Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
PST is selling some decent new manual steering boxes. I would definitely go that route instead of a parts store rebuild. Steer & Gear and Firm Feel are pretty equal imo.
If you are one to trust Rick Ehrenberg from Mopar Action magazine, you'd be better off with Firm Feel.
He works out of New York state and has used both Firm Feel and Steer and Gear. It has been awhile but he had a bad experience with
S & G. He had been a faithful FF customer but decided to give S&G a chance.
I have a Firm Feel Stage 3 steering unit in my '70 Charger. The thing feels great, does NOT leak and is a huge improvement over a cheap rebuild you'd get at O'Rielleys, Auto Zone or any other place. If you have driven newer cars for many years, do yourself a favor and choose the STAGE 3 option. Stage 1 is stock and has as much feel as a steering wheel on a video game. Stage 2 isn't much better. Stage 3 feels great. The steering is NOT overboosted. You have to give it effort to turn. You could almost sneeze on a wheel with a stock rebuild and it will turn. Stage 3 feels like power assisted steering, not like the tires are on ice like the others.
Steer and Gear is closer to you and in all fairness, they wouldn't be in business if they were idiots. Every business has some bad employees every now and then. Maybe you can do some research on Yelp to see what others have reported?
I went with S&G, mainly because they're right down the road from me, and I was able to talk with them face to face at Nationals a few years ago. It wasn't a huge departure from the factory feel, but slightly better. For what it's worth, I notice more people have FF than S&G.
Poor mans version would be a $100 stock rebuilt unit with a smaller diameter steering wheel. 14” Grant wheel would be a stage 2. And a Mexican welded chain steering wheel would be a stage 3.
I liked the way mine handled with a 14” wheel and a Federal power steering pump.
I installed the Firm Feel years ago on my 69 Sport Satellite convert. I forget which stage but I love it. Plus I use the stock steering wheel.
My 69 Dart with a 440 has stock power steering but I did the smaller Grant steering wheel. I like that just as well.
Like Kern I went with the FF Stage 3 on the Coronet. It's got that nice "heavy" feel at low speeds, and quick response at higher speeds.
They also rebuilt the man box in the Dart. I highly recommend them.
I've never dealt with S&G.
I just ordered a stage 2 box from Firm Feel this week. They currently have a 3-4 month backlog. I wanted to get a stage 3 box, but they said the parts to make a stage 3 are getting hard to find and are charging $150 premium for the stage 3 box.
FF has to go through a lot of cores to find acceptable units to rebuild and sell. As time goes on, the useable core piles are dwindling. And I would suspect the hard parts suppliers are slowing down to due to market forces.