Figured this would be the place to document my double cab build. The plan started out mating two cabs together to form a crew cab that had enough space for 4 people. The truck is being built (6BT cummins, Allison MT41, Ford Sterling 10.25) to tow my vintage silver streak clipper. Here's the initial CAD layout for the design
Next step was to get the 2nd and 3rd cabs to use for the rear doors and corners to square the doors up. Seen some double cabs built with suicide doors, but the factory crew cabs I've seen have a single square door on the curb side. The 2nd cab (model 404) came from South Dakota, was lying on it's back for years and after chem dip the rear panel was lace. The 3rd cab (model 211) came from Colorado, met them halfway in Death Valley. Bottoms of the doors are fully rotted out, but I ended up using it as the current cab to move it around and drive on the street. Lots of extra guide lights and parts came with it too, if anyone needs parts... Let's trade. Hint hint
Cutting the original cab was hard, it was in great condition. What I learned between the two cabs is that the fabrication techniques changed during the war. Prewar trucks were wood framed, post war metal framed.
I dunno about everybody else, but this post is going in the right direction. A+ on creativity. Keep up the great work! -Jeremy
This is my first real project involving sheet metal and cars. All the other stuff I've done have been bolt on upgrades...... Thanks for the kind words.
Here's a leftover that I need to trade. Need some fenders for the rear bed... Big and swoopy. Old Packard parts (gages, handles). Art deco light fixtures. Heck, y'all probably know what I need more than I do.
More detail of the cab from another angle. Pity on the rear formed corners, when I moved they got lost in transit.
Got a contact from a gent in Vancouver, BC who had a 614HS cab. The rear of the cab had been cut out, the doors were junk below the beltline so we came to a price, he zipped out the parts I needed and is mailing them. This includes the rear corners that I lost when moving.... Didn't look forward to remaking those! At this point it's 4 cabs worth of parts. I'm trying to get the double cab together then will have a spare complete cab. Might throw it on a S10 frame, could make a boat tailed roadster or could just move it. Dunno yet. Nice thing is that I don't have to cut a set of usable doors apart to square up the corners, feel better about that.
Bitchen what are gunna use for the roof?? Looks like the roofs if joined would have a big dip a van roof with the ribs would work?? Thats kinda an obvious bit of advice. Looks kool I had thought of doing that with a diamond t cabover too many projects though. Keep posting pics Dave
Not entirely sure on the roof. Was going to use fresh sheet metal for the rear section as the rear of the cab is also being widened 6-8" to allow for more back seat room, a better blend to the rear box, and most importantly a continuation of the compound curve that is already set in the door panels. Was thinking to run a few beads to the top side to stiffen it. Could also bend 90° corners at the edges on the brake and spot them together for interior strengthening ribs along the sides before it curves down. Makes it easy to attach the panels too. Good thing is the truck stands over 7' tall, the 12R22.5 tires look right and very few people can see the top so I can start learning to work metal there. Open to ideas.......
Don't know what I have to trade for that roof section. Could also use a right side headlight for a 1947 509H. I have the complete rolling chassis from a 48 306H. Need any machining? My cab is going on a Ford C600 frame with F450 dullys and a E450 front end. 12 valve Cummins with the inline pump. I have the Allison AT545 but want to trade up to a Dodge 48RE. I like your idea of widening 6-8". People don"t know how tight these cabs are for a big truck. Plans are for a cab high sleeper and tilt bed to haul a Model A.
I used Auburn Speedster rear fenders, and in my humble opinion, they're perfect. Don't buy them from "Studiocitycowboy" on ebay. Great work with the cab(s). They're tiny, aren't they? Brian
Brian, I've been following your thread, fantastic work on the scratch built bed you made. Gonna do something similar for my truck once the cab is finished. Yeah, the cabs are tiny. I've got a 211 cab on the original frame to make the city happy and be able to use it- and my 6'3" frame doesn't fit, knees are way high. This is with a seat bottom from a Mercedes and no seat back (just a foam bit to cushion my back)! The 614 cab is larger- deeper, taller and wider. The extension is a requirement IMHO. The Auburn fenders might be a bit small though, what size tires are you using?
I am looking for big truck DT front fenders for the rear. Cab type 404 on up, preferably 509 or 614. Gotta cover ø42" 12R22.5 tires, and the 211 type fenders I have are simply too small. Also looking for deluxe gauges, similar to the old packard stuff.
I thought of that after I posted, as youre truck is so much bigger than my 201. Guy here on the HAMB here made some KILLER rear fenders for his pickup (using a big truck) from an extra set of fronts. I'm using 17" rims with 23575R 17's. Yours had something like 8.00x20's, the wheel openings are HUGE, fenders much longer and wider. The Auburn fenders would look pretty puny on your truck. Do a search for Diamond T and his truck, in satin black with Caddy Escalade 20's, will pop up. It's great.
The guy I got mine from is about your height. He bought the truck sight unseen, planning to build it to pull his Spartan trailer, and found he couldn't get his leg up on the clutch pedal with the door shut. His loss, my gain! Nice old trailer, BTW! We have a '46 Spartan Manor, currently pulling with our '48 Pontiac convert and '51 Pontiac Tin Woody.
Always wanted a Spartan Manor, only issue is that they are heavy and we have hills here. This is the trailer the DT is going to pull.... 1956 Silver Streak Clipper
Yes, legroom is an issue with these truck cabs. The 614 is a little larger than the 211, but not a whole bunch. I currently have to left foot brake, the right foot doesn't quite make it over to the other side of the steering column. PDF of the floorplan, the rear is widened ~6.5" to keep the same door curve at the beltline. 15" extension between doors that should relax the legroom issues. I'm using seats out of the early 80's Mercedes W123. They have an amazing amount of vertical travel and have proved comfortable for my lower back.
The cummins 6BT is both tall and long. Even with the long nose on the truck, the engine extends about 9" into the firewall. If I were going to do this project again... I'd probably start with an Isuzu NPR chassis and just drop the cab on it. Frame rails are the same width (!) Too late now of course.... My solution was to cut the cowl and make a doghouse. The center of the doghouse is raised to clear the transmission, and the cab/cowl separation is done on both sides with 1" square tubing.
Wheels and Tires... It's a big truck, and it has big wheels. Original size was 8.25x20, which equates to a diameter of ~37.5". We toyed around with smaller wheels but in the end it just never was going to look right. Big truck tires are a completely different world- 170# with rim and tire, each. They last forever, require high lug nut torques which means more special tools, and ride hard. I found an Accuride steel rim (PN 27403) that fit on the front hubs and allows me to run modern 22.5" tubeless radials. I'm currently running 235/80R22.5 in the front which is the same diameter as the original wheels. In order to get the RPM's right with the cummins 6BT/allison MT41 combo I have where there are 6 gears but top is only 1:1, a Ford 10.25 diff was used with a 3.55 ring gear and this requires 12R22.5 tires to get any reasonable speed out of it. Cruise is set up for 62mph@1800rpm in top. Top geared speed is 83mph at 2400rpm. Short version is that my rear tires are ø42.7" and that means I need a big fender to look right. I like the look that John Anderson has on his DT pickup, it's proportionally correct.
Did some CAD work to lay out the double cab on the frame and mock up the bed. The 6' bed on the far left doesn't look right proportionally and the swoopy fenders wouldn't fit, though I'd prefer it so that the overall truck length is shorter. Middle picture shows the 8' option, the axle is 42.6" back from the cab- almost halfway and it looks right. Last picture shows the fender covering the wheels. Bed is 68" wide to match the back of the widened double cab.
Great build. I love vintage big trucks. Agree on the van roof suggestion. Possibly an astro van that has ribs, However, consider keeping to old time rounded look. Some time back there was an early Suburban roof for sale on the HAMB. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294194&highlight=suburban+roof Maybe something like this could work? It's in Socal too!
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