16:1 ratio manual box question

[big66440]

Any one here run a 16.1 manual steering boxin an RB powered B body? I'm thinking of using one in my 66 coronet,I'll be running a glass bumper,hood,aluminum heads,intake,water pump,radiator,master cylinder,relocating the battery,magnumforce lowered spindles,wilwood calipers,and a few other extras to save weight,is it still going to be too tight of a ratio?

 

[big66440]

no one?

 

[Cranky]

Can't remember what the stock ratio is....but I've run manual boxes on many cars with no problems. Sure, parallel parking is going to be a two arm affair unless you're pretty strong. The width of your front tires and inflation will be a factor and so will alignment. More positive caster will make it harder to turn when going very slow but that's never been a problem for me either. Btw, I'm not a large guy and do not have ape like muscles....

 

[Darter6]

Yes I did this on a 72 RR Big block with a Flaming River 16 to 1 box with 10x18 front rims.
Took two men and a boy to turn the wheel.OK when you were rolling at 20 mph or better. If you had to turn fast at low speed you would probably hit what you wanted to miss. Took it off and went back to a stock 24 to 1.Much better. Never tried a 20 to 1.

 

[wedgie]

steering box

I just built a 20:1 by using the worm gear available from Mancini. Works really nice so far in my '65 big block Coronet. The stock 24:1 was worn out though. Interesting enough, the box I used had bushings rather than bearings, so I assume that it originally came from a slant powered A body. The bushings were still tight. I drilled and tapped the box, between the bushings, so I could use a grease gun to keep them lubed really well. Once the box was out, it took about two hours.

 

[big66440]

Aw I thought that with all the weight reduction,it would help offset the tight ratio,I know the stock power steering box is a 16.1 piece and when my pump went out and I had to drive it around unassisted and it wasn't too bad with a small block.

 

[Cranky]

Like I said earlier, tire size, inflation, alignment will all play a part in it but yeah, a faster ratio is going to make it more difficult. My car is a /6 66 Belvedere with factory ac and automatic so it's not real nose heavy but I'm betting yours isn't much more than mine. What are you going to be doing with the car? I also left my stock steering wheel on it so I did have some leverage....and yes, from what I understand, the light duty boxes used bushings.

 

[big66440]

It's a street only car,it's sort of a "bold beeper" build turn corners well enough to make the ricers:icon_hang: themselves and haul *** on the straight aways to beat the snot nose punk in the cookie cutter whatever the hell they're driving, I just don't want it to be a chore to drive or dangerous if overcorrection is a problem.

 

[Cranky]

I had my 66 /6 Belvedere handling pretty good with 15x7 wheels, not so low profile tires...actually, they were high profile at 235-75-15's lol. I lowered the front end to where the lower control arms were 1" off the rubbers and then dialed in all the camber I could get. The rear springs had the front segments clamped but they were semi flat so the rear wasn't very high. The car had maybe a 1" rank angle. Do you plan on using sway bars? That would help a lot....

 

[big66440]

Yeah,I already have the 1" torsion bars from just suspension and have been looking into either the hotckis 1 3/8" hollow bar or firm feels 1 1/4" piece, since I'm planning on maybe moving the springs inboard with the MPP kit I think I might be going with the hotchkis bar for the rear since they have a kit that seems to adapt the bar to this type of modification.

 

[dangina]

bumping this old thread was wondering about the same original question but running 13" wheels...