Electric power steering is incredibly common in new cars nowadays, and has been available from the aftermarket for several years as well. There are lots of factory components that have been used over the years to retrofit your ride, but it takes some work to figure out what parts and pieces are right for your machine if you don’t go with an aftermarket kit like the ones you can buy from American Powertrain. But since we’re hot rodders there are plenty of times when parts hunting and figuring is going to be what we want to do. It can be part of the fun.
Or it can be a frustration.
You see, there are a couple of ways to do it. The term “Electric Power Steering” covers a couple of different variations. One system, like those from APT above, use an electric drive unit to assist the steering and allow full adjustability of the assist. The second system uses hydraulic pressure like a factory system would, but with an electric power steering pump instead of the normal engine driven pump. This system can also be adjustable, but they still require hoses and such.
That’s not necessarily a deal breaker, but you need to know which system you want and how you are going to fit it.
Thankfully there are kits available, and there are folks like Mike Cotten who are sharing how they do it on the projects they are working on. Check it out in the video below and let us know what you think.
Video Description:
Welcome back fam!! This episode we head back to Lutz Race Cars and help on the CRC 1977 pro street c10. Did a lot of welding, cutting, grinding and smoothing. Installed electric power steering from a Volvo. This is a easy upgrade for you if you need power steering and don’t have a pump. Take a look and let me know what you think! Man I love PRO STREET!!!
