making the steering column do something

So now the the hardware connects the steering wheel to the rack.  I still need to drill and secure everything, but it is tight and smooth, and moves freely.  The next hurdle is connecting the steering rack to the knuckle. 

 

When looking for bump steer kits, there are two sorts I find.  One kind retains the tapered hole through the steering arm with a special stud.  The other kind has you drill out the knuckle and bolt through with a standard bolt.

 

Initially I wanted to retain the taper.  I liked that the connection could always be made to be very tight.  Many of these studs I find are for mustangs.  Here is an example below:

 

 

 

I have already found that the mustang tie rod end (TRE) does not fit through the hole on the focus knuckle.  I could buy a tapered reamer and open up the hole until it fits.  Ford and GM have different taper angles.  It seems like Ford uses a 7° taper.  I couldn't verify that Ford uses the same for everything.  Anyway it looks like a taper reamer goes for about $75 - $110.  I measured my TRE hole and calculated about 7.9° I checked and if one of my diametrical or thickness measurements were off by as much as .010 inch, it changes my answer about 0.5°.  So I have little confidence in what I have or need.

 

After reading more, it seems things work just fine if not better using a bolt through style:

 

 

The maximum motorsports site (their bump steer kit seems to be used and well regarded in forums) is kind enough to post what is in the kit.  They use a 5/8 grade 8 bolts.  My large side was .580 so this wouldn't really influence any wall thickness concerns, and gives me some margin on shear area.  I am planning to drill out the knuckle to just undersize and then ream to 5/8.  Then BFH the bolt through.  There is nothing in that $140 kit that I can't make myself in an afternoon, although I may not be able to do it much cheaper, and it might be nice if my wife and kids can blame somebody if it breaks.

 

Oh by the way, I wanted to make sure bumpsteer was reasonable before I started buying stuff.  So I threw the wheels on and and put the whole mess back on the ground.  Ground clearance seems to be about 5.25 inches which is pretty much right on what I wanted.  The fender gaps are a bit larger than stock, even with me sitting on the bumper, so I am scratching my head on that one.