Quick Steering Arms?

[Jaybot]

Can someone enlighten me regarding an auction I saw for an Avanti with quick steering arms? Where can they be found? Any members have experience with them, and how much different are they regarding performance?

[52 Ragtop]

Studebaker International has them, if your car does NOT have power steering, I would suggest NOT using them. I have not had them on any of my cars as all of mine are non power steering cars.

Jim

[Gunslinger]

I wouldn't go to the trouble of installing the quick steering arms unless you're rebuilding your car's suspension anyway. You won't notice much difference...somewhat quicker lock-to-lock, but nothing dramatic. Avanti Motors supposedly went to the quick steering arms after a change in the steering box resulted negatively to handling performance. Some have said it makes the steering a bit "darty", but I haven't noticed that on my Avanti that has the quick steering arms installed.

Putting a smaller diameter steering wheel kind of accomplishes the same feeling of "dartiness". When I went to a smaller steering wheel, that's when I noticed it. Not much, but perceptible.

As I said...unless you're already rebuilding your suspension, I would save the money. The cost/benefit ratio isn't in your favor otherwise.

[Jaybot]

Yes, already did complete rebuid with kit from Stud Int., but didn't know about the quick steering arms at the time. My Avanti stays true and straight and handles nice now, so maybe not necessary from what your saying?

[sbca96]

Dont ruin it for me .. this was on my list of mods. The steering just seems
so slow compared to my '93 Camaro Z28, '95 Impala SS, and '04 GTO. The
one less turn sounds good, but I dont want a darty result. Is this due to it
not being aligned after the install? Changing to the short arms will throw
the toe adjustment off.

Tom

[52 Ragtop]

Rack & Pinion will always be faster than a gear box. If the bushings, kingpins and springs are good, then you will have a solid driver.

Jim

[Gunslinger]

The alignment specs are the same but it simply takes more adjustment to set it. Nothing more than that. You might change the turns lock-to-lock from 3.5 to maybe 3 turns...nothing dramatic.

I remember the '63 R1 I used to own...I always felt it had excellent handling. When I bought my '70 and had it rebuilt, it surprised me how large a turning circle it had...then it dawned on me...my old Avanti was being compared agianst cars I owned that were contemporary. I was now comparing those memories to modern cars with many years of automotive engineering advances and the car comes up short in the handling department. It's not realistic to compare a 1953 Studebaker chassis design against a 2002 Avanti I have based on a Trans Am platform. A huge difference. My '63 did have excellent handling...against other '63 era cars.

I'm not sorry I installed the quick steering arms...just don't expect miracles. You'll find a slight improvement..whether that's enough to make the switch worthwhile to you is your decision.

[Rerun]

The P.O. of my '78 installed the quick steering arms. I found that it was necessary to "tweak" the adjustment of the spring tension nut in the P/S control valve to get the right "feel" back to the steering.

[ROADRACELARK]

When I built the car below, I installed a set, and on the track you couldn't do without them. They are great. As Jim stated in his first post, power steering is a must for a street driver. Thank goodness I don't have to parallel park....with 8" rims and tires with an 8" tread contact patch on the ground, that would get old quickly!!

Dan Miller
Auburn, GA

[64V-K7]

Quick steer arms made my 70 Avanti feel like it had a tiller instead of a wheel. Getting used to it might take a while, as the slightest movement of the wheel ( like taking your eyes off the road for a second or two) could put you in the other lane. Make sure your PS hoses are in very good shape. A weak high pressure hose could put you in the weeds in a turn. The only other thing is, that you have to readjust the toe - in after the install. The front of the tires will be splayed out about an inch

[HammondA100]

I would suggest and will be doing this modification for manual steering http://www.studebaker-info.org/TW/tw1098/tw1098p28.html
Which is tossing the Ross for the Saginaw. The Corvair Saginaw already has the smaller diameter shaft which would simplify one step per the above link but the ease would be quite significant. I drove a duce army truck w/o power steering so I know what to expect and any inprovement w/o having to add that power steering monster would be worth looking into.

As far as steering like a tiller, I'm no expert but wouldn't too much caster do that? On a street car you definately want less caster so the wheel will automatically want to return to zero so to speak.

[Laemmle]

Had them on my '64 Avanti with p/s. Had to remove them .....almost impossible to park the car and I thought I would either have a heart attack or rip the steering wheel off the column! I removed them and was able to sell.