Seriously thinking of adding the electra steer to my coupe.

[wallace18]

After using my coupe for about 600 miles I am 95% sure I am going to install the unisteer electric P/S kit. I had it on my 33 and loved it. There is plenty of room for it IMO. Has anyone else already done it? If not I will document the install and let everyone know how it goes.

[68GT500MAN]

I think that will work great in a coupe.

[John Dol]

I'm not sure of the brand but Fred put one on a coupe a while back
Document regardless though!!

John

[QSL]

we are using a fast freddie setup. Bracket is welded to frame, but thats it for now.

[John Dol]

That's the one I meant!

John

[cjcnj01]

I have 2 coupes... one with (Fast Freddie) and one without power steering.... it makes a world of difference when moving slow... not so noticeably different when at speed.

[wallace18]

I did not know about the electric/ hydraulic P/S option. I am going with a totally electric unit. I used the Uni-Steer electric unit offered by FFR on my 33. I really liked it a lot. I was able to get a mostly complete unit from Mike Everson for $600.00. I just ordered the couplers and mounting plate from Uni-Steer today. There is lots of room on the shaft from the firewall u-joint to the rack u-joint to mount the unit IMO. I know I will have to fabricate the mounting some. I will document what I do here as well as let you all know how it came out. I hope to have it started by next week. In the pictures I show the unit , ECU and about where I will mount it. No hoses or fluid to leak. Very simple wiring as well. Wish me luck. LOL.






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[AztecAdvancements]

Good Luck wallace18. I want to say I saw this on the Two Guys Garage 33 HR build. So does the input of steering direction controlled directly by your input based on the shaft position or is there additional sensor that go mounted to the steering column etc.?

[wallace18]

Good Luck wallace18. I want to say I saw this on the Two Guys Garage 33 HR build. So does the input of steering direction controlled directly by your input based on the shaft position or is there additional sensor that go mounted to the steering column etc.?

The unit has a torque sensor on it and it is self contained to the 2 units you see in the picture.

[CraigS]

That is a nice way to get PS. No need to replace the rack. Be sure to use large enough electrical cable. I am thinking light gauge battery cable would be about right.

[turbodon]

Make sure the control unit is away from heat. The Unisteer unit is used in a lot of Jr. sprint cars. They found out that when mounting the control unit in a certain easy to install location, the air exiting the radiator would flow right over the control. About 3/4 way through a race the power steering would be lost intermittently. Not good for kids. Once I had them move the control unit the problem was solved. The under hood temps get real warm in a Coupe.

You can also google Cobra electric power steering etc. They have been using Saturn EPS units and a Ebay $65.00 adjustable interface to make adjustable electric assist.

We have used a similar setup for a few years in the Thunderhill 25 hr event. As long as you keep the control temp in check you should be good.

Spikes on the current draw can be around 60 Amps.

Good luck with your project.

[wallace18]

I should be OK. The radiator vents to the top of the hood. I have a really good shroud and sealing for the air to and from the radiator. Thanks for the info.

[turbodon]

It is not the heat from the radiator in a Coupe.

It is the overall heat from the headers and engine under the bonnet.

After driving my Coupe for 8 years and 25,000 miles, I can tell you all about under hood paint blistering, wire covering melting, etc, etc.

Your coolest place under the hood is probably on the side of the radiator duct aluminum under the upper radiator support bar or in front of radiator on side on aluminum.

That is if you wish to keep the control unit under bonnet. It would be best to move it somewhere else by extending the wiring. Move it to the back where it is cool.

[wallace18]

Well my couplers and bracket came yesterday from uni-steer. I now should have every thing I need. I am going to mount it along this straight part of the 3/4" round shaft. I cut the shaft about 9" back from the weld on the u-joint at foot box. Then mounted the coupler and motor unit. Then I measured how much I needed to cut the front shaft going to the rack u-joint. I then installed the unit and made sure I could install and remove it before welding the couplers. I will now fab up some bolt on brackets to the square tube from the front to the foot box. Also I will make a bracket from the mount to the lower frame rail. I will weld the brackets to the plate I got from uni-steer and bolt it to the coupe chassis. This way it can be removed easy if needed. If I was doing this as part of the original build I would have switched to D-shaped tube. But I will use what I have. The bracket from uni-steer fit perfectly right up against the rail. How lucky can I get? LOL. Here is some pics. First the shaft as it was, then the parts I am using and early fab mounting of the unit. I hope to have it all done by Thursday.

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[wallace18]

I mounted the ecu and wired up the unit yesterday. As well I finished up the motor bracket. All I have left to do today is bolt the unit in place. The bracket could be welded to the frame if one wanted to . You would have to unbolt the rack to install the unit then for clearance. I might end up doing that if this bolt on deal does not work out OK. I also installed a small LED below the steering wheel for the unit to see if all is OK when starting the car.

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[wallace18]

I finished it up today. Wow! I am very pleased with the end result. I now have a coupe that is easy to park and drive at slow speed. It still has good feel out on the road at speed through the steering IMO. Total money spent $680.00 and 10 hours work time. Well worth it IMO. I think FFR should offer this as an option like they do on the 33, JMO. Pics include led light for unit near my steering wheel.

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[michael everson]

And if you put a switch in you can shut it off for a manual feel. The unit has little resistance when powered off.
Mike