I read Brian's post on swapping the steering gear from a 3rd gen camaro to my 69. I am putting a used gear box from and 87 IROC Z in place of the 69's power steering box. I know I would have to use different hoses and would probably need the coupler he suggested but would I still need the adapters he mentioned also could I use the pitman arm off the 69's gear box instead of the Moog pitman arm he suggested? What about the idler arm? Thanks everybody!

I put an IROC box on my 67 firebird. I used the existing pittman arm (you will need to get a puller to get it off). The "coupler/adaptor thingys" let you use your existing PS pump with the 87 box. I THINK it has something to do with metric vs SAE, but I could be wrong. There is an adaptor kit that makes it all work easy. Review the posting for the name and contact number of the vendor. WORTH THE MONEY.

Now, I can't tell you if I am ready for autocross, but the car's steering is not way overpowered and it has more road feel.

-Rob

Thanks Rob.........any ideas about the idler arm?

I read Brian's post on swapping the steering gear from a 3rd gen camaro to my 69. I am putting a used gear box from and 87 IROC Z in place of the 69's power steering box. I know I would have to use different hoses and would probably need the coupler he suggested but would I still need the adapters he mentioned also could I use the pitman arm off the 69's gear box instead of the Moog pitman arm he suggested? What about the idler arm? Thanks everybody!

If you use a 87' box, I'm pretty sure you'll have to get the inserts. As far as the Pitman arm; you'd really have to know what you currently have in your car. But chances are...that you'll want the long Moog arm because of how it effects/works with your "new" fast ratio gear box. If you stayed with the likely shorter arm you have now...you'd probably find the steering overly touchy. Your idler arms should be fine.

Thanks muchly.....I appreciate the help.

I did not change my idler arm either. And to dbx1969's point, the mod made the steering faster, but not too fast/twitchy for 75-80 on the highway. I guess I got lucky????? Might be different if you start with a manual box, but I am no expert. Also, the inserts mentioned above are the "thingys" I was writing about.

thanks again....need all the help i can get.....

I did not change my idler arm either. And to dbx1969's point, the mod made the steering faster, but not too fast/twitchy for 75-80 on the highway. I guess I got lucky????? Might be different if you start with a manual box, but I am no expert. Also, the inserts mentioned above are the "thingys" I was writing about.

Yes, in my case I was converting from manual to PS. However, even if you currently have PS you need to know what combination you'll end up with. I can't recall, and maybe JimM will jump in here, but there are like...3 combinations that you can end up with in conjunction with different length pitman arms. One is optimal, one is acceptable, and one is undesirable. Some guys who didn't go with a longer arm reported it being a real biatch trying to keep it straight on the highway. Like...if your hand twitched it would move the car.

The third gen box has metric bubble flare fittings, and the stock 69 hoses have SAE 45 degree flares. The Lee inserts allow you to use the 69 hoses on the third gen box. I'd buy the "kit" from Lee, which includes the inserts and the correct ragjoint.

Man, you're not going to believe the difference in feel when you're done.

I agree...I think the kit is the best way to go. What is your take on having the gear box rebuilt since it came off an 87 in a slavage yard. I only gave 40.00 for it.

I agree...I think the kit is the best way to go. What is your take on having the gear box rebuilt since it came off an 87 in a slavage yard. I only gave 40.00 for it.

Well, my manual gear box was 38yrs old and was fairly worn out, but I'd think a 20yr old box might be fine. It's really hard to tell, and I'm not sure what to tell you on this.

I will add this: If you're not concerned with originality, a new steering wheel might make the steering feel even better after you do the swap. I was torn between keeping the original wheel and replacing it, but finally opted to replace it with a 14" Grant wheel. I'm glad I did, as it gave it an even tighter feel overall.

I have a 15" Grant that I plan to use instead of the stock steering wheel.. probably won't feel as tight as the 14" you used???

I have a 15" Grant that I plan to use instead of the stock steering wheel.. probably won't feel as tight as the 14" you used???

A 15" should be fine! I just decided that if I was going to compromise originality, I wasn't going to only reduce the dia. by 1". In fact, Grant has a few nice choices in 15" that look fairly original. But in the 14" wheels...nothing that really looks stock...after you consider dish depth. I bought their 1132 wheel and really like it. Real leather grip and it feels nice. And as a personal taste/feel, 14" is perfect for me.

Okay, just to clarify/expand on a couple things.

The reason for a new coupler is that the shaft is a different size on the 3rd gen box compared to the 1st gen box. No compromise here.

The Lee adatpter fittings are little machined donuts that get gently tapped into the bottom of the pump pressure and return fittings on the box; the box originally used hoses with an O-ring fitting to seal, while the 1st gen uses a flare. The adapters are tapered seats that will allow the 1st gen flared ends to seat and seal in the 3rd gen box. The SAE threads on the 1st gen hoses are close enough to the metric threads in the 3rd gen box to allow the 1st gen hose ends to be installed and tightened down against the Lee adapters without having any leaks. If your 1st gen hoses/fittings are in good shape and you're on a budget, you can just carefully thread them straight into the 3rd gen box and you're good to go.

If the pitman arm you have isn't too loose, you can reuse it. You'll probably need to "borrow" a puller to get the old arm off the old box. If you need to get a new one, and the car's steering hasn't been abnormal (darty, twitchy, etc.), you can probably assume the arm on the box is matched to the rest of the setup (idler and steering arms), measure it, and get a replacement that is the same length.

As far as rebuilding the junkyard box, age isn't nearly as important as mileage, general condition, and fluid condition. If the fluid in the 3rd gen box looked clean, the box doesn't appear to have leaky seals, and the donor car didn't have 300K miles on it and wasn't in a hard collision where steering linkage was damaged, I'd just clean it up and put it in.

This really is a simple upgrade.

Thanks for the input it is very much appreciated. I don't think very much will be matched up on the suspension. The car was hit in the front drivers side and the subframe took a pretty good lick. The clip that is on the car( the one that is hit) has disc brakes with power steering. I got another subframe that came with the car that had drum brakes on it so I completely stripped it and will use aftermarket rotors,calipers steering arms, tie rods etc. a larger sway bar and a larger drag link. I will also be using polyurethane bushings