G-body or metric chassis cars...
G-body or metric chassis cars are one of the most popular Street/Hobby Stock platforms in oval track racing today. One area where you can improve their performance is in the steering system.
Racers are a resourceful bunch. We're always looking for that extra little advantage, sometimes within the rules, sometimes not. Then there's that little gray area of the rule book, you know, "it never said that I couldn't do it." That's the spot Smokey Yunick thrived in and in homage to him, that's where we got the idea for this little story.
Stock racing classes often have restrictive rules designed to keep costs down, competition fair, and make it "easy" for newbies to start racing. That said, visit any track in the country and usually you can find some pretty interesting innovations in the stock classes. In fact, some of the more creative gray area modifications can be found in these classes.
The idea for this story actually came from several of us pondering the fate of an '88 Monte Carlo SS. Being one of the most popular stock class platforms out there, yours truly was all for building a Street Stock, but then someone said we should build it into a multi purpose race car—an anything, anywhere, anytime Cannonball Run/Gumball Rally-type of thing.
This shot shows the right...
This shot shows the right side tie rod, idler arm (which attaches to the right front frame horn), and centerlink of a completely stock ’88 Monte Carlo SS. As you can see by the little (?) bit of rust, the car has seen its fair share of highway duty in the Northeast winters. The steering components are completely worn out and would be nothing more than a hazard on the racetrack.
Regardless of what we choose to eventually do with the car, one thing is clear. Our Monte Carlo's steering system is badly rusted and really worn out. We surveyed a number of stock class rule books from different tracks and didn't find anything that said we couldn't upgrade the steering components on this car. They just had to remain in the stock location. It got me thinking. And as I was surfing the Internet for parts, pieces, and ideas I came across the website of Hotchkis Sport Suspension.
This California-based company specializes in suspension components for road racing, drag racing, and autocross—basically street legal cars (for the most part). Definitely not the place you'd think of when looking for parts for your oval track stocker. But then again, why not?
Like we said, the rules we surveyed all said that steering and suspensions must remain in stock locations, stock dimensions, and so on. None of them said that we couldn't swap out parts that looked stock. See where we are going with this? It's the old "stock appearing" loophole.
Back to our steering, we found out that Hotckhis makes what it calls a Premium Steering Rebuild Kit specifically designed for GM's A/G-body cars from 1978-1988, such as the Monte Carlo, Regal, Cutlass, and so on. At $375, the kit would be the perfect upgrade for this car, still look totally stock (if not brand-new), and give us added performance in the steering category.
This picture shows the difference...
This picture shows the difference in the cups where the ball joints sit; left is Hotchkis, right is stock.
Hotchkis' kit includes two inner tie-rod ends, two outer tie-rod ends, the idler arm, and the centerlink. You'll have to reuse your tie-rod sleeves, although you could buy Hotchkis' heavy-duty sleeves but they look a little more aftermarket than we wanted for this build.
The kit features heat-treated 4140 forged ball studs on the tie-rod ends for improved wear resistance. The triple-lip-sealed ball joint boots come preinstalled and will keep all sorts of dirt and track debris out. Everything is manufactured from hardened steel and features forged housings for added strength. Hotchkis even CNC machined the threads on the ball joint studs. Then it tops everything off with a corrosion resistant finish.
As you'll see from the accompanying pictures, installing the kit is a simple task. Once we had the old steering system disassembled and removed with the salvaged parts cleaned up, it took less than an hour for us to put it all back together.
When it's all said and done, if you're going to go hunting for parts from premium automotive performance companies like Hotchkis make sure you read your rule book first and seek out those gray areas. You know you want to!
While we could have tried...
While we could have tried to source OEM replacement parts in better condition from a junkyard or even buying new ones at the local parts store, we found that Hotchkis Sport Suspension manufactures a robust Premium Steering Rebuild Kit for ’78 to ’88 G-body cars. The kit includes everything you see here; (2) inner tie-rod ends, (2) outer tie-rod ends, an idler arm, and a centerlink for an MSRP of $375.95.
Another comparison view with...
Another comparison view with the Hotchkis on the right. Notice the additional material joining the ball joint cup to shaft. The extra heavy-duty tie rod will stand up to the rigors of racing much better than the OEM unit.
Take a look at the difference...
Take a look at the difference in heft of the inner tie rods. The stock one is on the left, the Hotchkiss is on the right.
The same holds true for the...
The same holds true for the idler arm.
The same holds true for the...
The same holds true for the idler arm. All of the components of this kit feature hardened steel, forged housings, and a corrosion resistant finish.
One item that wasn’t included...
One item that wasn’t included in the kit was the pitman arm. While it looks pretty rough, closer inspection revealed that critical grooves were just fine.
So, we sandblasted the thing...
So, we sandblasted the thing in the shop and then coated it with two coats of Eastwood’s Extreme Chassis Black Primer, followed by one coat of Extreme Chassis Black Paint. Both the primer and paint come in convenient spray cans for small parts such as this. You’ll see the finished product later on in the story.
Hotchkis manufactures heavy-duty...
Hotchkis manufactures heavy-duty tie-rod sleeves, but these are not them. The sleeves aren’t included in the kit and that’s OK because we’re trying to keep this thing as close to stock as possible (since the rule book says we have to). These are the original sleeves that have been cleaned up.
Because Metric Monte Carlos...
Because Metric Monte Carlos have a mount welded to the crossmember that gets in your way when reassembling the steering, you have to attach both inner tie rods to the centerlink before you do anything else. At this point don’t tighten the nuts, just leave everything loose. You can then adjust the length of your tie rods, like I’m doing here. Make sure your front tires are reasonably straight. You’ll actually align it later but having the toe somewhere close to what you want saves time.
Here you can see that mount....
Here you can see that mount. It sits just under the centerlink.
When you have finished attaching...
When you have finished attaching both inner tie rods to the centerlink, the very next thing you need to do is make sure that the centerlink and pitman arm are properly attached.
We were impressed with how...
We were impressed with how good Eastwood’s primer and paint combo brought the freshly painted pitman arm back to life.
You can see the threaded end...
You can see the threaded end of the balljoint placed through the centerlink. The hole is where a cotter pin will be placed once the nut is tightened.
Here’s an important tip from...
Here’s an important tip from Hotchkis. When tightening the nut, you must make sure the groove lines up with the hole so that you can get the cotter pin through. However, you never back the nut out to make it align. You must always tighten it forward.
See how the hole lines up...
See how the hole lines up with the groove? That’s what you’re looking for.
With the nut properly tightened,...
With the nut properly tightened, you can slide the cotter pin into place and then bend the ends back.
This is the wrong way to bend...
This is the wrong way to bend the cotter pin back.
This is the right way to bend...
This is the right way to bend the cotter pin back.
The zerk fittings for the...
The zerk fittings for the greasable balljoints have to be screwed into place. We did this at the end to avoid damage from an accidental drop, but you can put them on before if you don’t eat greasy french fries while you’re working on the car.
The finished product. Now...
The finished product. Now this car has a lot more work before it can hit the race track but for those of you with a Metric or G-body stock class racer, Hotchkis’ Premium Steering Rebuild Kit may be just the ticket to help you get that car to perform better on Saturday night.