COE Autocar Build Thread

... when you skin the roof, you'll just pull off the arms and the large nuts behind them and on reinstall some rubber o ring or washer will seal the the new skin?

 

That 19 years is greatly overshadowed by the fact that today is our 48th wedding anniversary. A couple months after our wedding, my bride lent me the money to buy a 56 MGA, within months I had it dis***embled to rebuild and it has been sitting in boxes and bins in the back shed ever since. She has never gotten a ride in it!

 

Oddly, there was no seal of any kind on the Bronco, but they were inside the heater plenum, so being water tight wasn't as important.
I think I will cut rubber washers and maybe add some silicone sealant. I'll also have the same problem with clearance lights and the air horns. I better get it right or I'll have a sieve over my head!

 

I went back and reworked my master cylinder (see post 211 of this thread) After installing the drivers seat on its air pedestal, I realized that the pedals were located too close to the seat. The seat couldn't be moved back because the radiator is right behind the it, so I had to move the master cylinder out of the cab.
A while back I saw a video on YouTube where a guy was installing a remote mount hydro-boost system in his cab over. https://bustedknuckleoffroad.com/products/remote-mount-hydroboost-brake-kit I built a home made version and now have it mounted between the frame rails under the drivers feet.

Brake pedal is in same position, but angle and stroke is much better. Throttle pedal is moved forward 3" and also at a more ergonomic angle.
Manual master cylinder is the clutch master from a Triumph TR-6, the slave is a Triumph Spitfire clutch slave. (both readily available new) These are old junk parts I had laying around the shop, but I have a hard time looking at something online and visualizing if it will fit/work for me. (A bird in the hand...)

 

Nice job! You are a fabricating savant.

 

Some COE **** for you...

http://smcl***iccars.com/other-makes/166402-1939-autocar-coe-truck.html

 

It's hard to believe it has been 7 1/2 months since I last updated this thread! I spent most of the summer on another project and ended up calling the salvage yard to come and get it. (A 2002 F-250 with way more problems than I thought when I bought it)
In October I tackled the wiring and am making headway on it slowly. I started at the fuse block and have gotten pretty much all the cab interior wiring done along with most of the wires out through the firewall that go to the various lights, engine sensors, etc.
Switch panel ready to paint and install, switches are all wired and ready to install. Note that there are a couple of mistakes in the printing, but I have filled them with spot putty so they shouldn't be visible after paint


I bought a special handy dandy stamping machine (on Ebay) to do the lettering, it isn't perfect, but it sure beats hand stamping with individual letter stamps.

 

That panel is a freakin work of art! wow...

 

That's so cool! Never knew a machine like that existed. Great job on the panel

 

Well, another 6 months has p***ed and I've been staying busy on this project. The air ride is all finished and leak tested. There are a few lines that need to be re-routed, but this will be done when I attack the underside wiring.



There will be some fancy zip tying to keep air lines and wiper linkage separate!
I've built a rear bumper with integral lights and hitch receiver.


Most wiring is completed, note the plug for jumper cables and a shut off switch that will be behind the little door above the grille. The shut off switch just disconnects the fuse panel for fire safety and to stymie thieves.

A battery carrier. (4 group 31s) These will be wired through an isolater switch.
These are mounted under the sleeper which makes the plug-in for jumper cables important


I've only got a few more wires to run, then I can put the nose sheet metal back on. (btw, those 4 air horns will remove paint from a Prius) I will be able to access everything behind the grille, but it was much easier without anything in the way.
Last but not least, I got my steering sorted. I thought it was all figured out, but then I installed the front anti-roll bar, I had major interference between it and the drag link. I had to make new anti-roll bar mounts for both the frame and the axle, then make a new, longer drag link and modify the steering arm on the Dodge knuckle. (lots of head scratching, but is now safe and strong)
Sadly, no pictures of this part of the project, as my camera had failed.

 

Very nice!!! You sure that plumbing for the air ride is for your truck and not the space shuttle??

 

I got some BIG bad news this past week! Almost from day 1 of this project I've planned to run Detroit power and an Allison 1000/2000 transmission. I searched out and bought those pieces, mated them together in the frame and have built the truck around them. The time has come to do the wiring for the transmission, (silly me thought it would be fairly easy) after doing some research on the web, I found no wiring diagram for my Allison (other generations, just not mine) so I went to a trans shop that has a good Allison reputation for information.
The shop foreman told me to give up on using these Allisons before I wasted any more money and if I really wanted a automatic transmission buy an older style Allison AT545 which is non-electronic. (also no overdrive that I really need)
I mentioned that I had seen controllers to mate the Allison to non-electronic ***mins for sale on the web, his answer was they are scamming you and he has never seen one work properly.
Does anyone know of a modern auto trans that has at least a .75 to 1.0 overdrive that will take 300hp and 600ft lbs torque and will function without an ECM
My wiring harness for the trans.

 

I'll ask the dumb questions... Was this combo installed in any other vehicle? If so that's your controller. If not, you'd have to provide all the inputs to the trans controller yourself (VSS, etc)... I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know... and obviously the trans guy had no idea how creative the guy he was talking to can be! I got lucky on mine changing from a stick to suto, the LS1 ECM could control either...

 

An earlier version of my Allison was mated to the 6bt ***mins which was not electronic, but the controller from that pairing will not communicate with my trans, nor will the valve body from that earlier trans fit in mine. This mainly is because the later trans control module communicates by can bus and I have no knowledge as to how to mimic that to tell the TCM what it needs to know. (Basically running your LS1 without an ECM)
I am currently trying to understand this can bus thing. Fortunately I have enough of the wiring harness so I can tell which wires I need to work with.
I do have a back-up plan if this fails, but it uses a much earlier trans from a medium duty truck that doesn't shift as smoothly, plus a separate overdrive unit that is expensive.

After writing the above post, I just realized that the best solution might be to acquire one of the earlier transmissions that was mated to a 6bt along with its control box. Hmmm!

 

I know this is WAY oversimplified from what you're facing, but I eliminated the CANBUS requirement on donor seats by just wiring directly to the heaters. Obviously something on the trans end is saying "power this servo, don't power this solenoid, etc"... Might need to be a NASA engineer to design and build that but judging by some of the **** I've seen you build it could be a cake walk!

 

Sadly, I'm stymied on this one. I'm on my way to a truck salvage yard this afternoon to find an alternative.

 

Success! I found an earlier version of my trans that doesn't use a can bus to transfer info. Now all i have to do is find a wiring diagram for so I know which wire goes where.
I will lose my double overdrive, but I don't need to drive 125mph anyway.

 

Well done soldier!!

 

It's great to be back in business! To get ready for this ****** swap, I have to back the truck out of the garage where I can lift the bed off using the roof trusses over the approach slab. (done this before) I can't drop the ****** onto the floor and slide it out sideways, because the bellhousing is about 18" and the frame only clears the floor by about 10". I don't have a good safe way to lift the truck 8-10". This will also give me much better access for running wires and shifter cable. I think the ****** comes with a parking brake on the rear of it, (possibly no park pawl in the ******) so that is also something that will need a cable linkage.

 

Well, there was more to the story, the trans that I thought didn't use a can bus, did! End of the road for the Allison 1000/2000 series in my truck. I went back to the older mechanical Allison 643 that doesn't have overdrive. Without OD 50-60mph will be a good cruising speed, with 70mph only 200rpm off the governor. (2800rpm)
If I need more speed, I will install a ****er od box behind the Allison at a later date.
I picked up my new trans this morning and after unloading it, I took a few pictures of it along side a Chrysler 727 with a broken bell housing.

 

Holy Shinto! That thing is huge... How many gears in that unit?

 

Just 4. A thing to remember about medium duty components is, they are rated for continuous duty. I'll never break it, or wear it out. Here's a spec sheet.

 

I haven't been on in awhile so I missed the issue with the trans stuff. They put a 2000 in an older truck on Deboss Garage, this video may not be quite the right one, but I think if you dig through his vids he tells you where and who he got to make it work in his truck.


As for another option, what about a 4L80E and remove the 'E"? You can get a full manual valve body for one, which may be the deal breaker as you have to shift, but I know they can handle alot and there are upgrades for them as well to handle many times more than factory spec.
I just remembered you can get a stand alone controller for the 4L80E, idk how much they are, last time I looked they were well out of my price range.
I'm not up on any OD trans' that aren't computer controlled.

Other wise the Brownie is probably the way to go. That's my plan in one of my trucks with the 545.

 

The video is a bit misleading, he says all you need is a throttle position sensor and an RPM input, this is not true. The Allison trans controller wants all the info that the ECM uses to control the engine and it must come via the canbus. I could supply (fake) some of the info, but faking a canbus was the deal breaker for my level of expertise.
I looked at stand alone controllers for the electronic Allison, but everyone wanted to charge me for "tuning time." I feel that if I can't get a system that matches my needs on the first try, the system isn't very well thought out. (I could give complete specs as to HP, torque, gearing, weight, cruising speeds desired, etc)
After talking to transmission shops, I was cautioned against anything other than the older style Allison, adapting to other makes and models would become a can of worms.
The good news is my Allison 643 is bolted to the engine and I will pick up my ****er 5831 auxiliary on Monday. 5831s came with different ratios, but mine has 2.00:1 under-drive (which I'll never use) 1.00:1 and 0.73:1 over-drive. 0.73.:1 will give me about 1950 RPM@70MPH and 100MPH against the governer@2800 (1900-2200RPM is the sweet spot for my Detroit) All this for $1800 and some time, I couldn't have gone any other route for less $, and this is bullet proof!

 

I've finished my drivetrain remodeling. As posted earlier, I have the Allison 643 installed and coupled to the ****er 5831 which is coupled to the rear axle by a newly shortened drive shaft. (removed 35") I had a pair of mid 60s Dodge pick-up automatic shifters that I have modified to handle the shifting. These use a standard push/pull cable. On one, I will have to remove all detents, as it will only need 2 positions, overdrive and direct on the ****er, and the detents in the trans are plenty strong. The other one being for the Allison, (which has slightly different quadrant positions than other automatics) has a new detent plate. (that took a lot of foolin' around to get the lever position to match up with the trans detents. This Allison doesn't have any park pawl in it, so I will have to make a very dependable manual parking brake actuating the rear axle brakes.
Cover is off the ****er awaiting 2 quarts of gear lube. Going to town tomorrow, so that will get ****oned up tomorrow evening, then I can add a picture of the shifting arrangement.

 

I forgot to add that the speedo drive on the ****er was fubarred and no parts available, so the VDO programmable speedo will be driven by the ABS sensor in the differential. VDO claims the speedo needs between 500 and 400,000 pulses per mile and the ABS sensor puts out about 160,000, so it should work. Strange side note: both front and rear axle came from the same truck, the rear axle has an ABS sensor, but the front wheels don't, I wonder if some wrong parts were swapped in at some point.

 

I've had pickups in the past that only had rear ABS. Keep up the good work! It's looking great... The Autocar will be pulling down houses in no time...

No parking pawl? Did the donor only have an EBrake to secure it... Seems odd for an auto trans...

 

This trans was from a medium duty truck that had air brakes, those don't normally have park because it wouldn't be strong enough to hold a heavy load on a steep incline.

 

First of all, it looks like I never posted pictures of my double shifter and parking brake lever. Installed with the console fabbed around it.
It's not obvious, but the triangular section closest to the steering column is easily removable (along with a section of the floor under it) to allow the steering column to move in relation to the floor when tipping the cab for engine service. I certainly do love my rivets, don't I?
I spent the day today sorting out a plan for HVAC. Several years ago I talked with a Southern Rods rep at a show and picked out the under-dash unit that will best fit my needs and will get that ordered on Monday. Because component location on my rig is so different from a standard vehicle, I will have to buy each individual hose custom made, rather than an "installation kit" that is normally supplied by vendors.
Has anyone had any experience with the "Sanden style" compressors that are being offered cheap with these kits, rather than a genuine Sanden compressor. I will have to custom mount my compressor as no one makes mounts to fit an old Detroit. I'm thinking I will go find a Genuine Sanden in a salvage yard rather than pay more for a new chinese knock-off. Open to opinions here!

 

Are those Dodge van shift knobs?