steering box improvement for 74 'Cuda

[mopar1]

I am looking for recommendations for my 74 'Cuda.  Currently, the car is not fun to drive.  It has a worn out 24:1 manual steering box and I'm constantly sawing at the wheel to keep it in it's lane.  I think the car would be much more enjoyable with power steering and a faster ratio steering box.  I've replaced all of the ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, pitman arm with high quality moog components and had an alignment done.  I think the steering box, control arm bushings and strut rod bushings are all that I have left to replace.

When upgrading the steering box, I assume since I'm going from manual to power steering, I would need to change the pitman arm as well?  What options are out there?  If anyone has experience with this upgrade, please chime in with your thoughts, lessons learned, and if you would do anything different.

Thanks!

[RUNCHARGER]

The control arm bushings and strut rod bushings should be replaced unless the alignment shop said they are good. Then if it isn't a Cuda 360 (rare car that should be kept stock) I would go directly to the borgenson PS swap. Not cheap but really not that much more than gambling with a rebuilt stock PS box.
I assume the alignment shop checked toe in for you? Toe in is the easiest spec to check and adjust and if it's off the car will drive awful.
If swapping to PS it's a bit involved as you need the pump, pulleys, brackets, hoses as well as the box and you have to modifiy the steering column shaft as well.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/brg-800126

[anlauto]

The "go to" place for Mopar steering upgrades is Firm Feel it seems. https://firmfeel.com/collections/power-steering

If you want the best firm feel in the steering, you might want to consider sticking with manual steering, then you're not dealing with adding a pump, new pulleys, hoses etc...power steering will always have that "easy" feeling....that the point of power steering.

[Brads70]

The control arm bushings and strut rod bushings should be replaced unless the alignment shop said they are good. Then if it isn't a Cuda 360 (rare car that should be kept stock) I would go directly to the borgenson PS swap. Not cheap but really not that much more than gambling with a rebuilt stock PS box.
I assume the alignment shop checked toe in for you? Toe in is the easiest spec to check and adjust and if it's off the car will drive awful.
If swapping to PS it's a bit involved as you need the pump, pulleys, brackets, hoses as well as the box and you have to modifiy the steering column shaft as well.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/brg-800126

Especially if you don't have a power steering box to send in as a core to Firm Feel, I too would just get the Borgenson set up.

One stop shopping here, and he has all the additional parts you would need and Peter is also a Mopar guy himself
https://bergmanautocraft.com/product-category/steering-parts/

[Mr Cuda]

First  make sure that your front ride height  is close to factory spec. Lowered  front height for looks messes with drivability.
Then add a sector support.
Even for power steering.  Really helps with  the on center  slop.

[mopar1]

The "go to" place for Mopar steering upgrades is Firm Feel it seems. https://firmfeel.com/collections/power-steering

If you want the best firm feel in the steering, you might want to consider sticking with manual steering, then you're not dealing with adding a pump, new pulleys, hoses etc...power steering will always have that "easy" feeling....that the point of power steering.

I've converted some GM vehicles to power steering so I know the parts list can add up quickly.  I had the 'Cuda dyno tuned last year and it runs amazing and I want it to steer just as well.   If the firm feel box would have a similar feel to the IROC Z28 box I put in my 67 Camaro I would be thrilled.

[mopar1]

The control arm bushings and strut rod bushings should be replaced unless the alignment shop said they are good. Then if it isn't a Cuda 360 (rare car that should be kept stock) I would go directly to the borgenson PS swap. Not cheap but really not that much more than gambling with a rebuilt stock PS box.
I assume the alignment shop checked toe in for you? Toe in is the easiest spec to check and adjust and if it's off the car will drive awful.
If swapping to PS it's a bit involved as you need the pump, pulleys, brackets, hoses as well as the box and you have to modifiy the steering column shaft as well.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/brg-800126

It was a 318 3 speed car originally and that drivetrain was long gone before I got it so I'm not a stickler for it being 100% original by any means. Yes, the alignment shop went through everything because it had horrible tire wear before I took it in.  The wear problem is no longer prevalent.  I may still have the paperwork in the glove box where they set it up. I'll have to check and see.

I did find this article when researching and this company provides an adapter for the column to prevent cutting the shaft.  They also are a distributor for Borgenson.   

https://www.streetmusclemag.com/project-cars/project-track-attack/tech-install-1962-82-mopar-steering-box-upgrade-with-borgeson/

[mopar1]

Especially if you don't have a power steering box to send in as a core to Firm Feel, I too would just get the Borgenson set up.

One stop shopping here, and he has all the additional parts you would need and Peter is also a Mopar guy himself
https://bergmanautocraft.com/product-category/steering-parts/

Thank you for the link and information!  I was looking for his site.

[Dakota]

First  make sure that your front ride height  is close to factory spec. Lowered  front height for looks messes with drivability.
Then add a sector support.
Even for power steering.  Really helps with  the on center  slop.

I did one of these sector support bearings too.   It's a pretty easy install.  I didn't have hardly any road time with my car before I took it apart, so I can't give you any valid comparison of before and after, but I can say that it the steering is nice and tight now (this includes getting a Firm Feel Stage 3 upgrade to the box).

My car has power steering, which includes a coupler with little sliders (shoes?) in it that connects the steering shaft to the steering box.   If those shoes are in sideways, there is a tremendous amount of slop in the steering (ask me how I know). You'd probably have the same issue if the shoes are worn out, but I don't recall seeing any posts about people dealing with that particular problem. 

Hope you find what you're looking for in terms of performance improvements.

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

How much slop do you have in the steering wheel? By this, I mean how much can you turn it each way total before the front wheels actually start to move left/right?

I had over a quarter turn of free movement of the steering wheel left to right, and it was a horrible lane-drifter on the road...

I finally checked the steering box adjustment (the hex screw on top of the steering box), and adjusted it a full turn and a half (in very small increments, checking for no binding when passing through the centered position).

I could not believe the difference in it, like riding on rails now... mine is a power unit, but I believe the adjustment is the same...

[mopar1]

How much slop do you have in the steering wheel? By this, I mean how much can you turn it each way total before the front wheels actually start to move left/right?

I had over a quarter turn of free movement of the steering wheel left to right, and it was a horrible lane-drifter on the road...

I finally checked the steering box adjustment (the hex screw on top of the steering box), and adjusted it a full turn and a half (in very small increments, checking for no binding when passing through the centered position).

I could not believe the difference in it, like riding on rails now... mine is a power unit, but I believe the adjustment is the same...

I would say mine is between a 1/4 and a 1/3 of a turn.  It's horrible.  The nut securing theadjuster on the box is seized.  I've tried penetrating oils, heat, impact(force from striking tool on nut with a hammer, not air tools), and nothing seems to help.

[Mr Cuda]

Sounds like your title  should have been steering box repair,  not improvement.
Your might have to pull the box. Apply heat to get the nut off, but if the nut is that frozen,  the adjustment screw could be too.
Once everything is up to good working condition, then the other suggestions  come into  play.

[Cudajason]

Any chance the alignment shop used the stock specs....if you have radial tires, the alignment may not be correct.

Jason