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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Steering UJ

With regard to a V8 roadster based on a 72 chrome shell. The steering has begun to wobble a little due to wear in the intermediate shaft. The chrome conversion needs a special twin jointed shaft to connect a modified rack to the steering column. Clive Wheatley who originally supplied the intermediate shaft and his manufacturer no longer makes the part. Does anyone know who can manufacture an intermediat shaft? and does anyone know the type of UJ used at the lower end of the intermediate shaft (possibly triumph - but triumph what?)

Paul
Paul

Paul,
You might try looking at www.borgeson.com. They supply intermediate shafts and ujoints with provision to mate up to different spline and shaft shape configurations. If you can't find what came originally, they can surely help you come up with replacement parts.

Best, Joe
Joe Ullman

Paul,
I use a shortened rack pinion with flats machined on the end to accomodate the borgeson 3/4" double d u-joint and intermediate shaft. On the upper end I use a borgeson u-joint with one side double d to mate to the imtermediate shaft and the other side 3/4x48 spline to mate to the steering column. The reason for the double d configuration is that it was less expensive to modify the rack pinion with flats than to cut splines. The rack pinion is extremely hard and it is difficult enough to cut flats let alone splines. Hope this helps.
James Johanski

James,

What year is your car? I have a 70 BGT and have been considering the intermediate shaft route as the one requiring the fewest changes (ie, crossmember, steering rack brackets, firewall cones, etc. (Stil is the early planning stages)
stevem

Stevem, my car is a '71. I used all the original parts,Xmember,rack,steering column. I had the part of the steering shaft that is in the engine bay lengthened 2" & the part in the cockpit shortened 2". This takes the UJ into the firewall cone, which should be as low & as large as possible.I had to shim the steering rack a little to lower the angle,& I had to shave the engine mount slightly where the shaft passes thru. I'm using blockhugger headers so there is not a lot of clearance between them & the steering shaft but enough. I would think there'd be more clearance with RV8 type headers. Barrie E
Barrie Egerton

Stevem,
Car is a 77.
James Johanski

For a CB car, you won't need to use an intermediate shaft if you rig it the way guys like Towery do, which is simply to put a longer pinion in the steering rack, shorten the bottom of the steering column, and weld the RB-style steering cone into the firewall. The pinion angle is about 2 degrees flatter (i.e. parallel to the ground -- so you have to either grind or shim the rack mounts on the xmember) and the column is about 2 degrees steeper (which is super ... makes for a tiny bit more leg clearance). On cars that are thus rigged, it's very hard to tell that the rack/column setup isn't stock.
Ted

This thread was discussed between 07/03/2002 and 12/03/2002

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