COE A little advice

I have a 47 ford that I've started on. I've come across a 1987 c30 long bed 4 door in really shape. I'm wanting a good driver, I also want to put the motor behind the cab so the length is good. Steering is at the top of my list though what do you guys think?

Thanks
Wade

 

This is something we've all struggled with, and I can't give you a good answer. I do know that a friend built a '40-ish Ford on a late 70's Chevy 1 ton dually ch***is and literally connected his steering column directly to box with a U-joint.

I have a '54 Chevy and a '76 Chevy 1 ton dually ch***is, and a steering box that RMR&C GENEROUSLY sent to me. I'll get it figured out a little later this summer, but there are lots of ways to attack this.

The more research I do the more it seems that using a van ch***is (or a step van) is the best way to resolve most steering issues. Sorry, I know I didn't help you answer the question, but search for COE builds and see what they've used to help you get a good idea.

Kiwiwilly posted a few pics on his Facebook page showing the steering setup he did on his Chevy AD COE that answered a MILLION questions for me!

 

From what I've read, the 73 to 87's are the ticket but I got a smoking deal on a 90 so that's what I'm using. The key is "front steer" and it looks like it's easier finding a box that works than dealing with a rack.

 

Not sure if it can be adapted to your year but this is a picture of the rack on an '03 Chevy 1500. It's what I'm using on my '47 Chevy COE. To me it looks like it should work well.

Rob

 

At the risk of repeating myself...I used an 82 GM truck front suspension. I separated the truck steering box from the center link and put it in the recycle pile. I then installed a 1976 truck center link with two idler arms to center and hold the link in place. I professionally welded a huge (long) steel block to the center link and put a tapered hole in the center of the block. We took care to slowly heat and cool everything before and after the welding took place. I mounted a GM car steering box on the inside of the frame pointed up towards the column, and connected it to the center link block using a custom pitman arm and a heavy duty 1-ton 4x4 drag link. The block and pitman arm cost me about $100. The extra idler arm and center link were another $50. The steering box I used was off an 87 Monte Carlo and is the standard version, not quick. The setup works great. I maintained all the factory geometry, nothing is any kind of bind...I have pictures on my build thread.

The issue with using any box mounted on the outside of the frame is that it is not aligned with the narrow COE cab and column placement. You could try to use all kinds of steering joints and shafts. But in the end you will have a cobbled together steering and that's not good.

If you don't want to weld to the factory center link, there are companies that could custom make you a heavy duty center link and they could put an extra hole into the link. The drawback with that is cost. That custom link will cost you $500-$700. I am thinking of the Kryptonite brand made for the Duramax diesel trucks. I'm sure there are others who could make it.

 

This is a link off an 87-92 Cadillac. The extra hole is what is really needed. I don't know if the measurements are the same as a truck. Also the pitman arms would be different, but it might be worth comparing it to the GM truck.

I wrote to Ingalls Engineering to see if they can custom build the center links. If they can, this setup will be a really easy install for everyone.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I know there are a lot of ways to tackle this. When I went to check out the truck I found out the guy has a 1987 g20 van that runs good and he wants 700 bucks for it. I think this May be the way to go.

 

I don't see how a van box will help. The pitman arm still has to mount in the same place and be parallel to the idler arm, to maintain the Ackermann Geometry. I've yet to see pictures of one installed in a COE.

 

I think that a number of companies are building a rack and pinion kit for the C-10. If they maintain the correct geometry, then that might be the way to go.

 

The later (80's)G van boxes mount vertically and the pitman arm(and idler) hangs down below the frame. Problem is, you have to use the entire van setup, which is much wider than the truck, so geometry is wrong without cutting and splicing. I was going to go this route, didn't seem easy. Still have the van box if anyone needs one.

80's-90's Dodge full size vans have a nice power box that mounts inside the frame and uses a cross steer drag link...

 

Good info. This is the Dodge Van steering setup. I modified my Chevy to work like this. With the separate steering box, aligning with the column is easy.

 

Thanks guys I will look into this also.

 

Do you have an idea of the track width and the frame width on the dodge van?

 

Astro van might be a good choice. The steering box is separate from the front steering link. I've saw a COE at a swap meet years ago with that setup and the track width was good.