New member from Austin TX

[Gle8]

Hi there.

Just joined the forum after searching for suspension modifications. Glad to be here.

Recently purchased a 1985 FB with 61k original miles. Super excited, though there will be some things to sort out on it. Body and interior are in as close to new condition as you can get, considering the age. The previous owner really pampered it. But I've already put about 2k into the suspension, and now it's on to the steering.

I do have an initial question: if I'm going to be working on the steering anyway, my first thought was to switch to a rack/pinion. As the car is currently all original (only non-OEM items are the sport springs), will this hurt my resale should I ever choose to sell it? I know from reading through the forum that it will improve my handling (+++), so I'm leaning towards doing it regardless. Thoughts?

Thanks!

-Richie

[Steve-A]

Hi Richie, welcome to the forum

We all love pictures, so if you've got some of your new purchase get them up here!

AFAIK the rack and pinion swap is quite desirable and should only serve to increase the value of the car. It's not the sort of thing I'd wanna do just for resale value though, more something to do if you'll enjoy driving the car more. Another recent new member, Arvika, has put up a few posts about his rack and pinion conversion so he'd probably be the man to speak to

[ian65]

Hi Ritchie, welcome to the forum.
Ditto what Steve said, the rack and pinion conversion will make the car much better to drive..... Respeed do a kit over in the States to convert the car.....
cheers,
Ian

[Lucky]

Hiya and welcome and yes, pics please

The RESpeed kit looks like a very nice thing but hardly a bolt-in swap. Definitely the best solution if you're determined to go to rack and pinion, but I guess it depends a bit on how much skillz you have in the workshop or whether you're going to have to pay someone else to do it.

[TOOL]

Welcome mate. Get some pics up.

It's a lot of work by the looks of it. There's a lot of other improvements to be done to the suspension and steering that will make a huge difference. Shocks, springs, bushes, tie rods etc. Big gains to be made there and then you can add camber adjustments and the steering box is easily adjusted to make steering lighter or heavier to duit your wheel and tyre combo.

How often are you driving it? How far are you driving it? If its just for fun, and not used daily, I say leave it.

Just my opinion as mine works fine, why change it. Up to you mind.

[Gle8]

Ok Ok! Here's some pics






























I'm the 3rd owner. The 2nd owner was my girlfriend, so it's been in the home for a few years. She bought it from the original owner 2 years ago with 48k miles. This was the last red FB sold in North America. I've got all documentation from new, including invoice, original note, etc etc. Been repainted once at the factory due to some fading, complete with factory paint warranty. Strait pipe installed when we purchased it. I've even got all of the rubber trim bits in a box in the garage, as they were taken off for the repaint (I think it looks better without them).

Since I've had it, we've replaced the radiator (OEM Brass), sport springs, shocks/struts, tie rods, bushings, ball joints, brake master cylinders, added racing pulleys, rebuilt the brakes etc etc. Most due to age (as the mileage is certainly low).

The reason I brought up the steering is it's developed a 'stick' when turning left. The steering catches pretty bad, and it's making it a bit scary to drive. That, plus the 3/4 inch or so of travel makes me want to just convert.

Other than that, all she needs is a working radio and perhaps some new window rubber. Then I think I'll run her till the engine blows, and replace with a larger rotary

[Lucky]

Is it the top bearing catching (failing) in the strut? That gives a feeling like the steering doesn't want to turn initially, then it feels like its kinda fallen over sideways (only way I can think to describe it) and doesn't want to return to centre afterwards. I'd certainly try the easy and obvious solutions before jumping straight into a major job like swapping to a rack.


...as to the pics, it looks great! So jealous of you guys getting the decent aero mirrors and the clean rear end with the beaver panel. Plus it makes much more sense as a two-seater with boxes and big flat load area. Hey, aerobic window winders though!

[Gle8]

Is it the top bearing catching (failing) in the strut? That gives a feeling like the steering doesn't want to turn initially, then it feels like its kinda fallen over sideways (only way I can think to describe it) and doesn't want to return to centre afterwards.

Basically, when I start to turn the wheel to the left, it will (sometimes) stick to where I really need to muscle it past a certain point. Then, on the way back, it will hold at roughly the same point. So if I'm in a left-hand sweeper, I can let go of the wheel and it will stay put.

[Lucky]

That does sound a lot like the issues I had when a top mount bearing failed in the strut on my old MR2. Should be easy enough to tell with the wheel off the ground, do some pulling around and feel/listen for notchiness or knocks as the strut rotates

[codge]

I'd look at steering box adjustment as well??? I would figure 'binding' or 'sticking' could also result from an out of adjust box?
3/4" play is about what we all expect from the steering box system. The UK MOT (annual test we have over here) is more lenient on box systems than rack systems.

Thanks for the pics Richie and welcome to the Forum.

codge (Dave)