I would like advise on an Oldsmobile front wheel drive from the 70's for a frame on a Chevy COE. Anyone have ideas on this? Good or bad? Thanks, Sky
Are you talking about the early 70's Toronado with the 455 FWD? I don't personally know of any but folks have used the Caddie El Do for the swap and I would think it would be about the same. What are your plans for the back? Mate a car hauler trailer to the frame?
I have seen several Eldo/Toro swaps done on COEs over the years. I think our very own hdman6465 has one. What say you, hdman6465?
C.G. For the back end I'm thinking of a Buck Rogers looking custom hauler for hauling my vintage horseless carriage around to the car shows on. A dually or trailer axles idea would work fine. That way it could sit in the dirt like a good low rider should. The Toronado may be a hard find, most of them were probably s****ped when the price of steel was high. I just think having it low like some of our group has is my idea of a perfect COE. Anyone have more ideas? Thanks ! Sky
I have everything but the engine from a first year (66?) Toro sitting in my back yard. 2000 miles from you. Under 2 feet of snow!
My red COE has a 500 Cad for power and it uses the same frame. The rear section is mated to the stock frame of the Cad and it is 6x6 in that area. This is much stouter than the trailers that go up and down the road everyday without any problems. So yes, I think the idea is feasible.
Sky, If your looking for something a little beefier, look for a 70's gmc fwd motorhome. they used the same setup as the eldo/toro but is stronger. Shane
I came real close to doing the GMC motorhome-cabover combo but jammed out when I added up the hours needed. Thought the already air bagged rear suspention would also be a plus. My choice if I had one would be the olds 455, they run a little hot but lots of torque.
Shopdawg, Can you advise me of a GMC motorhome with airbags that would work with a 50's Chevy COE? What year did Chevy start using the airbags suspension? Thanks, Sky
The first couple of these were 70's Toronado powered and he built a 56 ford pickup with that drivetrain.
SkyValley, This was only on the GMC motor home, not their normal motor home ch***is that they sold to other motor home manufacturers. I know 1973 was one of the years, they didn't build them very long, maybe 73-76. They had air on the rear suspension only. They used 1 bag on each side that pushed against 2 rockers that the rear spindles were mounted on. Buggy5872, I don't think there was much difference between the Eldo/Toro front end and the motor home, except the motor motor home had a slightly lower gear ratio. The frame I have pictured looks pretty light!
I saw a small Ford van based bus, (airport limo) that had a 7.3 diesel mounted behind the drivers seat that used a normal 4WD transfer case to drive the front wheels. I don't remember if it used a solid Dana 60 front axle, or if it was the twin I-beam set-up. I shied away from either of those because they use regular U-joints and I was afraid of torque steer and U-joint vibration when loaded and pulling hard.
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