popeye Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hi to all of you. I passed the CT for my car: it is similar to the MOT in England. The car need a present for Christmas ;D It seems my steering rack is very worn to one end :-/. I checked the price of the different parts to rebuild it: it is not cheap and as expensive as a new one. Here are my questions: - I could have a nice price on a quick steering rack. Is it an interesting modification :? is it really a benefit or a waiste of money ? and an important fact for me: is it a period (70's) accessory ? Made for Elan ? I checked the old catalogs I have and I only found quick racks for DOLOMITE, nothing for Spitfire, GT6 - Whart are the differences between GT6 and Spit rack ? Does anyone use a quick rack on his spit ? Many thanks for you comments and feedbacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattius Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 quick racks are generally regarded as not needed in the spit unless its track only, make the car very twitchy. I think the gt6 rack is a little quicker than the spit, you could switch that out for a slight improvement although mine has a brand new std rack and there is absoloutly no need for anything quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveNotSoSideways Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Waste of money in my opinion. Buy a good quality steering joint / UJ and a new standard. This gives very sharp steering. I think a quick-rack would just be horrible and nervous to drive. I never have to cross my arms driving bar maybe around a hairpin. Any rack will need to be a Triumph one, not a lotus one, the geometry is vital. Think the GT6 and Spit have different ratios, the Spitfire is "quicker" and sharper of the two. http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/steering-universal-joint-forged-ujf-923-p.asp I use one of these and a stock rack, you may need to "adjust" the suspension tower slightly with a blunt object or a dremel/grinding stone as the larger UJ may rub it or the bolt/nut may catch. These joints really tighten the lot up. Rarebits4classics.co.uk also sells a UJ joint. He maybe cheaper on postage, his are pressed steel not forged, slightly more compact as a result., a tad cheaper but maybe not quite as tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toofast2race Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 All you need is a 7 tooth pinion (spitfire/herald) and you can convert any slow triumph rack (six tooth pinion) to a quick rack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 So if you have the correct Spitfire rack fitted - it is already the quickest. GT6, Vitesse and saloons have the 6 tooth pinion as standard and are a bit slower. As Dave says, sorting the a proper UJ and solid rack mounts make the steering feel much more direct. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popeye Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Many thanks for your help: super fast news !! :) I might have a correct spitfire rack: the car is a late 1500 and I am the second owner since new. The car was totally standard since it was bought new. Before I remove it from the car: how can I be sure it is a 6 or a 7 tooth pinion ? Dave and Nick: Thanks a lot for warning about the UJ. I didn't know a new one would be better. I know there are very low quality alloy mounting brackets. GT said some are dangerous. Where can I find a safe one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitNL Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I know there are very low quality alloy mounting brackets. GT said some are dangerous. Where can I find a safe one ? Don't get them from moss, they are cast and will split! I got them from Jigsaw. These are forged, much stronger, 15k miles on them atm. If I'm correct, standard is 3.75 lock to lock, quick ratio is 3.25. Cheers, Frederick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royboy66 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Popeye, well done passing the CT, your English improves too ! See you at Le Mans again? Roy 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popeye Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 HI Rob, It is kind of you to tell me my english is better: From myn own side, I am not really sure. Concerning LEMANS: of course, my friend !!! It will be a real pleasure to see you again and the gorgeous GT6. I will be happy to meet some people of the forum too !! Thanks for JIGSAW Frederick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatter4 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I know there are very low quality alloy mounting brackets. GT said some are dangerous. Where can I find a safe one ? and: Don't get them from moss, they are cast and will split! I got them from Jigsaw. These are forged, much stronger, 15k miles on them atm. Are you saying there are forged alloy rack mounts? The ones I bought years ago are machined from solid. - or do you mean the steering joint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitNL Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I was talking about the steering rack mounts. And yes they are machined from solid. Sorry for the confusion. Cheers, Frederick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveNotSoSideways Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Moss ones were cast alloy last time I saw some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I bought some from Canleys when I did mine - they were machined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Chris Witor does some nice high quality rack mounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHR630 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Got mine years ago at an autojumble. They are cast and came off an early Herald apparently. Cost about £2.50. probably the only time in living history that George got a bargain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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