OK guys (&gals?) I've finally gotten back to you on the Ackerman angle
steering thing. For those of you who know the whole story of the Lou
Anderson Ackerman "kit", you need read no further. I, for one, don't
know the whole story and would like to be filled in. The following is
what I know of the development of this thing.
It all started in August of ‘73 (a bit earlier than the ‘80's as I first
estimated). Lou Anderson wrote a Shopnote for the August edition of
CAT's Tiger Tales. In the article, Lou explained that the Tiger had a
steering tracking problem which was the result of the forward-placement
of the steering rack. With this placement the wheels do not toe out
with increasing steering lock as they should. The Shopnote included
drawings illustrating the turning radius represented by each wheel and
demonstrated that the radii did not converge unless the wheels toe out.
Lou's solution was to add a pivot arm to the steering linkage. Sorry I
can't illustrate it here. The pivot arm attached to the lower A-frame
and resulted in adding a "kink", as Lou described it, to the linkage.
The result of the "kink" was to make the amount that the linkage
extended increase as steering lock was added. This resulted in the
tires' towing out with increasing steering lock. Lou had implemented
this modification in his Tiger and was checking to see if there were
other Tiger owners interested in making the same mod. Lou was
understandably concerned because of the safety issues associated with a
steering modification. He also warned that once the mod was started
there was no turning back.
That was the beginning. It's my opinion that Lou's approach should
work, if properly implemented. It's also my opinion that this is a
complex modification and that opportunities for screwing up the
implementation abound. In rummaging through my tiger Tales I found what
appeared to be a sequel the original Shopnote. Read on...
In the February ‘77 Tiger Tales (Geez, this was nearly four years
later!) CAT was drumming up interest in producing the Lou Anderson
Ackerman "kit". Lou had been successfully campaigning his Tiger in
local autocrosses since ‘73, so CAT assumed that the safety of the
modification had been demonstrated. The "kit" would be a bolt-on,
requiring no welding, but requiring cutting, drilling, and threading
were required.
That's about all I know about the Lou Anderson Ackerman "kit".
Apparently CAT did create and sell the "kit", and it is the "kit" about
which there are such strong feelings. If anyone can complete the story
and/or give testimonials (pro or con) for the "kit", I would like to
hear from him.
--
B382001570 - Will Seay - wseay@sprynet.com
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