I was trying to decide this morning which vehicle would have the easiest and most efficient steering setup for a coe. It would seem to me the easier setup would be to have all the steering components on the front side of the axle or IFS so the steering shaft would have a more direct route. I have heard that perhaps a Chevrolet Astro van front clip would provide an easy steering setup. Have any of you heard of such a setup. I am not well versed in vehicle steering. Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
While I don't have the exact answer to your question, for one there probably isn't one single donor vehicle that will work the best with every model, year, and make of COE. I haven't built one yet so I have no practical or personal knowledge but have read and seen a lot of different options on here and other places. What Brand, and year COE do you have or are thinking about? probably some of the more popular choices of Ch***is would be older Rv Ch***is, P-series step vans (Bread, Milk, delivery box vans) 70's 80's Chevy truck ch***is? and I'm sure lots more if you read back through some of these threads and build threads to see what has worked on what vehicles as well as what coe they have. I hope to build a 52 Ford on this 84 GM stepvan (p-20 ch***is) single rear wheel 125" wheelbase. will be perfect length for still fitting in a garage and having the 6.5' pickup box on it. my pile of parts my p-20 stepvan with 6.2 liter detroit diesel (would like to use a ***mins 6bt or 4bt)? my inspiration truck and a really ****py sketch of what I want to build, lol. I'm no artist...
there is a local guy with about a dozen old coe trucks theat he brought back from out west to resale. The one I have my eye on is a 1954 chevrolet 5700. I have read a little since I started this thread and apparently an Astro van has a very wide track width. Does anyone have an idea of the track width of a 5700 coe?
Im using an '81 Chevy motorhome ch***is... Steering box is in front of the independent suspension, but looks like I will have to do some adapting. My 41 GMC cab is alot narrower than the van cab... I plan on setting the cab on the ch***is this weekend to see what I need to do with the steering... Track width is good though for my COE...I'll keep u posted.
I used a dodge frame (1 ton) but used a Chev van (3500) steering box, arm, draglink, ideler arm, worked really well. Lots of mounting mods but at the end of the day handles very well.
"I read that the track of an astro van is 65.1 inches, which is 10 inches wider than an s10." The stock COE track is 61.3 - 63.3. Most seem to be built on Chevy ch***is with a track of 65.8. The closest I've found to "stock" is a Dakota with a track of 61.5 The problem is they all measure "track" at the center of the tire. So the whole thing depends on wheel offset.
I am planning to use the Astro van front suspension under my 47 Ford coe. I looked at many others and this seemed like the best approach to me. All The others were too narrow.
1939 Chevy COE 1 ton tow truck I am using a P30 Ch***is off of a 1980 GMC 1 ton step van. (25' potato chip delivery van) Every thing seems to be perfect when I do my measuring, but I have not sat the cab on as yet. The frame rails are identical to my original 1939 1 ton frame rails. Even rear cab mount holes in the frame rail seems to be correct. The P30 steering box also seems to be were I need it. Using this ch***is gives me power steering, power disc brakes with hydro-boost master cylinder, which is real nice because instead of bolting to the fire wall & pointing out, my master cylinder & booster lays side ways & is very close to the fire wall, not needing much room, as my little stub nose don't have much room to spare.
drford, I looked at the astro van and u are right it looks to be a good match as far as track width. Have u figured out the mounting to your frame? If u are planning on using the rest of ur old frame.
I used the Astro. The box is mounted wide and tilts outward as well as you can see from this pic. I mounted the cab vertually on the frame and forward of where it would be on a stock COE. Made the shaft very short which complicated the angles but worked just fine for me. I did however move the dash panel 1 1/2" to center the steering.
Lux, thanks for the info. What year astro did u use? Any pics of how it mounted to your frame? Thanks wade
I think its an '89. I made a simple ladder frame because its a rear pusher with an Eldo frame...not what your lookin for I'm sure but I'm sure it's doable. Photobucket changed its format now and cant figure out how paste but this pic shows how I did it. Obviously the engine in front wont work with a box runnin across for you. Dont be fooled by the shock...it has airbags so I had to mount outboard.
I have planned on putting motor behind cab. I see how you went about that and I like it. Thanks for the info.
Oh...well heres a couple more then. http://www.bangshift.com/forum/showthread.php/6854-Dodge-COE?highlight=dodge
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