Cheers guys, interesting to hear different opinions from both camps. Dodgeman, you are right, my car is going to be a racer with fat tread and wide track so anything that increases the steering load could cause issues... How ever my ex-partner had a mark 1 escort she raced with the big heavy pinto, wide tires, increased track and a small steering wheel, she is 5,4" and 50kg and never had a problem with steering so I just cant see converting to rack and pinion and increasing the gearing being such a big problem. I admit I dont know a lot about steering geometry but I know enough to foresee there being a lot of factors to watch out for. I dont want to try and simplify anything but surely it would just be a case of mapping all the pivot points of the original setup and making sure the replacement is as close as possible (tierod lengths and pivot points etc), hence another reason to keep the rack behind the crossmember...

quick steering is nice in a race car and near a must in a rally car. yes the steering gets heavier but these cars were designed so old nanas could steer them easily on their way down the shops, not for competition.
my 1600 has about 2.2 turns lock to lock and it's not a problem at all. the steering is a little bit heavy but once you're racing you forget all about that.
Bob Cooper's rack conversion sounded really good- very guick ratio and lengthwise sounded like a good match. If you approach him and ask nicely I think he would help you out. He knows 1200s. I think it was rear mounted too.

Interesting subject,

If it's a quicker turn from lock to lock you want there is another way. (nzdatman, did we discuss this a few years ago)

I know alot of people may not agree with this way but you can shorten your lower steering arms, this will give you a quicker lock to lock.

I have done this mod twice now on two of my rallycars with great success.

I must stress that this mod is NOT one to be even considered unless you have the relevant metallurgy knowledge and the correct welders to do the job properly.
It's not just a matter of cutting up your lower control arms and welding them up with the good ol' arc welder with GP rods under the house.
If not done correctly it can be very dangerous.

yes Gary we did discuss it, it is definitely an option, but like you said it has to be done right.
Bob Cooper used corolla arms to quicken up the steering which apparantly works well, but he was hopng to have a better 'feel' with the rack, as he felt the cumulative play in all the joints in the datsun suspension gave the steering a vague feeling which gets worse a you gear up the steering, which can be a bit unsettling at high speed on gravel!
How is the sunny and the rallying going Gary? I've still got the sunny but am running a 1600 at the moment.

G'day Morgan, Rallying going great, 1st in two classes in '07 in the QRC. (2wd and under 1600cc) Currently building a Sunny coupe rallycar, won't highjack thread will PM you.

Hey nzdatman,
Cheers for the info. Who is Bob Cooper? (feel like I should know somehow...) and how do I get in contact with him? At the moment I am in Germany but I will be back in a few months and the steering is one of the first things I want to tackle...

another idea is the rack out of a suburu forester we have been playing with one in a 240z custom brace has been already made for it

Yea but if it fits a 240z wont it be to wide for a 1200?

different tie rod lengths can be used also screw them in and out to get length for setting toe

just using different tie rod lengths to make up for rack width = bump steer!

the shortened steering arms is common thing in rallying. But it messes with ackerman alot! not such a problem when the car is always sliding whenever you're turning as the instananeous ackerman is largely irrelevant because of the sideways movement of the rear, but on a gripy track with soft race rubber it can have a large effect on the car's handling