Build Thread

[dahoyle]

Well, I have my truck, most of my driveline, and a plan is beginning to form.

First, a few pictures of my heap....






I greatly appreciate the patience of the gentleman who sold it to me. I spend about 9 months a year on the road in my job, and Brad, from over at IFSJA.org was totally understanding in my inability to just show up and pick it up. All in all, we probably worked for 6 months to make the deal happen, and I would not have blamed him if he found another buyer. I finally just grabbed it on the way to a job, when I was passing thru Cheyenne. Drug it 600 miles out of my way before I ever got it home.

It's home now, and the work is progressing. Mostly undoing decades of neglect and abuse for now.



Doug

[dahoyle]

Now, a little about the build. For the purists, be forewarned, I am building it to drive, mostly 4-Wheeling, with the possibility of the occasional parade.

The truck will be returned to olive drab, and will bear the unit identification of my dad's unit when he was in Viet Nam. The paint and the basic body lines will be about the only nod to originality in the build.

The powertrain will consist of a Cummins 4BTA 4 cylinder diesel, factory rated at 116HP at 2500RPM. The engine will be warmed up a bit and will breath thru twin staged turbochargers. The top will be an Holset HX30, which will spool up a larger HX 40 for a bit more top end. My overall goal is roughly 150-175HP, with a redline of 3200RPM.

The engine, as it sits now....







Doug

[dahoyle]

The remainder of the powertrain will consist of a TH400 transmission mated to a Ford NP 205, thru a 32 spline NP 203 rangebox. I would post pictures of them, but I imagine everyone here is familiar with them. Will post photos during the assembly part of the build, and maybe a how-to on rebuilding the cases. Will probably pay a professional to freshen up the transmission.

The axles consist of a 1989 HP Dana60, and a 1981 GM Dana70HD. The axle width will be 77" front, and approx 76" rear. They are both Dually axles, and will be fitted with stock H1 Hummer 12 bolt rims. Still looking for the inserts, if anyone knows of any f the radial runflats around.

Suspension will be a triangulated 4-link in the rear, and most likely a 3-link with panhard in the front. Steering will be full hydraulic, with parts from Rockstomper. He is a neighbor of mine, and I really like his dual ended cylinder.

The truck will be suspended either with air bags from Firestone, or possibly coilovers. The airbags were my first choice, but after looking at a truck over at Off Road Innovations, in Broomfield, CO, I am now convinced that I can fit coilovers without having them protrude into the bed.

I think either will be an improvement over the stock springs for off-road use.

[dahoyle]

Frame height is planned to be approx 24" from the ground at the lowest point.

Here is where the major changes in appearance start, and I welcome all constructive criticism. The wheelbase will be shortened to 116", with the requisite 10" bobbed from the bed in front of the fenders, With an additional 10" removed from behind the fenders, giving a bed length of approx 72" vs. the 92" stock. I may remove a little more from behind the axle, depending on how it looks in photoshopped immages. I don't think that an additional 2" to 4" off the back will be noticable.

After about 2 hours of measuring and remeasuring, I'm pretty sure I can move the axle forward 10" without having to section the frame. Should be able to bob the entire 20" out of the rear of the frame. That is certainly my preference.

[dahoyle]

Will have 4 days this weekend to make some things happen on the build, before I head down to Silver City N.M., so my intent is to strip it down to the bare frame.

Went by Off Road Innovations today, and discussed some possibilities to accelerate the build while I'm out of town. Will build a dolly for the passenger compartment, deliver it, and they will do the cage for it while I'm gone.

The cage will be patterned off of the factory top bows, so that a canvas top can be stretched over it, without any of the factory bows.

That presents a problem for me, and hopefully Brad will be able to help out. If not, you can all consider this a plea for help. I really need to borrow the frame for a top, if anyone has one sitting in a garage or otherwise unused. They need it for a pattern so they can match the height and bends properly.

The front hoop will be just below the height of the windshield, so the canvas fits correctly.

I could use another bit of help as well. I have seen reference to the correct OD paint, but do not recall seeing a source. If someone could provide me with an address or a phone number, it would be appreciated. Want to have the frame sandblasted and painted while I'm gone, as well. We have a nice new sandblasting and painting booth at work, but unfortunately I won't have time for it.

[Jester]

Sounds like a cool build. As one that "bobbed" the bed on my truck, I am definitely not a purist.

Keep the updates and pics comin'

[dahoyle]

Well, that's it for now. I know there is a lot of talk, but I hope to produce some progress in the coming months, even with my limited time.

Thanks for looking, and feel free to chime in with any suggestions or criticisms.

Just be forewarned that the major details of the build are pretty much written in stone.



Doug

[phoenix]

I would suggest that instead of using those run flat inserts that weigh like 50 pounds each, you use a piece of 16 inch ID PVC pipe. you can see how it was done at this site. http://www.pirate4x4.com/articles/te...pr-hummer_rims This is what I will be doing on mine but it is difficult to find PVC that big around me unless you want a 20 footer. a four foot chunk should do it for 5 rims. Also, I know that the Dana 60 HP from the 78-79 Ford F250-350s have a longer axle tube on the drivers side so that it is easier to mount coil springs on them. This is the holy grail of axles for the Jeep TJ so they are hard to find and cost usually around 600-1200. The newer Ford Dana 60 HPs have a very short drivers side tube and the leaf spring pad is actually cast into the diff housing which makes it a pain to use coils. You may have some luck with coilovers though. I would love to see more pics as you progress.

[gun512]

Going to spin an HX40?? That's pretty big for a 4bt. They were originally designed for a 8-11 litre diesel. Curious what boost you will be trying to reach. But of course the advantage of the hx40 as you know is they are cheap, easy to find, bolt up, and can build decent boost. Not trying to critique, just haven't seen many twin set-ups for 4bts and would like to learn more about them.

[Binford]

I could use another bit of help as well. I have seen reference to the correct OD paint, but do not recall seeing a source. If someone could provide me with an address or a phone number, it would be appreciated.

Assuming you are looking for the U.S. Army color, that would be 24087. Get Gillespie brand from Rapco. Good prices; excellent quality paint. http://www.rapcoparts.com/manuals.html

Good luck with your build! I'm looking forward to pics and progress reports. Should be fun!