001mustang

Unisteer manual rack and pinion 67 mustang new design.

Removing ford long shaft box:
No need to cut shaft, remove headers or jack engine.
Remove long shaft from box while box is in the car.
Can remove box once shaft has been taken out.

LCA bolts:
Position LCA cam bolts such that nut is near front of car. Other wise the rack cradle will not mount.

First thing:
Make sure you have correct tie rods. My kit came with 65-66 tie rods. I needed 67-69 tie rods. Steve at unisteer sent correct tie rods no charge
and no hassle.

Mounting 5/16” rack cradle:
Discard ½” bolts and replace with ½” studs and nuts.
Alignment shop must drop rack to access LCA bolts.
Shop less likely to ruin frame threads with their 400 ft/lb impact driver if studs are used.

Firewall to column support for new design unisteer rack:
Fabricate support from heavy sheet metal.
Secure column in the upper right firewall position from drivers perspective
to minimize u joint binding. Steepest u joint angle on new design is at pinion.
Don’t drill any new holes in the firewall.
If firewall threads are stripped you can use ¼” bolts.
Position steering wheel as far forward as you can live with.

Pinching stainless U joints:
Use antiseeze to reduce risk of galling.
My u joints pinched the shaft at 25 ft/lbs.
I was afraid to tighten any more.

Pinion shaft safety thrust washer:
It is critical that the u joint pinches pinion shaft. If u joint drops down on pinion shaft steering will lock. Not fun. I placed a washer on pinion shaft before installing u joint. The u joint does not touch the washer. In the event the pinion u joint ever drops the safety thrust washer will prevent binding.
Other u joints can not bind due to narrow indexing slot. The pinion has a wide indexing slot.

Cutting DD shaft:
With rack mounted and steering column mounted cut DD shaft as required
for no binding.
I had to cut about ½” off my DD shaft.

Full size starter:
My full sized starter had a long 1/8” machine screw hanging down. I had to reposition the screw after it snagged my boot. Other than that the full sized starter clears fine. Unisteer Steve sent me a new boot no charge.

351W JBA headers:
Headers did not interfere with the install.

Z bar:
Z bar clears perfect.
I temporarily removed Z bar to facilitate install.

Unisteer notes:
I like the heavy duty 5/16” cradle that serves as rack and car frame support. I was afraid of racks in which rack itself served as car frame support; those types require correct alignment or else the rack can bind.

I like the very heavy Stainless u joints and stainless DD bar.

Unisteer like some others don’t have proper 67 firewall to column support. Have to make your own. Good thing about making your own is you control column placement to minimize binding.

Unisteer new design has approximately original turning radius.

I think unisteer has a good foundation but is missing some details.
If I bought another rack I would buy unisteer.
If I could install long shaft ford box out in one piece I would install a rebuilt ford box unless I was completely upgrading all suspension.

shelbymustangdan

"If I could install long shaft ford box out in one piece I would install a rebuilt ford box unless I was completely upgrading all suspension."

Does your this mean that you feel the unisteer system doesn't give you any additional benefits over a rebuilt orginal steering box? Do you feel your unisteer would be "equal" in performance to a rebuilt orginal steering box?

I am completely on the fence about upgrading to a rack one day, more so for cost than anything else. I would hate to spend the money only to have what could have been had with a rebuilt original box.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this!

001mustang

My 64 1/2 has power ford box and I am happy as a clam. Fun ride.

I would be satisfied with rebuilt manual ford box.
Took so much effort to finally get leak free headers I did not wanna touch headers.
That's why I installed rack.

I know a rebuilt Ford box will last many years with out a problem. So much grease in there it will never dry out. Just don't let water get in the box.

Only time will tell how durable the rack will be. What happens when grease dries up in u joints and column support bearings? Unisteer has a lifetime warranty. Will they honor warranty. Maybe.

Right now my rack is a bit tight. Two sources say rack will loosen up. TCP said it takes 1000 miles for the gears to lap in.

Currently my rack parks much easier than manual box. Rack has no play. Rack is more responsive than my cars suspension. The manual box had play but it actually turned smoother at speed than my tight rack.

Must be very careful when installing rack to make sure of no binding issues.

In my opinion I like the box for near stock suspension. If I was planning to upgrade all suspension I would lean toward the rack.

I need to put more miles on the rack to give it a fair evaluation.

001mustang

I've been driving this manual box mustang since 1984.
Just installed the rack but I am still trying to steer like Andy Griffith...you know back and forth all the time.
Just drove the dark country road at night with the rack. It felt pretty good. Was scary with the worn out box.

My rack is working almost perfect now.
Oh boy...there had to be a catch.
Something is going on near the steering wheel to column interface.
Feels like opening a creaky door but almost silent.
Maybe the steering wheel to column gap is off???
Maybe the steering column tube bearing sleeve is not seated correct???
Maybe the steering column tube bearing is failing???
No rest for the weary.

cprstreetmachines

That's the only thing i don't like about the manual racks. A very extreme angle making it harder for headers to clear, and install without a bind. Power steering is a much easier angle.

001mustang

You mean a power rack has an easier angle?

cprstreetmachines

yeah, power rack point more towards the column, not the rear end like manual.

001mustang

Unisteer 67 mustang manual transmission 351W JBA headers

001mustang

001mustang

Another nice thing about mounting unisteer cradle with 3" studs is you can easily drop rack enough to remove U joints. It also makes it much easier to mount the rack.