Discussion
Vauxhall chevette based, there is a quick version of the chevette rack, I had one, it went to Ken, Tinks may now know where it is. It needs the track rods to be changed.
Also a chimaera/griffith PAS rack fits with a bit of slight chassis alteration (not major) the one I had was 2 turns lock to lock roughly.
Also a chimaera/griffith PAS rack fits with a bit of slight chassis alteration (not major) the one I had was 2 turns lock to lock roughly.
The V8S has a quicker rack than the V6, in my experience anyway. I don't know if the V8 rack is as quick as the Chevette quick racks. Also, the number of turns lock-to-lock is not a direct comparison from the Chevette to the TVR. The TVR will always have less turns because the rack travel is limited vs the Chevette.
TJ Motorsport do a quick rack kit for the Chevette, but they are out of stock at present. If you end up buying a Chevette rack, make sure it is the "Cam Gears" type, not the "other". The "other" type has a UJ integral with the pinion shaft. As Chris said, be prepared to also mess about with the track rods if you are trying to adapt the Chevette rack to the TVR. The track rods on the Chevete are M14x1.5 vs M14x2 on the TVR, and they are shorter.
TJ Motorsport do a quick rack kit for the Chevette, but they are out of stock at present. If you end up buying a Chevette rack, make sure it is the "Cam Gears" type, not the "other". The "other" type has a UJ integral with the pinion shaft. As Chris said, be prepared to also mess about with the track rods if you are trying to adapt the Chevette rack to the TVR. The track rods on the Chevete are M14x1.5 vs M14x2 on the TVR, and they are shorter.
OK, well these are the steering racks in my garage (interrupting spring changing session!)...
Rack / Turns lock-lock / linear mm/rev
TVR V8S / 2.6 / 45
TVR S3 / 3.1 / 38
Chevette / 4.2 / 38
I think the Chevette is commonly quoted as 3.7 turns, but maybe it has external lock stops on the car to reduce that 4.2 figure? My sister used to have a Chevette. It was dog slow, but turned on a sixpence!
If the Titan Motorsport I am looking at is the same as yours, with bespoke steering racks, that looks like it might be expensive!
Rack / Turns lock-lock / linear mm/rev
TVR V8S / 2.6 / 45
TVR S3 / 3.1 / 38
Chevette / 4.2 / 38
I think the Chevette is commonly quoted as 3.7 turns, but maybe it has external lock stops on the car to reduce that 4.2 figure? My sister used to have a Chevette. It was dog slow, but turned on a sixpence!
If the Titan Motorsport I am looking at is the same as yours, with bespoke steering racks, that looks like it might be expensive!
Hi
Think I am already over budget so a rack won't make much difference. Going to call around on Tuesday and see what I can find, I used to know a guy who used to mod racks the motor sport guys but that was a few years ago, will look if I still have his number, I was thinking the escort quick racks might fit.
Alan
Think I am already over budget so a rack won't make much difference. Going to call around on Tuesday and see what I can find, I used to know a guy who used to mod racks the motor sport guys but that was a few years ago, will look if I still have his number, I was thinking the escort quick racks might fit.
Alan
If you're looking for alternatives, the main thing to look out for is the length of the track bar (the track rods need to end up the right length to match the arc the upright moves through) and it needs to be mounted at the right height so that the arc of the track rod outer end matches the arc of the upright. Since you have unequal wishbones, the height of the outer track rod end joint also affects the arc you're trying to get and hence the track rod length and hence the track bar length.
Hi peter.
All points noted, I looked on the Quaife site last night and it looks like they can make a rack & pinion to suite just about anything, just to change the rack & pinion will keep all the other bits in the same position.
Hoping to finish all the steering with the old unit so I can see everything works but my original rack is well worn and will require a rebuild before it can be used on the road.
Alan
Just found this on Ebay, will have to see if its the right rack
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320748451071?ssPageName=...
Alan
All points noted, I looked on the Quaife site last night and it looks like they can make a rack & pinion to suite just about anything, just to change the rack & pinion will keep all the other bits in the same position.
Hoping to finish all the steering with the old unit so I can see everything works but my original rack is well worn and will require a rebuild before it can be used on the road.
Alan
Just found this on Ebay, will have to see if its the right rack
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320748451071?ssPageName=...
Alan
Edited by Alan Whitaker on Sunday 28th August 08:22
Chevette rack here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chevette-Chevanne-New-Re...
Note I think as Pete has already said it must have this type of input shaft - there's an alternative that has a rubber coupling which I am pretty sure won't fit.
Note a standard chevette rack will not work - it needs longer track rods fitting with different track rod end thread and a housing to space out the inner balljoint. I've got a thread somewhere with pics I'll try and find it.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chevette-Chevanne-New-Re...
Note I think as Pete has already said it must have this type of input shaft - there's an alternative that has a rubber coupling which I am pretty sure won't fit.
Note a standard chevette rack will not work - it needs longer track rods fitting with different track rod end thread and a housing to space out the inner balljoint. I've got a thread somewhere with pics I'll try and find it.
Hi Chris.
Many Thanks for the link, I have just been down to fit the column mount and the Corsa C steering column, my rack is 2.9 lock to lock and the tyres are 1 1/2" from the wishbones.
Takes a full day to do the conversion with a bit of head scratching but it fits quite easy .
Alan
Before someone asks the red tape is because I dropped the bonnet onto it
Many Thanks for the link, I have just been down to fit the column mount and the Corsa C steering column, my rack is 2.9 lock to lock and the tyres are 1 1/2" from the wishbones.
Takes a full day to do the conversion with a bit of head scratching but it fits quite easy .
Alan
Before someone asks the red tape is because I dropped the bonnet onto it
Edited by Alan Whitaker on Monday 29th August 08:44
For anybody interested in the ebay quick rack kits referred to by Alan, I have purchased one and can provide some details.
It's a very good quality item, with all the tolerances spot on. The rack output is 54mm/rev which translates to about 2.2 turns lock-to-lock on the TVR. The threads on the ends of the bar are machined to take the Chevette track rods, which are a different fitting to the Lotus/Ford rods used by TVR. Therefore you would have to use Chevette style track rods and have them modified/lengthened to suit the TVR. Also you will need to put some collars at either end of the bar to limit the total travel. If you use all the travel of the Chevette rack, it's too much lock on the TVR.
I hope this is of use to you Alan, or anybody else.
It's a very good quality item, with all the tolerances spot on. The rack output is 54mm/rev which translates to about 2.2 turns lock-to-lock on the TVR. The threads on the ends of the bar are machined to take the Chevette track rods, which are a different fitting to the Lotus/Ford rods used by TVR. Therefore you would have to use Chevette style track rods and have them modified/lengthened to suit the TVR. Also you will need to put some collars at either end of the bar to limit the total travel. If you use all the travel of the Chevette rack, it's too much lock on the TVR.
I hope this is of use to you Alan, or anybody else.
jwoffshore said:
Therefore you would have to use Chevette style track rods and have them modified/lengthened to suit the TVR.
If you lengthen the track rods you will introduce bump steer. The track rod lengths are carefully chosen to match the geometry of the wishbones, mess with them at your peril.Very good point, I have spoken to a few people who do rebuild racks, none are fully up on changing or rebuilding with lower ratios, I am calling one guy today who knows the right way to go about it and will let you know what he said.
Alan
I have just had my motor engineer give the new steering bracket a thumbs up, looks like it is to much but he said steering needs to be well and solid mounted.
Alan
I have just had my motor engineer give the new steering bracket a thumbs up, looks like it is to much but he said steering needs to be well and solid mounted.
GreenV8S said:
If you lengthen the track rods you will introduce bump steer. The track rod lengths are carefully chosen to match the geometry of the wishbones, mess with them at your peril.
No, the Chevette track rods are too short compared to the TVR ones. Therefore you need to make them longer. If you had the bits in front of you like I do you would see what I mean.ETA: Alan, changing out the bar and pinion is a 1/2 hour job which I did last night. It will then take some more time and thought to deal with the track rod issue.
Edited by jwoffshore on Friday 2nd September 10:42
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