Project: Pro-Rat

[pugs]

whats goona be your plan for the inner fenders with the tilt front end

[FarmerSid]

Nice fab work.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by pugs

whats goona be your plan for the inner fenders with the tilt front end

I was literally just wondering the same thing ... i am not against cutting up anything under the surface, i just don't want to disturb the outside. Right now I'm torn between none, and splitting them like most do the fenders. I really think im leaning to none, or just a little attached to the cab.

[6DoF]

so last night i decided to pull the UCA bushings to get the poly in there. that was WILDLY more frustrating then i had expected!

anyone have a spare UCA shaft they wanna donate to this truck? no way i can bring myself to buy the kit with bushings ... i can clean this one up, but if there is another out there i'd rather do that.

[ruffrida2005]

Nice build you have. Just curious why you didn't go with a S10 frame. Also where did you get the upper bag plate made. I like how the one you have has more sliding side to side built into it.

[dug224]

Nice build. Keep the photos coming!

[6DoF]

HOLY CRAP!! ... life happened ... ended up moving and this thing got put way on the back burner while building a house. it also has an entire new direction plan! and that plan starts now.

can i not edit my own first post to the updated details? cuz the only stuff staying the same is the body, haha.

[mongocanfly]

If you were a paying member I think you can edit...but I think theres a time limit on it..
If your starting over then just start a new thread...

[6DoF]

so, long story short ...

- bought old jeep for $500 to flip for project money
- guy traded me a running driving 96 4x2 2500 Cummins ram for said Jeep
- sold the TDI / t56 / and C10 IFS i had built (it got finished)
- parted out the Ram, kept the chassis and 6BT while making $100 still
- bought a 4x2 NV5600 6spd and short throw shifter

set out to build a diesel rat truck with 3x the displacement

goal set: daily driver capable rod with more HP than the wife's car.

got the Ram IFS modified with air bags to lay out, built a compete back-half frame with a truck arm / watt's link suspension, and dropped the cab on it basically 3 weeks before the house sold. it got loaded into an enclosed trailer and put in storage for 2.5 years while we moved and built a house.

while in storage i came to terms with just how much i hated the Ram chassis, and with a little more effort i could build a shop truck capable of actually towing the next project home. so it's not been unloaded into my new shop, and i'm throwing out this Ram chassis. i am keeping the back-half, but i'll be modifying the truck arms and bag mounts a lot.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

If you were a paying member I think you can edit...but I think theres a time limit on it..
If your starting over then just start a new thread...

a new thread is probably a better plan. i just hated that i left this build thread open-ended. i'll add a link here for the new thread, i'll go start that now.

[dsraven]

after having done a frame swap myself, after modifying a stock frame etc etc, as advice, maybe think about these items
-rather than spending time, money, consumables, and patience. look for a donor truck that fits the bill for what you need for power, wheel base and track width. if you're gonna pull a heavy trailer then maybe a task force truck is more of a "town car" concept unless you plan to start with a dually donor and an original "big truck" like a 1 1/2 ton or something. just my own opinion. better to start with a frame, brakes, driveline etc that is made to pull something heavy than start light and beef everything up to do the job you want it to do plus engineer a bunch of stuff to fit. I have seen a task force truck set on a long dually frame that was built to pull a travel trailer but there was a lot of mods needed to the body. track width just doesn't work. track width isn't really much different than an s10. if you plan to have a low truck then it also makes for headaches trying to get the steering tires to fit inside the stock width front fenders and still be able to turn without the tires rubbing. l personally I would feel a little cramped in a task force on a long trip. amazing how you get used to having an extended or crew cab truck that has room for the things we feel are needed on a road trip. coffee cups, snacks, phones, music paraphernalia, sunglasses etc. the task force is really not big enough in the cab area to have high back buckets, unless you are really short in the undercarriage, let alone the conveniences we are all used to for any kind of road trip. you could extend the cab though I suppose.
-if doing a frame swap get a complete running and driving donor. try to get something that hasn't been hit and written off just because newer vehicles are made to have crush zones so the frames are meant to collapse. you may look at it and think no problem but then when you get it stripped and the body off the frame you notice the dimensional differences from a bent frame. a lot of frames these days are hydroformed so they are not straight up and down in a cross section. just something to think about. there are a lot of trucks written off as salvage because the insurance adjusters don't want to take the chance to pay for bodywork started and then mid-repair the shop finds a bent frame.
-if doing a frame swap think about using the floor and firewall from the donor. that way you get a floor and firewall that fits the engine and trans, the floor has seat mounts for seats that may have integral seat belts without custom fitting a high mount on the door pillar for the belts, carpet that fits the floor (or at least orderable from aftermarket), a console that fits the correct height for the seats and looks good, a firewall mounted brake booster, accel pedal and mounts that feel right when driving, even a heater/ac unit that fits the firewall if you want to use it.
-if thinking about doing a frame swap with a cab extension for the added room, think about stretching a door rather than a small window behind the door. extending the door frame structure and then reskinning the door with a custom built skin could be easier and better in the long run than all the extra work for the back side window plus when the seat is far enough back to be comfy you may be looking at the door post, especially if you are a tall guy. ensure to brace the cab well before cutting anything apart. that way the doors will still open and close properly when it's back together.
-get an assembly manual if you want the original frame dimensions etc before you start and then spend some time making drawing or plans before you start cutting. check out a custom shop, it's what they do usually. ;less wasted time figuring stuff out of the fly.
just my 2 cents. it looks like you have the fab skills and ingenuity to get the job done. looking forward to your new build thread.

[6DoF]

dsraven, thank you much for the thoughts and concerns! A lot of what i build is because of the challenge of the build, to do something different, and not just the final result. i hope you'll find the truck comes out as functional as in my head haha.

The new thread:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=814071