Fast Marina Magazine

ok have been looking around for a good rack to fit and down the brakers. i found a hyudai lantra which fits to the bulkhead and hangs aprox 3" off the bulkhead so should be ok for the room between the top of bellhousing and the bulkhead but the spindel is a bit to the left so may have to cut up the floor but its a good bet have a look and see what you lot think

Probably would fit OK but a lot of work getting the spindle in the right place and mounting the pump, running hoses, finding a place for the reservoir etc.
Wonder if one of the corsa type kits for escorts would fit? It's an electric assistance column so the rack remains unchanged.

There was an article in Classic Ford the other month about fitting one....

the rack is on the way out on my car so will have to drop it out at some point so if its not a lot of money to do i might give it a go

Early vauxhall astra, corsa and cavalier racks mount to the bulkhead, have you had a look at anyof these?

What spline count/size has the Marina column got? Trying to fit a rack with a different spline will make life difficult.

Did any of the Rover or Triumph cars with power steering have a compatible rack? I have a vague feeling that the Triumph 2500 might be your best bet for a swap, or a Dolomite (did they have a power steer option?).

One idea I looked at once was to take the electric power steering off a Corsa and adapt it to fit as Number 63 said
Its an electric motor that fits between the steering wheel and rack so all the alterations should be in the column.

I decided not to go ahead as my steering is light enough already.

It seems to be a conversion done by the Escort Rally boys though I have not revisited the idea for a while.

Two of the problems are that you need to fool the electronics as it requires a signal from an ECU to indicate road speed and hence the amount of assistance required and that the motor requires 40Amp to drive it so possibly the battery and alternator need beefing up.
There is some debate that the use of power steering on an old rack may put extra load on the pinion. Personally though I can see the argument, it suggests that a driver with higher upper body strength might wear the rack more than a slighter framed person (Was trying to avoid being sexist there)

If all the hard work has been done by the Escort boys surely its a way to go rather than changing the rack and plumbing in hydraulics etc. or using an electric rack from another car that in all probability will have metric threaded ends.

In a recent Classic Ford magazine, they laid out the fitment of the column and the 'box-o-tricks' that goes with it to control the assistance. On the Corsa it is normally controlled via the ecu on various road speed and engine speed inputs so a wee box is required to do the controlling in the absence of an ECU in the Marina.. Another possibility for this type of column could be the early 00's Fiat Punto columns which had a 3 position switch for assistance level. I guess it may not be as compatable with the Escorts but it may suit Marinas - who knows?
If the hard work has been done for the escort boys, I'd say it's a good starting point at least.

Didn't the MGF have electric power steering? That would keep it in the BL family.

Some MGF's had electric power steering, not all, I think it was an optional extra.
Nice idea Bryan.