1936 DiamondT meets 1978 Dodge motorhome

[meteorman]

This is my inaugural build. I've been watching for months and collecting pieces. I finally have the major pieces so here I go. It will be a SLOOOOWWW build, so if you choose to follow, please be patient. I will be soliciting ideas and help along the way, but I've already pulled a lot of knowledge from this site in the past few months. this is the idea.
strip down a 1978 Dodge 27' Georgia Boy motorhome to the frame and drive train. Leave the Dodge 440 with 72K miles on it with the auto transmission. Use the stock axles and wheels with the tires it came with. It has 17.5" wheels, duals in the rear and a super beefy suspension. Cut the frame down by about 12 feet!! I already cut 6 feet off the back end, and 1.5 off the front. remove front springs and switch to a transverse axle suicide setup, OR quarter eliptical? This is my quandry right now. Help on ideas. I don't want the axle too far in front. I'm hoping to stick it right in front of the fan, with the radiator in front of the axle.
How much clearance do I need below the oil pan? I'm thinking I will drop the frame down where the frame is and come back up to stock height for the rear axle. I didn't want to mess with the rear suspension much, just remove a few leaves from the spring setup.
Ideas???

 

[skull]

front-end?

is the front-end suspension a straight axle or IFS?

on the rear-end if ya lower the front to much and move the enginge down in the frame rails ya may have the same problem l did on the dodge truck.

l had to move my rear-end to the top of the leaves and put an aluminum wedge of 3% to get the drivesahft angle correct. if the geometry is off by 4%
or more, it will chew up U-joints and can cause major damage if ya spit a driveshaft out.

l know, l had that happen when l raced

on the oil pan 4'' from the ground is what l like for mine , ya could also put a skid plate on to help deflect speed bumps.

post pics of the cab

Later

 

[meteorman]

Cab

Here's my 1936 Diamond T cab. The story on it is... I wanted a diamond T cab but had already bought a 51 IH L110 that was chopped (or started). so I spread a web of emails to anyone associated with diamond T's in the northwest U.S. Was thinking of shipping one from Wisconsin from Ebay, but ended up finding a guy in Washington that had one from Montana that he ended up selling me. He had found it in a scrapyard in Montana in a stack of trucks to be scrapped. it literally had a truck on its roof. so needless to day, I have some body work to do. But I got it for a price that I could afford.

 

[meteorman]

rear end geometry?

hmmmm, thanks skull. I didn't know that I will have to think about this all.
Front axle is straight/solid? not ifs. has disc brakes though, part of why I loved the motorhome chassis. disc brakes, solid axle, big wheels, duals. love it.

 

[meteorman]

Front axle is solid, not IFS. I'm thinking about the whole geometry issue. I am thinking that the front will not drop too much, because the oil pan is already hanging down under the frame a bit, and if I drop too much, it will scrape. so, I'm thinking drop the front frame a bit- like 6" ish, then drop the frame under the cab lower with a big tunnel through the middle of the cab for the drive shaft. I think there will be very little angle on the drive train if I do this. I'll have to get out there and measure, measure, measure.
Thing about the back is, I can't lower the axle? can I? it's just the axle and wheels. with the springs/frame above that. I'm new to this, so be gentle. appreciate the help

 

[skull]

front-end

someone else will have to help with the front-end, all of my stuff has lFS.

l guess ya could just put the straight axle on top of the leafs in the front and lower it that way, to me, that is the easiet route. that though wouldn't move it foreward and l think that is what you wanted to do.

what year will interchange with the cab? l will keep my ears open for a roof if ya are close. l trip over all kind of wierd stuff.


Later

 

[meteorman]

l guess ya could just put the straight axle on top of the leafs in the front and lower it that way, to me, that is the easiet route. that though wouldn't move it foreward and l think that is what you wanted to do."
I thought about this, but there isn't room above the springs for the axle without hitting the oil pan. I would have done this, but doesn't look like there's room.

 

[sgtpontiac]

Man that's a project!

When you dive in you really dive in..... looks like you've got a plan and you're a man on a mission..... great idea, good luck with the build and keep us posted as I'm sure you will.........[cl

 

[CORPO]

all the duallys are coming out from hiding..

I would assume you have seen pictures of the reo dually that is slammed out... let me know if you havent and I will post up some pictures.. if i recall it is on a motor home chassis

 

[Tripper]

Dude... I love that cab... please keep us posted!!!

BoB

 

[Z.Z.Rat]

Yeah, That would/could be an awesome cab. You certainly have your work cut out! Good Luck.

 

[earthman]

What is wrong with using a suicide perch with your transverse spring to get what ever height you want ? Personally i don't like a radiator in front of the axle. More pix so we can see what you are talking about please. Duallys rule!

 

[meteorman]

front axle placement

What is wrong with using a suicide perch with your transverse spring to get what ever height you want ? Personally i don't like a radiator in front of the axle.

I am thinking of using a transverse setup. but with the spring directly under the crossmember (is that what it's called?) instead of a bracket with the spring in front.
I am trying to avoid stretching it out too much, I don't want the front wheels way out in front. I'm wanting them tucked in a bit. ? I don't know. I need to mock it up and take some pics. Got the axle removed last night and the suspension all removed. now I can mess around with the axle and set it where I'm thinking to see what it looks like.
Question: Where do I find a transverse axle spring that's strong enough to handle the big block 440 and heavy frame I'm using? I'm thinking of having one custom made at a local spring manufacturer? other ideas? What are the ratings on the Mr. roadster or Posie's transverse setups?
are they strong enough? they're only 1.75" and my two stock front springs are both 3".

 

[meteorman]

inspiration for build

Here is the rod that started me on this kick. I am piecing together pieces to build something similar. I will have a bed instead of a wrecker backend. but I love this truck. i looked at the 47 REO build page, but couldn't see the pics because images were deleted or not visible? help? is it just me?
a couple other pics would be helpful if you have a similar build.

 

[cycledog]

That is going to be a killer build. You might want to go to members list and check out RatTruck440. He did basically the same thing with a Dodge cab on a motorhome frame.

 

[meteorman]

transverse spring dilemma

I am figuring out the spring mount to the axle. Can I put a 'spring pivot' from speedway and a shackle in one of the side holes on the axle? or is it important for it to be centered? I'm concerned that if I drill through the center, I will remove too much of the axle and it will be weakened. There is a guide hole for the shims on the old setup, but the hole is only 1/2 inch deep. the axle under it isn't very wide. ?? how do I mount the spring to the axle?[S

 

[meteorman]

front of frame modifications

here's what I'm thinking for the frame where the axle will mount.

 

[clamor]

From what I've seen, most people build brackets that utilize the 4 stock u-bolt holes and build brackets that bolt there. Then you can set up whatever/wherever you want for your spring/shackle mount.

 

[Sam_Fear]

are they strong enough? they're only 1.75" and my two stock front springs are both 3".

Keep in mind that you removed several tons of camper. 1.75" spring should be OK.

 

[meteorman]

Grill

found a Mack grill 1940ish? help on this.
I think it'll look good. good combo for rat rod in my opinion: international bed, Diamond T cab, Dodge engine, Mack grill.