With the ugly out of the way, let’s talk about the bad. This one isn’t really a screw up, I’m just completely dissatisfied with the results.

I simply do not like the electric steering! It does work, but I don’t like the way it feels on the road. It does provide assist and isn’t unsafe, but I still don’t like it. The overall feedback is not what I want. I have read that cars with electric steering can have a dead feel and I get it now. It is most certainly NOT how a sports car is supposed to feel. IMO – A sports car should feel alive, constantly telling the driver what’s going on between the tires and road. This one doesn’t. The steering wheel is just a device to control the direction of the car. I might as well be driving a video game.

When I did the steering, I considered this as a possibility and I left room for a hydraulic rack as a plan B. I will be going in that direction in the very near future. I will probably do this before starting on the top mechanism. Yes, I dislike it that much.

While this may sound like a big job, I don’t see it that way. It will entail removing the steering column, tearing it down and replacing the main tube and shaft ( I have several old parts on hand). I will have to duplicate the unusual mounting setup that the power unit has. I want something that just bolts in and doesn’t require major changes to the under-dash framework. This will also give me a chance to try the car with no power steering. Turning the electric off doesn’t count since it adds considerable drag to the steering when off. I might not need power except for two reasons. One, I’m using a lot of caster in the front end, so steering effort will probably be very high at low speed with the fast ratio rack I’m using. Two, I need the car to be able to be driven by my wife in an emergency, so, see reason number one.

Making this change should not be too difficult since the steering column is completely separate from the rest of the steering system. Meaning the column is short and has a separate short driveshaft that runs to a firewall pass through bearing setup. The car will not look any different in the passenger compartment and only the addition of a power steering pump will be evident in the engine compartment. The Holley accessory drive I’m using already has the provision for a pump and I have the pump. All I need is the rack and hoses.

I’m not sure if I will use a standard Fox body Mustang rack or get one custom built from Flaming River. I may call them and see what they say. I’m looking for something with a higher effort and might need a performance rack with a larger torsion bar in the valve body. The SN95 Cobra R racks are said to be the perfect compromise between effort and feel, but finding a genuine Cobra R rack would be pure luck. They were rare to begin with and even though there are rebuilt R racks available, there is no real way to know if you have a genuine R rack. All the differences are internal and they will easily interchange with a standard rack. I may start with a standard Fox rack, since they are fairly cheap (well cheaper). If it doesn’t work out, I can always use that on my 46 when I redo it later. I will most likely add a cooler to the return line, too.

These two posts sum up the biggest disappointments with the car. One is pretty easily corrected , but the other will take some thought and work.