rack and pinion on 02
 

I'm putting 944 brakes/suspension on my '73 1302. I'm going to use the porsche spindles with adapter ball joints. can the rack from my donor 944 be used? if not the posche rack is there a simpler method? does anyone have any pictures /diagrams of a late model 03 with factory R & P that i can compare. any info would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks!

great forum!!

john

do all 1303's have rack and pinion?
 

I own a 74...I thought 1302's were only made 71-72
or is 73 1302 first half and 1303 second half of 73?
Confused...Just the same...Does my '74 1303 have rack and pin or worm and roll?

This is the rack and pinion on my '75 model 1303 with the addition of a Gerd Weiser steering damper (as it is not originally present on these models):

http://www.keversite.nl/fotoalbum/fo...2005101803.jpg

Regards,
Walter

Not clear in that pic is the extra body panels that were used to give rigidity to where the rack mounts.

Hi Wally, hope you well,

That's a nifty looking steering damper mount! I've not felt any need to add such to my '79 '03.. Why did you choose to add a damper? What do Weiser claim it does (apart from the usual over-damping the steering feedback)?

(If you don't mind me asking) :)

Matt

Hi, thanks,

Well, originally (5 years ago) I had quite some steering unstability and thought it was because of the wider track that the 944 turbo Cup spindles gave in combination with 7"x16 wheels.
That steering damper could cure it, so was advertised by Gerd Tafel (!) then..
It didn't help (of course) because the unproper (non-centered) wheel mounting that was the fault (don't ask), in comb with old bushings of the trailing arms :mad: Well, they 'looked' ok at that time; now I know better...

But, it does work coming out of corners (because of the Bilstein gas damper) and it really not heavier steering (which surprised me, since the gas damper should give some resistance).
Also, at high speeds, I need every reassuring thought to cope with the stress/exitement of hitting a pot hole and loosing the wheel and the steering damper helps there too! :laugh:

Regards,
Walter

I've heard of guys putting 914 R&P in their Super's. The 944's have power steering :( .

Excellent picture Wally.

I have a slightly off topic question - what brand swaybar are you using?

Thanks
Jeremy

Thanks Guys! Wally, do you have any pics. that show how the tie rods connect. still not sure if it's fisable to convert to rack& pinion. anyone else??

thanks!

john

John

This shot of Steve C's new project car that has been converted to R&P may help
http://www.clubvw.org.au/images/Steves_1303.1.jpg

Cheers
Jeremy

rack & pinion saga
 

Jeremy, thanks that picture does shed some light on it. I can see now that the rack from a 944 probably won't work as well due to the tie rods being so much shorter than the SB control arms - looks like it would introduce bump steer. I'm assuming that this rack is stock late model 1303.

anyone else care to join the discussion?

thanks!

john

Thanks; well, you can clearly see I don't care much for detail :o

Well, what would live be without going OT ? ;)
In the picture you see the recently installed Topline sway bar. It has also the Topline urethane caster-correction (excentric) bushings installed. The control arms also have the urethane bushings. The ones at the inner side have the extra caster giving bushings.
The difference in ride after these new bushings and sway bar was astonishing.

Regards,
Walter

Supers in the 1971-72 model years were 1302s. 1303s started with the 1973 model year. Rack and pinion started with the 1975 model year.

There were some other changes which were made mid-1973, so some 1303s share parts more commonly associated with 1302s. How this affects a rack and pinion conversion, though, I'm not sure.

Thanks Wally, the urethane bushes make an enourmous difference to the handleing of supers!

John, yes that rack I believe is a late 1303 rack fitted to an early 03 (which previously had a steering box).

A friend of mine had looked at fitting an Alfasud rack to his super. His suggestion was to fit it higher than the stock location and use a bracket to mount the central tie rods to so they remain in the same position as they would with the stock steering box, cunning :)

Actually someone has just pointed out the Ackerman angle thing- I don't know how the factory dealt with it but it could be a lot trickier than it first seems. Ackerman is where the inside wheel turns tigher than the outside wheel- this helps reduce tyre scrb etc http://www.compgoparts.com/technical/001/Ackerman.asp

CU
Jeremy

Hi

I fitted on to my old 1302.

It’s a hard job but I believe the benefits are worth it. First find a 75 1303 that has a rack fitted. Take some measurements to get an accurate idea where the rack will bolt to the chassis rails. This is important because the inner guard has some stiffening in it that weaves around the stock steering box and idler arm mounting points.

There is a cross brace that needs to be removed that runs across the base of the spare wheel well. The depression in the 1302 chassis that the rack fits into is not deep enough so you need to make this depression much deeper. I heated mine and flattened it down with a mallet. If I ever did again I would cut the section out and weld ½ circle of heavy wall tubing in there. The job on my car was made a little easier because I have no spare wheel well as it has been removed to fit a radiator. To hold the rack in place you will need to fit some captive nuts in the chassis rail, I just cut a slit in the outer side of the inner guard, fitted some captive nuts and then re-welded the slit. I have seen these mountings fitted another way, make some sturdy 90-degree brackets to bolt to the existing the stock steering box and idler arm mounting points and then the rack can bolt to these.

The 1303 steering shaft will also hit about ½ way along so the body will need a small amount of clearancing.

Steve

Thanks Steve

I hope you don't mind, that is your new project I have linked to above :)

Do you or anyone else know if the Akerman angle is an issue with the rack mounted in that location with steering arms facing forward on the spindle / steering knuckle? It isn't the ideal setup from what the current thinking is, but the factory must have realised what they were doing when they made the car.

Cheers
Jeremy