XM1027 - CUCV Crew Cab Build

[tim292stro]

Thanks jesusgatos and Pfab for the help moving the shelter today. Loading it was a bit sketchy, and went to plan-b, but unloading it was easier and faster and as planned. No injuries or damage this time to Pfab's truck, the only casualty was my cell phone's screen cover glass... It got run over on the way out of jesusgatos' yard by Pfab's truck - I must've missed my pocket and had it drop in the dirt (made a good "crunch" sound).



Still works though, I'm making this post with it


Here's the shelter I picked up from Jesse. Again, thanks to Jesse on the sale - positive feedback left

 

[tim292stro]

I haven't forgotten about this thread. Work has picked up and the kid on the way has made the better half more particular about how I'm spending my time marking things off the honey-do list. I'm currently in a discussion with my insurance carrier about the stretch, I want to ensure that the truck can be insured and thus registered when I"m done - no point in doing all of this work to have a lawn ornament, especially since I don't have a lawn. I've been cruising other forums and the interweb looking for like-minded crazy people who want to do this. Evidently it's popular in certain groups, I even found out that GM had some trucks modified in the mid 80's to have extended cabs - these were later sold through dealerships. Early pre-cursors to GM's extended-cab two door trucks. There were a few extended crew cabs made, but they are very hard to find any more.

Here is a picture I found on a Chevy forum, it's also one of the first hits with a Google image search of crew-cab extended:


BleedDemon, in this case they cut 18" out of the bed and put it in the cab, no frame stretch - incidentally it's the same amount of overall stretch I was looking to do (the exact difference in length of the front and rear doors), but I am planning to put some of that length into the rear doors for more back-row leg room.

In talking with other who have done the stretch on trucks, you need to have your frame certified, like you would a totaled car after an accident - before it's insurable. I'm looking at limousine repair shops to find someone who is willing to work with me on the design, I have the cage design done (I think) but I'm withholding the pictures and drawings until I get the stretch blessed. This isn't ground breaking work, and I'm not the first to go this route - if you want to see some really pretty trucks, check out this guy's work (despite the name, I am not affiliated, nor do I endorse): http://www.customautosbytim.com. Ever wonder what a Raptor SUV would look like, or a 6-door crew-cab? Makes my 18" stretch seem "underwhelming" mrgreen: w/envy).

 

[tim292stro]

I got the tentative "OK" from insurance, but they did let me in on a new change that is coming down their pipe, they are capping modifications to $5,000 - so just my engine and Transmission change would put me over that. I'm asking more questions to figure out what that actually means, but I'm going to go ahead with the other modification effort. My next challenge is managing the weight of the finished truck - there is a rats nest of laws that no-one seems to be able to navigate (both federal and state) that I'd like to try to avoid. The threshold seems to be around 8000-8500lbs "curb", and this has to do with registration, licensing, etc... post-modification. I may have to remove weight from some areas to allow for it in other areas - this will be difficult with a full-cage and generator.

 

[BleedDemon]

That picture you posted of the OBS C/K is exactly what I pictured in my head. Like a Ram Mega Cab-style GM. It's sexy. I think the whole thing would look great in whatever mil spec finish you choose.

 

[Darkrider]

Phew....finally finished reading up to this point, Def going to keep tabs on this thread to see how this truck turns out!

 

[tim292stro]

Yeah, more parts coming this week, next week and the week after - and still trying to get the other half of the truck. I'm not going to make my hoped-for cutt-off, but it'll be done by the end of the year for sure.

 

[tim292stro]

So more good news - I found a somewhat local body & frame collision repair shop that does work on limousines who is interested in working with me on the stretch. Ideally they will not need to do much work other than review the plan/design, inspect the work as it's being done, and certify the frame afterwards.

Assuming I don't have to modify the plan, or change it too much, I will post the CAD and FEA stress analysis stuff I've done in AutoCAD. It's going to be a stiff frame, almost no flex or wagging - that should make the power the engine creates go to the wheels better. This is also hard to do on such a long and heavy truck - but it's good practice for my bus project which I've yet to complete .

I'm hoping to get the other truck from SS member Wildboy6x6 so that I can do one cut and weld - I'm hoping I didn't miss out on that, it may be at a tech school for experimentation and repair.

 

[Darkrider]

So more good news - I found a somewhat local body & frame collision repair shop that does work on limousines who is interested in working with me on the stretch. Ideally they will not need to do much work other than review the plan/design, inspect the work as it's being done, and certify the frame afterwards.

Assuming I don't have to modify the plan, or change it too much, I will post the CAD and FEA stress analysis stuff I've done in AutoCAD. It's going to be a stiff frame, almost no flex or wagging - that should make the power the engine creates go to the wheels better. This is also hard to do on such a long and heavy truck - but it's good practice for my bus project which I've yet to complete .

I'm hoping to get the other truck from SS member Wildboy6x6 so that I can do one cut and weld - I'm hoping I didn't miss out on that, it may be at a tech school for experimentation and repair.

Def looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

 

[tim292stro]

I saw this last weekend, and after I nearly died laughing, I turned around to take a picture. I wanted to assure those who are concerned about the "exhaust stack" thing that this is exactly what I DON'T have in mind.



Unless it's a joke, I don't get it...

 

[tim292stro]

So the reason for needing the crew cab arrived on schedule in late August:



So I am officially way, way late .

I just heard from from Wildboy6x6 that the other donor truck is no longer available (and Steve your PM box is full so I couldn't reply). I have a few other rolling chassis lined up so I'm not in peril, but it would have been nice to get one from a SS member. I have a meeting with the body shop this coming week to make the face-to-face introductions and discuss the desired modifications to the chassis, so I'll post up what I learn from that as it happens.

I am also tying off a few purchases from SS Member CBR Metalworks - 24V MRAP alternator(s), MRAP A/C evaporators, and a cooling package from an MRAP to get the last parts for the engine's front end (new intercooler, cooling units that I can use for the LED forward lighting, etc.). Big thanks to CBR-MW for the help and dealing on the purchases - he was VERY flexible with packaging the separate purchases on a single pallet, even held on to stuff while I was getting the funds all lined up. Again BIG thanks!!

I also have a vendor lined up for the Red-Dot HMMWV condensers I need, one will be on the truck, one on the S-250 shelter, and one spare ('cause the price was right, and I'm not sure how often I'll be able to find these separate from a full A/C kit).

My wife's uncle is obtaining the Sherwin Williams CARC through his contacts - not sure what they are so I can't help anyone else out here by sharing . Since I'm doing a fully exploded body-off-frame paint job, and the truck is a stretched crew cab w/8' bed, I'm figuring on 10 gallons of Type-2 33446 (686A desert tan), and 3 gallons of type-2 primer, 3 more gallons of high zinc base primer, and gallon of type-2 37030 (camouflage black) for markings. The plan is to do high-zinc on metal, high-build to fill out any blemishes, then CARC primer, then two coats of CARC - all while exploded/un-assembled. The truck will then get its bed liner coating on the surfaces that need it (Rhino-PPFR-2150 CARC compatible) and be re-assembled after 7 days - then a final coat of CARC to ensure everything has a nice coating as to seal the bed-liner so everything is water tight - finally the marking will be put on.

I've come up with a neat trick for the running boards steps, with the larger tires, lift, and sub-frame height increase I don't want my wife and kids (or my aging parents) to have trouble getting in - but I also don't want to get hung up on fixed steps on a rocker-nerf/slider bar. My inspiration was this (Google image search for up-armored F550 - these are the F550's the "private contractors" in Iraq have been using):



and this thread "Steps Nerf Bars Added to LSSV" - but I liked the swing away steps that are now found on MRAPs like this:



So as again, not much visible going on, but I haven't forgotten about this and I haven't stopped working on it - this will get moving visibly again soon .

 

[tim292stro]

Initial visit to the body shop went okay today a week late - they aren't totally comfortable with the arrangement, but they are going-to/willing-to work with me to get comfortable. This will take a little time to negotiate and massage - they think I'm okay to just go ahead and do the work, but I really need that certification for insurance - shop owner is talking to a friend tonight to check on some things and will get back to me. Second truck is paid for and awaiting pick-up, straight C30 rolling chassis with no drive train or extra parts - just what I needed. I'll also be getting back to the engine project in the next week, so there should be some more XM1027 project p0rn for you people soon.

Big pallet of parts from CBR Metal Works will be arriving this week - again I cannot thank him enough for working with me on the deal for the parts. Just new intercooler to replace the damaged one I got with the engine from Dodge/Cummins would have run me about $1400 before shipping - I picked up nearly a half ton (literally it was 900lbs) of parts for that much shipped!!! Terrific deal!

CARC paint is also ordered, cost a few grand in total as expected.

I'm really itching to get the stretch plan approved and the deal with the shop finalized so I can get cutting - I have a "kit" designed for the roll cage I'm building that I just need to send of to the tubing shop. They will cut, bend, and prepare the tubing for welding, and then deliver. I should only need to weld it up, and I made it stupid easy to do that by design.

 

[tim292stro]

Late update, the first body shop said "no" but it was also a "yes". Based on the conversation the "no" was not really unexpected - however that wasn't the end of it. When we talked the owner had mentioned a shop that a friend was running about ten minutes away which would be more likely to do my kind of deal:

Consult,
Inspect,
Certify.

So he called his friend and got the "yes" - so I have a shop, but now I need to go meet someone else to get the specifics.

such is life, it's progress though.

 

[Another Ahab]

Late update, the first body shop said "no" but it was also a "yes". Based on the conversation the "no" was not really unexpected - however that wasn't the end of it. When we talked the owner had mentioned a shop that a friend was running about ten minutes away which would be more likely to do my kind of deal:

Consult,
Inspect,
Certify.

So he called his friend and got the "yes" - so I have a shop, but now I need to go meet someone else to get the specifics.

such is life, it's progress though.

You got this; go the distance.

We're watching and cheering you to pull it off. Go, Brother, Go!

 

[tim292stro]

Just got the phone call from the freight company that CBR Metalworks' pallet shipment of parts has "landed" at my local shipping terminal. I'll be picking it up tomorrow since I'm leaving work early for a family function. Couldn't have worked out better. Also I recently took delivery of a few water/ration heaters, one will go in the truck, and two in the S-250 shelter (plus a few spares). I might have to start a thread for the S-250 shelter since I already have it, and plan for it, and some of the parts...

I had to buy a new engine hoist to move around the Cummins and transmission, I lost some of the bolts to the one I had, and couldn't find them locally - it was just faster to go buy a HF 2-ton. I have a meeting with the new body & frame shop that does limousines that will do the Consult, Inspect, Certify deal for the stretch today. I'll post up how that goes later.

 

[tim292stro]

After meeting with the second owner, it seems the "yes" was more of a "maybe". The shop owner would like to do the work himself, but can't quote pricing (even his shop rate) without a good idea of what will need to be done. He is still saying maybe for me doing the stretch myself, but I have to prove I have a good plan. So I'll be sending him my design to look at and stew-on over the weekend - I got his email and will send the plan over what I get home.

If this shop doesn't pan out, the first shop owner said to give him another call - he has access to more limo repair shops in his little "cliq". This was a little bit of a downer after the eagerly positive "yes" I received earlier this week, just more time I have to spend working out details, and making me second-guess if I want to spend the time on the stretch. *sigh* it'll feel better after I do this for a few hours -->

 

[Another Ahab]

After meeting with the second owner, it seems the "yes" was more of a "maybe". The shop owner would like to do the work himself, but can't quote pricing (even his shop rate) without a good idea of what will need to be done. He is still saying maybe for me doing the stretch myself, but I have to prove I have a good plan. So I'll be sending him my design to look at and stew-on over the weekend - I got his email and will send the plan over what I get home.

If this shop doesn't pan out, the first shop owner said to give him another call - he has access to more limo repair shops in his little "cliq". This was a little bit of a downer after the eagerly positive "yes" I received earlier this week, just more time I have to spend working out details, and making me second-guess if I want to spend the time on the stretch. *sigh* it'll feel better after I do this for a few hours -->

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

 

[tim292stro]

Thanks A Ahab.

Incidentally I have been recently touting a similar line of thought: "A life without challenge or struggle is not worth anything - just look at Paris Hilton or the Kardashians..." . I think the first half of the line I use is from the movie "A Good Year", but I note similar thread of though through the ages - just a small smattering from many people I consider vastly smarter than I: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/struggle.html

If I wanted to buy something and live with the compromises I could have bought a Mega-Cab Ram with a Cummins and spent the next ten years tearing out all of the crap Chrysler got wrong on it at great expense. As it happens, I'm prepared to spend effort time and money getting it "right," where right is defined as suitable for MY lifestyle. The mechanic that works on my Toyota always describes my projects as "crazy" to other people/customers, but quietly agrees with the logic and design when working on it. I hear the term "over-built" a lot too.

 

[tim292stro]

S-250 Shelter thread started...

 

[tim292stro]

Picked up my half-ton of freight- just at the rating of my truck:

 

[tim292stro]

About 400lbs was packing, three 450Amp alternators (about 13kW each - one for truck, one for aux generator on future trailer build, one spare), one MATV MRAP engine cooling assembly (radiator, 2x air conditioner condensers, engine intercooler, and an oil cooler), and two MATV MRAP air conditioner evaporator assemblies (fans, evaporators, plumbing, etc.).

Not a bad haul for what I paid - leaving positive feedback for CBR Metalworks!!

[EDIT:] For some explanation, this deal started out as just the AC evaporator assemblies (evaporator, control valve, 24V fans, harness) as just the interior part of the air conditioner system. I was going to go with two identical 140Amp 24V alternators, but with the loads added up I wanted to be sure I'd be able to charge the batteries after running all of the loads simultaneously on a short errand. Since I'm adding the S-250 shelter to the truck as an option, and the AC is going to be all electric - the total current to charge the truck batteries, the S-250 batteries, and eventually the camp trailer batteries was tremendous. One of those alternators needed to be huge, so when CBR Metalworks had his listing for 450Amp MRAP alternators up for cheap (about 5% of new retail) I couldn't pass it up... It'll take some lube to squeeze it into the engine compartment (and a shop crane), but I'll make it happen!! As for the cooling stuff, I was originally just interested in the intercooler since it's part number compatible for the Cummins I have, but since I already had a pallet headed my way... [/EDIT]