[MBE]

I have made some discoveries in the last week.
I have an IDIDIT horn cover.
The column is not from IDIDIT or Flaming River.
It is suggested that it is a Chinese knock off that does not hold up under the strain put through it on the manual rack and pinion in this car. I do not see a brand name on the steering rack either, so I assume that it is a knock off too.
I shimmed the rack away from the cross member that it is bolted onto, that helped some with the binding that seemed to be timed with the u-joint binding, but it still was very hard to turn the wheels without moving the car. My next step is to pull the column and see how much effort it takes just to turn the pinion with out weight on the tires.
It takes about 4 1/8 turns lock to lock, which seems like a lower geared steering rack compared to some of the other manual racks that I have read about on this site that are in the 3 1/2 turn range.
The spindles and tie rod ends all look to be lubricated and not part of the hard turning issue.
It has become obvious to me that I am going to have to replace the rack and pinion or the steering column or both rack and column. I am leaning towards power steering and have been searching for something that will work with the engine and available space in my car. I appreciate any suggestions from someone that has done this before. My car is the Classic Roadster with the DOHC all aluminum Ford V-8, very light weight compared to other engines. The big heads and valve covers on the engine make the steering shaft a tight fit around the left front to get to the pinion on the rack, and I am sure that finding the brackets and belt for the engine mounted hydraulic pump can be difficult. Or can I go to a junk yard and buy the whole setup, rack and pinion, pump, brackets and belts from a wrecked Mustang or other same sized car?
Thanks for your continued input here.