Gm a body Jeep steering box swap

[pontiacpower]

No worries. We all know when we signed up that the big picture would end up changing. These things happen

[Loren]

The sad truth is; the current "big" project is under review and much will get changed so, yes.. To use a hiking/exploring analogy, sometimes we go up canyons that wind up not looking good and have to come back down. Meanwhile I may soon see how that 1LE brake deal works in a A/G body if I can ever get title to the thing.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I shall not be distressed at what Mr. SBG may hurl, but will remember his name each time I pass by the aisle containing popular natural treatments for common conditions like constipation and skin ailments.

You'll have plenty of time to do so as a spectator

[Loren]

I shall not be distressed at what Mr. SBG may hurl, but will remember his name each time I pass by the aisle containing popular natural treatments for common conditions like constipation and skin ailments.

[pontiacpower]

Shots fired on the bangshift forum. You guys crack me up

[SuperBuickGuy]

Caster



Annoyed with me yet? I'll stop...

if only your track car build ran as well as your mouth

[Loren]

And, as noted by SBG, the camber gain w/ the mods is awesome. The mentioned El Camino with (now old-school) 265-50 front rubber became a whole different car under hard driving.

[Loren]

Caster



Annoyed with me yet? I'll stop...

[SuperBuickGuy]

Nooooo....!



Caster is what you want to look into.

General rule is heavy cars like less caster, light cars more, but with modern tires etc. 5 degrees positive is in my experience about right for an A-body to handle nice. Too much and the car starts driving you, not you - it.






Again, caster is what is desired, the aftermarket a-arms get you that by putting the upper ball joint rearward more than what you could get by shimming up stock a-arms. Ditto on the rest of it, not needed for a street machine/cruiser but makes a big difference for spirited driving if you wind up going that way, my El Camino done in '95 was some of the best effort spent on the car.. 1LE rotors, long gone from the GM parts counter but available Chinese, are 12" dia. and have the 4 3/4 bolt circle you'd need.

oops... correct, castor.

[pontiacpower]

And Saginaw built the gm box and the Jeep box. Same box but different internals. Jeep just happened to use that same box in their vehicle and we get to take them from the junkyards across America.

[pontiacpower]

Yea that steering box cost me 20 or 30$ and the lee kit cost I don’t even know how much. Maybe 60$ 70$ total guesstimate when I’m done. I just need new hoses and the fittings on the box then everything should be peachy.

As as far as the Jeep box I read up on this swap because it’s one of the cheapest to do but requires another step or 2 because of the whole standard and metric threads you have to deal with.

im paying for it with time I guess. Whatever I like trial and error..... really good at trying. And really good at erroring

but seriously I’m starting to feel that the 200$ plus to rebuild my box to newer style specs might have been smarter but then I have a car I can’t drive or move till the part comes back

[Loren]

Put as much camber as you can into it

Nooooo....!



Caster is what you want to look into.

General rule is heavy cars like less caster, light cars more, but with modern tires etc. 5 degrees positive is in my experience about right for an A-body to handle nice. Too much and the car starts driving you, not you - it.

if you want the cheapest 'fix' (and you'll love how it handles), do a b-body spindle conversion. Find a 9A brake kit (cop car, Impala) and you'll get better brakes to boot. CPP sells the kit - you can shop and do a bit better, but it's good to know what the upper dollar figure is. It changes the spindle length (taller), lowers the car about an inch, and the conversion upper control arms give you more camber.....

Again, caster is what is desired, the aftermarket a-arms get you that by putting the upper ball joint rearward more than what you could get by shimming up stock a-arms. Ditto on the rest of it, not needed for a street machine/cruiser but makes a big difference for spirited driving if you wind up going that way, my El Camino done in '95 was some of the best effort spent on the car.. 1LE rotors, long gone from the GM parts counter but available Chinese, are 12" dia. and have the 4 3/4 bolt circle you'd need.

[SuperBuickGuy]

But standard replacements give you the option to go from 2 1/2 to 4 turns lock to lock and can get a remanufactured for less than 100.00.

I think you're overlooking something. The Jeep box IS a GM designed and built box.... there is no difference, it's just a cheap way of sourcing the box from a wrecking yard.

[anotheridiot]

like I said, faster steering response, removes variable steering, fewer turns lock to lock. People (still) seek the box out of the Monte Carlo SS and the Buick GNX to upgrade the A-bodies - but those are rare and expensive. The Jeep box is close to those most desired boxes and as common as a SBC (and cheap - to the point where you could buy a Jeep with the box for less than the cost of the 'right' box).

But standard replacements give you the option to go from 2 1/2 to 4 turns lock to lock and can get a remanufactured for less than 100.00.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Like I said, I dont know why a Jeep conversion would be better,

like I said, faster steering response, removes variable steering, fewer turns lock to lock. People (still) seek the box out of the Monte Carlo SS and the Buick GNX to upgrade the A-bodies - but those are rare and expensive. The Jeep box is close to those most desired boxes and as common as a SBC (and cheap - to the point where you could buy a Jeep with the box for less than the cost of the 'right' box).