Sometime back, Rick Mignone, showed how he modified a fast ratio Flaming River rack for his ERA. The goal was to get a steering ratio close to the originals.
Flaming River sells a fast ratio rack that is different from the ERA Flaming River rack in 2 areas.
1. Long pinion (input shaft) vs short for ERA
2. Mounting locations are rear of the ERA mounts by about 1"
I liked what Rick did, but went a slightly different way. First I took the fast ratio rack apart and had the pinion shortened and splined to match the ERA. Then I plan to take the fast ratio pinion and rack and install them into the ERA steering rack housing. It will then be visually identical to the current ERA setup and have a ratio closer to the originals. 15:1 vs 20:1.
ERA cars are currently about 3.3 turns lock to lock. Shelby Cobras were 2 turns lock to lock. The modified rack will be 2.4 turns lock to lock.
Some pictures are attached to give an idea of the process. My good friend took about a year to machine the pinion. He is slow but good. The big problem was finding a definition and dimensions for the splines. We ended up using an optical comparator at a large aerospace company to figure out the spline angles and dimensions. They are simple 90 degree splines and we got the ID at the bottom and top of the splines.
Flaming River says the racks can't be taken apart. I will show some photos of the assembly of the new unit. It may take me a few months to get to it.
