Silvermine Motors Electric Power Steering System

[rcb280z]

Excellent!

Definitely going to make this one of my first "upgrades" when I decide it's time to do so. Which is going to be soon.

[wheee!]

Doing this mod while the car is disassembled is a no-brainer for me. I know my wife will appreciate the creature comfort of power steering (and so will I)! As for @silverminemotors, Edan has been awesome in communicating with me about the design. He needs to ensure the final product works with his V8 swap customers, but is very motivated to improve the product for the benefit of all S30 chassis owners. For my part, I am happy to assist in the quality control of the final product.

[Captain Obvious]

I'm not sure I understand what the problem was with the original feed through column support flange. Do you have any pics that describe the issue you are (were?) having?

[wheee!]

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

I'm not sure I understand what the problem was with the original feed through column support flange. Do you have any pics that describe the issue you are (were?) having?

Unfortunately I did not take any pics of the column not aligning with the pedal box when I installed it. It slid into the collar on the firewall and ended up being low and to the right from the drivers seat perspective. I (gently) persuaded it to line up with the pedal box mounting bolts and bolted it in. I mentioned it in the thread for due diligence in case someone else ran into the same issue.

After speaking multiple times with Edan, it was discovered that the offset position was required to clear the headers from the V8 swapped cars (Edan has one). Somehow the jig was slightly off (at least on the one I received) and the column didn't align perfectly. After I pulled it into the proper position, the slight angle change at the firewall was now correct for the parts to align.

What I intend to do is release the bolts from the pedal box and photograph the relaxed position of the column (it may or may not go back down and to the right) and see if it still needs correcting. Then I will replace the firewall mount and collar with the seperate pieces supplied by Edan and bolt the assembly back together in a relaxed position. Then I will tack weld the collar in place so that a jig can be made to replicate the offset & correctly angled collar to ensure a direct bolt in fit for both L series engines and V8's, no pulling of the column required. 

[Captain Obvious]

It appears to me that the location of the centerline of the steering shaft was moved up and to the left at the flange where it pokes through the firewall. That would make sense if you were trying to create more room for headers.

And then, if you moved the centerline of the shaft up and to the left at the firewall end, you would then angle the steering column a little towards the right side of the car to catch the two mounting bolts. Since the two mounting bolts are designed to slide in the column, the mounting slide bushing on the right side will be closer to the top of the slot than the right side.

Am I doing all that correctly?

I've messed with my steering column (and others) way too many times now, and I've found the original flange at the firewall to be an inexact science. It's flimsy and easy to bend (probably by design for crash safety), and is mounted on a squishy indeterminate rubber gasket. The point of all that is.... I've never had a column install at the bottom and then had the top come right up against the mounting surface. I've always had to lift the column up to get the bolts started and often had to slide the mounting bushings fore or aft to get holes to line up. Again, I think those slidey bushings at the top are a safety feature to allow the column to push down in a crash instead of impaling the driver. I think it's designed to slip out of it's upper mounts if you compress the column enough (maybe 25mm or so?).

Out of curiosity... Is that Silvermine firewall flange pieced together by welding a number of separate pieces together?

Edited February 1, 2019 by Captain Obvious

[Zed Head]

Is the car going to sound like the Terminator when turning?  The Turninator?  

I've never seen, or heard, an electric power steering system.  Will it need a high output alternator for the twisties?  My inner nerd needs to know....

[grannyknot]

I don't have the Silvermine kit but built a similar setup and there is no noise at all, it is easy to forget it's there until I'm in a parking lot and give it a half turn of the knob and use one finger on the steering wheel. The best thing is to be able to turn it off once you're out on the Hwy.

[wheee!]

The firewall flange is welded together.

And you are correct. The mounting tabs would indeed be moved as you suggest.

[wheee!]

Well a new issue has arisen that should be detailed here. The offset firewall plate has another aspect I had not considered.

Apparently the steering shaft now contacts the stock motor mounts. The V8 kits obviously use another style of mount and this is not an issue there.

I have contacted Edan to let him know. I have a feeling we will need two different firewall plates. One for each motor type in use.

Pics below show the contact.

 

[Captain Obvious]

The best-laid plans of mice and men...

I blame @ConVerTT.  This is why we don't post pics of all those misfires.

Oh, and Murphy is laughing his proverbial butt off at you right now. You know that, right?   

[Captain Obvious]

Have you considered a steering shaft with a slight bend in the middle to move it farther away from the motor mount?

[wheee!]

I’m thinking I should just drop a V8 in the car now...