There are a couple kinds of guys who work on cars: guys who think women don’t belong in a garage, and guys who love it when a woman knows her way around a toolbox. We’re the latter, and no matter how macho some of you guys want to be (spare us the “make me a sandwich” jokes), we love it when we see a woman who is into cars and engines.
The list of famous women around cars is not so long, but isn’t an anonymous list, either. And if you’ve been tuning in to the Velocity channel on Saturday mornings at 11:30 am, then you’ve been tuning in to watch Cristy Lee, Bogi Lateiner, and Rachel De Barros get busy in the shop. They’re the team at All Girls Garage, and they’ve done just about everything, and maybe even better than you can.
This Saturday, April 9th at 11:30am, we’ll watch along as the team tackles a Pro-Touring 1972 Chevelle SS to install a Flaming River power rack and pinion system, complete with a new tilt column and steering wheel. They’ll also add a touch of the modern to the Chevelle with a programmable keyless ignition system.
The rack and pinion kit from Flaming River includes the cradle kit for a complete, bolt-in installation to the ’68-’72 GM A-body chassis. The kit (PN FR313KTNC) features an all new power rack and pinion and a jig-welded cradle. The rack is one inch in diameter and features more than six inches of travel lock to lock. It bolts to the existing chassis without modification, with lifetime serviceability.
Inside the car, a Flaming River D-wheel (PN FR20130BK)wrapped in black leather will give the driver something to hold on to, while a powdercoated black tilt steering column (custom made for this build) with keyless ignition system will connect the wheel to the rack and pinion. The highly polished stainless tilt column features an ignition key built into the column, replaced by the start button for the RFID keyless ignition system (PN FR60004). Mounting the column to the firewall is done easily with a Swivel Floor Mount (PN FR20101AB) helping to keep things in place.
Flaming River makes steering systems easy with its direct replacement and custom components, and other applications for all of the above components can be found on the Flaming River website. And don’t forget to check out the team at All Girls Garage Saturday morning to see how it’s done.