I've got the Randall's rack, aside from the frame, centerlink, and the block that holds the centerlink, it looks almost exactly the same as the j car rack.
I have a bad bellows boot, lists on rockauto for ~$28, looks exactly the same. Hell, I could probably do a little homework and put a new rp into the cradle for ~$90...
I could be wrong, but it looks like most of the work in the kit is the cradle...
I think the next time I need one of these, I'll make a copy for myself.
What about the Taurus rack conversion? I started to build one and I have the cradle almost finished. I have the rack and the tie rods, but I decided to go Unisteer. under $1200 for the kit with a new pump and well under$1000 for manual unisteer. Maval(Unisteer) has been the best company I have ever purchased from. Great customer service. I purchased the manual rack before the power rack came out and they took is back for full credit towards a power rack after a year. Great Tech support too.
The randall's rack IS NOT THE SAME AS A J-CAR RACK. The attachment for the centerlink to the rack is on the back side of the rack on the randall's unit. On a J-car rack, the attachment is on the front side. BIG DIFFERENCE.
well actually you are right AND wrong. the Randalls rack is in fact a J-car rack, however they are specially modified J-car racks with the tie rod attachment point relocated from the front of the rack to the backside, otherwise it is a basic off the shelf J-car rack. i believe the unisteer rack uses basically the same modifications to their J-car rack too.
The randall's rack is based on a J-car rack yes, but as soon as it is modified it is no longer a J-car rack and an off the shelf J-car rack won't work as a replacement. The rack body has a long narrow window in it under the bellows where the attachment of the centerlink travels. In order to attach the centerlink to the back side a similar window needs to be cut into the body on the back side. If you were to cut this window in a stock J-car rack you would significantly weaken the body, therefore you would also have to weld a cover on the original window to maintain the strength. Another option would be to make a custom body from a casting like the original. Either way, a J-car rack IS NOT a direct replacement for the randall's unit. Far from it.
With your Randals rack, how much turning radius did you lose compared to the stock unit?
i never said an off the shelf J-car rack was a direct replacement, however knowing what all is involved in modifying the J-car rack it wouldn't take too much to make an off the shelf replacement work just fine, yes it would cost a little more but still totally possible.
also, there are CV joint/rack and pinion/steering gear rebuilders in most good sized cities and even large towns that could rebuild the Randalls unit so long as the housing itself is still in good shape and they are usually cheaper than buying a rebuilt unit from the local parts store or at least don't cost much if any more anyway.
i designed a rack for my falcon after being disappointed with the TCP i put in my drag car, 65 mustang. I lost a little turning radius and i spent a lot. I believe its a great quality rack, best that you can buy and bolt in. I acutally gained a little weight as well. so that was disappointing.
but there is no OEM rack out there that will have the same travel as a stock mustang.
i decided to go with a Appleton or Woodward rack. Both are aluminum housings and any ratio is available. with a little bit of searching the racks can be found for around $400 (manual). that is cheap for an awesome rack. The actual racks on OEM are very small in comparison to one of these or woodwards/appleton. THe first TCP rack was a woodward rack and pinion. Now TCP just uses the Pinion and servo.
For my falcon, its going to be a handling car. I already custom designed and fabricated my suspension. i went with a manual stlye rack, here is a pic.
You might want to re-think your design a bit since Appleton and Woodward circle track racks are front steer and your design looks like you plan to use the rack in a rear steer setup, like your original falcon suspension. It might work I guess, but when you turn your sterring wheel to the right, your car will go to the left! Hey, that might be fun. DO IT!
It might work I guess, but when you turn your sterring wheel to the right, your car will go to the left! Hey, that might be fun. DO IT!
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