To all of you out there running Ford Cortinas. I have some questions about
the steering box.
I have a very early (Sept. 1967) Mark II 1600 GT. My Steering box is
showing some early signs of trouble. Is there a replacement box that anyone
has found (Toyota, Datsun, other Ford)?
My steering is heavy(!) but I know that has something to do with my
wheel/tire combo and smaller diameter wheel. I have a 14" leather steering
wheel(The original steering wheel is hanging on the garage wall). The
wheels are from a mid-eighties Mustang(four lug). 15' aluminum mags with
195/50R15 tires(original wheels, hubcaps and trim rings are also in the
garage). Yes it is quite a bit of tire under the car. The car has also been
lowered and inch and half.The front strut springs were cut, the rear leafs
have lowering blocks. my concern is that all of these factors will
contribute to wearing out the steering box much quicker. The car has 140,
000 miles on it. The fun part is that it corners very flat and sticks like
glue. I can get the front inside wheel to lift on tight sweepers, but the
rears will only break loose on wet surfaces.
I do have some Minilite Sprint wheels(13X6). I am planning on
replacing the Mustang wheels with these. I am hopeful that this will
lighten the load on the steering box. Also, does anyone have any
recommendations regarding tire sizes and brands for the 13" wheels (street
tires).
Thanks,
Shawn Loseke
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