Mexstan

I am considering a new, long term project and need guidance/advice from y'all. I have taken a close look at the large variety of kit cars on the market and none have what I need. There are some Hummer type kits, but they are butt ugly, so am considering making my own truck.

My requirements are a diesel engine, (zero electronics) prefer no cat, manual tranni, 4X4, reasonably high clearance, four doors, lots of rear seat leg room, good performance, good looking, towing capacity, etc.

What would be the best brand and year of body to start with? No matter what it is I will gut the interior and install my own. I will install the max soundproofing available. The front and head lights will be highly modified and probably will not resemble the donor cab. For the rear doors and leg room, I don't mind extending the cab, but would rather not as that is a lot of extra work. How about one of the older Ford crew cabs? I have to end up with a short box as I do not want too long a W/B. This may be a crazy idea, but if I had a long enough cab, I could install three individual six way seats in the back. Yes, I may have to cut the seats down, especially the center seat, but that is OK. The donor front seats will probably be junked as I require really comfortable seats, so need advice on after market seats. It may be overkill, but will even consider air seats for the front.

For the engine, it has to be a Cummins of course. Which year would be the best non electronic Cummins to get? I will of course soup it up a bit as I would like about 600 HP and about 700 ft/lbs of torque. If necessary I will rebuild the engine before dropping it in.

The manual transmission would preferably be a six speed, but will consider a 5 speed. The best would be a seven speed, but don't know of any suitable on the market. I suppose I could go for a gear splitter, but they are so darn expensive. Of course I will install a suitable clutch. Any preference on the transfer case? It must be manual select and not electric.

The suspension will be air bags on all four corners as I want the maximum comfort I can get. That will mean a four link rear axle. As the airbags will mean I need a compressor, will probably go for a transfer case mounted PTO and drive the compressor from that. The other option is an engine mounted compressor. May even need a PTO on both sides of the PTO as I am thinking about installing a tilt (dump) box and will need a hydraulic pump.

Need large disc brakes on all wheels. Will modify the axles as necessary. Want full floating axles and free wheel front hubs.

Could give more details, but hope you get the idea. OK, the end product may cost close to a new vehicle, but I bet it will outperform a new truck, last a lot longer and require a lot less (and cheaper) maintenance.

Please help me design this super truck.

mwlu711

well a cummins 8.3l would give you mountains of torque but i dont know the hp limits though.the spicer 7 speed is good.beyond that sounds like you you have quite a plan and project. good luck with it and enjoy and show us pics of the build.

Mexstan

Thanks for the reply. As much as I would love the 8.3, I don't think it will work or me as it has electronics on it. I want an engine that does not have a computer, - your basic diesel. Unfortunately this will mean a compromise and will probably result in me going to a noisy 12v. Of course with all the mods I anticipate, I can easily go to a twin turbo with dual exhausts.

Rednecktastic

Well when I first opened this I was going to suggest a second gen gasser as a cheap option.


But if you want a rig that's 4 doors and has axles built right go for a mid 80's GM K30 crewcab 4x4 SRW. Frame chop and short bed. Drop a 5.9 or 4bt in it.


For all those trucks 73-87 and 88-91 (3+3 & SUV) drivetrains and axles are interchangable.... so you could pick up a halfton suburban and put a Dana60 under it and a 14bolt FF. The military trucks came with those axles with 4.56 gears and 6.2L diesels. You could buy one for parts at an auction if you wanted.... I think I saw a wrecked one go for under $1000 recently.


I know quite a bit about those trucks so if you need to know don't worry about asking. I'll help if I can.



The front end I like the most on those trucks is the cheyanne single headlight from 88-91. I had a 90 1 ton 3+3 that I was going to do the SB frame chop too but sold it for parts. It was beat to hell and back. Got 2,400 for it.

Redleg

Stan, check out mallcrawlin.com. It's mostly modified jeeps and stuff for rock climbing, but a lot of good info on 1 ton axle/suspension/driveline mods and which works better. Also alot of good stuff on tube cages, chassis mods and sheet metal work. Was an article in there somewhere of a guy who built his own hummer body for an f250 chassis. It really looked identicle from the pictures.

cbtumedic

dana 60 for the front, GM 14 bolt FF for the rear, Np205 or atlas 2 (better choice due to availability of adapters) transfer case, 5.9 cummins and a nv5600 to start with then add the body/interior that you want. You would be pretty well of to start with the 73-87 GM chassis in this case, add the steering box reinforcement and you'll be good to go.

mwlu711

the old 8.3l engines dont have computers just like the 12 valve 5.9 engines.

12valve@heart

This would have been a good starting point for you if it hadn't already sold. Rockwell rear end and dual transmissions. Just swap in the 6BT.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...194122748&rd=1

Tate

Until you said dump box on it, I was gonna say go find a late 70's ford F-250 or F-350 crew cab, cut the cab off behind the rear doors, add the back portion of a bronco. Bam, 9 person seating capacity. 1-ton frame a drivetrain, ready for the 6bta and tranny, already has a 205 in it, free spin front and full float rear. Be the 70's equivalent of the Excursion, except has a removable top.

Or if chevy is your thing, do the same thing with a blazer/jimmy and chevy 1-ton.

Mexstan

Thanks for the info so far. Good stuff and sounds like the way I want to eventually go. As originally stated, this is going to be a long term project, so I have lots of time to gather info, bits and pieces etc and figure out exactly what I eventually want to end up with.
Any more ideas or suggestions?

Mexstan

If I was to come across a Dana 60 or a GM 14 bolt FF out of a vehicle, how would I recognize them? How would I know if the front and rear gear ratios match for a 4x4 if I am using axles from different vehicles?