For a Haynes Roadster, how much of an issue is having the Escort rack unmodified? I think the book says it should be shortened to remove bump steer, but is that a common practise or is it reasonably safe to leave it as is?

I am using MX5 NA uprights but I believe it's the distance between inner joints that dictates bump steer, rather than the uprights themselves?

As I understand it,with the rack centred.Draw a line through the centre of the top and bottom wishbone mounting bolts.This line ideally needs to pass through the track rod ball joint.Bump steer is unnerving and can be dangerous depending on when it occurs.Worst situation I incurred was halfway through a bend at speed and hit a pothole,the car jumped towards the kerb/hedge.Hope that helps

AS I understand it, the distance between the pivot joints of the inner ends of the track rods should be the same distance apart as the inner pivot joints of the front lower wishbobones. For the MK Indy, MK narrowed the Sierra rack to achieve this.


[img]
Lower wishbone pivots [/img]

I think a lot of Haynes have been built with unmodified Escort MK1/2 steering rack without any problem.
That is my case and it was fine. With Sierra front upright anyway.
It was not a racing car though.

Same for me...Having been out a few times now not once have I noticed any bump steer. Unmodified standard MK2 rack and Sierra uprights