Unisteer Rack & Pinion

[stangman67]

well snakestang, your use of hooker comps makes me nervous since the unisteer guys said they mocked it up with those headers and no fitment issues. I have tri-ys currently and have to get a new set, so id like the least amount of longtube hassle as possible. I also have a clutch cable, so that should make it more interesting.

 

[SnakeStang65]

well snakestang, your use of hooker comps makes me nervous since the unisteer guys said they mocked it up with those headers and no fitment issues. I have tri-ys currently and have to get a new set, so id like the least amount of longtube hassle as possible. I also have a clutch cable, so that should make it more interesting.

Unisteer used the super comps, not the comps. When you look at the photos that I had posted prior you can see clearly that the headers are different in their photos from what I have (Posts number 137 and 141 on page 6). I also have the cable clutch. If you look closely at my photos above, you can see the cable.

My modifications work well. It really is not that much more difficult. It just takes a little more fab work (and time). The parts were only about $100 more. It more than makes up for the difference in the cost of the headers and it works with the cable clutch.

I am having ronstang look into comparing the tube positions on the hooker comps to the tube position on a set of tri-ys. If things measure out, my modifications will work for those with tri-ys. But from what I understand, the cable clutch does not work well with try-ys.

John

 

[Wade95]

Can anyone accept a PM from me? Need a little help on set up of the rack. Dummy me tried to go by direction (centered the rack, put tie rod ends on so the the tires were as close to 0toe.) However, my steering shaft when hooked up to the steering wheel shaft puts the steering wheel off by 180 degrees. (upside down.) Can anyone help me PLEASE????

 

[red65]

After a mere 6-months or so, I finally got my Unisteer R&P installed in my '65. This note is mainly to thank Snakestang65 for the outstanding write-up, and to endorse his approach. I had similar header clearance issues (JBA shorties on mine), and the third u-joint approach works great to resolve it. Denny at Unisteer was, once again, helpful in identifying the right solution. Actually, I gave the right part numbers to him (rather than vice-versa) from Snakestang65's writeup...

The car's only aligned as accurately as a few strings and tape measures in my garage will allow, but I took a quick blast up the road. It's a different car - all of the annoying steering play and wander is gone (I found it intolerable, even in the Flaming River steering box I had installed), response is outstanding and steering effort is modest. I'm looking forward to taking it to the track in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again, John.

- Andy

 

[SnakeStang65]

After a mere 6-months or so, I finally got my Unisteer R&P installed in my '65. This note is mainly to thank Snakestang65 for the outstanding write-up, and to endorse his approach. I had similar header clearance issues (JBA shorties on mine), and the third u-joint approach works great to resolve it. Denny at Unisteer was, once again, helpful in identifying the right solution. Actually, I gave the right part numbers to him (rather than vice-versa) from Snakestang65's writeup...

The car's only aligned as accurately as a few strings and tape measures in my garage will allow, but I took a quick blast up the road. It's a different car - all of the annoying steering play and wander is gone (I found it intolerable, even in the Flaming River steering box I had installed), response is outstanding and steering effort is modest. I'm looking forward to taking it to the track in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again, John.

- Andy

You are very welcome Andy. I am glad that it worked for you.

John

 

[Jester67]

Dang I need to work less and surf more I totally missed all of this. I would have jumped at the $575 price. But the $875 looks OK. What about all the others that got one of these what are your thoughts on the unit / install?

 

[6T6coupe]

Can anyone accept a PM from me? Need a little help on set up of the rack. Dummy me tried to go by direction (centered the rack, put tie rod ends on so the the tires were as close to 0toe.) However, my steering shaft when hooked up to the steering wheel shaft puts the steering wheel off by 180 degrees. (upside down.) Can anyone help me PLEASE????

Wade,
just pull the steering wheel and rotate it to the place you want.

Jack

 

[jpolakow]

I have a unisteer rack that i have not yet installed for my 68 mustang. I want to buy a set of headers That will fit. Does anyone know if most shorty headers fit?

 

[red65]

I have a unisteer rack that i have not yet installed for my 68 mustang. I want to buy a set of headers That will fit. Does anyone know if most shorty headers fit?

See post #164. Short answer - no.

 

[LONN17]

Well, I've had my rack sitting around for close to a year now. Its time I start looking at installing it. Those of you whom have added the additional U-joint - does it look like that route will allow me to use my tri-y's and z-bar setup? It seems like adding the carrier makes more combinations possible.

P.S. If I have to ditch one of the two I'de rather it be the Z-bar. The exhaust is all new and set me back a nice chunk. The clutch linkage needs rebuild anyway. What options are there for the toploader? It seems the fork goes the wrong way for a cable.

Thanks,
Trevor

 

[nolesfan86]

Unisteer - Another Header Question

Hello Group. New user, first post. I'm looking into the purchase of the Unisteer rack for my current project, a '66 Mustang Coupe. I'll be installing a 5.0L with an AOD. I've read that the Hooker Competition headers are the ones to use with this rack. However, does anyone know if those headers will fit around the wider AOD transmission in an early model mustang?

 

[SnakeStang65]

Hello Group. New user, first post. I'm looking into the purchase of the Unisteer rack for my current project, a '66 Mustang Coupe. I'll be installing a 5.0L with an AOD. I've read that the Hooker Competition headers are the ones to use with this rack. However, does anyone know if those headers will fit around the wider AOD transmission in an early model mustang?

Just to be clear, the Hooker Comps (pn 6901) will not work without the modifications that I did. I cannot confirm, but everything that I have found shows that Unisteer did the install with Super Comps (pn 6111). As to the fitment of them with an AOD, I cannot confirm.

John

 

['65stanggirl]

Hey guys,
I know this post is older but I've just stumbled upon it. I've got a '65 2+2 that we put a unisteer rack and pinion in. Installation went well for me so now I'm on to headers... My dad is fighting me over using shorties we have off a 302 fox body. I've told him they will not work without modifications so we should go with the hooker super comps that unisteer used in their build. Anybody have any advise?

 

[joesgt281]

Hey guys,
I know this post is older but I've just stumbled upon it. I've got a '65 2+2 that we put a unisteer rack and pinion in. Installation went well for me so now I'm on to headers... My dad is fighting me over using shorties we have off a 302 fox body. I've told him they will not work without modifications so we should go with the hooker super comps that unisteer used in their build. Anybody have any advise?

Shorties can certainly have their issues, but why not just mock them up?
I presume the engine is out or you would have already done that, but why not just test fit the longblock in there and see if the shorties will work?
I assume the Hookers are long tubes?
You may run into issues with those unless your build is exactly like the unisteer application you referred to. Issues can include clutch linkage/cable interference, ground clearance, possibly others.

 

[10secgoal]

I've only ever had problems with the manual rack because of the angle the output shaft is at. P/S racks have fit with every long tube so far.

 

[lord_cobra]

Has anyone used this rack with Hedman long tube hedders? I am thinking of either going with this rack or the Borgeson steering box. My car currently has the factory power steering, which I do not like. What would you guys recommend. The rack is about $100 more than the Borgeson unit right now so pretty close in price.

 

[10secgoal]

Rack hands down

 

['65stanggirl]

Shorties can certainly have their issues, but why not just mock them up?
I presume the engine is out or you would have already done that, but why not just test fit the longblock in there and see if the shorties will work?
I assume the Hookers are long tubes?
You may run into issues with those unless your build is exactly like the unisteer application you referred to. Issues can include clutch linkage/cable interference, ground clearance, possibly others.

NO my dad is too lazy to take the engine out... And yes the hookers are long tubes... Apparently they can have some ground clearance issues. We tried to fit some shorties off a 302 we have but we couldn't get them to fit right because the motor is still in. Now he's trying to tell me that nothing will fit on the 289 but the old school exhaust manifolds.

 

[64/2stang]

hipo manifolds cheap and almost as good + ceramics are spendy

 

[SnakeStang65]

NO my dad is too lazy to take the engine out... And yes the hookers are long tubes... Apparently they can have some ground clearance issues. We tried to fit some shorties off a 302 we have but we couldn't get them to fit right because the motor is still in. Now he's trying to tell me that nothing will fit on the 289 but the old school exhaust manifolds.

The Hooker Competitions, part number 6901 not the super comps(6111) will be your best compromise. They fit better and do not hang as low as the super comps so ground clearance is not an issue. They tuck up nice and tight against the bottom of the car. The issue with these is that they do not play well with the first generation Unisteer rack... See my previous posts... They can be made to fit, but you will need extra parts plus some fab work... Not impossible though... Not certain if Unisteer fixed the issues that I have seen with their rack and the Hooker 6901's.

They will not require removal of the engine to install, but you will have to lift the engine a bit off the motor mounts to get them to fit past the block... (much easier if you have already removed the steering box though)

John