Thread: Can I change (convert) the steering on my 39 chevy to rack & pinion steering???????

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I was afraid you were going to say you have a beam axle.

Beam axles and r and p just don't mix. It has something to do with the way the beam moves up and down and the rack doesn't, so it steers you on the bumps.

Some people have tried mounting the rack directly to the axle, so they travel up and down together, but then you end up with a lot of unsprung weight, and an ugly axle setup.

I know some people will say they have had one on their rod for years and years, but generally it is accepted they don't work out well. A friend of mine, who is passed away now, had a T bucket with a R and P on it, and I drove the car one time, and it was scarey.

The new R and P unit on the market has only one end of it that steers the car, so it functions like a Vega box would, but it is totally different than mounting a regular R and P unit, because it only feeds one side.

I will probably get flack on this, but they just don't work, IMHO, and from everything I have ever read on the subject.


Don