Strange question about steering knuckles

[fireslave]

this is an odd question, i know, but is the lower ball joint centered exactly along the axis of the strut?it seems like it should be, but you never know what goes through an OEMs head when making a road car...

for example if you put the left hub on the right side, i would expect the only differences to be the caliper location, and the fact that the steering arm itself would be facing forward rather than backward.

i ask this because you never know when the steering rack might get in the way of trying to make a 240sx into a front-mid engine car.

i realize that the ackermann steering geometry would be converted into reverse ackermann steering, which would be totally lame, but thats nothing that a few bellcranks and some trig couldnt take care of...

[del82]

I'm having a lot of trouble following what you're trying to get at, but the first answer is yes, and it has to be to rotate smoothly along with the strut.

If its a mid-engine buggy you're thinking of using the subframe for, I'd suggest starting with a front wheel drive car. Less work that way. Also, concerning the rack, from what I hear the racks are just removed and bars are fit to the frame to locate the spindles properly, usually adjustable bars, so people can easily set toe in/toe out.

[fireslave]

the reason i ask is because i want to swap a vq35 into a 240sx, but i want to notch the firewall so that the engine can sit as far back and low as possible. I know a vq35 can fit in the car, but i wont know how low/far back is possible until i have both the car and the engine in my possession. depending on where the engine sits, the steering rack may need to be just infront of or just behind the oil pan.

however, its possible that the oil pan will be right in the middle of where the steering rack needs to be, so im just trying to consider my options.

i've been doing a little trig lately so that i can test out the effects of different positions, but i still have some work to do on that...