In reply to NOHOME:
I'd have to install power steering for that to happen. 1956 manual steering assumes you split wood for the fire in your free time. She's strong, but not that kind of strong.
She does drive my crew cab F350, towing a trailer on occasion, so handling SanFord shouldn't be much of a problem for her.
So I assume a conversion to power rack and pinion is in the cards eh?
Wonder if any of the new electric power steering would be up to the job?
NOHOME wrote: So I assume a conversion to power rack and pinion is in the cards eh?
I wonder if they make a power rack and pinion that would work for something this big. That might be worth checking into.
The electric power setups are a good idea as well.
Definitely food for thought.
Holy cow, Freightliner put rack and pinion in their Class 8 trucks and the rack is only $300. 
I'm going to have to do some research and measuring.
Edit: Never mind, that's a MB Sprinter rack and probably too small.
The class 8 truck racks are $2K so they are probably out.
Maybe another item to salvage from a powertrain donor?
In reply to Run_Away:
Probably. That's one of the reasons I'm leaning toward buying a whole truck.
Isn't that truck a beam axle up front?
If so, rack and pinion won't work.
If it's IFS, please forgive my ignorance.
In reply to dimarra:
You are correct. I didn't even think about that.
Now I'm wondering how Freightliner did it.
I'm not sure if this helps, the newer Ford F series use electric racks with built in controllers. The current trend with electric power steering is to make them self contained and only require power and CAN. Power is easy, just connect to the battery via a relay.. The CAN bus link can be left disconnected. The rack will work with no CAN data.
Typically the rack provides variable boost depending on road speed. Without the CAN data the rack will provide a single level of boost that does not vary. At full lock the rack can draw up to 100 amps but the typical draw varies from 3 to 15 amps.
To put rack and pinion on a beam axle I think you'd need to mount the rack to the axle, put a big slip joint in the steering shaft and run long hoses to it. I'd figure out what's on it now and if a newer hydraulic power box that will drop in its place exists, it probably does.
Look at medium duty trucks. My IH 1854 Toterhome has power steering with a beam axle.
The F600 was available with power steering as an option. Not that I can find a box anywhere.
One thing I've learned rather quickly about 1956 Ford buses, finding parts is going to be challenging. I'm going to spend a lot of time figuring out what will interchange with what.
Now and then, I'll pass yards that have a bunch of wrecked and otherwise out of service MD and HD trucks. I'd stop by one of those and ask if they have any ideas.
In reply to Ian F:
Finding a local yard is on my list of things to do. I did find out Copart sells some medium trucks. There's a International a couple of hours from me, that has the DT466, 5 speed, and rear axle I'd like. I'm not far enough along to know if it will fit so I'm going to pass for now.
Another potential resource:
http://www.antiquetruckclubofamerica.org/
My ex's parents have a 1.5T Diamond T and are members. I miss reading old issues of Double Clutch at their farm in PA.
I spent the morning finishing up the Samurai axle swap, most of the afternoon is doing rear suspension bushings on my daughter's Super Coupe, so limited time has been spent on the bus.
I did crawl underneath it and take a gander at the propane tank. It's a little rusty but looks to be complete. And the gauge isn't reading empty. Hmmm.
Naturally, I tuned the valve and started lighting things. Low and behold, we've got gas. The stove works and the refrigerator fired up as well. The only thing that didn't light was the furnace and I think it's got crap in the valve. I still need to test the water heater but to do that I need to get the water system up and running.
After running for an hour, it appears the refrigerator is actually cooling.
I'll still have to pull the propane tank, clean it up and paint it, and then get it hydro-tested, but the propane system appears to be in pretty good shape.
More to come.
That is one less thing to have to replumb at least.
Does it have a gas fridge? Cuz those are awesome just for the rediculousness of them.
In reply to nocones:
It does. It lights and I think it's cooling, but I'm not sure. I'm not willing to leave it lit overnight and the way the 110v power is run, I can't get to the plug without pulling panels off the outside of the bus. That will have to wait for another day.
Those gas/electric fridges tend to be pretty weak, very slow to get going. I like to run them overnight with the thermostat wide open and then load with cold food, depending on the weather you won't need to dial the thermostat back much, if any.
In reply to BrokenYugo:
Yeah, the fridge in my Alaskan camper is the same way. It also has the tendency to either be too hot or freezing everything.
With the advent of super efficient 12 volt compressor refrigerators, I'll probably be changing this one in the future. A decent battery bank and a couple of solar panels on the roof will keep things cold nicely and probably cost less than running a propane refrigerator.
For the power steering, why not just checking out 4x4 trucks? They are basically beam axles. My buddy's old F250 had a hydraulic cylinder that provided the assist if I remember correctly.
I just wanted to congratulate you on your trip home with the bus, that is what caused me to join this site. You must have a lot of courage to bring it back like you did. I have a 52 Ford Pickup and saw a post about your trip on the FTE website. Check out FTE if you need anything on the mechanical side of things. Great bunch of folks over there with a lot of knowledge. Good luck!
Dennis
In reply to Ford52PU:
Thanks for the kind word and the invite.
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