Quote:
Originally Posted by 67rstbkt
Awesome car  Quick question about the steering. You said that you would rather go with the Camaro setup over the Firebird. Why? I ask becaus I bought a Camaro subframe last year and it came with all new components. I was thinking about using the steering setup, but noticed that the Firebird center link appears to be lower. Can you provide more details? Did you use the Camaro tie rods and the Firebird center link?
Thanks |
I did so because it's easier and cheaper to replace the tie rods with Camaro parts in the event of a failure. I used a '69 Camaro centerlink, idler arm, and tie-rods. I used the stock Firebird steering arms and spindles (s/b the same as Camaro parts, the arms could differ but not likely). You will also need a '68 Firebird pitman arm because it's curved to fit around the headers. The Camaro pitman is straight and will hit the exhaust. The Firebird centerlink is not serviceable, meaning the balljoints cannot be repaired, you need a whole new centerlink if it fails. The Camaro part is just a bar with tapered holes for the joints, so much simpler. Plus, the Pontiac part is crap and was designed terribly. There is what is referred to as a 'tight' joint on one end of it to give it just enough play to not bind, but is not actually a balljoint, and that is the reason it's not serviceable. Using all new parts, the cost is about the same. I had the used Camaro centerlink and my steering arms and spindles powdercoated. Everything else was new. The '68 pitman wasn't cheap at around $130, but spending $300 on a '69 Firebird centerlink was less appealing, much less so dealing with a repair. This car is a driver, so it was worth it to make the change IMHO.
It sounds like the only change you need to make is the pitman arm.
It clears my stock as well as an aftermarket stock replacement oil pan. I am a little nervous about the Canton pan, but we'll find out soon enough.