My neighbor wants to give me a Power Rack and Pinion stering set-up out of his 94 Camaro. It is 57" end to end and 34" from left. Can I install this rack and pinion in my 84 Z-28 without allot of alteration?? Thanks, Ed.

 

NO...no one has gotten a 4th gen rack to work ...sorry..

 

Should have put "yet" in that statement I intend to engineer a piece that bolts or welds behind where the sway bar is located (basically where the pitman and idler arm ends are). The 4th gen rack and pinion unit will bolt to it. All I know is that by spring I will have it ready to do since I have a list of mods to prepare by then before reinstalling the engine.

So YES, it can be done, but NO, not without quite a bit of modification.

Here's a pic of the equipment I will be using from a Z28 Camaro;

 

And I'll be your first customer!!

 

Your not the only one thinking about it. Ive been debating on to adapt one out of my 94Z parts car. Only Im useing a Pro fab tubular k member and a-arms also..

Its crossed my mind to look into useing the complete front section kinda like FATAL88 did...

 

So what are the challenges? Does this require replacement of the entire steering system (column and ps pump)?

 

It has been done and the biggest problem is that the 4th gen rack does not have as much throw as the 3rd gen steering so you need to shorten the steering arms on the spindles

 

im interested in that can you show me proof?

thanks chris

 

So can this be connected to a 3rd gen ps pump and column?

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...highlight=rack

 

Thanks.

 

The option that I choose was to have a custom rack built to my specs and then I fabricated all of the additional parts needed to install it.

 

I remember when I went from a 1990 RS to a 1999 Z28 about 5 years ago.....and instantly noticing that the '99 had a larger turning radius than the '90 had.

I think the late 3rd Gen steering boxes are excellent, so assuming it's not ragged out, it shouldn't give up anything to a r&p system...would it really be worth all the trouble to convert it into a 3rd Gen chassis?

I've got two 1999 4th Gens, and I don't think the steering set-up is any better in either the Z28 or the WS6 than what I had in my old '83 Z28 or '90 RS.....

 

Not really. Not sure on the 4th gen racks, but too many racks have non greasable inner tie rod ends, so there's a failure point. I don't think that their racks are going to last as long as the Saginaw boxes in the 92-down f-bodies either.

 

I`ve been thinking of going to a rack for wieght reasons but I still would want the power assist. I`m thinking I will use mid 80`s mustang spindles, they have a very short steering arm. Some sort of GM Brakes can be adapted to the mustang knuckles. The rack from the same year mustang should be close, but I assume that it won`t be the perfect width. I think with a little reasearch the correct length inner and outer tie rods can be found.

The strut mounts on the mustang spindles are so close to a third gen it`s scary, The bolt pattern is the same but the width of the spindle mount are completely different. The mustang strut should fit in the strut mount of the camaro, the difference between the two are length, the mustang strut is longer which could cause some problems with a lowered stance. The location of the mounting pins that hold the rack should be the only "true" fab work