69 Corvette Road Race Build

[Neil B]

I was able to finish the under-dash wiring and button up the dash this week. The dash pad and shift console are new repros but I was able to save the driver and passenger lower dash pads and original center gauge cluster. I kept the wiring race car simple and located all of my power and grounds under the passenger dash pad for ease of serviceability.

[Neil B]

Love it or hate it, here is my swank race car interior that I completed this past weekend. I tried my best to retain a vintage vibe while using modern gauges. I even put a USB port in it. But.... no carpet, no insulation, no heat, no defrost, no AC, no headliner, no power anything... Perfect! : )

Next up is redoing my power steering lines and reservoir to eliminate fluid aeration. Then I will align the side glass and install the door panels and custom sill plates.

[Flash68]

Frickin love it Neil.

[vstol]

Neil looks good! I see a set of Naval Wings, I flew A4M and Harriers for the Corps. Retired after 27 years.

[Neil B]

Originally Posted by vstol

Neil looks good! I see a set of Naval Wings, I flew A4M and Harriers for the Corps. Retired after 27 years.

Those are my Dad's Wings. He was a career Navy man. We shared a common interest in cars, so it seemed appropriate. These projects consume an enormous amount of time and become very personal, so it's cool to be able to relate a project to the important things in life.

[Neil B]

So here is attempt #4 at my power steering system. I chose a new reservoir from a company called Chase Bays who specializes in fluid transfer products for BMW and other import cars. They were the only company that made a reservoir with the baffling and size/dimensions I was looking for. It's a nice piece. This reservoir allowed me to get the suction line further away from the control arm and also place the steering box return line on the bottom of the reservoir. I also replaced the stainless PFTE pressure line with a rubber/swedged fitting setup. I had high hopes. The foaming/aeration problem seems better, but the fluid is still getting way too hot and the pump starts to groan when the engine comes up to temp. With this being a track car, I just bit the bullet and ordered a Derale stacked plate fluid cooler which I am going to mount in front of the radiator. This should add significant fluid volume in addition to the cooling unit itself.

[vstol]

looking good

[Dr G]

Originally Posted by Neil B

So here is attempt #4 at my power steering system. I had high hopes. The foaming/aeration problem seems better, but the fluid is still getting way too hot and the pump starts to groan when the engine comes up to temp.

There is something I learned a while back regarding power steering reservoirs. The return line must enter the reservoir well below the top end of the the fluid level.

I learned this after I implemented a very expensive fluid reservoir, with an incorporated filter, but it had the return line coming in at the very top of the reservoir. And my system groaned like crazy. No amount of bleeding would improve it.

I finally called KRC, who's power steering pump I am using and told them which reservoir I was using and the problem I was having. They told me I should try a different reservoir with the return line coming in around mid-height on the tank. I tried it and voila, no more groaning.

Just a thought...

[Neil B]

Originally Posted by Dr G

There is something I learned a while back regarding power steering reservoirs. The return line must enter the reservoir well below the top end of the the fluid level.

I learned this after I implemented a very expensive fluid reservoir, with an incorporated filter, but it had the return line coming in at the very top of the reservoir. And my system groaned like crazy. No amount of bleeding would improve it.

I finally called KRC, who's power steering pump I am using and told them which reservoir I was using and the problem I was having. They told me I should try a different reservoir with the return line coming in around mid-height on the tank. I tried it and voila, no more groaning.

Just a thought...

Thanks for the feedback. My original setup was the KRC reservoir with the return on the side and a non-vented cap. The groaning was the worst with that config. Adding a vented cap helped a bit. I swapped the KRC reservoir for the Chase Bays design which has the return on the bottom and the dual internal baffle design. The aeration has been reduced but the groan is still there and the fluid is still really hot. I think my headers are heat soaking the steering box because the groan is only there after a few minutes of driving when the motor is up to temp.

[Dr G]

Originally Posted by Neil B

The aeration has been reduced but the groan is still there and the fluid is still really hot. I think my headers are heat soaking the steering box because the groan is only there after a few minutes of driving when the motor is up to temp.

You could be right, a cooler might be a good thing. I did have a cooler installed both with and without the groaning in my system. I did not personally seem to notice any correlation with heat. So my problem may have been different. Here are some pics of my system:
http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/1...d-Thread/page2