ambainb

Hello, I am building a bracket car this off season with a good friend of mine, his car my Engine... Team effort. 1989 bird... Strange 12 bolt 4:56, TH350 w/Brake and 5800stall and my iron LS3 headed 408 stroker ... I gave him my "LSX Swap" Tubular UMI Kmember I believe PN 2403... originally we were planning on going with a manual steering box but after getting very very in depth with weight savings and after adding the costs of a front end kit plus a manual box and shaft it seems almost silly not to go with a rack... Price wise it's basically the same and I'd love to see another 30+lbs nocked off the front of the car.

Problem is UMI doesn't offer any type of rack and pinion set up at all (not knocking them I actually love there products) so my question is has anyone fabricated something up to run a PA/pinto or similar manual rack to work with this style Kmember? Id love to get some feedback from someone who's done it before I bite the bullet and order the parts with nothing but my fingers being crossed.

Im not interested in swapping to a different Kmember as we are deep deep into this build already as far as our pocket book goes and we're a long ways from finished, that and the UMI piece is personally my first choice for a Kmember other than the lack of rack capabilities...

Any info would really be appreciated, another question I have regarding you UMI. I would really like to run the global west-style Steel lower a arm bushings I'm not sure if they we'll fit UMI's A-frames, I spoke with them over the phone and ordered what I thought were steel bushings with Derlin incorporated inside of them... unfortunately it was just a solid piece of Derlin. I know global West sells them for factory Aarms so I'm not sure if that means I can get away with them in the Umi a arms as well .

I have decent Fab skills but my cousin and a few friends have built there own open wheel modified chassis from the ground up and actually been successful with it so I have good help... On the Asphalt Modified note, I also have access to "SWEET" rack and pinions like the ones we run in the NASCAR Wheelin modified cars and could probably get one for next to nothing.


If anyone has any advice I would be ecstatic, please let me know.

I'm not on this site often but you can feel free to shoot me a text message at (716)225-3159 or reply here and I'll find it eventually.







I have spoken with the folks at Umi and while they have some of the best customer service I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with they just don't offer any type of rack set up so that got me nowhere

sorry if this was a long read either way I appreciate your time. Thank you and have a Merry Christmas!
Adam Bainbridge.


PS
Looking to buy a set of lightweight Drag wheels skinnies and 15 x 10 with roughly 5 too 5-3/4 inch backspacing in the rear, a CHE trunnion kit, 8 GM offset LS3 intake rocker arms, ATI or fluid damper SFI approved F body spacing balancer with no AC either full size or at most 10% underdrive, SFI approved flexplate, as if I approved scattershield, SFI approved steering wheel quick release and steering shaft, moroso trick Springs, an old Barry Grant gold claw 750 t800 CFM square bore mechanical secondary double pumper or something similar, comp engineering short travel Link Bar hydraulic roller lifters(I realistically any Link Bar hydraulic roller lifter preferably something lightweight), GM LS3 hollow intake valves and much much much more so let me know what you got! Thanks again Merry Christmas

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

I dont know if I have the pics but a drag car i parted out had the manual rack mounted to a basic crossmember installed where the factory sway bar mounted.

FRMULA88

Spohn sells a manual rack "retrofit" kit for the their k-member, (with the mounting tabs to weld in) I upgraded mine this week, check out my post on the drag racing forum. ( yes I have the spohn k-member)
The rack is a flaming river piece along with the new steering shafts but they also give you their spohn rod ends that match the tapered seats on the factory spindles and have bump steer adjustment.

I think the lower tube on all k members should be in the same location for the stock steering linkages to clear.
The steering rack mounts to the lower k member tube so using the spohn retrofit steering rack kit on the umi k-member should be pretty straightforward.

The manual rack removed 22# compared to the S-10 manual steering box and stock steering linkages.