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Power or manual steering?

daytona kid

daytona kid

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A couple of steering questions guys,, I am trying to decide whether to put power or manual steering in my 68 Charger which originally came with power steering, and which I have "most" of the parts for. I have been fixing it up for street/strip operation and will not be driving it very much, occasional trips to the strip (on the trailer), local club cruise nights, show & shine gatherings, etc. I had several RR's when I was younger that all had manual steering, no problems then. Manual seems like it would be a lot simpler and cheaper to install. And if it didn't work out I could always install power steering later, right? I had bias ply tires on them but remember later I put radial tires on a truck I had and believe it or not it felt like it had power steering after that, even when sitting still.
#1-- Would radials make my 68 Charger steer easier than bias ply with the manual steering?
#2-- Which way should I go and why?
 
Manual is the best way.. the castor is important and learning to drive a manual ... you dont muscle the car you keep the tires movingto assist and rjev the engine keep your hans to the out side of the spokes because if you hit a curb or straighten the wheels with the gass the spokes can break a thumb or wwristits... manual is better with a spinner just be careful of the difference between marshmallow power and tight manual.... old ladies drove manuals because they learned powr spoiled everyone...
 
I've driven both and prefer power but with firm feel steering sector .. especially with 4 speed, and especially if you do much stop and go/turning in city driving/driving around paring lots looking for a space etc where you are going slow and turning

If you just back out and go for nice drives with not many stops or turns the manuals are fun and the road feel is great .. plus more room for exhaust and working up front
 
If it's a race car you don't want or need power... But on the street or going to shows and trying to park could be a hassle... Personally I love power
 
Like Sleepar said, as long as you keep the car moving, it's steers just fine.

Sleepar! Hey where did he come from? Lol

I grew up on standard steering. Parallel parking a '59 Ford pick-up for my driving test!
Some vehicles were harder to maneuver than others mostly because of their front end weight. It's where some of those gigantic steering wheels came from too. (more leverage). Gear box ratios makes a difference too on the ease of a manual. My '62 Polara 500 was ordered without power steering. The people back then wouldn't want all the power accessories, said it was more to go wrong!

On the flip, it's more to changing over to standard from power than just the box. Not 100% but pitman arm, center link and the steering rod joint, would be different.

Good luck with your decision. :steering:
 
Would defineately go with power. It may have come with bias ply's but will handle way much better with radials. If you are that consirned about power loss at the track take the belt off.
NASCAR uses power steering do not understand were loss of road feel comes from.
 
Thnx for the comments., But also does anyone know if radial tires rather than bias tires will make it better with manual as I experienced with my truck?
 
I just changed from manual to power on my 70 'runner. I just swapped out the box - no change to pitman, center link, etc. Had to get a different steering coupler as the manual and power steering boxes had different input shafts. The car with a 440 and big radials was a bear to steer at low speeds. I have a firm feel box from Steer and Gear and I enjoy driving the car a lot more. Went from the factory plastic steering wheel to a repop Tuff wheel - looks great, feels great. If you like to cruise more than race, go for power steering. Hemi Rebel, BTW, a 440 6 pack/Tremec five speed/Dana rear/Edelbrock head/ Hooker header/3" exhaust/Pertronics ignition car is with power steering is NOT an old woman's car. :icon_fU:
 
khryslerkid said:
Like Sleepar said, as long as you keep the car moving, it's steers just fine.

Sleepar! Hey where did he come from? Lol
Click to expand...

Interesting question. I thought he was banned. Wait, it still says banned, yet he posted a bunch today.
 
Manual all the way for me on my 63 Sport Fury. You get a better feel of the road and mine is so easy to drive the only time I know its not power is when parallel parking. And I race mine which manual steering is also better for. The car will handle much better on radials. Ron

362705709.jpg
 
I never noticed any difference between the two tire types with manual steering, but my manual steering cars have all had narrow tires up front. One thing I will suggest, if you go with an aftermarket steering wheel, get a larger diameter one (something in the 15 inch range). You get better leverage for steering with larger diameter steering wheels. I have 15 inch Grant wheels on both my Fury and my Belvedere.
 
I think front tire size has a lot to do with it. The wider your front tire the harder it's going to be to steer. 4" fronts feel almost the same as power steering to me. Also front end weight too.
 
these are all good points that have to do with handling and steering but the main reason we switched back to manual was the weight differential, I think if I remember correctly the complete power setup weight was 70 to 75 lbs. and the manual was I think less than 15 lbs. all parts weighed on old bathroom scales that my wife stood on so maybe that has an effect? good luck.
 
gregs70 said:
I just changed from manual to power on my 70 'runner. I just swapped out the box - no change to pitman, center link, etc. Had to get a different steering coupler as the manual and power steering boxes had different input shafts. The car with a 440 and big radials was a bear to steer at low speeds. I have a firm feel box from Steer and Gear and I enjoy driving the car a lot more. Went from the factory plastic steering wheel to a repop Tuff wheel - looks great, feels great. If you like to cruise more than race, go for power steering. Hemi Rebel, BTW, a 440 6 pack/Tremec five speed/Dana rear/Edelbrock head/ Hooker header/3" exhaust/Pertronics ignition car is with power steering is NOT an old woman's car. :icon_fU:
Click to expand...

I've heard that I will have to swap out the steering column if I go to manual from power. Would there be a coupler to go from power column to manual box? Where did you get the coupler that you had to use?
 
hi,
I just swapped out the power steering on my 68 Satellite .Manual steer boxes use the small sector pitman arm , my power box had this one also .Steering is no big deal , car is daily driver plus plenty of strip , though I use a 185/80R15 front tyre . Got a column adapter from firm feel , rebuilt the box myself . I did it to remove steering failures at the strip ie belt throwing or oil leaks .Plus there was weight loss , around 45lbs or so,and more access to sparkplugs etc . car picked up 0.08 on the strip

Tex
 
Last edited:
tallhair said:
I've driven both and prefer power but with firm feel steering sector .. especially with 4 speed, and especially if you do much stop and go/turning in city driving/driving around paring lots looking for a space etc where you are going slow and turning

If you just back out and go for nice drives with not many stops or turns the manuals are fun and the road feel is great .. plus more room for exhaust and working up front
Click to expand...

X2

With firm feel power steering box, the steering should be really nice - not over powered like standard Mopar power steering. If it were purely a race car, then there is no question - go manual. If you will be showing it you will always be in parking lots and need to maneuver the car around - a hassle with manual steering.

I am converting my car from manual to power steering. When I had bias ply tires and then put radials on the steering became heavier, not easier. Skinny bias ply - no problem. Fat radials, you'll be working with manual steering.

Finally, and yes, I agree with manual steering you must keep the car moving to turn the wheels. But even at very slow speeds with a manual steering it can be a PITA to maneuver.

Just my $0.02
 
daytona kid said:
I've heard that I will have to swap out the steering column if I go to manual from power. Would there be a coupler to go from power column to manual box? Where did you get the coupler that you had to use?
Click to expand...

Not the entire column, just the shaft. Mine had been beat on and so we just tapped the end until it was the right length. The shop that did the job got an adapter that welded on the end of the old coupler. Not my preference, but that is what they did. PM me and I'll find out where they got it.

- - - Updated - - -

clemul said:
http://www.firmfeel.com/b_body_mopar_column_adapter.html
Click to expand...
clemul, that is to go from power steering to manual. He is going from manual to power.
 
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