COE 1941 Ford COE build

That's the same way I did my 48 Chev COE back in the late 90's. I shortened a Chev van column 14". I also used a van box on it and tipped it enough to hook up the steering easier. My 41 cpe is also done with a joint inside and one under the hood making it easier to hook up to the Nova sub on the car. Running hanging pedals you have a mount at the dash where the pedal hanger/brace ties in and one further down that brace. Makes for a very solid mount

 

Pics of this would be great as I'm still not convinced on my solution. rick dot suter gmail

thanks!

On these ujoint-in-the-cab-and straight-down solutions, is the steering box forward of the in-the-cab ujoint? And where are the pedals in relation to the column/shaft??

 

might help

 

Here are inside and outside of the way I did on my COE

 

I think I finally have the steering worked out using Borgeson 70 degree double ujoint... All ujoints, no chains...

I have the tilt frame mocked up. I thought I'd just use something like a 3/4 bolt and a couple sway bar brackets and bushings. But I'm not sure that will do the job. Obviously, it will not carry any weight when the truck is driven, but it will need to hold the entire loaded weight of the cab, interior, sleeper and any other **** I might have in there, albeit stationary.... I'm thinking more along the lines of a hub/spindle....

See the pics, I have one of the dodge body mounts I cut off just sitting in place where the pin or hub would be... What say the experts??

thanks,

Rick

 

Still picking away at the steering.. The 70 degree ujoints I had mocked up seemed to be too close to their limits and binding. Ive shortened the steering column as suggested although I could only take off 4 inches the way it was designed. But that brings it into the cab and makes the ujoint angles far less severe.

 

Cardboard mockup before cutting the actual column... Felt like I should have just had pizza for some reason.

 

Cutting the column with a pipe cutter... Worked well.. Then sliced the inner portion with the band saw...

 

I'll be following along.....I am also currently trying to figure out the steering on my '51 COE. Looks like you got it under control...

 

Yet another item to consider, if this is to be a flip up cab, will the steering shaft get into a bind when the cab is raised? I have never built anything this involved but did talk to a guy with a 50's chevy COE. That situation caused him some grief.

 

I think I have this covered. There is a ujoint right at the cab hinge point and the steering does not lock if it needs to rotate a little when tilting. Do you recall what type of grief he ran into?

 

Hey some progress!!!!!!!! I think I found the serial number on the original radiator x member...

 

Steering trails and tribulations continue... I lowered the steering wheel a bit so it was "finger reachable" from my thigh when fully tilted and I was in the driver's seat... Checked for binding with the very small added angles and ****! it's binds... I moved it back to where I thought everything was working pretty well and the damn thing still binds... All the ujoints are well within specs of what Borgeson says. The 70* ones are at 60* or below, 1 of the 35s is at 15-20* and the other 35 is pretty close to 35 degrees. I get binding in the 70s and the more extreme angle 35.

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that it's just too convoluted, despite Borgeson saying it would work. (THEY DID SELL LOTS OF EXPENSIVE UJOINTS that I suspect I cannot return!)......

Of course, the major flaw from the start was that I incorrectly thought I could move the rack and pinion stub where I wanted it thinking it was all hydraulic. Eventually it dawned on me that it's got a mechanical connection also that can't be moved. Dealing with a steering stub that's a foot behind my toes just isn't working.

All that said... I'm looking for alternatives to steer this thing (and pretty frustrated, as if you couldn't tell)

I'm thinking:

1) Convert the rack and pinion to a conventional, frame mounted steering box, tie rod and drag link. Of course, I'll need enough room for the tie rod to move fore and aft unlike the stationary R&P.

2) Go buy a Steer Clear.

3) ??? Any other ideas short of just tossing the Dodge 1500 frame?

 

When I bought my COE, we searched the frame rails for the VIN number. We gave up looking after 30 minutes, AND THEN noticed it on the front crossmember. Weird place for the number to be located.

 

You know those 90 degree steering units that have been written about here on the HAMB? You could run TWO of those. One to point forward, then a shaft towards the front, then another to point upwards.

 

I presume you are not talking about the chain and gear SteerClear product... do tell... thanks!

 

If a Steer Clear would solve all the problems,
I think it would be money well spent.

 

" Eventually it dawned on me that it's got a mechanical connection also that can't be moved."

Can you explain what that is? I was hoping to use a rack and tilt to suit so I'm curious as to what that mechanical connection is. Thanks.

As for your universals binding, have you installed them all "in line"? These are no different that u-joints on your driveshafts ... they have to line up or the don't work properly.

As for swapping to conventional steering, you may be screwed because of your 4wd.

 

I believe the stub shaft on the R&P connects to the rack via a gear, so the stub shaft can't really be moved. can it be roated, I suspect so, but I'm too far away for that to really help much and I think I'd need some pretty serious aluminum welding and tapping to do it.

Yeah, I've tried indexing the ujoint as well as not indexing them at all.. results are similar.

Conventional steering can work on a 4wd, but converting what i have could be a challenge... I'm seriously thinking Steer Clear... I'll take some measurements and see if it's workable then grit my teeth real hard...

 

just a thought...and I dont know much about steering systems.

... should steering U-joints be "in phase" like a drive shaft? or does it really matter? that might be why they're binding up.

 

Are you supporting the shafts between all of those u-joints so they can't move around? If you use more than 2 u-joints or one double joint, they need to have support bearing on each shaft or they will bind.....(think 2 piece driveline)

There is also an inline gearbox reverser, about 120 degrees I think from an Izuzu SUV....saw a pic on the COE picture thread???? You would need 2 of them, but worth checking into....

I picked up a 1:1 90 degree gearbox (used) off of craigslist I was going to use on my COE, maybe you could find one of those?

Just throwing ideas out there...

 

Hey folks. Just curious if anyone has any information on inexpensive bias ply tires, (sizes 7.50 x 20 and 8.50 x 20). I am working on a '42 COE and the tires that are on it are completely flat and won't hold air.

 

You might have better luck with this question in the general area than a build thread... However, right off the top of my head I would not think inexpensive and an antique, odd ball tire size would be synonymous as I'm thinking places like Coker Tire.

 

Thanks for all the great ideas guys!! As you might be able to tell, I'm a bit frustrated at this point and the suggestions here REALLY help!!

Yes, I had support on all the shafts between Ujoints and 2 supports on 1 longer shaft. Still I had binding and upon closer inspection it seemed that the supports needed to be placed 2 per shaft right beside the ujoints so the shaft could not slide back and forth within the support bearing. If I allowed that back and forth movement, for instance on the 1 very short shaft that would not accomodate 2 supports, it allowed the 70 degree ujoint to "pull" and bind.

I mocked up a cardboard Steer Clear and it seems that will not work either as I don't get a workable pivot point to tilt the cab cuz the thing is essentially a 4.5"x18" brick. I need a pivot point in the middle somewhere...

Last but not least, I pursued a 1998-2002 Isuzu Rodeo "steering reverser". A local boneyard had a 2001. I pulled it and early mockups look very promising. Thanks very much to those that mentioned this gem here and in the COE picture thread!!! The thing is SIMPLE, basically 2 pinion gears and shafts in a alum housing. Of course I'll need 2 of them unless I want to turn the steering wheel right to go left. I'll add a pic of the mock up...

The steering rack stub in the Rodeo points directly forward, I could not help wonder about transplanting the Isuzu rack into the Dodge ch***is. That brings lots more questions... Would the hydraulics be up the task? Could I successfully graft the dodge "tie rods" onto each end of the Isuzu rack as obviously the Rodeo isn't as wide as the 1500? I'm sure there would be other questions...

 

Use your imagination a bit here, the cardboard cutout is Isuzu reverser #2.

 

And the Rodeo unit itself... Pretty cool..