l Just bought this 41 dodge coe, even still has engine/trans After reading through the threads and not needing a real hauler I'm leaning toward a dakota ch***is and building it pickup style with a set back small block under the seat area maybe? http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/robsrods/dodgecoe2.jpg http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/robsrods/dodgecoe1.jpg
Just a heads up. If you haven't already, start thinking about your steering now. A lot of abandoned Coe projects stall when the steering angles get challenging. Conventional trucks point back. Coes need it pointing more upward. JML
dodge dakota uses rack and pinion, the whole rack can be rotated and remounted. Tie rods stay in the same spot.
Wetskier2000 is using a Dakota ch***is on his Coe. Steering was a major project. To me, it is a bad choice for a donor ch***is.
The Dakota will work great. The rack will have to be rotated, but then the steering shaft will point exacty where you want it to be. Be sure to maintain the center on the rack when you rotate it. Do your best to not shift it up, down, in or out. Otherwise you will introduce bump steer. I believe that Wetskier's COE is 4wd and that's why his steering setup was difficult..
KS, How far do you need to rotate the rack? It looks like (looking at pics on ebag) the shaft is almost straight up to start with.
sorry about the pic size, not sure how to make smaller and combine pics.... any rate, the 4 post lift worked great.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for info on dodge coe's I am guessing on the year as I dont have a ***le yet. Needing window rubber or anyplace for repro parts. thanks
I am using a 2002 Dodge 1500 4x4 ch***is and as others have mentioned, my steering was a challenge for several reasons. It's 4x4, it's a tilt cab and from the start I thought I'd have more flexibility on rack and pinion stub shaft placement. Fortunately, some members here pointed me to some Isuzu Rodeo steering components which have made it all possible, albeit still funky. Good luck with the build. The Dodge body is unique and very sweet.
Thats also why I went with a 2wd 89 dakota ch***is. It has rack & pinion steering so you can rotate the rack and remount and it also has 5on4.5 lug pattern for the wheels along with a great track width. I also just picked up a dodge SB engine and trans so it looks like Im going dodge all the way....
Mopar means...MOst Parts Are Really EXPENSIVE!. (My all mopar 38 Plymouth coupe taught me that fun lesson)
I have a 41 and it has been on the back burner for quite a few years so I haven't kept up with where to get parts, but if I recall all the cab and fender parts are the same as the pickups of this body style, they just made a new nose/grille and made the running board/step area to account for the raised body mounting height. If I am wrong I hope someone will correct me as that is what I am going off of. Search out most any ww2 era dodge truck part suppliers and I think that they will have parts for the cabovers.
mcgyver, as far as I know you are right. Unlike the other 2 of the "big three" Dodge chose to set their cab higher and forgo the fender relief in the door. In the mid 60s a farmer/neighbor bought up a bunch of these trucks, stripped the sheet metal off from them and mounted chopper boxes on them. Wish I had his s**** pile today! (BTW, I checked, the s**** pile is long gone)
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