Thanks, Diabolical, as well. Here's another bit that I really like, but you don't see: an Atomic Rex manual rack.
I did the looped line manual steering conversion on my first FD and tasted the “feel” that manual steering provided. I never tried the Mavel manual conversion. When Atomic Rex came out with their new billet aluminum CNC-machined manual rack, I bought the first one shipped here. Its a fair bit of money, but cheap for what it provides.
Not only is there great feel, but it is also quicker at 2.4 turns lock-to-lock. It is also much more precise due to the different (better) machining of the rack and gear, as well as the much more substantial solid aluminum mounting blocks to the subframe. This makes a tremendous change in the way the car feels, the way it turns in, the way it handles overall. [However, I am close to buying Atomic Rex’s Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) kit that provides assistance at parking speeds, since it’s a bit much on occasion.]
Here’s the Atomic Rex manual rack next to the stock rack. Talk about hidden bling:
Here is a picture showing the mounting blocks to affix the rack to the subframe:
And, here’s the rack installed in the subframe:
