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V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 12:16 am
by 1976Monza350
Alright, after looking through all the posts about manual steering swaps I'm more confused than when I started. I have a 76 Monza TC with a 355 sbc and a set of hooker 2135s. I'm currently running power steering and want to swap over to manual to save a few pounds and hopefully gain some space. Can somebody help me get together a list of what I need to do/buy? I have not got the slightest clue when it comes to steering. Thanks!

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 9:18 am
by cjbiagi
At minimum you will need a manual box, manual pitman arm and manual centerlink. You may need a different shaft coming off the firewall as well, not sure on that. Is this a race car? I always question why someone would want to do this on a sreet car, especially with a V8 and its' extra weight. There are ways to improve upon the power steering by either rebuilding the stock steering box to a quicker ratio and more road feel. With manual steering you end up with a slower ratio to compensate for the extra effort required to turn the wheel. Unless it's a drag car I would be interested in your reason to do this. It's a lot of work to make your car steer slower and harder. Yes, the steering box is heavy so if it's strictly a weight reduction motive I understand, but the actual difference in weight between a manual and power box isn't probably that much. The pump and brackets are maybe 25 pounds or so I would guess.

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 9:49 am
by 1976Monza350
Yes, it is 100% a drag car build, other than the occasional cruise on a nice day. What do you think the swap comes out to be price?

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 12:14 pm
by cjbiagi
Hard to say exactly, you can probably find a used steering box and pitman arm. I would suggest going with a new centerlink. Maybe someone can chime in with any other mods required to the steering shaft. Makes sense on a drag car......

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 8:55 am
by cosvega76
If it's strictly a drag car, you can use a manual box out of an S-10. It will fit your power steering pitman arm, you'll need to get a u-joint from Borgeson or Flaming River to fit the shaft on the column. The only thing is that the gearbox has a really slooooow ratio, but it's fine for a drag car. I put one on my brother's Monte Carlo drag car.


Chuck

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 8:34 pm
by 1976Monza350
Which years of the s10 manual gearbox work? Again I'm sorry, steering is not my strong point.

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 9:41 pm
by Smiley
You may want to post a want to trade: power for manual steering setup
I would use a box from a Vega with the pitman arm on it, there are different lengths and drops.
They are hard to remove sometimes.
There are better ways to remove weight from the front end.

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 8:33 am
by cosvega76
1976Monza350 wrote:Which years of the s10 manual gearbox work? Again I'm sorry, steering is not my strong point.


Any year of S10 manual box should work. I think the one I used was from the late- '80s. It might be harder to find later ones as I think more trucks came standard with power.


Chuck

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Mon May 15, 2017 10:56 am
by 1976Monza350
Alright, I'm going to pick up a manual gearbox out of a 85 s10 after I get done with class and work tonight. All I need to get is the gearbox, the bolts, and the steering shaft from what I've gathered... right? Thanks for the help!

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Mon May 15, 2017 11:32 am
by cjbiagi
Manual steering uses a different center link as well. You may get it to bolt up but the geometry will be off. The pitman arm and centerlink will no longer be parallel

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Tue May 16, 2017 7:40 am
by cosvega76
cjbiagi wrote:Manual steering uses a different center link as well. You may get it to bolt up but the geometry will be off. The pitman arm and centerlink will no longer be parallel


Clyde,

For the S-10 box, the P/S centerlink will work, as box is the same width as the power box.

Chuck

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Tue May 16, 2017 8:56 am
by cjbiagi
Ok, thanks for the correction Chuck.

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2017 6:11 pm
by 1976Monza350
After going to any local area scrap yards and digging through more vehicles than I care to admit. I am still without a manual gearbox :postwhore: . Does anyone have any suggestions on where I could just save myself the hassle and buy a remanufactured one?

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 7:20 am
by cosvega76
Google is your friend!

I found this one on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Remanufactured- ... 1044041147

And this pricey one on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Remanufactured-G ... B014TMVR9C

Plus check the website for your local used auto parts recycler (salvage yard).


Chuck

Re: V8 Monza PS to manual swap

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 7:26 am
by hammerdown7
The Cosworth Vega manual box, they were all manual, used the P/S centerlink and pitman arm. You may also need the steering column.

Dick