Hi Folks,

I hope there's a Ford expert out there who can help me. I'm replacing the MII style steering rack in my '38 Chevy street rod and have a question about pressure requirements of the new rack.

I've heard that older Ford racks operate at lower pressures than GM boxes. The pump I'm using is a rebuilt unit for a '74 Camaro. It should be putting out about 1200 to 1300 lbs of pressure, whereas the older Ford racks like closer to 800 lbs (if these assumptions are out of wack, someone please correct me).

The rack I'm using is a Cardone 22-201F. It's a variable ratio unit originally fitted to:
'78 - '79 Fairmont
'79 Mustang
'74 - '80 Pinto
'75 - '80 Bobcat
'79 Capri

The problem is that I also heard that, at some point, later model Ford racks started being built that can take the GM level pump pressures just fine. I can't find any information out there to corroborate that.

If true, then I need to know if my rack is one of those, or if I still need to do the whole shim deal on the pump bypass valve and substitute a flow control valve to accommodate the rack.

Thanks!

Larry