DTR TOM for October '04
10-01-2004 | 05:44 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Administrator / Scooter Bum
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,085
Likes: 47
From: Central VA
DTR TOM for October '04
Greetings.
Cooler weather is on our doorstep, diesel fuel prices are goin' through the roof, so Old Man Winter can't be too far behind.
We're trying a slightly different approach to the TOM this month.
We'll post the picture of the truck that was selected by the committee, and notify the winner via PM & E-mail.
We'll let the winner post their mods in the thread, and hopefully we'll get a little more two-way participation.
Sooooooooo here we go.
The members of the TOM committee, Dennis, Joel and Ed, along with our TOM sponsor
Forest City Diesel
are happy to announce that the winner of the
DieselTruckResource.com
Truck Of the Month
award forOctober 2004
is:
thryllz
Click on the image for a link to his Member Photo Gallery
Congratulations to thryllz, and when we receive his address info, we'll let Keith of Forest City Diesel know so his winner's plaque can be sent on it's way.
Here is the write up from the TOM winner himself. His original thread is posted a little later on too.
WOW! Thanks everyone and especially the TOM committee!
I picked up my "little locomotive" in 1997, with 110,000 on the odometer. It already had the steps, A-pillar spotlights, Ranch Hand bumpers, lots of west Texas dust, and a complete, clean service record courtesy of the original owner. I logged another 120,000 miles without changing much, other than replacing the worn-out stock shocks with Rancho 5000s and upsizing the tires to 255x85. A year ago the family was expanding to four and I started looking at the new HPCR four-doors, decided I wasn't ready to go there yet, and created a BOMBing budget from the money I saved with that decision. The first step was to repair a couple of rusting scratches and repaint everything. The bed was "repainted" with a Line-X liner. I got Autometer Gauges: tach, pyro, boost, trans temp, and oil pressure, and mounted them with hook and loop on the dash where they're quick to look at. I got a BHAF with an Outerwears to cover it and swapped turbo housings for 16cm^2 and now she sings sweetly along with the Cummins Clatter. The front springs had sagged down to less than an inch from the bumpstops, so I got new springs and huge, shiny shocks from T-Rex Engineering. I used to have to slow way down when things got rough, now the smoother response is almost always to roll on the throttle a bit more .
Finally I drove it out to Vic McKinley's in Cortez, Colorado where he attacked it with a plasma torch and installed the sleeper conversion. It is truly a nice piece of work, headroom and legroom galore! The box is aluminum, and it's got carpeting over insulation everywhere. It's bolted to the bed and frame in 29 places, and steel bracing was added around the cutouts to keep it structurally stable. It doesn't seem to flex any more now than it used to. The sleeper is sealed to the cab with a rubber accordian type boot and finished with some special carpet with a bit of stretch to it. After six months it is still sealed tight inside and out. I replaced the bench seat with a buckets and console combination at the same time, to facilitate getting to and from the back seat since there aren't any extra doors.
I admit I've been bitten by the BOMBing bug and love it, although I'm not changing anything else for a few more months. This is so much more fun than preserving a warranty! Next step is a torque converter, after which i can allow myself into the fuel pump . . .
For the rest of our great members, get those pictures uploaded in our Member's Photo section.
That's where the TOM Committee members cruise in search of the next TOM winner.
If you have any comments on this changed format, or you'd prefer the old way we posted, shoot me a Private Message via PM here
Cooler weather is on our doorstep, diesel fuel prices are goin' through the roof, so Old Man Winter can't be too far behind.
We're trying a slightly different approach to the TOM this month.
We'll post the picture of the truck that was selected by the committee, and notify the winner via PM & E-mail.
We'll let the winner post their mods in the thread, and hopefully we'll get a little more two-way participation.
Sooooooooo here we go.
Forest City Diesel
are happy to announce that the winner of the
DieselTruckResource.com
Truck Of the Month
award for
is:
thryllz
Congratulations to thryllz, and when we receive his address info, we'll let Keith of Forest City Diesel know so his winner's plaque can be sent on it's way.
Here is the write up from the TOM winner himself. His original thread is posted a little later on too.
WOW! Thanks everyone and especially the TOM committee!
I picked up my "little locomotive" in 1997, with 110,000 on the odometer. It already had the steps, A-pillar spotlights, Ranch Hand bumpers, lots of west Texas dust, and a complete, clean service record courtesy of the original owner. I logged another 120,000 miles without changing much, other than replacing the worn-out stock shocks with Rancho 5000s and upsizing the tires to 255x85. A year ago the family was expanding to four and I started looking at the new HPCR four-doors, decided I wasn't ready to go there yet, and created a BOMBing budget from the money I saved with that decision. The first step was to repair a couple of rusting scratches and repaint everything. The bed was "repainted" with a Line-X liner. I got Autometer Gauges: tach, pyro, boost, trans temp, and oil pressure, and mounted them with hook and loop on the dash where they're quick to look at. I got a BHAF with an Outerwears to cover it and swapped turbo housings for 16cm^2 and now she sings sweetly along with the Cummins Clatter. The front springs had sagged down to less than an inch from the bumpstops, so I got new springs and huge, shiny shocks from T-Rex Engineering. I used to have to slow way down when things got rough, now the smoother response is almost always to roll on the throttle a bit more .
Finally I drove it out to Vic McKinley's in Cortez, Colorado where he attacked it with a plasma torch and installed the sleeper conversion. It is truly a nice piece of work, headroom and legroom galore! The box is aluminum, and it's got carpeting over insulation everywhere. It's bolted to the bed and frame in 29 places, and steel bracing was added around the cutouts to keep it structurally stable. It doesn't seem to flex any more now than it used to. The sleeper is sealed to the cab with a rubber accordian type boot and finished with some special carpet with a bit of stretch to it. After six months it is still sealed tight inside and out. I replaced the bench seat with a buckets and console combination at the same time, to facilitate getting to and from the back seat since there aren't any extra doors.
I admit I've been bitten by the BOMBing bug and love it, although I'm not changing anything else for a few more months. This is so much more fun than preserving a warranty! Next step is a torque converter, after which i can allow myself into the fuel pump . . .
For the rest of our great members, get those pictures uploaded in our Member's Photo section.
That's where the TOM Committee members cruise in search of the next TOM winner.
If you have any comments on this changed format, or you'd prefer the old way we posted, shoot me a Private Message via PM here
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10-04-2004 | 08:04 AM
#10
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,601
Likes: 93
From: Richmond, VA
That is really slick!! How is the relative motion between the bed and the cab dealt with? I would love to have that kind of space in my cab . . .
Very nice truck!! (I like the bumpers, too.)
Very nice truck!! (I like the bumpers, too.)
10-06-2004 | 02:44 PM
#13
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Lawrence, KS
WOW! Thanks everyone and especially the TOM committee!
I picked up my "little locomotive" in 1997, with 110,000 on the odometer. It already had the steps, A-pillar spotlights, Ranch Hand bumpers, lots of west Texas dust, and a complete, clean service record courtesy of the original owner. I logged another 120,000 miles without changing much, other than replacing the worn-out stock shocks with Rancho 5000s and upsizing the tires to 255x85. A year ago the family was expanding to four and I started looking at the new HPCR four-doors, decided I wasn't ready to go there yet, and created a BOMBing budget from the money I saved with that decision. The first step was to repair a couple of rusting scratches and repaint everything. The bed was "repainted" with a Line-X liner. I got Autometer Gauges: tach, pyro, boost, trans temp, and oil pressure, and mounted them with hook and loop on the dash where they're quick to look at. I got a BHAF with an Outerwears to cover it and swapped turbo housings for 16cm^2 and now she sings sweetly along with the Cummins Clatter. The front springs had sagged down to less than an inch from the bumpstops, so I got new springs and huge, shiny shocks from T-Rex Engineering. I used to have to slow way down when things got rough, now the smoother response is almost always to roll on the throttle a bit more
.
Finally I drove it out to Vic McKinley's in Cortez, Colorado where he attacked it with a plasma torch and installed the sleeper conversion. It is truly a nice piece of work, headroom and legroom galore! The box is aluminum, and it's got carpeting over insulation everywhere. It's bolted to the bed and frame in 29 places, and steel bracing was added around the cutouts to keep it structurally stable. It doesn't seem to flex any more now than it used to. The sleeper is sealed to the cab with a rubber accordian type boot and finished with some special carpet with a bit of stretch to it. After six months it is still sealed tight inside and out. I replaced the bench seat with a buckets and console combination at the same time, to facilitate getting to and from the back seat since there aren't any extra doors.
I admit I've been bitten by the BOMBing bug and love it, although I'm not changing anything else for a few more months. This is so much more fun than preserving a warranty! Next step is a torque converter, after which i can allow myself into the fuel pump . . .
I picked up my "little locomotive" in 1997, with 110,000 on the odometer. It already had the steps, A-pillar spotlights, Ranch Hand bumpers, lots of west Texas dust, and a complete, clean service record courtesy of the original owner. I logged another 120,000 miles without changing much, other than replacing the worn-out stock shocks with Rancho 5000s and upsizing the tires to 255x85. A year ago the family was expanding to four and I started looking at the new HPCR four-doors, decided I wasn't ready to go there yet, and created a BOMBing budget from the money I saved with that decision. The first step was to repair a couple of rusting scratches and repaint everything. The bed was "repainted" with a Line-X liner. I got Autometer Gauges: tach, pyro, boost, trans temp, and oil pressure, and mounted them with hook and loop on the dash where they're quick to look at. I got a BHAF with an Outerwears to cover it and swapped turbo housings for 16cm^2 and now she sings sweetly along with the Cummins Clatter. The front springs had sagged down to less than an inch from the bumpstops, so I got new springs and huge, shiny shocks from T-Rex Engineering. I used to have to slow way down when things got rough, now the smoother response is almost always to roll on the throttle a bit more
.Finally I drove it out to Vic McKinley's in Cortez, Colorado where he attacked it with a plasma torch and installed the sleeper conversion. It is truly a nice piece of work, headroom and legroom galore! The box is aluminum, and it's got carpeting over insulation everywhere. It's bolted to the bed and frame in 29 places, and steel bracing was added around the cutouts to keep it structurally stable. It doesn't seem to flex any more now than it used to. The sleeper is sealed to the cab with a rubber accordian type boot and finished with some special carpet with a bit of stretch to it. After six months it is still sealed tight inside and out. I replaced the bench seat with a buckets and console combination at the same time, to facilitate getting to and from the back seat since there aren't any extra doors.
I admit I've been bitten by the BOMBing bug and love it, although I'm not changing anything else for a few more months. This is so much more fun than preserving a warranty! Next step is a torque converter, after which i can allow myself into the fuel pump . . .
10-07-2004 | 11:51 AM
#14
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
From: Penrose, CO
Conversion cost?
hey thryllz,
If you don't mind me asking, about how much did the conversion cost?
I'd love to do something like this to my '98 Quad cab.... but only price I've heard so far is like over $10k, which is out of the question- I'd get an older 'burb and drop in a Cummins for that price!
you can private email me if you don't want to post the cost, but since I'm in Penrose, CO (only about 300 miles from Cortez), I may want to look into this in the future...
Thanks in advance,
Gary
If you don't mind me asking, about how much did the conversion cost?
I'd love to do something like this to my '98 Quad cab.... but only price I've heard so far is like over $10k, which is out of the question- I'd get an older 'burb and drop in a Cummins for that price!
you can private email me if you don't want to post the cost, but since I'm in Penrose, CO (only about 300 miles from Cortez), I may want to look into this in the future...
Thanks in advance,
Gary