I was thinking of getting a Flaming River steering box with a 19:1 ratio instead of waiting years to get a bolt in rack. I'm looking to get away from that old car steering and try to be more like my steering in my 00' GT. Does anyone have a 19:1 steering box? And what's everyone's opinion on Flaming River's steering boxes?
I hear good things about them but you're not going to get steering like you're '00 without rack and pinion.h
I got the 16:1 box and the quality was very good. It fit with no modifications. I wish I would of got the 19:1 because on a manual steering car it is really tough to manuver at low speeds.
Borgeson (www.borgeson.com) has remanufactured steering boxes for less than the Flaming River ones. From what I understand, they polish all the bearing surfaces and install new ball bearings as well as better seals. (see Ford Builder Magazine's first issue). I purchased one and installed it a couple of weeks ago but have not been able to evaluate it yet due to power steering hydraulics issues. I have heard good and bad about the Flaming River boxes. I know from personal experience that their rack conversion kits will only fit certain engine/exhaust combinations. My experience is probably why their ads for the rack kits now say "for Mustangs only" (I have a 69 Cougar 351W with stock exhaust manifolds)
I'm pretty pleased with the Flaming River 16:1 in my '65; Manual steering with 235/45R17's on the front. Steering effort isn't little-old-lady friendly, but it's not unmanageable, and the steering response is night and day better than the original box. Installation was no more difficult than a stock steering box - a modest amount of disassembly and tinkering required, but nothing radical. I think it's a good option.
I have been following this thread because I have similar questions. I was going to go with the Flaming River Rack set but decided otherwise....too expensive to screw with right now. I am a newbie to this expensive ass hobby...so forgive my ignorance.... How does the steering ratio affect the ease of turning... I.E. does 16:1 turn easier or harder than 19:1 ?
It's the ratio of turns of the steering wheel to turns of the sector shaft. The 16:1 box requires more effort at the steering wheel than the 19:1 does.
Maybe I've got it wrong but doesn't the 19:1 turn the wheels faster than the 16:1? What I mean is it takes less turns of the steering wheel to go from lock to lock with a 19:1, by about 1 turn less then the 16:1. Right?
Doh, I thought that I saw a Shelby GT350R steering box and it had a 19:1 ratio. So, I naturally thought that it would have been a faster lock to lock. I must have seen it wrong, or did I? Maybe it did have a 19:1 and the newer thing is to have 16:1??? I'm lost
So does anyone know what Shelby put into the GT350R's? He put a faster ratio manual steering box but I would have thought knowing Shelby he would have put something faster than a 16:1. Anyone got the facts?
AFAIK, Shelby used the 16:1 box in the GT-350, but also added a "quick steer kit" (longer Pitman and Idler arms). I'm sure that changed the effective ratio, but I don't know what the net number would be. The quick steering kit is usually sold with a "not for power sterring-equipped cars" advisory, even though the PS cars also used the 16:1 box. There may be a mechanical interference on PS cars, or perhaps the quicker ratio causes the power assist to "lag" behind the steering input; perhaps someone else here knows the details.
I know that the dealer sold GT350's had the 16:1 ratio but I thought that I read some where that the GT35R (race version) had an even faster ratio. But maybe I read it wrong or I'm remembering wrong. But you make a very good point, I didn't think about the other added parts making it a faster ratio. I wonder if I can find those extra parts to make mine faster since it's a manual steering car.
