Anyone use one of these?
Wondered how they worked out.
http://www.wizardsteerclear.com
I never considered one on my MGB but when I was building T-Buckets and had access to a machine shop I fabricated one for my Bucket so I could move the steering 5" to the right giving me a place to put my left leg. A friend owns the car now and its been on the road six years without incident. Because of the seriousness of a failure, my friend removes, inspects, and lubs it every winter when T-Bucket days are numbered and so far hasn't found any appreciable wear.
Paul
Yes, especially useful in a T-Bucket application. But to get one on my door step here in Canada would about a $1000.
Alan, got a new project on the go?
Ken
No. The 250 has some really acute angles on the steering setup..
The ujs arent 100% smooth all the way round.
I was thinking this might fix things easier and cheaper than anything else.
Sadly Alan "Easy and Cheap" are not compatible words when it comes to steering.
Other than the four letter "S" word (stop), the four letter "T" word (turn) is most important.
Especially after you have just used the "H" word ( holy shit this thing goes!)
The offset steering drive is a very viable option.
They have existed as belt, chain, cable, gear and various other means for a long time now.
Buying one is easy but not cheap, building one is cheap but not easy.
Either way it may be your best solution.
Another option might be the old Pinto flexible cable coupling. They needed a pretty solid input and output mounting but will put up with a significant offset without complaint.
Cheers
Fred
Cheap is relative.
Compared to redoing the front end this is cheap.
I was driving my bosses "T" while mine was under construction trying my best to find a comfortable position for my 6'2" frame when I came up with the idea of offset steering. I made a few drawings and decided to give it my best shot. About that time my boss enlightened me that I wasn't really inventing the thing, somebody had beaten me to the punch but I remembered how bad my left leg hurt after two hundred miles and decided to press on without the credit. At the time I didn't think they were worth anywhere near what they cost and with a machine shop three feet away, well...you get the idea. I used the chain drive approach with go-kart sprockets, roller bearings, and an aluminum case. It required a lot of machine and mill work, but after three attempts I had one that worked. I no longer have the shop but if had it all to do again, I would buy one rather than do without.
Paul
Having built a chain steer on a recumbent bike, I would say you should pay particular attention to tensioning (removal of backlash). There is a pretty fine line between allowing play and creating binding. Unless there is a mechanism for taking out the backlash, wear will introduce play which will show up as slop in the steering. The greatest wear occurs at the center of travel, meaning that over time you end up with the choice of slop straight ahead or binding at the locks and this is even with backlash compensation. A chain drive isn't as bad with wear as some of the other choices, a toothed belt might be a good option too but would be more bulky.
Overall the fewer joints or mechanical devices in the steering, the better. But if you have to have it...
Jim
What Jim says is true, the reason I built three offsets is because the first two had tension issues. The third has an adjustable third sprocket that functions as an idler between the input and output sprockets. It was a pain to machine and adjust (has to be removed from the car to get to the adjustment screws) and necessitated the case being a little bigger that I would have liked, but was the only was I could figure out to do it. This might not be a big deal in other applications but in a bucket everything is a tight fit and it ended up as a dead pedal under my left foot. I don't know much about 250's, but would probably try to use a more conventional approach if possible. Still, it's an intriguing idea.
Paul
I built a 6" off set for my TR3. Number 40 chain with plain bearings and idler take up. 30,000 miles after set up. Another benifit,
I was able to use the center steering wheel turn signals and horn.
Greg