Electronic Power Assisted Steering on a '66 Corvair

[JONSHOW]

Hello everybody. Let me preface this post by stating that I am investigating the possibility of installing an EPAS (electronic power assisted steering) system on my father in-laws 1966 Corvair.
He is not in very good health and the addition of a power steering system will allow him to enjoy his newly acquired Corvair for another season.

Does anyone on this forum have any knowledge of these systems?
Has anyone installed such a system on a Corvair?
Some preliminary investigation has led me to http://www.usautoperformance.com/ and their universal EPAS system and http://www.unisteer.com/ and their column system but until 2 days ago I did not even realized that this technology existed.
I've tried searching the forum but have come up short.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Thx.

Here's a picture of his car.

corvair2.JPG (42.55 KiB) Viewed 1399 times

[bbodie52]

Have you done an observation and evaluation of his driving the Corvair in a parking lot or other safe location? Unless it has been equipped with special fast ratio steering arms or does not have a standard ratio steering box, the Corvair is normally thought to not need power steering because of the light front-end. The Corvair in the picture looks like it has been fitted with oversize wheels and tires, which is normally a good thing and improves handling. However, in this special case reverting to the original 13" wheels and narrower tires — perhaps inflated to a higher front tire pressure than the factory-recommended 15 psi front/26 psi rear would lower steering effort. Moving the tire pressures up to 26 psi Front/32 psi Rear or so might reduce steering effort. The steering effort is usually at its highest at slow speeds in parking lot maneuvers. Once the car is rolling it feels much lighter.

You mentioned that the car is newly acquired. Perhaps a driving evaluation with some simpler changes as mentioned will determine the next step.

Does your Corvair have an automatic transmission? This would seem to be important if having both hands free for the steering wheel aids his control.

Would an old-fashioned "necker knob" provide needed additional steering wheel manipulation and control? They were considered somewhat hazardous if poorly manufactured or possibly in an impact with the steering wheel fitted with a "necker knob", but in your special control circumstances, maybe it would help. I've seen these available on eBay.



His health and safety issues must be carefully evaluated to ensure that he is a safe driver on the highway — for his safety and for the safety of others on the road. Some years back I was forced into a similar discussion with my aging father, who was 85 years old at the time, had an excellent driving record in his past, but who had had his driving skills deteriorate. This ultimately forced the need for him to discontinue driving. My wife, who had had several strokes, also had to ultimately give up driving — in her case in her early fifties — when I observed that her driving skills had begun to deteriorate. It can be a sensitive and touchy subject, but deteriorating health and increasing age often force families to confront these problems to avoid possibly disastrous consequences.

[Phil Dally]

WELCOME!!! EPAS is vairy intersting stuff.

My Wife has been asking for P/S in a Corvair.

Absolutely a viable option at a reasonable cost.

[JONSHOW]

Have you done an observation and evaluation of his driving the Corvair in a parking lot or other safe location? Unless it has been equipped with special fast ratio steering arms or does not have a standard ratio steering box, the Corvair is normally thought to not need power steering because of the light front-end.

Brad, thank you very much for the reply. You have outlined some very good points which I agree with.
My father in laws "impairment" is a shoulder/arm strength issue and really nothing more.
You may be correct regarding the oversize wheels, I am unclear if they are stock or not.
If the EPAS option is not viable I will try smaller wheels if applicable and a larger diameter steering wheel as the car currently has a rather small diameter aftermarket steering wheel installed.
I have checked tire inflation pressures to help remedy the situation but it has made little effect.
I have read on this and other forums that the Corvair is thought to have a rather light steering feel due to the rear mounted engine and transaxle configuration.
This particular Corvair, which we acquired in May of 2013, requires considerable steering effort.
I have disassembled the column and inspected it as well as other steering components for obvious signs of impingement but have found nothing that seems out of the ordinary.
The components seem in good repair but I do not know the car well enough to be able to tell if it indeed does have a different steering box or steering arms.
And this is why I am investigating the potential EPAS upgrade.
If my research tells me that it will be ineffective I will not venture down that path.
Again, any and all input is greatly appreciated.

Jon

[bbodie52]

The original Corvair wheels on all 1960-1969 Corvairs were 13" diameter. A wide tread patch would increase steering wheel effort somewhat, but I think it would be more apparent at slow parking lot speeds when making tight parking maneuvers.

The small diameter steering wheel would reduce leverage and increase steering effort needed. The aftermarket power steering option could work, but I've never seen it done or written-up on any Corvair. I was looking for simple changes first, such as steering wheel and tire width/pressure to determine if those simple changes would be sufficient.

The 1964-66 steering wheel uses a different steering column spline size than other model years, so if you decide to install a standard Corvair steering wheel to try that be sure to get one for your model year.

[JONSHOW]

Thx on the steering wheel tip for my model year.

[PressurizedPancake]

Did you ever implement the EPAS? I'm contemplating a similar scenario for my wife's 68. The Saturn Vue from 2002 up has one of these units, but is controlled by the BCM. I'm guessing it is PWM'd or something similar related to road speed for assist input. With all of the CVT Vues in the boneyard, I'm assuming this unit would be affordable if one could control it.

[notched]

Those GM column EPA units are not the most reliable things out there. It has been talked about on the other message board. I work in the industry and go out to look at them all the time. Someone from one of the Mustang boards used it for his early Mustang designed a control box for them. That same person swears the Saturn units are better because they are made in Japan, but I have seen just as many failures of the Japanese made units as I have with the standard domestic made units used on Cobalts, HHR's, G6's, Auras, etc.
I was at a Chevrolet dealership 2 weeks ago and found they issued another recall on them.
But the 2 common failures are the electric motor and excessive back lash between the motor and the rack that is on the shaft.