I was reading an interesting thread on the main HAMB board about performance hot rods, and it got me to thinking……. How many COE guys are into performance and horsepower? My own COE will have twin turbos on a Lexus v8 and should have enough beans to push it down the road pretty good… Given that COEs aren't exactly sports cars, how much does it matter to you?
On my 1956 C600, I was just going to use the original 292 Y block, but then I decided to mount the cab on a 2003 E350 ch***is. I had a rebuilt Ford 302 and a C6 trans, so that's what I putting in it, if all goes according to plan. I don't see setting any speed records or doing burnouts, since I don't see a cab over performing well at the drag strip. I just want to cruise comfortably down the road. That being said, I do have a 454 in my 1958 GMC Suburban Carryall, which nicely propels it on the highway, but it was necessary for a heavy vehicle.
Being of the mindset that real trucks should rattle, I chose a 6v53T Detroit Diesel. Factory rated a 225 HP, I plan a few mods to boost it to around 300. In a heavy duty pick-up sized vehicle with fairly high gears, it won't be a dragster, but it should get on down the road quite well. The truck is a pretty large brick, but I am hoping for around 100mph top end.
Balancing form and function, these things ain't 1/8th mile screamers by nature. Physics is physics. Could you make one to be? Sure. Should you? Most would agree not to. At the same time, any underpowered vehicle is no fun to drive and with today's average vehicle performance, questionably safe in worst case scenarios (ie. Rush hour). I want to build my truck to perform the tasks I plan to ask of it. 95% tooling around town and to/from shows. 5% toting a total of about 26k gc. So it will absolutely need to have some huevos and the braking compliment to keep said huevos girded up when needed. My top three build priorities are 1. Overall design (broad stroke I know, but I know pretty dang well what it entails) 2. Braking / electrical/ safety. 3. Performance above and beyond what's minimally "safe" With the current rage of diesel performance, I'm worried a lot less about the third aspect of my build than I was just a few years ago. It seems to me the diesel guys outnumber the rice boys about 2:1 in my area. I reckon there ought to be plenty of performance medium duty stuff floating around by the time I'm ready for it!
For me COE performance is measured differently than my hotrods or even pickups. Mine need to be a real truck, capable to haul and stop etc. The dodge is getting a ***mins and 9 spd with OD, so it should be able to pull my 22 ft car trailer with a full load at 80 mph without any trouble. At least that is what I am shooting for. The LCF is a S1800 IH ch***is with air brakes and 9.0L diesel and 26K gvw, so my performance expectations of it are to be able to haul multiple bundles of sheet goods at 3-4000lbs each for work and be able to do it at highway speeds as well. I am putting a brownie aux trans in it for OD as well. Some of my local friends have BBC in theirs, I don't particularly need or want mine to be a true hot rod, I want a cool work truck(s).
thanks for the responses guys, seems like a lot of these trucks will be used as, well, trucks. But obviously trucks that can do it all, look cool and haul loads. I must admit i lean towards stuff thats different, hence a COE, not something you see to many of in Australia. I view my project as a sort of overgrown hotrod more than a load carrying truck, i love the look of it and i really enjoy the challenge of building something that can't be bought in a catalogue. So for me, it needs to be able to scoot down the road with some authority, not just get from A to B. I look forward to hearing more……….
What did you do to warm over the ***mins ? I had propane injection on mine but took it off some time back due to the fact regulations for it changed and I could not get software updates for the computer.
"O" ringed head with studs, super B turbo, injectors, delivery valves, fueled up, exhaust manifold with big exhaust.
I've had it the back of my mind, that with air ride on my pusher axle, I should be able to take most of the weight off the drive axle and burn rubber indefinitely. A windshield washer pump filled with bleach and some nozzles pointed at the tires, should make a good show. LOL
Whilst my COE is a lightweight by your standards (1680kg or 3700lbs) it has a warmed LS3 in the rear and a 6L80E trans and 4.83 gears on 28" tires. Does it go? It can wheelstand on the right surface. It also has monster brakes and stops and handles very well. It wasn't designed to haul anything but ***!
Seems like the guys with more conventional hot rods aren't the only ones, the big old trucks like to play to……..
Steve, Give me time. I'm still recovering from the truck crushing me in May and fracturing my Pelvis and Tailbone. Then I have to repair it and then I can get some video.
Zuffen, i read about that on another forum, hope your recovery is going well. Lesson to be learned from that for all of us. But your sense of humour didn't suffer i see, only designed to haul ***….. lol
Well those wheelstands will make it easier to unload the back .! Myself I'm using a 502/502 and it should cruise just fine at highway speeds .
OK, so here's my set up: cab mounted on '03 1500 Silverado, can I haul stuff? yes, and I do on a regular basis. How much? around 500 to 750 # I also tow either a 18' boat or a 14' camper. I does well at both. For speed It has run a best of 10.390 in the 1/8 mile. Top speed? not sure, my speedo has recorded a max of 97 and that was not while going for max. The max speed limiter has been removed from the ECM program so 110 to 115 is not out of the question. It is truly a daily driver and runs as a '03 should getting 17 to 18 MPG. Bottom line is this: you can have respectable performance, ability to do truck work, gas mileage and a 10 on the cool meter with a little planning and little more cash. Rob
I cheat, I have a lift in my shop. This was just a test fit, I still need to add air bags, a hydraulic tilt and some long ramps to the project. Rob
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