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Pigeon-Rat - Opel gambler build

1966 Opel rekord mounted to 1990 Nissan pathfinder.
Overview Gallery Discussion
ashman said:
The black line on the oil pan marks the centerline of the vehicle. Funny enough, the engine doesn't sit in the middle. :dunno:
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When engine swapping my GMT800-based Suburban I found that the engines sits 1" off center. AFAIK, it's the same for all LS-Vortecs for several years. I'm curious when/if they ever stopped doing that.
 
BoondocK5 said:
The more I visualize what’s happening, the more I think full hydro steering is going to be what happens.
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That would be the easy fix, but I'm not sure that would fly for a budget build.
Blue85 said:
When engine swapping my GMT800-based Suburban I found that the engines sits 1" off center. AFAIK, it's the same for all LS-Vortecs for several years. I'm curious when/if they ever stopped doing that.
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I believe this is done to give more room for the steering column on the drivers side of the vehicle.
 
In the vans it's even more because they need enough legroom for the driver.
Plus the pedals need a minimum amount of space.
 
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I have some scrap MDF laying around, so I made a first pass template for the PS mount. Hopefully I'll get the DS mount done tomorrow. If all looks decent, I'll redo them in metal and tie them together.

On the steering box issue, after some googling it seems most guys swap to a steering box with a forward facing pitman arm. I saw suggestions of using one from a Toyota truck, but I have no idea on model and year.

Anybody know of anything that might work? It'll need to be on the outside of the frame rail.
 
folkenheath said:
Can you just file an extra spline and rotate the pitman arm like the Chevy crossover mod with the 2WD box?
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It still need to move the opposite way.
The box needs to be made for that orientation.
I know you just missed that part, I am sure you knew that
 
To be honest I haven't had time to read it all so I could surely have missed something, I just threw it out there and figured he would tell us if that won't work.
 
I think he might be saying if he uses the factory box and flips the pitman arm it will steer backwards, but that depends on how the original setup worked.
 
folkenheath said:
I think he might be saying if he uses the factory box and flips the pitman arm it will steer backwards, but that depends on how the original setup worked.
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Exactly. With the pitman arm pointed back, when you steer left, it moves left. If you pointed it front without changing anything it would move right.
 
For S-10's they usually go with a GMC/Chevy Safari/Astro box, that one has the forward facing pitman arm and reverse rotation. I'm not sure about Toyota stuff.
On my S-10 I sectioned the frame and moved the box forward about 4". I found out about the Safari box later :doah:
 
Nevermind, I just went back and realized that the S-10/Safari etc. have the steering box mounted inside the frame rails. I quick google search says that the Toyota box is from an 80's series land cruiser.

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ashman said:
Exactly. With the pitman arm pointed back, when you steer left, it moves left. If you pointed it front without changing anything it would move right.
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Just grab the bottom of the steering wheel and pretend you're backing a trailer.

Doesn't and XJ have a forward facing pitman arm? How does Jeep Forward Control steer?
 
Truckman4life said:
Well that would make it hard for someone to make a fast getaway after stealing it.
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15 years ago I bought a new Morse (now Teleflex) steering cable for my jet boat. It mounted under the helm with 3 bolts. So I bolted it up and hooked it up in the back and when I went to adjust center in the driveway I realized it was turning the wrong way, I was thinking, WTF, how did this happen, I didn't change anything....

So I investigated and on the new helm/pinion, the 3 screws were rotated 180 degrees, so when you mounted it, the rack was on the other side of the pinion, which made the boat steer backwards. I don't know why they changed this, but they did. So I drilled 3 new holes in the boat, flipped the rack, and fixed it.

Talking to my brother a few weeks later, he and a friend both replaced their cables, then they met at the river to ski, and realized on the water that both their boats steered backwards! :rotfl: They still went skiing! Fixed it when they got home.
 
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Truckman4life said:
Well that would make it hard for someone to make a fast getaway after stealing it.
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Makes it tough for me to make a quick getaway too!

r3dd0g said:
Nevermind, I just went back and realized that the S-10/Safari etc. have the steering box mounted inside the frame rails. I quick google search says that the Toyota box is from an 80's series land cruiser.

P1030315.jpg
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Thanks. I've also heard 78-80 scout II works. Guess I need to figure out what I can find.
 
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