Looks good from the back. From the side...that tire is just too big for that hole. It might be time to rethink the fenders. Do you have a picture that shows the whole truck in profile? Keep at it man. You get a little closer every day.
Yeah, the tire is too big for the hole. The current thought is to go SRW and recess the tire back in the fender. That eliminates the clearance issues but it still looks funny. Then put a fender skirt over it to cover the hole mismatch and get that 30's art deco look. If I could find a rear end with a 3.08 gear then I could go back down to a 235/80R22.5 (ø37.4" versus ø42.7") which would look right in the hole.
What gear is in it now? 3.08 is pretty low for a 37" tire. My math shows a 3.52. That is what I run behind my Cummins with a 235/75R16. That Allison doesn't have overdrive, does it? Have you thought about an auxiliary transmission? I remember what some call a Brownie Box (something to do with the manufacturers name) that has Under/Drive/Over. That would make maneuvering your trailer into tight spots a dream in 1st gear under, and give decent mileage in high gear over. Just a thought.
Got a 3.55 in it now. 3.08 was available but not very popular- anyone got one? Early D350 Cummins powered Dodges had 3.07 gears in them. My MT41 Allison is 1:1 in 6th gear. Thought about aux trans but it's cheaper and easier to get a later Allison with a .74:1 top gear.
Found a set of Alcoa 893630, 3.12" offset rims. Finally can (barely) get the 48" between the tires to fit my Kamper foot! And it's not ungainly wide. Oh, and it cuts 230# in rubber, 300# in rims. Yes, over 500# in unsprung weight reduction(!!) Had a pair of 12R22.5's mounted and it's off to the races. The rear tires are really still too big for the hole, but a cover should dress them up to blend in a bit better. (crude photoshop 3rd pic) Truck is still riding high but the Kamper weight should fix that.
Some thoughts regarding the rear track... It's ~10" shy of the front track but with the fenders and the Kamper I don't see that it will look terribly strange. The rear wheels could be spaced out 1/2" and still stay completely on their hubs. Rear fenders are currently 10.5" out from the side of the bed, they can be cut back up to 3" and still look right. Still trying to get the final measurements tuned in. Inside clearance currently is ~49.5"; Outside width runs ~74." Of course if I found a rear axle with air ride and the right width it would be a drop in.....
What an incredible project you have undertaken. Great thread to follow. Over the past couple of years I have taken a few snapshots, just wish I had done the same over the years. I hope these are OK to post here, if not, please delete them: Ford photographed in 2009: and again in 2010: also taken at Wintersun a couple of weeks ago: A 1956 Diamond T950 photographed in 2009: Also from 2009, a Mack Superliner given the "Ute" treatment:
Gold Coast, eh? I used to come over there for Indy every year. Wonderful place, but I don't remember seeing that much American Iron! Tire with the garden hose wrapped around it is a hoot. WTF?
I wasn't terribly interested in the drop when aired down, the main goal was to get a reasonable ride out of the truck. Right now it rides... like an empty truck. But it brings an interesting point- you could get rid of the need for lots of rear steps. And the camper would be much more solid. Thanks for the idea- gonna have to see how it all looks on the confuser!
So the next phase is to get the front axle replaced with a modern unit and fit Alcoas up there too. Thinking to find a modern 10-lug unimount front axle at the yard with disk brakes. I'm unhappy with the current braking performance but that might have a lot to do with the old drums up front. The Isuzu axle I had was neat (esp the brakes!) but it was only 6 lug. Also looking for a pair of Alcoa 873601 (hub mount 22.5x7.5 on 11.25BC). If ya have some you want to sell...
I am really impressed by your project - inspirational. Glad you found the snaps acceptable. BTW, the red Ford only has double doors on the left side. Gold Coast, Yes. Indy was pretty good, but not for "American Iron" on the streets. "Wintersun", in June, is for the cars and Rock'N'Roll. http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/Ausfire_2009/?start=all http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/Ausfire_2009/Wintersun 2010/ As for this: "Bush mechanics low profile tyre", was an e-mail that did the rounds. I just kept the photo attachments for a laugh. Enough of the hijack - let you get back to work.
Been taking a bit of a breather on the project, mostly cause my left arm is killing me. The alignment of the driver's side door B pillar was also driving me nuts. Cut the B pillar out and rewelded it in position. Much happier now. Still have to hang the exterior sheet metal but the door shuts solid now. Pulled the seat pan up and ran more reinforcement under the seat rails for the bucket seats. Now they are tied in to the new underfloor, no flexing.
Took her for for a 100 mile spin the other day. Pictures to follow at some point but she still looks like hell. The kingpins are a bit worn out causing some interesting tracking issues above 60mph and the original style drums aren't providing enough stopping power for my tastes. I'm looking for something like this: Spicer front axle I-75 or I-80 10 hole hub pilot Hydraulic Disk Brakes Also am looking for a pair of Alcoa's to go with it. Any leads around SoCal?
Got the rear right skirt panel fabricated this morning. Folded the top and bottom edges, then put the curve in the panel with the shrinker. After it was shaped I folded the last bend and trimmed the excess where it joins to the cab. Lots of satisfaction from this particular part....
The last couple of weeks have been spent on those little details that don't look like progress but make a world of difference. Got the emergency brake rerouted via a custom bracket from the transmission to the rear wheels. The increase in holding power is noticeable. Second seat is in, the area under both seats has been reinforced with 1" square tubing. Found a Grote 8" convex mirror to give a bit better view on the passenger side. It looks a little goofy compared to the 4" king bee mirrors but now I can see what's going on over there. Turned the exhaust down 90° to keep the soot off my trailer.
The intercooler presents some interesting problems. The mounting of yet another radiator was interesting, for such a big truck it has a decidedly small frontal area. Starting to feel familiar- Built a bracket, tapped holes, made grommet mounts to isolate the IC radiator from the vibration. Mounted a W123 Mercedes pump to move the coolant around. Might as well have bought a W123 parts car with as many things that are going onto the truck! The fill cap is a bit of a job, I ended up taking a ø3/4" hose barb Tee, shortening one leg and soldering it to a brass radiator cap flange from a ~1988 Nissan 300ZX. Left the mounting flange in place so that I can mount it properly at some point.
ShouldaCouldaWoulda, oh well. Tell ya what, if you can get me a line on a good Flxible Clipper I might be interested......
I don't know what a flexible clipper is. BTW, great build. I can't wait to see the finnished product.
Cool, thanks. I think there is one very similar setting up by Hill City, near Mt.Rushmore. Not sure if it's the same make but it looks the same to my untrained eye.
One day I'll be wanting a Flxible. Would like a sightseer (glass windows in the roof) but they seem to be short (27' OAL). The eyebrow window Starliners look good too. Enough daydreaming, gotta finish this project first. (then I have a pair of Messerschmitts to assemble) Then maybe the Flx.
Working on the layout for the rear suspension to allow for the implementation of airbags. Thinking to go with a 4-link style setup to avoid having to use a panhard bar or watts link. Model still shows duals in the rear, I'm staying SRW for inner wheel well clearance (kamper) but would like to be backwards compatible to go back to duals without cutting/welding. Comments welcome...
Started looking into alternatives for the front suspension, the truck is so stiff as to be undriveable. I've been looking for a modern straight axle to simply bolt onto the existing setup- but nothing has showed up and perhaps that's a good thing because I either need new springs or a new link setup to run airbags. This got me turned onto the GM 73-87 independent front suspension: http://www.thehollisterroadcompany.com/C10ifs.html Of course I have a lighter version in my 82 C10 pickup. The C10 is terribly soft and parts are cheap and it's simple. And a soft suspension is better than the solid link that I have now! There's a C30 (1 ton) being parted locally that would give me a complete source all of the right parts, including the heavy duty JB8 brakes. The drawback for the guys putting these into 55-59 chevy trucks is that their frame is 34" wide (as is the DT) but the 73-87 IFS requires a 2 in 10" (11.3°) tapered frame rail. Interestingly, the Diamond has a 12° taper at the front in the frame rail section. Too good to be true. The IFS unit will need to be widened 5.5" to fit the rails on the Diamond. Not an issue. Would still need spacers to get the wheels out the additional 7.3" and the bolt pattern to a modern unimount style/11.25" BC. There's a commercial off the shelf available: AA-4 from arrowcraft. Anyone got experience with these? http://www.arrowcraft.com/products.php
looking good. front IFS will make a much softer ride. Why not front clip it with the parts from the C30? Build a jig on the garage floor, or driveway, widen the front clip from the C30. Then blend it in to the Diamond T frame. Like people do with cars all the time.
Are you sure you'd have to widen the track of the C10 to use it? I know the fenders are different from your DT big series truck to my little DT 201, but I narrowed the Chev G20 van crossmember 3" to fit between the rails properly, and still widened the front front fenders 3" each to get the tires under the fenders. Better check your tape measure! The pics show the tires hanging out before the fenders were widened, the modified fender, and the profile of the truck now with the engine in and weight on the springs. I do have some air springs I may use for the front, but I'm still weighing that. If I do, I'll probably take all but the main leaf out of the rear, and simply use it as the locator link and run bags front and rear. We'll see...
The Jalopy Journal
