MG steering rack

michael-king · Post by **michael-king** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:10 pm

Oh its OK, i am cool with cars with issues.. my multiple sunbeam ownership confirms that. I am just think that it would be a good reference as to what the kit achieves. In all fairness, you are saying that it is an improvement on Dales kits, some objective data would be nice.

I obtained a MG rack kit a while back and the quality of the one i have is excelent, the fitting to the rack is perfect, which i know on some kits is not always the case, but thats more a MFG issue than design.

You said you have made improvements, was just wondering how that was measured... not having a go, just curious.

As for the other post regarding the complete replacement fron ends Mike H's front end replacement and the the Dale A replacement front ends are interesting options.. Dales one is certainly pricey.. when you look at the price look at the fine print at what you dont get in the pictures.

gtsmrt · Post by **gtsmrt** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:05 am

Tomaselli wrote:
sbt302 wrote:so this is the best of a bad job....
or you could always save up for one of these front "set-ups"

That is one nice setup, but what's the damage in comparison?

garyv8tiger · Post by **garyv8tiger** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:45 pm

or you could buy a golf

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:22 am

For power steering... the Mazda rack works pretty well...

and for ackerman issues...

Jim ( across the pond on the west coast )

sbt302 · Post by **sbt302** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:52 am

I like the pitman arm/s Jim..

martin172 · Post by **martin172** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:39 pm

Welcome to the Club Jim.

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:40 pm

martin172 wrote:Welcome to the Club Jim.

Thanks... I've been to this site a few times before but never registered to post. I've had some dealings with one of your members this week and was on here looking at his HRO MKII and came across this thread so I thought I'd post a couple pics of what I've been up to...
There's actually several unique things done to my front suspension...

I was one of the first on the list to order one of Mike H's custom suspensions and even talked a buddy into getting one... but my job situation changed and had to cancel... then I decided to see what I could do to correct some of the issues with a more modest budget.

Back to the subject of this thread, the last time I talked to Dale A. , he no longer had his Midget rack kit available ... something to do with availability of his machinist. That was last year so it might have changed. Glad to see there is someone else doing it as it has been a fairly popular swap...
As far numbers to show the improvement, Larry Mayfield did some calculations on it... http://www.mayfco.com/steering.htm

My variable length steering arms bring the ackerman to just about perfect... eg. inside wheel at 20° - outside wheel 17° ... stock outside is 22.17° and using the MGB arms is a bit better...
My setup is based on an 'Anderson Accurate Ackerman Angle' kit that was designed by a CAT club member back in the '70's with a few changes...
My car is one of three that I know of that have power steering ( Cleo Shelby has another )... Is anything like that available in the U.K. ?

Jim
B382000446

Tomaselli · Post by **Tomaselli** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:17 pm

Thanks for the posts and detailed helpful information Jim, and welcome aboard!

That power steering conversion certainly looks a very neat option, and indeed from what little we have seen your Tiger I imagine is a truly sorted example

Do you have air-conditioning fitted aswell

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:59 pm

I have seen a couple of air conditioning setups but where I live( on the B.C. coast ) there's not that much need for it... it's the rain forest...

It's so cramped in the engine bay that I didn't even put the power steering pump in there... I use an electric Toyota MR2 pump mounted in the wheel well. I wanted to have it 'power down' as the speed increased as it does in the MR2 and through the wonder of the internet found a fellow who had solved that issue. He just happened to be an electrical engineer and designed a very small programmable circuit board that takes an input signal ( electronic speedo sender in my case ) and varies the voltage output to the pump as the speed of the car changes !

Jim

Post by **gvickery** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 3:40 pm

Jim

There are a growing number of Tigers here with power steering but I have yet to see an installation up close. One STOC member has fitted a small unit from a GM Vauxhall Corsa under the dash of his partner's Tiger (fitted to a modified Alpine column) and another has employed the MG F unit but I'm unsure of that set up.

Perhaps this thread will draw out a useful description and some pics.

Graham
STOC Editor

BlackDog · Post by **BlackDog** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:49 pm

Yes, I've seen pics of that EPAS system custom built for the Tiger... it's very impressive and I think when it's ready to go 'public' you'll like what you see ! I think if coupled to an MG rack, it would be an outstanding autocross setup ! I've never driven a Tiger with the MG rack but I DO know how quick it is as beside my Tiger in the shop is my wife's '66 Sprite. It has a 'built' 1275 and Datsun 5 spd. and is a blast to drive...

My electro-hydraulic system is built on parts that are already 20 years old and it's obvious that the 'all-electric' is the way of the future... There are a lot more cars with that on your side of the pond than ours at the moment.
I have so many parts from other cars installed now that if was to ever sell... I'd have to write a service manual to go with it... same thing happened with the Rover 3500 powered Porsche 914 I built about 25 years ago... lol!

Jim
B382000446

michael-king · Post by **michael-king** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:43 am

There was a setup developed in NZ using a subaru liberty (or leone perhaps?) power rack.. a few cars in AU have it now as well. This is a hydraulic setup.. i can see more advantages to an electric instalation.

Tiger66DK · Post by **Tiger66DK** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:36 pm

Hi, Denmark calling sbt302

Do you have a kit available for a LHD Tiger?
sbt302, your e-mail address is not working.

Happy steering

B382001444LRXFE

Mal · Post by **Mal** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:53 pm

I have been trying to find a midget rack and came across this article. He says the rack he is using is a midget/ morris rack.

Is a Morris rack the same as a midget

Maybe easier to find.

http://www.kitcarmag.com/techarticles/s ... index.html

Found this

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Steering rack measurments, Overall length between steering knuckle centres 45+1/2 inches. Distance between mount centres 12 inches. Diameter of mount castings 1+15/32 inches. Diameter of tube 1+1/8 inches. steering column shaft protrudesat an angle of 5% off the square. I also have in stock, an early(1949<53) and late(1954<58) Oxford racks. I hope this goes some way to solving your problem. Cheers

gtsmrt · Post by **gtsmrt** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:04 am

Hi Mal,

That is interesting. The article states that they are the same basic rack as the later sprite/midget, but are the ratios identical? That is one reason for the upgrade to the Tiger's rack due to the rack ratio of the sprite/midget. If they are identical, that widens the search that bit more.

Regards, Robin.

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