How to put rack and pinoin in 1946 plymount

[Tony]

Hi i have a 1946 Plymouth coupe and have a 283 motor in it and want to put manual rack and pinion on it can this be done and what rack would i use and any where that sell kits Thank you.

[Andydodge]

Tony..........welcome aboard..........does the car still have the original steering setup in it?............I suppose the 283 is the Chev version not a mopar 273 with 10 extra cubes...either way both brands of V8 will fit with a little bit of sideways engine mounting to clear the steering box and column..........but as I'm a hotrodder and have been using a rack & pinion in my car for 45 years I suppose I better give you the info...........the best setups I've seen use the GM Cavalier rack & pinion, its a "centre steer" rack whereby the tie rods are attached to the rack at the racks centre thereby essentially reducing the tendency for "bump steer" to develop.......the centre steer setup allows the tie rods to be travelling in similar angles to the lower A arms which have a pivot point quite close together which reduces "bump steer"........meaning that the tierods length and pivot points should be as close to the A arms as possible....the Cavalier Rack achieves that...a drawback to using a rack & pinion is that most racks tend to have a shorter "throw" than a normal worm & roller, etc steering box which means that while you have a quicker steering response the turning circle is reduced due to the shorter "throw" in the rack............this can be overcome by using shorter steering arms or by mounting the stock steering arms "forward" of their original mounting which does the same job as using a shorter steering arm............

............the attached pics are two of a Cavalier rack installation in a 1941 Plymouth, these were on this forum, however I can't remember who did this......the yellow sump is my 1940 Dodge with an Austin 1800 rack & pinion...........yes its RHD, I'm in Oz and this has been in the car since 1973......whilst it works fine I wouldn't do it this way now...I'd be using a Cavalier setup or the Oz equivalent.........and the 4th pic shows the steering arms on an Oz late 50's Chrysler mounted 1 bolt "forward" as a way to improve the turning circle and counteract the reduced "throw" that a rack & pinion steering has..............I hope this helps or makes sense........lol.......regards from Oz..........Andy Douglas           

[Tony]

Thank you.What Chevy rear end would work with the 283 Chevy motor and 350 Trans,Thank you for the help.

[Andydodge]

Tony........I'm not that familiar with the various Chev rear ends, most are the salisbury style, 10 or 12 bolt, to be honest unless you have a seriously hot 283 the original rear end would probably hold together o/k so long as its in good condition........tho' the tapered axle could be a drawback........maybe try something from a Nova or Camaro......I'd try the original rear end first and see how it goes although are you looking to have the same bolt pattern as front discs?.......if so then use whatever Chev rear axle has the same bolt pattern........main thing is use an axle with the right width as 40's mopars are reasonably wide across the rear inner guards and chassis at the back..............here in Oz when I first built my car in 1973 I used an Oz 1962 Chrysler Royal rear axle which was essentially a 1955/56 US Plymouth rear axle.....this was in the car till the early 2000's when I replaced it with an Oz 1990 Ford Falcon rear axle which was a bolt in, my car also has 2" welded into the rear fenders to fit the 10" wide rear wheels........lol.................I've seen various suggestions on this Forum that use the Dakota rear ends, but as I'm unfamiliar with these I can't help but you should be able to do a search on here for the info..............anyway trust this helps........andyd    

[MackTheFinger]

It's basically a roll your own for the rack. A 10 bolt early Nova rear should work with some spring mount work but the wheels would have a different bolt pattern. Otherwise Ford Explorer or Dodge Dakota would fill the bill.

 I really like 283 SBC engines. I had a 301 in the early '70s that was a screamer!!  Doesn't Andy's Dodge look great? 

[Andydodge]

Hey...Mack.........now I can't get around in my house as my Heads swollen so much it won't fit thru the doorways.........lol...........tho' my wife just said its now full of the same stuff that the rest of me has.................lol....................all good mate................can't take ourselves too seriously as no one else does.....lol..........regards from Oz..........andyd