hey dd i thought the datsun sunny has the better steering ratio. and a relitively easy swap too.

Cheers DD but if the escort rack is an option then so is the quaife quick rack which is 2.5 turns lock to lock, surely thats better than the standard 1200 (not sure what that is compared to 15:1). Thanks for the link (man I suck at finding stuff on this site :) ) but it didn't actually have any other examples of other peoples swaps or advice...
Has any one done this conversion (other than dat383, sorry but I want a rack behind the cross member)?
Cheers

You won't get a better turn ratio, Datsun 1200 already has a quick 15:1.

Information is in the datsun1200 club article "Steering Gearbox Swaps"

After seeing dat383s Gemini rack and pinion set up (bloody nice) I thought I'd do a search for info on rack and pinion steering setups for 1200s and cant find anything...
SO:
I really want to run a rack and pinion setup in my 1200 for a few reasons;
for improved steering feel and better turn ratio.
more space in the engine bay, relocating the rack and cleaning up the look of the engine bay (personally I think the old box looks real ugly)

I know the standard 1200 setup is pretty good but if there is a easy(ish) option I'll do it (I don't expect it to be easy but I don't think its worth $1000s and extensive engineering). Is there any other setups people have used? I think a toyota starlet or AE86 rack would be pretty close...
If possible I'd like to keep the rack behind (on the firewall side) the cross member as my sump is winged on the front and it will save me swapping the struts over.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers