1936 Ford School Bus Build (with 5.9 cummins)

Tacoma747 said:
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This needs to get reposted in Snappy's build thread.
 
That sucks ass man, that was a really cool project. I hope you get a chance to finish it right!
 
ERMYGAWD! What a freakin hack job. I hope he didn't get paid with anything less than an asskicking.
 
Tacoma747 said:
Anything I found off a newer model truck was WAY too wide, I looked at a few steering racks for 1/2 ton and up trucks back when we first started on it.
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Yeah I started to think about that afterwards. The easy fix, sort of, would be to convert to solid beam axle up front and run push/pull steering but that would prob cause more issues as well.
 
Could you possibly swap sides with the knuckles, putting the tie rod behind the front tires? That might give you enough clearance to run the Dodge/Astro setup that you have. I doubt you'll have the clearance for it, but thought it might be worth mentioning. You might have to run a gear box in the steering shaft to make a 90 degree transition like our cabover fire trucks at work use, then turn the steering box around backward, so the steering shaft connects to it from the front side.
 
Unless I'm way off base isn't that an entire frt., mustang 2, fox body, whatever a-arm to light weight for a cummins much less a heavy payload bus in the first place? (NICE RUN OWN fro the GRamma NAZIS:cool:)

The bus was probably a mono beam cast steel axle with leaves right? I'd go Old school old hairpin radius arms, large air bags and externally mounted gearbox and link steering. Like what I've seen on Peterbuilt based T-Buckets.
 
wow I just reread and studied the pics< WAS this mutha IFS a-arm to start with from the factory?? Some body tell me. Please> I'm not going to sleep.
 
The front suspension is out of an 84' Chevy c3500 dump truck, so although not at heavy as I would have really liked, it should hold up fine to the weight of the Cummins. The guy she had bought the bus from had already swapped in the Chevy front suspension and 14 bolt rear axle. He used the Chevy dump truck rear springs as well but I swapped them out for dodge 3500 springs from a 2001.

It seems like I looked at trying to run the steering behind the suspension, but oil pan and other stuff would be in the way. As it sits I think the oil pan is about 7-8" off the ground IIRC.
 
nctom said:
ERMYGAWD! What a freakin hack job. I hope he didn't get paid with anything less than an asskicking.
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That is what I think too, but the sad part is she actually paid him. She didn't want to cause a problem with our family friend (since he is close friends with the guy that owns the body shop). I would have paid him for the primer job, but the rest of it was a waste of $$ (no clue how much she paid but I am sure with the custom radiator/intercooler that would have been $400-$500 each alone it wasn't cheap.

I really want to go down to his shop and ask him how he feels about overcharging (because whatever he charged was too much) her and screwing up the frontend, but I would probably end up getting cussed out and nothing would be accomplished anyways. I have thought about posting his hack job pics on his company Facebook page too...

Not to name any names, but it is a Body & Paint shop in High Point. Hint Hint...
 
Good Lord what a hack job!!! Sorry to see that, that just plain sucks!!! Definitely a sweet build prior to that idiot getting a hold of it though!

What about running the Chevy c3500 steering but making your own relay rod/drag link/center rod/whatever in the heck ya call the piece that runs between the tie rods? I assume the arms are stock length so the stock tie rods will still work, it is just a matter of cramming the steering box and idler setup in and making the center width proper? It'd require quite a re-do but, anything that's gonna work is gonna require quite a lot of chopping of and replacing what with the butchery that put the Mustang II rack in! Looks like there's pretty much nothing left of the c3500 frame's front horns! :eek:
 
I say we do a fundraiser and buy this thing back and fit it like it deserves to be fixed! Then we make it out own food truck :D
 
87GMCJimmy said:
What about running the Chevy c3500 steering
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There is no room for a steering box that swings to the rear, a forward swing box will work just fine (the astro van box), and should be plenty strong enough for the weight of the frontend since it was out of a 3/4 ton astrovan, which sometimes came with the 6.5 diesels themselves. That is the part that makes absolutely no sense, I had the box bolted on (with only one bolt though) and he cut it off and went back to the Mustang II rack. He repainted parts on my sister-in-laws car a few years back, the car appears to be 3 different colors...

novacayne75 said:
I would deffinetly post some detailed pics for him to be proud of but dont come off as bashing him just make it look like advertisement for him and the pics will speak for themselves.
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I honestly don't think I could come up with anything positive to say about the crap job he did! But regardless, my dad had voiced concerns to him about the steering before they went and picked up the bus (after I REALLY pushed the subject about it being unsafe), the body shop owner didn't care, said it would be fine, etc etc. The part that pisses me off the MOST is that she actually paid him for everything he did, but that is her own fault.

Someone can feel free to post up on his FB page and ask how much he would charge for the fine handiwork he did there if they like. I hate that he is a 'friend of a friend', but the family friend is a 'hot rod' guy too and he SHOULD be able to identify shoddy work when he sees it...
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I say we do a fundraiser and buy this thing back and fit it like it deserves to be fixed! Then we make it out own food truck :D
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I'd buy it myself if I had the $ to do so, I think it would easily be a $50k (+) vehicle to someone that wanted something ready to roll, and unlike anything else on the road.
 
Tacoma747 said:
There is no room for a steering box that swings to the rear, a forward swing box will work just fine (the astro van box), and should be plenty strong enough for the weight of the frontend since it was out of a 3/4 ton astrovan, which sometimes came with the 6.5 diesels themselves. That is the part that makes absolutely no sense, I had the box bolted on (with only one bolt though) and he cut it off and went back to the Mustang II rack. He repainted parts on my sister-in-laws car a few years back, the car appears to be 3 different colors...



I honestly don't think I could come up with anything positive to say about the crap job he did! But regardless, my dad had voiced concerns to him about the steering before they went and picked up the bus (after I REALLY pushed the subject about it being unsafe), the body shop owner didn't care, said it would be fine, etc etc. The part that pisses me off the MOST is that she actually paid him for everything he did, but that is her own fault.

Someone can feel free to post up on his FB page and ask how much he would charge for the fine handiwork he did there if they like. I hate that he is a 'friend of a friend', but the family friend is a 'hot rod' guy too and he SHOULD be able to identify shoddy work when he sees it...
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Gotcha! Sorry, I thought the issue was the width of the steering setup, didn't think about box position. Just a heads up though, it's Chevy Express and GMC Savana vans that were big. (up to 3500 series, and yes, diesels as well, including Duramax) Astros were the little ones. (4.3L V-6) Yeah, a full size van steering setup would be a LOT beefier than that Mustang II abortion!

That sucks that your sister-in-law ended up with a tri-color car! Sounds like y'all need to avoid this idiot guy like the plague!!!
 
You are right, steering box was out of a 2500 or 3500 Express van not an astro van. I was over at my parents today and discovered the radiator. Let's just say it LOOKS awesome, but the problem is it won't work as it was designed best I can tell. I will post pictures sometime later.
 
there is a forward swing box from a g20 series van that mounts on the outside of the frame rail. not sure if that clears the suspension though.

could it be possible to move the drivetrain farther back into the cab to get more clearance?
 
The drive train is not in the way of the steering, it is the radiator/intercooler. The front fender/grille keeps from being able to mount a box on the outside of the frame (without hacking up the fender at least).

A full hydro system with a double ended ram would probably work better than anything, that or a 'normal' system with two idler arms and a single ended ram. The full hydro option is probably the only way to go to avoid having a new radiator/intercooler made.
 
Didn't PJ just go through this whole "full hydro on a street vehicle" thing on his Triple Threat buggy? Seems like he got it cleared.
 
A bit of a random thought- maybe you could use the rack and pinion off a Freightliner Sprinter???? I think they had up to like 11K GVWR, with about a 4000lb front axle weight capacity. Wouldn't be the beefiest setup but, certainly better than Mustang II! I don't know if their width would be right though but, might be worth looking at.
 
Just thought about this build and wondering where it stands
 
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