I installed a manual Flaming River steering box, Shelby quick steer kit, and all new steering linkage. My issue is that the pitman arm and left inner tie rod are extremely close (see pic). Tony Branda says they have never seen this, but heard of it with a FR box. Flaming River says I probably don't need the quick steer kit with their box. Does anyone elso have this combo, and if so, is it this close ? Thanks
I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you have the pitman arm installed upside down. I have these parts on my car and that picture looks very familar to me. I had a problem with the pitman arm hitting something before the wheel was turned all the way to the left.
You might be right !? I'll look when I get home and try that. If so, I'll feel really dumb !! I rebuilt the entire front suspension last week, so I guess I'll be lucky if this and the sway bar are the only 2 issues.
I have a photo of my install linkage, it was taken from the right side but the pitman arm is clearly visible. Let me know if you are interested.
Alright, I got back under there again last night. It was on correctly. By the position of the frame rail, I don't think you could install it upside if you tried ! After some trial and error, I decided that no matter what I did, the longer Shelby idler and pitman are not gonna fit. I don't know if it is because of the FR box or not. So for now, I'll go back to stock.
I have the very same pieces on my 66 fastback, down to the quick steer kit and the F/River gear. When I look at your photo I just can't help but think the pitman arm should angle down not up as yours does. I will not get home today until 8:00pm, I can look at mine to verify, and my offer to email a photo of the right side still stands. jeff.w.gordon@att.net
Send me an email to my address, I will forward the photo in minutes. See the previous response for my address.
WOW, talk about an awesome looking under-carriage If you don't mind, I'll try to resize and post that picture !! I think after looking at your picture, and per our discussion, I have the wrong tie rod ends !! I think you're right about them being for a PS car. I'll grab a couple of manual ends today if possible and compare them. When I bought the car, all the suspension components were original except the tie rod ends, so I didn't replace them. I hope this is it ! BTW, Thanks Let's try this :
OK, update : I purchased 2 new inner tie rod ends for a manual steer car and they are the same as what I have. So, I'm back to square 1 again ? I guess the Gods are against me having the quick steer kit. Will they really make that big of a difference w/ the FR box anyway ?
Why don't I take a photo of the driver side setup this afternoon when I get home. I will then email it to you, that way you can get a clearer view of how mine is assembled. Something has to be wrong, the same car and the same parts, one fits on does not.
Im guessing its not the FR box. I measured and compared my FR box to the oem box that came from my car, there are a few differences in castings but the major dimensions and shaft locations were all the same.
Jeff, I would appreciate that picture ! Is there any chance that, since I did just rebuild the whole front end, alignment could cause any issues ? I'm running out of ideas
I was just looking at my pictures up top, and my description is not as accurate as it should be ! If you look at the pic, it's not the pitman arm that's touching the tie rod, it's the end of the end-link. It is however, a result of the pitman arm moving the end-link more forward toward the tie rod. The only time it actually makes contact is when the wheels are straight, and then they just barely touch. When turning, the distance clears just fine.
