[DieselDC]

You did good on the trade! Lots of goodies to salvage and sell!

Btw didn’t ask but is that GN 18-20ft?


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[dieselcrawler]

GN is 24', I think... it belongs to my wife's cousin, lives about 2 miles away, and is avalible to me when I need it. I trailered the mud truck down off my hill to where the guy I traded with was able to park his tractor trailer. Couple hard switchback on my hill and no parking at my house led to us using another friend's gravel lot to load/unload trucks near the big highway on the Ohio river.

Sad to see the ol mud truck go... been a long fun trip with the ol beast. But time to move on... needs and wants change.

 

[DieselDC]

Your truck turns on a dime with that short wheel base and the GN my cclb with my GN - it’s a crapshoot lol.


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[Hencoophenny]

Seriously can't wait to see the outcome of this build

 

[dieselcrawler]

No progress on this project in weeks...

Been bitter cold here the past few weeks, warmed up for a few days now... finally did something that is kind of like progress. Got the windshield out of the crew cab I'm extending, to use in the gasser crew cab I just traded for. I needed the windshield out anyway, for paint and re-sealing reasons. Being able to remove it without breaking it is a plus, and will give me a good one for the gasser truck so I can get it road-ready.

I used a piece of wire rope/cable, about 1/16", and just see-sawed it and it cut right thru the urethane adhesive. I got a hole started by heating a nail with a torch and melted a hole thru the urethane at one of the lower corners. There was a fair amount of paint damage, I wouldn't want to do this on a nice paint job. But if the paint was nice, I doubt I'd be trying to salvage a used windshield!

On the gas motor crew cab, I've gotten the tire swapped out for a set with good tread, but little else. I found rear leaf springs broken, I'll need to swap those, the exhaust, and windshield before it's ready for the road.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Gas motor truck is road ready aside from the windshield now. Replaced the exhaust, rear leaf springs, rear brake lines, a couple calipers and front brake pads. Swapped tags from my '99 over today, and took a quick test drive out the ridge. One of the old calipers is still sticking, and I gotta get to my buddy's next week to get the windshield put in, but at least I'm back to having a truck to drive. Time to start stripping the '99, rear doors are needed to get the cab sections spaced properly and welded. Hope progress can be made now that the other truck is on the road.

 

[zsargent]

wow. I can wait to see this beast all put together!

 

[Kryptic_361]

Subing in to watch the progress. i love projects like this

 

[dieselcrawler]

In true 4R100 fashion, after putting a few highway miles on the gasser, I'm thinking the torque converter is failing. After its warmed up, when parked, mild motor rev's (1500-2k rpm) yeild a sound that sounds like air bubbles in the heater core. Not quite nuts and bolts in a metal coffee can, but combine that with shifts that are late/high rpm, and hard at times, and Im guessing I'm pulling the trans on Monday. Good thing I have a spare from the crew cab I cut up.

 

[dieselcrawler]

On the gas motor crew cab, I've got the trans swapped out, windshield in, state safety inspection done, bigger tires, fender flares, brush guard, all squared away. Seems to be running ok, might need to change the thermostat, as it never gets warmed up good, heater not hot enough.

Plan to drive it to work tomorrow, wife bought me a new tool box for work (Christmas present) and its too big to wrap and drag into the house... its going straight to the plant!

Now to start stripping the diesel extended cab... back doors needed first, plan to remove entire interior since it will be exposed to the elements once the doors come off.

 

[dieselcrawler]

The gasser truck got an oil change over the holidays, as well as thermostat... which led to the realization that the cooling system has issues, doesnt heat up right, gets over pressurized as soon as the motor runs, and blows coolant out the reservoir cap. Ive been dumping water or very diluted coolant to it and driving it til it blows. No oil in the water, no water in the oil. Im thinking cracked head at an exhaust valve, but no water loss when sitting or white smoke. Run it til it blows.

Finally got the interior out of the donor extended cab, and the rear doors off... hardware and trim bagged and tagged, and stored until needed. Couple hours last night and a few more today, but it sure feels like progress! Tossed some old seats back in it, not even bolted down, so I can still move it around the driveway.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I went back out to the barn a bit this evening, and stuck the back doors in place. Its obvious how mis-aligned the rear cab section is in relationship to the front, the door latches dont line up... yet.

Next, I need to clear a year's worth of accumulated junk that has gotten piled on and around the cab, and correct the alignment issue.

 

[Wood's Powerstroke]

Just found this thread. Incredible work, sir. Can't wait to see it finished :thumb:

 

[dieselcrawler]

9 months later... and nothing new. Built a mile of barb wire fence thru the spring and early summer. My dad died in late March. Sold some rentals late summer. Put a lift on my boys jeep. But the poor truck has just sat there, collecting dust and more junk gets piled around it. Been trying to clear it out lately, gotta get back to this. Frustrated...

 

[Wood's Powerstroke]

9 months later... and nothing new. Built a mile of barb wire fence thru the spring and early summer. My dad died in late March. Sold some rentals late summer. Put a lift on my boys jeep. But the poor truck has just sat there, collecting dust and more junk gets piled around it. Been trying to clear it out lately, gotta get back to this. Frustrated...

Sorry to hear about your dad, sir. :crying: I do look forward to you finishing up the project. Even a little every day will add up over time. Time marches on any way. A day will pass regardless of what is done with it. Keep on keepin' on, brother :thumb:

 

[dieselcrawler]

Finally got the donor frame stripped out... wasn't much left to remove but the bed, which needed 5 of the 8 bed bolts torched off, and a year and a half of accumulated junk cleaned off it... but its bare now.

 

[dieselcrawler]

With a heavy heart, I bring the final update to this project. This has been scrapped. Several factors played into making that decision, a new truck being one of them. So the cab parts were drug out of the barn, hacked into pieces and hauled for scrap.

The new truck is a 2016 F250 crewcab shortbed, with the 6.2L gas motor. Its an XL trim truck, rubber floor mats, basic work truck, with only power windows, locks, and cruise control added, and that's all I wanted anyway. It had 67k miles on it when I got it, and with basic maintenance (oil, brakes, tires) it should last me many years.

Yes, I'm sad that the project truck is gone, but things change, and it's simply time for it to go. Maybe in a few years, I'll find a less rusty base to start with, and attempt this again.

 

[ZMANN]

Ahh well win some lose some
thanks for the update

 

[Wood's Powerstroke]

Sorry to hear. Well, sometimes you just gotta call it enough on something. Thumbs up on your new truck though!