Has anybody done this, all the swaps I seem to find are using f-body accessories. On my camaro I have a custom rack and pinion setup and the f-body alternator is right in the way of the steering shaft. So I thought the vette parts would fix my problem or maybe relocate the alternator?

 

I was wondering about this myself. I'm doing a rack and pinion also on my 91. I found that if you remove the rear alternator bracket and the lower front bolt and swing the alternator all the way up (so it's almost hitting the power steering pump) the gear on the rack will clear. So as of now, my plans are to fab a bracket to do that.

What rack are you using by the way? I assume you know about the turning radius issue with racks on these cars.

 

I am using a appleton custom billet rack. I had it built to my spec. It is only like 18" wide and has the same amount of travel as stock.

 

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-swaps/716326-bout-start-5-3-project.html

There should be some stuff in that thread and you might be able to PM 1987earthwquake. Corvette accs. take up less space than Fbody's. Since a lot of thirdgeners (including myself) will add a cowl hood or ram-air style hood the clearence isn't a problem. If you got some $$$ you could always go aftermarket and have them build you a custom serpentine system. Personally, I'm going with Fbody accessories.

 

Got any pics of this custom rack and how it mounts? Or any info on where to get one??

I dont have a problem with my stock steering. Works great, handles great...I just like the simplicity of the rack. Plus, Im using 4th gen a/c parts, and my idler arm keeps hitting one of the lines from the compressor.

Might be something to upgrade to here in the future.

Justin

 

I posted pics a couple of years ago on thirdgen. I think I did the install 4 years ago. I designed all of it myself except the rack which I had Appleton build for me, and I think it cost around $900. I will probably be selling the mounting brackets and steering staft on thirdgen since they will not work with a LS1.

 

Nobody has vette accessories?

 

I've got vette access, but my swaps a 4wd S10, not a 3rd gen....

One of the biggest reasons to run f-body access is they're a fair bit cheaper, especially if you already have them.

The C5 and f-body power steering pumps don't interchange directly or so I'm told. I don't think you can take your f-body pump and put it on the C5 alt/PS bracket (I don't think it mounts up). I'm not sure if the f-body alternator fits on the C5 bracket, but I can tell you that the truck alternator doesn't fit directly (its close, but off by 1/2 a bolt hole diameter). You could use the C5 bracket with the rest of the f-body setup (balancer, tensioner, etc) but you'd need to space the C5 bracket away from the motor by like 3/4" or so to get the belt "line" to line up.

'JustDreamin'