Steering

I think my next job is steering, so there's a few things to sort here. First thing is mounting, the standard bracket is renowned for bending and letting the rack wander, and that's not what you want if it's the only thing keeping the car going in a straight line. Some simple braces and/or reinforcement will do here.

The steering column has already been fitted, and makes use of the collapsible column as a safety feature. The second feature will then be a universal joint to put a bend in the routing. And therein lies the problem...

MX5 steering columns are finished with a 5/8" x 36 splined end. Mark 2 Escort racks are finished with a 9/16" 36 splined end. Neither the standard Escort or the standard MX5 UJ's would work. And besides that, the bar is too short to get from one to the other!

The solution for the latter is to cut the bar and weld in a thick wall tube to extend it down to the rack. But there's no point in using the splined end if it won't fit to a UJ that can then go on to the Escort.

After a quick ask around on locostbuilders (the bible for home builders!) a kind gentleman gave me the name of a steering specialist who, purely by coincidence, is just down the road in Birmingham. They stock (amongst other things) a 5/8" to 9/16" UJ. Hopefully the price will be similar to the Rally Designs joint which is £24 plus postage. If it does work out to be a decent price, then I'll get one of those, extend the steering rack exactly as described in the book, and do away with any messing around with different sized shafts. Then all I need to do is buy some thick wall tube (15mm ID, 21mm OD seems to make sense although I may have to warm it up to get it to fit as 5/8" is 1.5875cm).

Oh, and before I forget, the specialist is Kiley Clinton Engineering. Fingers crossed for good news in the morning...

(update) £45 + vat... so not a huge saving over the spline shaft + coupler from Rally Design, but it looks like a far better solution. And a proper forged unit rather than just pressed steel. Now I just need to find the thick wall tube, and if it's anything like the other tube I've bought the post and packing will be more than the tube itself!