Steeroids Power Rack Kit For Chevrolet Corvettes - Rack 'N' Roll

The Steeroids(tm) power rack kit is a true bolt-in-no holes to drill, no cutting or welding, not a single permanent change required. It uses the original power steering pump. The rest is in the kit-a brand-new steering rack, well-engineered and crafted mounting brackets that bolt in place of the steering box and idler arm, all necessary hardware, new hoses, tie rod ends, and steering column adapter and extension shaft.

From the time we first heard about SpeedDirect's power rack conversion kit, we were hot to try one. Since the C5 Shark is still many months away from going back on the road, and since it's been nearly two years since the '76 had been driven, we opted to use Loy McKenrick's '72 coupe once again as a guinea pig. That was actually advantageous because, in spite of headers, a 383 stroker small-block, and a home-brewed 700-R4 tranny swap, the platform of the car is still stock. Plus, Loy has been using the old Vette as a daily driver for most of the past 25 or so years, and knows every nuance of how it drives. Who could be better for honestly evaluating a new product for an old Corvette than someone who's owned and driven the same car for multiple decades? The crew at Speed Direct agreed and sent us a kit out of their first production batch.

The Steeroids(tm) power rack conversion truly is a bolt-on. From start to finish, we invested roughly five man-hours of work, using a hoist and air tools at McKenrick's shop, Auto Perfections. This does not include the time and/or cost of having the frontend re-aligned by a quality alignment shop, but does include performing a rough, road test alignment before pulling the '72 off the hoist. Most important, at least from the installation standpoint, is that every single piece fitted where it was supposed to and as it was supposed to. Before we began the installation, we weighed the Steeroids(tm) kit. After removing the original steering box, all linkages, and the power steering ram and slave cylinder, we weighed the old system and found the power rack setup tipped the scales at 12 fewer pounds than the OEM system.

The price of the Steeroids(tm) power rack-and-pinion conversion for Sharks is $1156, FOB Santo, Texas. Yeah, that sounds like a healthy chunk of change, but consider the cost of completely refurbishing an original Shark power steering system. A brand-new, quick-ratio steering box from Flaming River Industries goes for $459, all by itself. Using the catalogs of one of the major Corvette mail order companies, we came up with a parts-only cost of $659.60 to completely refurbish the steering system (including idler arm, tie rod ends, hoses, etc.) with a rebuilt steering box, power steering control valve, and power steering cylinder (the ram). With all new parts, no "remanufactured" bits or pieces, the tally was $959.60. Suddenly that $1156 figure doesn't sound all that high.

Most telling was Loy McKenrick's reaction when we dropped the hoist and I climbed into the passenger side of "Old Yeller" and headed out for a test run. "Holy ****, this thing steers like a new C5!" was one of his first comments. He later related that the car's steering is very precise, feels much more positive than it ever had with the stock system, seemed to respond quicker to any steering wheel inputs, and, at the same time, didn't feel as heavy as the original setup.

It's always a pleasure to test a new product that lives up to the hype, and the Steeroids(tm) power rack kit for C3s easily lives up to, if not exceeds, the promise and the hype. It's a great addition to any non-resto, regularly driven third-gen, and a great way to have the best of nostalgia and a great driver at the same time.