Ok, I know I'll be walkin' the plank for this but I figured it's a good day for it.

Assuming I could find a place to mount a pump, can power steering be retrofitted into the 914?

Has this been done before?

I'll answer the obvious question I'm going to get...why?

Well, I'm not really sure what I'm building (finishing) here. My car is likely not going to race well (even if I could find a "class" to race in), and it's not really a classic anymore.
I guess what I'm going to go for is as close to a "mid-life-crisis" luxury sports car from a 914 as can be accomplished...a novelty I suppose but perhaps unique in it's own way. Another "flavor" if you will.

I'll use the V8 power to offset the weight of the DVD player, amps, extra sound insulation...blah blah blah. I guess you see where I'm going here.
I will try to do it with some sense of style and tradition though and not "pimp" it.

In any case, the car has 10's in front and 12's in the rear...it's a lot of rubber to move.

So, to protect my limp wrists (Sure that was coming LOL!), any ideas, links, sources, and thoughts on a PS rack in the 914?

Many thanks
Sean S

IIRC a (modified?) miata s-rack has been mentioned here before...

Years ago I put a 302 SBF w/C4 automatic in a 62 Falcon. I had one of those small steering wheels in it. It was hard to park or turn when standing still, but once it was moving, no different than when the car had the small 6 in it. I don't think you will have a problem as the weight is centered in your conversion.

SmartRacing Products has a power steering unit for our cars...no cheap ($3k)

power steering assembly


installation

Is a little girl going to be driving it? Even with the conversion, I don't think it's enough weight to justify power steering, especially at 3K. I've got a '47 Willys pickup truck. The PO included all the parts to put in power steering. It might be easier to parallel park, but I prefer the direct feeling of manual steering. Maybe if you're a California state senator, or as the Governator puts it, "a girlie man". You walked out on to the plank. Not my fault if I own a sword and poke you with it. Arrgh!

a moron wrote: Is a little girl going to be driving it?

look at the additional width of his tires (and track) and use some brains and common sense

why grunt and struggle at low speeds if one does not have to...sure with your skinny little tires, it's easy, but once you start going wider, it gets tougher...when I was running 225's on 8" wide rims on the front of my 914, I could feel the additional friction without a doubt

Hey, the power steering unit looks sweet. I'm sure with all that extra rubber it would be a lot easier. And, there's nothing skinny about the off road tires on my pickup. He mentioned the plank, just couldn't resist the shove. Get a sense of humor dude.

at 3k i'd rather be called a girlie man than take it up the for a steering rack

go ahead, be the first and only here.

Mueller and Bob, thanks for both the defense and the push. I took the poke as a joke from the start...all is good

Mr Mueller does make a point though...this sucker is pushing the forearm envelope...at least pushing it around in my driveway.

I honestly don't know if the car will *need* it or not. My Lotus gets pushed around alot too and the 914 is definetely harder to turn than even the light manual steering Lotus.

One point I was trying to get across though is that since the car will obviously be fast enough for any kind of street driving, and since it probably wont be allowed in any sort of track race, I might as well give up a hair of that HP and make it a bit...well..."posh".

Going that direction could possibly include such items as:

Power Steering
Power Brakes
A/C
sound system
Sound insulation
etc.

I don't see this hundred or so pounds as having a huge weight/performance penalty on this V8...especially if it is doomed to the street and occasional run up the coast.

The car by the way is 73" wide at the *front* tires and sports 285/40/15's up front and 345/35/15's in the rear.

I'm speculating that this wide track and huge rubber combined with the V8 should absorb a tiny penalty in the car.

I haven't really seen anyone go for the "luxury" 914 yet...and I'd like to be at least a little unique. No, I'm not talking about a 1976 Eldorado, but if it handled as good as a nice Carrera afterwards and was a nice coastal cruiser with some ammenities, I think I would have met an interesting goal.

On that note, there was some mention of some post 89 911 PS racks bolting in? Has that been verified?

All the Best and..
Happy Halloweeeeeeen!
Sean

I noticed additional pain going from 165s to 205s, and 205s are skinny, so I fully grok why you'd want power steering. Are there no racks from 911s that would fit?

The 3k job looks like a reasonable way to go if a little $pendy.

Fiid.

Hi Sean,

I'm putting in power steering on my 914-6 I'm building. We are attempting to mate a Miata S rack into the tub. The car will be track only, and will be an unlimited car...as in a zoomy. On the race track itself, it probably won't be too bad. But my wife and I auto-x as well as run the track and with 12 inches of rubber planned, it will be a handful to turn. So we're going power steering.

My 3.6 litre 993 motor I am stuffing into the teener already has a stock P/S pump, so we'll try that. If it doesn't work that well Jerry Woods Enterprises has remote pumps they sell. You can talk to them.

If the Miata rack won't work in the car, we will put the steering rack in that JWE sells. The picture of it is posted earlier in this thread. Power steering is a luxury, but if you can afford it, I'm with you. Mine should go in by December. I hope you join me in trying it out. It would be interesting to report back to the group how it works.

BTW, all factory and high end private teams run power steering in their race cars. They have for several years.

Have Fun!

Bill P.

Hi Bill,

Thing is... you look at power racks from Miatas to Porsches, to Volvos....whatever, and they are all very similar. The '14 rack drives from the center is different than many, but I'm not sure all. Seems a retrofit would not be the hardest thing...even if some redesigning of the steering shaft was needed for a rack driven from an offset position (as most are).

I wish I were further along so I could offer more input, but of all the things you can do to a car, this doesn't seem impossible (without spending 3 grand).

I'm going to have to look at some of the racks for sandrails...I think Sand Cars Unlimited or maybe Funco are selling center driven power racks (all billet and such and pretty but possibly not as NASA as the one on this thread)...might be less expensive.

I probably wont get to things like steering until after the new year, but I'll be sure to watch your progress and report on mine.

Cheers!
Sean

By the way, there use to be a unit you could buy that actually gave power steering via the colum...it sensed your steering force and helped you out a bit.
I wish I could remember now who made that, but it does exist.

If I had my druthers, I think my preference would be a real Porsche rack...hopefully without too much sawzall work.

Sean

here you go...with this method you can keep the stock rack and pinion:

power assist steering

basicly an electric motor is attached to the steering column shaft (I'm guessing there might be enough room behind the gas tank), then when you start to turn, the motor engergizes to help the steering shaft turn.

Mike, neat link. That is sort of the modern version of the hydraulic powered column unit I mentioned.

I bet that one costs at least what the alloy beauty above does.

Thanks for the link!

Sean

What a great concept, update the 914 '80's standards

Yep, there are many times I wish I had power steering to turn my 225's without having to get in shape. As I get older, I appreciate the amenities I take for granted when I drive the 914. Yes, it's basic and honest but how many people still warm their primary house with a fireplace or fetch water from the well?

Thanks for the PS lead Mike! I will have to budget it for the Neo914.

Felix

One thing I left out in my first "hello" post was that this is not the first 914 that I've owned. I drove a cute little stock white 1.8 at the time I met my wife.

I really liked the car...stock. I don't think she (my wife) ever really got fond of it because of my driving...err..."style".

Things have changed since then... my wife has learned to control her screaming a bit better

Anyway, I really love and appreciate the raw feel and look of the stock 914, but this is just not that car so I'm just exploring what fits the persona.

I'm thinking powersteering and a white Miami Vice leisure suit.

Sean

ok, now you got my attention!

i have been looking for 285/40 x 16 tires for a long time now. *ANY TIRES* will do.
i could not find anything. nada. zilch ...


soooo, exactly what brand & type tire are you running ????
Andy

Without running downstairs, the fronts are Yokohama AVS (I love this tire...had it on many cars), and the rears are Pirelli...P...um PZeros I think.

I think your problem will be to find a selection for a 16", mine are 15"

Sean

nope, both sizes are NLA in either 15" or 16" ...

i would be carefull with those Pirelli's, they stoped making that size in the late '80s, those tires must be OLD !!!
and yokohama also discontinued that size a long time ago.

Andy

No white leisure suits right now on ebay, but there is THIS one

I hear Porsche makes a nice SUV you guys might be interesting in.

Just kidding, sounds like a nice idea, although, while I do like a little bit of cushion on my seats and am willing to put up with the extra weight that accounts for (probably about .2 lbs), sound insulation, power windows, power steering, etc, IMHO don't belong in a 914.

-Steve

Andy...didn't know that. I was looking at ebay and found tires in *close* sizes...close enough I'd say.

The tires may be old, but they are in terrific shape. I don't think they left the hardwood floor showroom much. (if you saw my first post).

I am going to try to go to 17" on this car so if you still need them when I get to that point, let me know.

Steve, you may be right. I really won't know until after I put some road time on the car. I'm just exploring options so I can plan out the car. The idea is to make it the best car it can be, all things considered.

GWN7, not my size but thanks for keeping and eye out for me!

Sean

just posted to the Rennlist Racing list, don't know the guy, just passing on the information...

" Power Steering Rack Removed from 30K mile 1989 Turbo
Complete with boots and tie rods
Excellent Condition
$150
Trba951@aol.com "

That's prolly from a 944 turbo (also see the e-mail addy)

The 911 (turbo and NA) from '89 didn't have powered steering
911s didn't come with powersteering untill the 964 (which a '89 911 turbo wouldn't be)

Correct.. and the rack from a 944 wont fit.

I'll come up with something very soon.



B

not to change the subject but I sure like the looks of that car

Bernie

Sean,
My tires had less than 100 miles on them but they hardened over the years. I'm sure storing the car outside had contributed to this. The guy aligning my car diagnosed this immediately when he took my car for a test ride. It rattled ALOT!
Felix

just put one of these on your car...

you'll need this too...