a "front steer" LHD lcost when inverted/turned around. Has anyone seen a rear steer rack in the scrappies that they would think is perfect "if only it were a front steer" e.g. Ka, Puma, Smart, whatever.
Cheers,
Alf

---

I don't know how feasible it is but I'd thought of connecting the column extension to the rack by a sprocket and chain arrangement. You could vary the ratio without cutting the rack up but you would need to support it with a couple of bearings along its length. I did a sketch to remind me of it and this thread just clicked it. You could use an inverted rack and still have right hand drive. It would get you round the collapsible column thing as well.

[Edited on 27/10/04 by Peteff]
Rescued attachment chainsteer.jpg

I once saw a lancia hf delta turbo with a chain going across to convert steering to rhd.
In the flesh it looked SO frightening. Nothing would induce me into that vehicle.
Rationalising the initial gut reaction of horror - I guess it's cause there's a lot of links with no failsafe - any little thing would simply result in total lack of steering. Your normal column UJs would still transmit torque even when almost totally sh@gged.
Maybe it's an unfounded prejudice. Still makes me shudder though.......
Bob

Chris,
Other than the Brit car collector group, the only RHD cars I see is the odd JDM front clip brought in from Japan. I have a Triumph rack per the original 7, but it is 27" between knuckles and difficult to shorten so it's no good for the Locost. The MGB might work but they are not exactly a dime-a-dozen. Was hoping to look at a Suzuki RHD Swift next. I had a faint hope that the UK scrappies may have something cheap. May try Andy Hewing,
Alf

I was in the same boat last month.

I suggest you look into the North American Civic SI or CRX SI steering racks. They are pretty close to what you need. You can flip them upside down and it should work well.

Look at it like this: The rack will cost you half what postage would cost from the UK. Give it a try if nothing else.

Also have a look at the NA festiva and Meto bubbly cars.

Thanks Chris,
If I understand you correctly, the LHD rear steer CRX will work in LHD front steer when inverted. I will go out looking - the CRX was a bit of a rust bucket so there should be a few in the wrecking yards.
Thx again,
Alf