Posted by John B. (IP: 209.82.52.125) on January 16, 2000 at 19:58:25:
In Reply to: Mustang Box posted by Charlie on January 16, 2000 at 15:22:45:
: You can get a Mustang power steering box that is 16:1. This will require a lot more effort but should still be managable in parking lots and it would feel great on the road. It will bolt right in. The tag on the 16:1 box is "SMB-K." This box was in Mustangs and Cougars I know, maybe others. Fairlanes used the same box, but I don't know the ratios. -CP
:This sounds interesting. What would the ratio be on the stock Maverick power steering box? Johm B.
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: : I promise I won't ask again, but I'm at the point of reassembling the front end on my Mav. So far I've found ways to upgrade pretty well every system on the car except the steering. At this point my plan is to put in all new front end parts and go with the original power steering set up, but to be honest with you the thought of it breaks my heart. After all that work and money I'm still going to have a car that has the road feel of a stick in a bowl of pudding and takes 8 turns to go lock to lock (slight exaggeration). I've considered rack and pinion but have yet to find a practical set up for street use (maybe you know of one?). I've thought about converting to standard steering, but most of the opinions I've heard suggest that the effort will be too great with a V8. The one option with some appeal showed up in some old magazine article on Charlie's site where they say "Mustang power steering gears were slipped into the Maverick steering box,easily done since Ford uses linkage assist rather than integral power assist. The new quick steering takes only 3.5 turns lock to lock against the stock 5.2 turns lock to lock and turning effort increase is negative". Any comments, suggestions or better ideas before I take the big plunge? Thanks for your as usual great help. John B