When I restored my 66 I did the monte SS steering box conversion. My question is, I lost some of my steering radius. Tha car does not corner as sharp as a stock box, is this normal?? I bought the reman box through work (napa). I doesnt even feel like a quick ratio box. Tha casting number on the box is 7826692. Should this casting number have "605" at the end to be a monte SS box?

the casting number is not what you need to check, you have to measure the input and output turn ratio. it needs to be measured very acuratly and it is difficult to do. that is the only way to tell without taking it apart. and yes you will loose some turning radius.

You loose the turning radius, because the Monte Box has internal stops that do not allow the box to turn the proper amount of turns...

A box from a later (1990's) Caprice (Police Car package 9C1 option) would be a better choice... I think also later Jeep Grand Cherokees have a good box too...

And don't fall for the "so-many-turns -lock-to-lock"... Because the internal stops affect the lock to lock... You need to count both the input turns, lock-to-lock, and the output shaft turns, then divide to get the ratio... I think the angle the Chevelle box turns is somewhere around 43 degrees... with the Monte and Camaro only turning around 39 degrees (or something). Check for the tech article around this site... There is a bunch of good steering box info, including applications, ratios and output angle...

Tha car does not corner as sharp as a stock box, is this normal??Even though you "lose" turning radius, the box should still be MUCH better than the stock Chevelle box (if it is really a quick ratio box)... Even in AutoCross or slalom you will probably never get near the internal stops (and definitely not in regular street cornering). Likely only to hit the internal stops when parking or U-turns...

Sounds like the box you got was NOT a quick ratio box... Just because it "supposedly" was from a Monte SS doesn't mean it was the original quick ratio box...

I put a box from a Trans Am in my car, supposedly a quick ratio box. Better than the stock Chevelle. Ran that box for 9 years and finally started making noise. So this year i bought an AGR Qick Ratio box... WOW! I now realise my old box was obviously NOT a quick ratio box...

does the police box have the same splines for the steering arm and hose fittings as the monte?

Tony -
Does the AGR box have the reduced turn radius as well? Have you been happy with that box?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

Fo_FDYFO:

Not sure on what the Monte box has... I think the input spline should be the same, because I think the changeover years were around 76-77, but not positive for the Monte SS.

I have also heard that ALL quick-ratio boxes have the newer style input shaft size.

I have no idea which hose fittings a Monte SS uses...

Lee manufacturing has hose "adapters" for converting the newer box (with Metric O-rings, like the Police box) over to the old-style Inverted Flare fittings used on older cars (Chevelles, etc). I gues the threads are the same, just the new box doesn't have a seat for the flare (area for O-ring instead)? Not sure what year the hose fittings changed...


Elusive:

I am very happy with the AGR box... I am a do-it-yourself kind of guy, and even had a 96 Caprice used box I was going to install in my Chevelle. But I wanted to replace the seals, etc before I did that. I have had some bad luck with used parts And I needed to do the swap right away, so I decided to just buy the AGR box, ready to go... It saved me the time and frustration of attempting to rebuild the used one...

The AGR has the correct stops (I believe?), and is listed for the early Chevelle, etc... It features the early style hose connections for use with Chevelle hoses, and also has the early-style input, so the Chevelle rag-joint will bolt right up... So it was a bolt-in...

The steering is very nice and tight right now, great response and gives me alot more confidence instead of "sawing" at the wheel... I love it... I thought my tilt steering column was wornout, but it was all in the steering box...

The tires are harder to turn, especially when not moving (no more 1-finger turning), but some of that could be the pressure (or lack of) from the factory steering pump. Later pumps are set up to deliver more pressure. Although the pumps are the same, the outlet fittings, etc are different...

thanks tony, i already bought the kit from LEE, i was just think, since i did not get my steering box yet, that the caprice box might be better. especially if the kit i already bought will work with it. i guess i need to ask lee manufacturing or just compare the 2. but when i think about it, i did the b-body spindle conversion, and the steering stops on those spindles hit befor the original chevelle ones did so my steering is already a little reduced, i guess the question comes down to, is the monte box going to stop the steering travel befor the spindles hit the lower a-arm? also one thing to consider is, i am putting really wide tires up front, so the steering stopping might not be too bad of a thing, it might keep the tires from rubbing?

Originally posted by Stroked66:
When I restored my 66 I did the monte SS steering box conversion. My question is, I lost some of my steering radius. Tha car does not corner as sharp as a stock box, is this normal??yes it is normal provided it is a true ss box. the ss box turning radius is 39 degrees and the stock 66 box 43 degrees.

I bought the reman box through work (napa). I doesnt even feel like a quick ratio box. Tha casting number on the box is 7826692. Should this casting number have "605" at the end to be a monte SS box? [/QUOTE]

not sure about the casting numbers. a factory box should/would have YA inked on the end for a 12.7 ss box which came in 85-93 M/C ss's. the regular M/C box had FP inked on it and was a 14:1 ratio. but with a reman box you probably wont have the inked numbers.

Like tony said. a 88-96 caprice box has travel of 43 degrees. same as the 65-69 chevelle

i just scored a 91 caprice police steering box for $100. i also bought the kit from lee manufacturing to be used on the 88 monte steering box. the question i have is, is the the pitman arm and hose conections exactly the same between the caprice and the monte? if so them i can use the caprice with the kit on my 70 chevelle?

Originally posted by FO_FDYFO:
i just scored a 91 caprice police steering box for $100. i also bought the kit from lee manufacturing to be used on the 88 monte steering box. the question i have is, is the the pitman arm and hose conections exactly the same between the caprice and the monte? if so them i can use the caprice with the kit on my 70 chevelle? if memory serves me correctly they are the same. both have o-ring connections with 16x1.5 mm and 18x1.5mm female threaded ports.

thanks, how about the pitman arm splines? and the coupler splines, do you think they are the same on the caprice as the monte?

Originally posted by FO_FDYFO:
thanks, how about the pitman arm splines? and the coupler splines, do you think they are the same on the caprice as the monte? I havnt personally compared both side by side, but everything I've read says they are same.

Go to www.corvettefaq.com/A-Car.asp (http://www.corvettefaq.com/A-Car.asp) and download the following papers:

A-Car Fast Ratio Steering Gear Upgrade Instructions - 6 pages

Caprice, Monte, & Buick Fast Ratio Gears (85-93)List

Grand Cherokee Fast Ratio Gears (92 1/2 -98) List

Chevelle Power Steering Gears (64-74) List

These papers should help you out.