The Unisteer cross steer kit...
The Unisteer cross steer kit (PN 8000460-01) comes with a rack and a steering link, but you need to supply your own tie-rod end. The triangular mount is part of the Unisteer unit, and it bolts up to the Vega mounting plate already on the chassis. (California Custom Roadsters (CCR) makes the separate mounting bracket if your chassis doesn't already have a mount.)
By nearly any account, when someone says "Model A" you wouldn't normally come up with the word "innovative" as a synonym. After all, the Model A is 84 years old (it debuted on Dec. 2, 1927), and nearly everything that can happen with a Model A has, well, probably already happened. Long a favorite of the hot rod crowd (where would dry lakes racing be without the A roadster?), the Model A has enjoyed something of a reawakening in the past few years, gaining even more fans.
When speaking about steering components for the hopped up Model A, rodders have relied heavily on the venerable Vega box and cross steering to improve upon the stock factory design. Cross steering usually eliminates any chance of having bumpsteer (when the traveling arcs of the axle and draglink are radically different from each other) but, up until recently, a Vega (or Vega-like) steering box was about the only answer for hot rodders.
Enter Mavel Manufacturing and its subsidiary: Unisteer Performance Products. A company that has built its reputation on remanufacturing power rack-and-pinion steering systems and related products for the automotive world, Mavel created Unisteer to address the aftermarket world and expressly the cars of the '60s, '70s, and '80s, and, more recently, street rods of the first half of the last century. Their contribution is based on a question: Instead of building a new type of Vega-style steering box, why not adapt a rack-and-pinion system for straight-axle chassis designs?
Here's the project: a Brookville...
Here's the project: a Brookville Roadsters' '29 roadster pickup mounted to a CCR chassis, rolling on Team III 15- and 17-inch five-spokes.
Among the many vehicles they developed a rack system for is the Model A and, best of all, it is a bolt-in replacement with no chassis modifications needed for anyone who was previously running a Vega-based cross steer system. Unisteer also offers the rest of the components to complete an entire installation, supplying parts from some of the best known steering component companies in the street rod world.
Unisteer's new kit (PN 8000460-01) replaces the Vega box and its ancillary parts, and it bolts directly to the old box mounting plate, so you don't have to drill any new holes or do any welding. Of course one of the biggest advantages of this kit is it retails for about $385, compared to $500 for a Vega-type box. You can call the system a half-rack as it pushes out one side of the unit (rather than a "full rack" that pushes out of both sides of a centered unit), and it mounts to the driver side 'rail and connects to the passenger side steering arm.
The unusual powerplant is...
The unusual powerplant is a 200-inch straight-six that came out of Liz Miles' '66 Mustang (a project car for Popular Hot Rodding magazine from a couple of years ago).
For our application, we installed the Unisteer unit on a new-build Model A chassis that was assembled at California Custom Roadsters (CCR) in Chino, California. The CCR chassis had come with a mount for a Vega-style box, but we asked CCR's Jerry Keifer to show us how he goes about installing the Unisteer kits (he's done a few and is a big fan of the unit).
But since this was a new build, no provisions for any of the steering had been made: no floor to mount a column to, no brace to attach a column drop-nothing. What's more, we wanted a goofy motor for this Brookville-bodied '29 roadster pickup project: a '66 Mustang's 200-inch straight-six backed to a C4 automatic tranny. Several things needed to happen to install the complete steering system in this ride, including a special vibration reducer from Borgeson. They build custom reducers for customers all the time, so it was no big deal, but ours had to have the 9/16-26 splined end on the reducer side, and the 3/4-36 splined end to connect to the steering shaft. It was little different than what they normally manufacture, but they had no problem making one up for this unique setup. Check out the steps it took to go from nothing to a steerable roller that can now be pushed around the shop.
The engine, and the C4 transmission,...
The engine, and the C4 transmission, protrudes into the cockpit a good 7 inches. It'll be a pain to cover up and it won't leave much foot space.
I begin the process by cutting...
I begin the process by cutting out the bottom of the cowl/gas tank, leaving about an inch and a half lip around the edge as I might need it to attach things to later.
A couple of baffles that have...
A couple of baffles that have been tacked in place by the factory must be pulled out of the cowl/gas tank, too, along with the bottom section of the tank.
At first I made up a cardboard...
At first I made up a cardboard template to see what I was up against. The transmission filler tube on the right will be removed and I'll fab a longer one later to replace it.
CCR made up these small tabs...
CCR made up these small tabs on each side of the cowl and then made a crossbrace out of 1/2-inch square tubing from which the column drop will hang. The crossbrace follows the curved shape of the dash.
Using the cardboard template,...
Using the cardboard template, I made a floor out of 3/4-inch plywood, which will work for now while I figure out where the LimeWorks steering column will go. Luckily CCR had a spare column in their shop that they loaned me so I could measure the length of the column I'll need as well as the steering shaft.
Once the steering parts were...
Once the steering parts were ordered, I spent some time bending up the floor section out of 18-gauge cold-rolled steel sheet on a pan-and-box break. A note for home builders: mark the top of your floor with the word "top" so you don't bend the edges over the wrong way like I did. Looked great-didn't fit. I remade the piece a second time (bending the edges the right way) and it fit fine.
I love the Beverly Shear....
I love the Beverly Shear. Quick and easy to operate, it makes easy work of cutting the 18-gauge cold-rolled sheet steel.
The LimeWorks polished aluminum...
The LimeWorks polished aluminum steering column (PN HRPH) we ordered is 30 inches long, 1-3/4 inches in diameter, and comes with horn button wire and a 3/4-36 splined bottom end. We'll also be using a 15-inch LimeWorks four-spoke Sprint Car steering wheel (PN 4SPH15) on the project.
After I made the toeboards,...
After I made the toeboards, I could mark and drill the hole for the column floor mount. Looking through the steering column hole in the toeboard I saw the engine mount is right in the way of the steering shaft, so the mount will have to be moved forward about 3-1/2 inches.
After finishing up the toeboards...
After finishing up the toeboards to go with the floor section, I bolted up the steering drop, column, and the floor mount.
The other necessary steering...
The other necessary steering parts came from Borgeson, and includes the steering shaft (PN 409216), column drop (PN 912173), floor mount (PN 909002), and stainless steel U-joints (PNs 113434 and 113409). The Unisteer rack has an output shaft in a 9/16-26 size, which you have to pay attention to when using 3/4-36 steering components throughout the rest of the system.
CCR's Jerry Keifer made some...
CCR's Jerry Keifer made some trick engine mounts for the straight-six using some of the rubber biscuit and covers that are off the T-bucket kits they sell.
The stock mounting bracket...
The stock mounting bracket for a standard Vega-type box looks like this: a triangle with three holes.
Here's the edge of a Vega...
Here's the edge of a Vega steering box, which shows the bulge in the middle of the unit that doesn't allow the box to be bolted to a flat mount (three small tabs typically hold it off the surface).
If you bolt the Unisteer rack...
If you bolt the Unisteer rack to the existing Vega mounting bracket it'll work, but it doesn't look right having the gap where the Vega box bulge used to be.
With the engine mount moved,...
With the engine mount moved, the smaller oil filter in place, and the new mounting bracket welded up, the Unisteer rack can be installed (three bolts and you're done-it's truly a drop-in replacement and the easiest part of installing the steering on this project).
CCR's Keifer fabbed up a new...
CCR's Keifer fabbed up a new bracket with a double set of mounting holes at the base, so you can rotate the rack for better placement. To the left is the Mobil M1-204 oil filter that replaced the Fram PH8A that was too long (5 inches compared to the Mobil M1's 3-1/2 inches), which would have interfered with the rack.
We still had a little bit...
We still had a little bit of a clearance issue between the steering shaft and the engine mount, so we ordered a vibration reducer from Borgeson that will not only do its job in reducing steering vibration, but it extends the mounting point for the steering shaft by a couple of inches-enough to clear the engine mount.
We had to chase the threads...
We had to chase the threads on the steering link (possibly because some of the chroming might have gotten in the threads) but, once done, the tie-rod end could be attached and the steering link attached to the rack.
The whole system is in place...
The whole system is in place and works well. Unisteer claims a 3-5/8 turns lock-to-lock, which is less than the four turns a standard Vega box needs to do the job. Once we get the engine up and running we'll have to give it a try, and hopefully it will work as smoothly as did the installation!