WG Jeep Grand Cherokee with rack-and-pinion steering

A modification which is now quite common in Brazil is the fitment of a rack-and-pinion steering gear in vehicles with a solid front axle, which resorted by default to an ancient worm-and-gear steering box. More usually adapted to 4WDs such as the WG Jeep Grand Cherokee, for recreational off-roading, this setup requires some custom fabrication to match a very unlikely setup, as usually only vehicles with independent front suspension are factory-fitted with a rack-and-pinion steering.

The most usual steering rack used on such adaptations is the one from the Hyundai HR, known as Hyundai Porter or Hyundai H-100, which is basically the same of the Mitsubishi Delica/L-300. A much more direct steering response is the goal of such adaptations, yet the matching to a solid-axle front suspension may be surprising at a first glance.

'64 Lambretta with a side-car on the left side

The fitment of side-cars to scooters have been outlawed in Brazil, yet I don't know exactly when, as the current Traffic Code was implemented in early '99, and the side-cars used to not be taken much seriously until a side-cars manufacturer in Santa Catarina started to promote them for commercial cargo applications. Sure older side-car rigs were grandfathered, such as this '64 Lambretta coupled to a side-car on its left side, as it would be better suited to countries where the traffic is on the left side of the road, rendering it even more unusual in Brazil. Naturally the motorcycling culture not having been much developed as a practical option for the average Joe until the Japanese took over in the '70s, as car industries were favored in the '50s during Juscelino Kubitschek's presidential term, a Lambretta actually had its fair share of the market, but side-cars are still seen more often as a curiosity, so it would never be an actual contender to the Volkswagen Beetle for instance...