TR2/3/3A 1960 TR3A now with rack and pinion

[TFR]

Looked all over the country for a nice rack and pinion kit for my car but was unable to locate one. Every one that sells a kit was out of stock with a long wait.
Been emailing a guy in the UK that owns RACETORATIONS. His name Darryl Uprichard and he is a very knowledgable and nice guy that has some really cool stuff for the TR's. He had a kit for $1200 shipped and fit very well retaining the stock fan. He includes the rack, rod ends, some bolts and shims, support brackets, a couple switches for moving the turn signals and horn. Took me about 6 hours toi install.
Man does it make a difference... I can actually drive the car with out feeling like I am very close to wrecking.
Let me know if you would like more information.

 

[Lou Metelko]

A brand new rack and pinion will always out perform a tired and worn out worm and peg. If both systems were properly adjusted and tight, there is no difference above 15 MPH.

Lou Metelko
Auburn, Indiana
1954 TR2 TS981

 

[Deleted member 451]

I converted mine 5 years ago. Lou is right about the first 15 mph, but that is why they put power steering on cars. You don't need it after 15 mph either.
How does the rack fit without removing the fan?
Like you I mover the turn signals and horn to the dash. The horn will work with my wheel but the wire must come out of the u-joint in the column and the insulation would wear out after about 6 months, the horn would honk every time I made a left turn so I finally moved it.
I wanted the turn singles to self cancel so I found a switch from an MGA that works. Turns off after about 30 seconds.
The R&P also lets me use a 14" wheel which helps my 6'2" body get in and out and lets me use the clutch without banging my leg against the wheel. My 105# wife can also drive the car now whitch she could not do with the old system.
Whenever I change something like this I always save the old parts in case the new owner wants to put back to original after I die. I figure in a few more years I'll be able to open a used parts store.

 

[TFR]

I agree about the first 15 MPH but even after that the car bump steered so bad it was danagerous. I tried to make sure the original steering was tight but replacing every part in the front and even trying to see what I could do to tighten the steering box. Still no luck. Since the old style steering box is flawed from the beginning I decided to install the R&P.
As for the R&P retaining the fan. The unit I got from RACETORATIONS was a very small diameter tube and it ran below the fan entension. I was surprised it fit but to my delight it did...
Also the upper shaft is replaced with a solid unit so I will have to run new wires up to the dash for the turn signals and horn.

 

[TR3driver]

Rebuilding the original steering box, steering and suspension did wonders for my TR3A. I could literally park with one hand and change lanes on the freeway with 2 fingers, even with wide, sticky tires. Possibly eliminating all the rubber bushings and Silentblocs had some effect too.

But after seeing how well the original setup works, when it doesn't have 40 years of wear on it; I can't see any reason to switch to R&P.

Crude yes, but there was nothing slow about my TR3A. I just loved passing people in their 'modern' sports cars (especially Mustangs) in tight corners. The guy in the Saturn SC2 that spun out while I was passing him on the inside of an on-ramp is probably still wondering what that funny little car was.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

Having never driven my TR3, how do I tell if I should rebuild the steering box while the rest is apart?

 

[TR3driver]

Given what a PITA it is, especially on the earlier "solid column" cars; plus what a huge difference it made when I finally rebuilt mine; I'd say just do it. If everything appears to be in good shape, you can just replace the bushing and seal (which don't cost much).

The only hard part was getting the Pitman arm off. Likely you can find a purpose-made Pitman arm puller that would fit, but I made do by adding some side braces to my 2-arm gear puller (so it couldn't slip off the ears).

I also found a dial indicator to be essential in setting the end play. Even on the bench, doing it "by feel", I was .004" off. Get the set from Enco that's usually on sale for under $25.

IMO the spring-loaded top covers are worse than useless.

Since it no longer leaked, I also started using full synthetic gear oil (Valvoline Synpower), which may have helped too. Was using "dinosaur juice" before, since it ran out so quickly.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Randall has offered good advice. While you have the steering gear box apart, look at the peg on the rocker shaft that fits in the cam (worm gear). If it shows any wear either replaced or at least rotate it 90 degrees.

Another item that can make steering into a work out is the idler arm. It can easily be removed from the car, old hardened grease cleaned out and re greased.

 

[Gordo]

Randall,

You mentioned replacing the silent-blocs in your post. I'm in the process of obtaining parts and I thought I saw a oillite bearing from maybe Revington? I went to look for them, but maybe I just looked in the wrong place? Where did you obtain your replacements or did you make up your own?

Gordo

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Aloha Gordo,

I believe this is what your looking for from Revington

https://www.revingtontr.com/shop/downloads/Section3.pdf

look on page four of this section for the improved track control pin, part # 105063U.

 

[Twosheds]

I got mine from Ken Gillanders at British Frame and Engine, which is probably where Randall got his. Shipping might be cheaper from California than from the UK.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Here is the link to British Frame and Engine and the replacement silentbloc bush:

https://www.britishframeandengine.com/parts1.html

 

[YankeeTR]

My old TS74011L was a tuff steering old car. I replaced the worn silentbloc bushes and a few other things but it always steered hard (bad idler arm I suspect).

Last fall I had the pleasure of driving my friends TR3 and it was so easy to steer I had to look around to see that I was indeed driving a sidescreen TR. The steering was light and easy...you could palm the wheel to parallel park.

That short ride convinced me that the old worm and peg steering has a place in every TR.

 

[TR3driver]

I did get my silentbloc replacements from Ken at BFE, but I believe he imported them from Racetorations or maybe Revington. They weren't cheap when I bought them, and they are more now. Although I'm happy with the result, the ones from Ken weren't exactly "plug and play" either. Had to add a shim to one, and cut the other one, to get them to fit properly.

Joe Alexander is talking about doing some of his own, possibly in poly or Nylatron, which should be cheaper. If you can wait a few weeks, Joe's will likely fit better, too.

 

[TR3driver]

Another item that can make steering into a work out is the idler arm.

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif
The vertical links can also be a problem; Herman van den Akker wrote that he had to go through 5 of them before finding a pair that didn't bind with new trunnions.

I left the springs out until last, so I could check that everything moved freely as it should; including not just the steering but the entire front suspension.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

You guys are great. I'm amazed at the experience I can tap into simply by asking a question. I'm in no hurry and it will be some time before I'm ready to start putting it back together, but I'd rather not skip anything along the way.

 

[TFR]

It is obvious the prefered method is original equipment rebuilt to factory standards. Since I didn't want to wait until I could find parts or locate distributors, I bought the R&P.
I will probably try to restore the original steering box but now I can actually enjoy the car.
Every one I talked to about the original steering said when it came out at the factory it was marginal at best. Why wouldn't you wany to install R&P? Especially on a driver car.

 

[TR3driver]

Hey Larry, hope my comments weren't taken as criticism. I always say "It's your car, it should please you." You like it better with R&P, that's fine with me. I might have gone that way myself, if the bolt-on kit had been available (and in my price range) at the time.

Probably the biggest thing stopping me was the loss of that funky turn signal switch ... which was the same reason I never tried dropping in a V6 /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

The DPO of my current 'project' TR3 also moved the turn signal switch to the dash, so he could have a wooden steering wheel ... I've already given the steering wheel to a friend and have the parts on hand to put the switch back where it belongs.

 

[Brooklands]

Am I understanding it that since the PO switched my 3B to R&P I cannot ever use the wheel mounted control for turn signals. My car has horn and turn signal switches on the dash, and I just assumed (I know) that it was because the controls were broken.

 

[TR3driver]

The original control head relied on the 'stator tube' through the center of the entire steering column to contain the wires and keep the head from turning. AFAIK none of the R&P conversions have provisions for the stator tube; which pretty much rules out using the original control head.

I have seen one car where someone swapped in the column from a TR4, giving TR4 style horn button & turn signals on the column. But it didn't look right to my eye, and put the wheel too close to the driver, IMO.