What up people,

I have a 91 Z28 street legal road race car (CMC) and I was thinking of installing the flaming river manual steering box (FR 1495). Anyone tried this? My car is probably ~3400 lbs. I'm wondering how the manual box drives compared to the power box. It would sure be nice to have one less fluid leaking from the damn thing.......

I was also wondering if the stock camaro manual steering box would bolt in as well. CMC rule state that you have to use stock components. I think the Iron duke cars had one. Is it the same thing as the FR box? The FR box is 20:1.

-Ron

 

I have the flaming river unit. My car is not done yet though so I have not driving it. Looks very nice, wieghts less and bolts right up.

 

I've never seen a factory manual box in any third gen. Even the iron dukes had power steering.

You can pull a manual box out of a 84-92 S10. Use the third gen pitman arm and bolt it right in. There's always at least one available on Ebay. The late model boxes have 4 bolts on the top cover. The early boxes have 3 bolts. There a few differences between them. I'm not sure about the input shaft size or spline count. The pitman arm shaft size is different though. Using an early box means finding the correct length and offset pitman arm for an early box to work in a third gen.

I'm not sure how well you would like a factory manual box for road racing. Power steering boxes take 3-1/2 turns to go from stop to stop. All the factory manual boxes take 7 turns.

Normally a manual box is used as a weight saving, not as a performance item.

 

For road racing I would seriously look into what the world of mud packers have to offer for steering components. They have pwr steering pumps that are very very small, take minimal hp to operate, then you can also get a steering box gear change that will bolt inline between your steering wheel and the steering box which will lessen turns lock to lock which will help you tremendously. If your quick steering box is 3 turns lock to lock, the gear box would change it to 1.5 turns lock to lock.

Both are nothing that are just going to bolt on to what you have, fabrication will be needed, but you will have pwr steering and scarey fast turning ratio for under $500.

 

My now sold Fiero didn't have power steering and it wasn't that bad in terms of effort needed for aggressive driving (lowered, bigger front bar sway bar and installed an aftermarket sway bar). Granted, it was also something like a 45/55 front/rear weight split and it was a fairly light car.

I could easily rip it through hard corners without overexerting myself on the steering wheel.

It really sucked in parking lots when the car was at a dead standstill. As a result, I got in the habit of having the car at a slow roll whenever I would have to turn the wheel. Even if the car was going 1 mph, it was infantry easier than if it was at a dead stop. This is where power steering is the most useful, not on the highway/in corners.

There is one other instance where power steering comes in handy: if you ever find yourself having to fight with the wheel.

I was at the track in said Fiero a year or two ago just romping around doing doughnuts when I unexpectedly lost control of the car (not a planned slide, doughnut, etc). I found myself having to fight the steering wheel to keep the car going in a straight line. The tires would bite one direction, pull the wheel to that direction, and shift the car’s weight to that side then I would compensate, which would pull the tires the other direction, yank the wheel in the other direction and the weight shift back to the other side would just further the process... It was interesting. It was also before the new sway bar up front and the added bar in the back (they never came with one in the back aside from 88). I’m not sure how much of a factor that was in the random wheel jerking though.

 

I have a manual sterring gesar box from an S10 in my 84 Trans Am and it sterrs or turns ALOR easier than one would think. the only draw back for some would be the number of turns from lock to lock.the factory quick ratio is I think 2 1/2 turns lock to lock and I think my man S10 box is 7 turns lock to lock and you will def notice it. you really don't need much more muscle to turn a man steering boxed 3rd gen. you WILL cut about 30lbs off the front of your car and also open up/clean up alot of space in that area of the engine bay. I think its a great mod for either a drag car or street car, but def not for an autoX cross.

 

7 turns lock to lock is gross. The my fiero was something like 3.25. It was also rack and pinion, but I don't know if that would matter.

 

Don't know if you can get away with it with your class rules, but Flaming River, Detroit Speed & Engineering, and others offer a new power box based on the late model Chevy truck box that will bolt up to nearly any RWD GM car and is available in several different ratios. Its similar to the 800 box with lots of upgrades. From what I have heard, it is a better feeling box than even the professionally reworked stock 800 boxes. Johnny Hunkins installed one on his 2nd gen project in the newest Popular Hot Rodding. I'm planning to use one in my TA.

Correction: the Flaming River is an 800 series box with a rack style valve; the Detroit Speed one is a 600 series (like the newer trucks). The 600 has the advantage of being a few pounds lighter, but either sounds like a good upgrade.