AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
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AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
First off, I've just joined the forum, Hello to all!
I have 2 AYK Radiants in my possession at this moment.
I'll just cut to the chase: neither of them have the OEM bell crank steering system.
I bought the first one brand new back in the late 80's, which of course, letting a family member take it for a test drive, he wrecked it so bad it got hung in a wooden fence, which broke the steering.
I picked up the 2nd unit just to have spare parts, but it didn't have any of the steering intact.
I need a aftermarket solution for the steering system.
All I can come up with is a servo taped upside down on the chassis with a servo saver.
It works, but upon suspension compression, I get the dreadful toe-in affect.
I once saw a Radiant on eBay that had some kind of aftermarket, or maybe a OEM from another manufacture, but the seller did not know of the maker of the steering unit.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have 2 AYK Radiants in my possession at this moment.
I'll just cut to the chase: neither of them have the OEM bell crank steering system.
I bought the first one brand new back in the late 80's, which of course, letting a family member take it for a test drive, he wrecked it so bad it got hung in a wooden fence, which broke the steering.
I picked up the 2nd unit just to have spare parts, but it didn't have any of the steering intact.
I need a aftermarket solution for the steering system.
All I can come up with is a servo taped upside down on the chassis with a servo saver.
It works, but upon suspension compression, I get the dreadful toe-in affect.
I once saw a Radiant on eBay that had some kind of aftermarket, or maybe a OEM from another manufacture, but the seller did not know of the maker of the steering unit.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- jwscab
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
Welcome to the board! Post up some pics of your buggies! We will be glad to assist, bear in mind these buggies are somewhat rare so parts might be hard to locate. Take the time to search this forum. I believe some tamiya steering parts might substitute with a little elbow grease. Also ebay does have some parts now and then.
- Coelacanth
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
Like Joe said, share some pics of your Radiants and close-ups of your current steering setup. I may have some suggestions as I've installed modern aluminum ball-raced bell-cranks in vintage cars; as long as you have 2 mounting holes for the steering posts, the install is quite simple. I've also dealt with bump-steer issues with some of my cars, we can help you with that too. Generally speaking, make sure your tie-rods are parallel with your control arms and you'll mostly resolve your bump-steer problems.
Completed projects: CYANide Onroad Optima | Zebra Gold Optima | Barney Optima | OptiMutt RWD Mid
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3
Gallery - Coel's Stalls: Marui Galaxy & Shogun Resto-Mods | FrankenBuff AYK Buffalo | 1987 Buick GNX RC12L3
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
Glad I dropped back in, I was waiting for a email notification when replied too, guess I need to find that setting.
Yeah, I know they are rare and I've been looking on eBay for years now.
I know there is a solution out there.
I'll have to dig these things out and dust them off for some pics.
They aren't pretty, but I sure would like to have at least one back up and running correctly.
Thanks again guys.
Yeah, I know they are rare and I've been looking on eBay for years now.
I know there is a solution out there.
I'll have to dig these things out and dust them off for some pics.
They aren't pretty, but I sure would like to have at least one back up and running correctly.
Thanks again guys.
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
http://www.inetrc.com/store/index.cfm?action=ViewCategory&Category=13&start=101
You might find some parts here, and can contact him for parts he may not have listed.
I have a picture and a car with an A&L steering set up installed on the Radiant. I will post pictures today sometime.
You might find some parts here, and can contact him for parts he may not have listed.
I have a picture and a car with an A&L steering set up installed on the Radiant. I will post pictures today sometime.

- jwscab
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
if you have the servo saver plate still in place in the car, then you are almost where you need to be.
you can modify bellcranks from a few different models and get something that will work, and just mount where the factory ones did. See this picture of the manual:
you can modify bellcranks from a few different models and get something that will work, and just mount where the factory ones did. See this picture of the manual:
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
The essential part needed is the RZ-218 aluminum plate as shown in the instructions above.
"RZ-14 IN THE RADIANT KIT".
"RZ-14 IN THE RADIANT KIT".
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
Oh, I've got the plate on the one in the garage.
Not sure if the plate is with the second machine - it's in the attic somewhere.
Not sure if the plate is with the second machine - it's in the attic somewhere.
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
aip47-2008 wrote:http://www.inetrc.com/store/index.cfm?action=ViewCategory&Category=13&start=101
You might find some parts here, and can contact him for parts he may not have listed.
I have a picture and a car with an A&L steering set up installed on the Radiant. I will post pictures today sometime.
I'm looking forward to seeing your pics.
I located the 2nd Radiant in the attic this morning, but that one does not have the plate - MIA.
The one in the garage does, so I'm interested in doing one at the moment.
I have not looked through my parts box yet, the second plate could still be around.
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
Ha...I have a radiant with a DIY steering setup too but Aaron helped me source the missing parts for it!
I hope to install it sometime!
I hope to install it sometime!
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Re: AYK Radiant Steering Help Needed Please
aip47-2008 wrote:http://www.inetrc.com/store/index.cfm?action=ViewCategory&Category=13&start=101
You might find some parts here, and can contact him for parts he may not have listed.
I have a picture and a car with an A&L steering set up installed on the Radiant. I will post pictures today sometime.





I bought the car in 1995 for $5.00 and have it laying in parts right now, but here is the assembly off of the car. I believe the A&L steering was originally intended for the RC10.
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