Bruce's Spyder Project

Yesterday I stopped off at Greg's shop (Vintage Motorcars) to drop off a couple of items. MAJOR remodel, new floorplans for office space and work space enhancements, pouring new LARGE concrete pads and outdoor coverings  underway (did I already say a MAJOR remodel is going on). Even while the intrusiveness of a remodel is underway, the shop is still a beehive of activity working on beaucoup cars in various stages of production. Seeing all that going on, I can fully understand how Greg is hard pressed to keep EVERYTHING moving forward (well, as forward as the current supply issues allow).

I'm just saying...

Rick............Yes,  when I was there I asked Greg about the R & P steering box arrangement. I asked if it will be centered and he said "No"...  I commented that this means that I will get some "Bump-steer" and he said "No", the box with the rack and pinion gear is not centered but the output shafts are."  So I guess this means that the tie rods are the same length and height/level. It seems as though I've seen this gearbox around. ..........Bruce

I got all of my rack parts from Alex77 on thesamba.com. And he sent me tie-rods that are 1" shorter each to work with my 2" shorter beam. The rack is from a VW Polo(only available in Europe)

Right at the top of the page is a photo.

https://www.speedsterowners.co...ic/what-rack-is-this

The rack is offset to the left in line with the steering shaft. The tie-rods are almost equal length so bump steer will actually be reduced or worst case the same as with the steering box. You can see the pickup points right near  each other.

Whatever steering method is chosen, the steering box or rack must be at the correct height in relation to the steering arms on the spindles to minimize bump steer.

I drove an IM(2002 model) in 2008-2009 with the Golf rack. It worked OK but I didn't hit any major bumps, nor did I drive it in anger. The Golf rack is conventional with short tierods  and there is no way that this doesn't induce more bump steer than the standard VW steering box or Alex77's rack setup.

I'll start my project in the new year, I have all the parts prepped and painted. I think that I'll possibly have to trim and re-glass the area immediately above the driver's feet.

Stay tuned...

I've always liked my Golf R/P, but I'm comparing it to the stock steering box, not to a more modern set-up. I know it's not the same thing as a rack that's centered. Once I get the "shop across the street" project finished and I get some traction again, I'd like to embark on (another) fool's errand to see just how good a beam can be made to be. I know it'll never be an A-arm, but I really do think there's a lot of gray between the black of a stock VW beam and the white of a good A-arm set-up.

I'm super-interested in @DannyP's impressions of the Alex77 setup, as I know they'll be straightforward and unvarnished.

I'll possibly have to trim and re-glass the area immediately above the driver's feet-Danny

Danny I have small size 8 feet and I still have to wear driving shoes in my Vintage Spyder. I know you drive barefoot. I’m not sure l’d want to lose much more space above the drivers feet.

I only drive barefoot when it's warm enough.

The trimming shouldn't get in the way of the feet, but must be done to allow the tie-rod to clear the fiberglass above the feet.

I noticed that Kitman's Spyder body has an equal length and angle firewall for the tie-rods. The Vintage does not, the center "peak" of the fiberglass is in line with the column.

I'll take pictures when I get into it.

Thanks @Stan Galat I hope I can be objective.