Firstly, WELCOME! Steve has a great site here.  If you want electric power steering you could use it with a manual rack and pinion although that's kind of a double hit on the expense. I have a Steeroids setup in mine. I wouldn't do it again due to the rack placement. It forces you to move the bottom of the column too far to the right at the firewall thereby putting your steering wheel noticeably too far to the left as you sit and hold it.  Not centered and not ideal. I fixed it by making a longer intermediate shaft and attaching it to the column shaft more up inside the tube at the firewall. This is necessary to avoid u-joint bind.  Other than that it's a good setup. As for brakes, Mustang Steve has great options on the main page.  Glad you're saving that car.

Underwhelmed with the R&P setups, especially for the cost.  The EPAS is a nice setup, but cost wise the Borgeson setup wins out.  That's what I went with in my car this past year and have been quite happy with it.  Just be sure to buy Mustang Steve's lower column bearing kit.  The solid bushing the Borgeson provides is about as Mickey Mouse as solution as I've ever seen.  No positive retention on the shaft, which can flex on the rag joint and move up and down in the column tube, and the wheel with it!  Otherwise its a great kit, but they muffed the punt on that particular part.  The lower column bracket is also crap for '67 cars, but works properly for the '65-'66 cars, so you should be good.  I fabbed a new lower column mount from scratch for mine (pics on here somewhere). 

The problem with the stock steering is everyone judges them when they're at their worst, worn out. If you go to R&P you must pick one that mimics the drag link or it'll never, ever work correctly. I have zero experience on them in these cars but a lot of people seem to like the Unisteer. Also, before you buy a R&P, do some research and see if it's compatible with any other modifications you're thinking of.

Before you throw in the towel on the stock stuff, contact Chocostang. He has a great reputation both for customer service and quality work and parts. Another problem with the stock steering is stock alignment. Stock alignment specs just plain suck. There's very little if any caster which will cause any car to feel vague and wander. Take some time to do some research before you do anything. The more you know, the better the outcome.


 

For what it's worth, I am very happy with the stockish setup on our 66 and other than both UCA's trying to fall off on the way to the Bash last week, it works great.  (UCA trouble had nothing to do with using mostly stock parts...poor alignment job.) 

I rebuilt the entire front end with stock manual parts (use MOOG).  It was a PS car but I went to manual when I installed the Borgesen box.  I also have a 68 column which works perfect with the Borg.  I'm running a stock 5.0 PS pump and made up hoses that go along the left tower to the steering box...pretty clean.  When you rebuild the front end be sure to make the Arning/Shelby drop.  This made a huge difference in the handling and I drive enough mountain roads to notice the improvement.   Aligning these cars is pretty simple if you have a reasonably flat floor to work on.  Using a small magnetic digital angle finder works well as it can be zeroed to the floor first.  Set it up with as much caster as you can get...probably 3-4.5 degrees positive.  Then adjust the camber and try to get it as close to zero as you can and still have sufficient threads on the UCA bolts... zero to .5 degrees negative is what you are looking for.  Then adjust the toe to 1/16 to 1/8" toe in.  If you get it as close to these numbers as you can it should drive beautifully.    You can buy a magnetic camber/caster gauge pretty reasonably and use a couple of plastic bags to allow the front wheels to be turned for checking caster.

Lastly, make double sure, absolutely positive, that the UCA nuts are TIGHT and use lock-tight on them.  And, if you pay a "expert" to do the alignment be sure you double check and lock-tight the nuts after he's done.  Don't ask how I learned this but trust me that I know of what I speak here.  I did the first alignment my self and it takes a while but I drove it over 15K with no problems.  Then, for some stupid reason I let a "professional" do it before the bash trip...good alignment, drove fine, nuts not tight!

Good luck, and welcome to the best place on the web. 

BB
 

Welcome to the forum. Glad you found us.

I have a power TCP rack in my car. Zero problems since installing it in 2005. It reacts much quicker than the Tin Man setup and uses beefier tie rods. The KRC pump they suggest is very expensive, but I found it is simply a circle track racing pump. There are cheaper iron versions for around $100.

Borgeson was not around when I bought my rack. I have installed the Borgeson for customers. It would be my go-to setup now if I was building a car.  It still requires use of v8 steering parts like tie rods and center link, but so does the TCP rack.  Use the lower bearing kit I designed for best results on any conversion requiring shortening the steering column.

Disc brakes: be aware any spindles other than stock 65-66 V8 Mustang spindles will cause bumpsteer due to subtle geometry differences. That eliminates Granada or 67 and later spindle swaps. You will have to get rid of the six cylinder spindles and all steering linkage.  If you happen to be considering 17" wheels, the mustangsteve web site offers some really inexpensive brake kits that bolt to stock v8 spindles and utilize late model mustang discs.  If you want discs that fit 14" wheels, the csrp kit that duplicates the factory didcs is a good one, as long as you throw away all the crappy chinese tube fittings supplied with the kit and use some good quality USA tube fittings. Consider adding power assist. The mustangsteve kit is the only one uing a Ford booster and has a correct pedal ratio for power brakes. 

V8 swap. No shock tower mods are required to install a 351w. I have had one in my 66 for over 20 years. Do as you please, but my advice would be to go with a 93 or earlier 5.0 which fits alot better being same dimensions as a 289. The 93 or earlier serpentine belt systems fit better than 94 or later. The car will steer better with the lighter engine, and maintenance tasks will be much more accessible.

We will be glad to help further once you get to specific questions. This answer was kind of general but should help you make some decisions.

The important thing is to tap the experience of this site BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING to avoid making the common mistakes of those doing a Mustang.  There are lots of chinese parts out there offered for tgese cars, most touted as easy bolt-ons. Some are ok. Some are junk.

My .02 worth......
5.0 roller motor(86-94-ish) is a direct drop in.......lighter than a 351.....PLENTY of power  in stock form ....converts to carb very EZ........plentiful/cheap at salvage yards....responds VERY well to better heads/cam/headers/induction changes....
I have manual steering with  Shelby drop and 215-65-15 tires. Once the car is moving(tire rolls 1 revolution) it is EZ to maneuver. After all.....these are classic 50+ year old cars. The way they run/drive/and handle is PART OF THE EXPERIENCE of driving a classic.  With a few suspension changes and rebuilt(MOOG Parts) steering parts  they will still rival many new cars.
Glad to have you on the site!!
6sally6
PS.....Teenager with a 300+ HP light weight  car...that's 50 years old......AND a girl.....You may be in for a LOT of work/maintanence  and sleepless nights.........huuuummmmm  Jus' say'in 

The Borgeson system is also a faster ratio.  14:1 I think.  After having driven the manual setup for 20+ years it feels much quicker steering.  With a stock alignment it can be a bit twitchy, but that's going to happen with any system with a faster ratio, because turn in off center is faster.  The big key here is to adjust the alignment to get it right.  You need to dial in as much positive caster as you can.  Then set camber and toe to proper specs for radial tires.  The Shelby drop will help you pick up some positive caster too, so its also a good time to do that if you haven't already. 

Good drivers are good drivers.  Age is more of a metric than gender, and that's just due to experience.  My wife drives a 300+HP, 3,000lb car every day.  Its a stick too.  AWD does help in the handling department though.  Driving any car is more about knowing its limits and how to work around them. 

Thanks Ladies and Gentlemen for all your suggestions!
Advice well taken .By the way; my daughter whom this car is for turns 44 this January.
She could have taken the insurance settlement and put it down on a new GT500.
Instead she wants the old Mustang back because it was 'daddys car'. Gotta love her!
Still leaning towards the Borgeson unit. Dropped the 351 idea in favor of a 302.
Still a long time before I'm ready as she must thru paint & body work first.
When Harvey passed thru, we had to wait several days for the water to recede enough to enter where we stored the Mustang. Upon entry this is what we saw,

Brown nasty gooey grudge that would not rinse, we had to power
wash it off; even the interior was power washed.
Drained 3 gallons of water out the engine, unfroze the drum brakes then went and got a Tetanus shot.
Opened up the body drains and let her dry out for a while.

Pony interior, Rally Pak and gage pod...(sigh).
Is that a turbo on that engine?
Just went back up and read about that turbo.  Again, glad you are saving that car.

Last edited by Muzz 66 (10/17/2017 12:18 AM)

Funny how "more details" changes the whooole post!
Sorry about the flood damage butt glad you decided to save-the-ride!
Gotta love a woman who enjoys fast classic Mustangs!
6s6