I have a manual steering gear box in my '68 that Ill be pulling out in a month or so and switching to power steering.

You can have it. If you're interested.

 

Whatever you guys do, the pitman arm of a manual box has a different shaft size than that of a power steering box, so it would be best if you could swap pitman arms too at the same time, assuming both cars had the same steering arrangement.

 

Im pulling the pitman arm and box out of my '70 and putting it in the '68. Driving around town with manual steering sucks.

 

which ratio is preferable in drag racing applications ?

these are the boxes i m looking at

stock 25:1

NEW 1965-1991 GM MANUAL STEERING BOX,SAGINAW 525 GEAR BOX,CHEVY,OLDS,PONTIAC


or quick 16:1

Borgeson 920040 Steering Box, Manual, OEM Saginaw 525 Series, Quick Ratio, New | eBay

 

I would just match whatever came stock in the car. I ran a 68 Manual box in my 70 going 9.30's at 141.

 

I pondered this myself and came to the conclusion that I wanted slower steering and a bunch of positive caster to keep me going straight at speed. I went with a stock box and it's not a lot of fun on the street and it stands to reason that a fast ratio box would be tougher to turn at lower speeds due to the mechanical disadvantage.

Probably could have gone with the fast ratio box and been fine but a used stock manual box costs next to nothing and seems better in my head for the reasons listed.

 

I agree. I use the original manual box. A manual stock box can give you more road/track feel and might help prevent steering mishaps at higher speeds. Plus they do not take engine power and cannot leak especially at the track.

 

Which one is Lighter

The Quick Ratio one means little room for error
if you over steer one way or the other then it reacts quicker/to quickly and that can result in a big problem/accident

If the 69 has the same Ratio of 25:1 then I would stay with that Ratio since you will be use to it/how it reacts more
and Visa Versa

 

I had manual steering in my old chevelle. Driving on snow having fun was pretty scary, once the rearend came out everything was fine but when it switch direction and I had to countersteer woow that was a lot of work. Easy to loose control when you need to do go the opposite direction and have to turn your steering wheel three rounds in under a second. Same thing could easily happen at the track if your rearend starts to slide out. For that reason I would definetely go with 16:1. I have 12:1 in my "fast" chevelle now and it's a little touchy on the highway but going down the track is no problem, and it always tracks straight except for the burnout.

 

A 16:1 manual box is going to be really hard to turn at slow speed. Parking lot or pits at the dragstrip if this is a race only car are going to be a nightmare especially if you have smaller steering wheel than original.

Probably better off with original 25:1

 

i use the flaming river box with the 16 to 1 ratio in my 140 mph drag car. much better than the stock slower ratio in my opinion

 

You can also adjust steering ratio with different diameter steering wheels.. My 14:1 power with a 12" wheel is faster (and better overall) then my 12:1 power with a 16" wheel..

I agree with the guy who said to run positive caster.. The caster is what snaps the wheel back to center and gives a confident hi speed feel to the car.. You should only need a couple degrees with a manual steer car with no hydraulic assist..

 

I have the stocker manual one in mine and with a spool you need "popeye arms" making tight turns at low speeds...the correct manual steering pitman arm is a bit hard to find but one company reproduces it. I think I have a old post in the steering/suspension section that gives the company name and part #...

 

You guys ever thought of ditching this saginaw stuff and going with a rack?
I used a 1982 Ford mustang Power rack hooked up manual in my 78 Nova.. some fab and welding was needed but it was clean and simple and worked great. Took less than a day to fab it all together.
This was a daily driver and it would run.
But you need front steer for that rack.
Recently I have seen the newer 2005 etc GM stuff with the rack that would possibly work for rear steer.

Best of all the Ford rack in the Nova took 45 LBS off the front end. And you do not need all that huge frame horns anymore sticking out in front of the steering box area.
Talking lightened car stuff where you do not mind cutting up a vehicle.

 

It all comes down to the size of the front tires for wither or not its hard to steer with a manual box.
Caster plays only a small part in it, caster makes it want to go or return to straight.
The 165-15's on the race car turn easy. (VW bug tires )
Now put some 235/60-15's on it and you have a different story.
Wheel backspace has a lot to do with it also, for how it rotates over the steering pivot point.
Spools have nothing to do with it.
They don't like corners because it takes away Ackerman's theory, and that is only forward rolling resistance not front steering.

 

Yes, I what I meant is the spool as well as manual steering make it more effort to drive...I have a set of 215-60-15 on it for storage/getting around tires but the smaller tires are the ones I use for racing..


at the 2:50 mark I have to put some more effort into bringing it into the laneway..

 

I have the Borgeson quick ratio 16:1 manual steering gear in my 70 Chevelle. To tell the truth I know its not harder to turn then the old Saginaw it replaced with the 24:1 steering ratio to me any way. I don't have skinnes up front either. It hard yes but the road feel is better for me when it's moving down the road. Running BBC with alternator, electric water pump, vacuum pump, along with crank trigger. Not much room for Power steering up front of engine. I park in the garage off a narrow alley it's pretty tuff, and car shows are the worse. Have a 14" steering wheel, with 15 X 7" rims up front. I have a white line on the dash, and steering wheel for center in case loose sight of steering. I am up in years I would not change it back to PS.