We dropped by the exhibit of one of the more interesting and exciting companies that you typically don’t hear enough about, Unisteer Performance Products. They have been in the industry since 2007 as manufacturers of electric steering products for side-by-side vehicles like Rangers, RZRs, and vehicles produced by Yamaha and Kawasaki

Unisteer Performance Products general manager Marc Mercurio explained that the company had solved an issue with those vehicles by providing electric specialty steering for these factory units that were without power steering. “Now the factory vehicles come with power steering,” Mercurio said. “From there we branched out into the hot rod market.”

“We started with a universal steering column and incorporate an electric motor, and sold it as a kit, which has been a big selling point for us over the years,” he added.

According to Mercurio, “We were actually able to find a larger motor that allows us to make a unit for a vehicle weighing up to 6,000 pounds.” That obviously opened up some doors for the company. “We got with ididit, knowing that they build retrofit steering columns that use factory mounts, wiring harnesses, and things like that, and we modified those columns to fit our electric motor to them.”

“Currently we have four kits, the early and late-model Mustangs, Tri-Five Chevys, and ’68 to ’72 Chevelle kits,” he stated. “When you buy our column, the motor is clocked in the right position, and positioned on the column to give the user the best clearance for the space they are working with.”

Mercurio also explained that the column incorporates an electric module that only requires key-on 12-volt power and a power source to the battery for the unit to work. On some of the units, because the motor is down by the floorpan, clearance between the brake pedal and clutch is compromised. But Unisteer took care of that concern as well.

“We’ve designed pedal kits that have changed the shape of the pedal to add clearance around the motor so that everything works like it should,” explained Mercurio. “For example, if you had a brake failure, that pedal needs to drop to the floor to trip the proportioning valve. Nobody thinks past the column installation, but we did. We came up with pedal kits so that everything would work correctly.”

A stock Tri-Five Chevy is on the left, while a modified Unisteer pedal assembly is on the right.

For the Mustang, you do have to buy the pedal kits with the steering column. The early Mustang requires both the clutch and brake pedal and the later-model Mustang requires the brake pedal only.

The Tri-Five Chevys require both pedals, but the ’68 to ’72 Chevelle kits do not require a pedal swap. Unisteer also offers a universal steering column for builders that customize their cars. The entire steering column can be clocked with this kit.

For more information on Unisteer Performance Products, visit them online at www.unisteer.com