Thread: Rack and Pinion set up for a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker four-door sedan?

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Welcome to CHR BUCKSTER!
As has been mentioned, we’re a bit slow on the responses sometimes, but have a lot of good ol’ hot rod knowledge here. If you have not already found this site, go to 1947 Chrysler (USA) New Yorker Sedan full range specs as they have a lot of good information about size and weight of the New Yorker. According to them, your car weighs in at about 4100 pounds. I agree that that would be a bit more weight than a typical Mustang II retrofit but certainly a rack and pinion setup for early F-100 or GM pickup would be more than up to the task.

You’ll have to get a bit creative and I’m thinking a kit from these guys might be your ticket. Steering Wheels, Pumps,Columns, Rack and Pinion Conversions

If you have not already done so, steam clean the daylights out of the front end. It’s always more fun to work on clean stuff. Also get lots of good lighting as it makes for more accurate end product. Measure everything and take some graph paper and sketch out how things are put together. Take a lot of pictures and then call the customer service folks at 800-407-9112 and start a dialog about what you’ve got. In all likelihood, they can kit up a lot the parts like the rack, power steering pump, hoses, steering box, etc., but you will have to fabricate some brackets and the steering linkage using some Borgeson universals and shaft supports. If you'd stayed with the straight eight clearances would not be a problem but a V8 will perhaps give some challenges for working the steering geometry around the exhaust.

Take your time and let us see the pictures. I’ll bet there’s someone here at CHR that will recognize or at least know of a project that is similar in nature and be able to help. I’m of the mind that if I go slow and am willing to measure, fabricate, adjust and be prepared to do that several times I can do just about anything I set my mind to. If you have welding and fabricating skills and equipment you’re halfway there.

Again, welcome to CHR!
Glenn