1936 DiamondT meets 1978 Dodge motorhome

[CORPO]

Whats the wheel base? Looks pretty long, and with 3" of ground clearance potholes and driveways will be your enemies...

Also keep in mind if you build your frame with 3" of ground clearance by time you add the rest of the weight of the build.. plus driver and passenger... fluids etc... It will settle lower...

Keep at it!

 

[meteorman]

clearance

Whats the wheel base? Looks pretty long, and with 3" of ground clearance potholes and driveways will be your enemies...

Also keep in mind if you build your frame with 3" of ground clearance by time you add the rest of the weight of the build.. plus driver and passenger... fluids etc... It will settle lower...

Keep at it!

HMMMMMM, yes, I think it may be a little on the low side. I'm not too worried about potholes, but driveways in and out of stores etc. will be the biggest issue. I've never had a lowered vehicle, so it'll take some getting used to. I don't mind scraping here and there, but it'd be a bummer to get high-centered or gouge in the oil pan (this is my biggest concern at this point) I may try to raise the center frame section and leave some of the channel on the cab. I am thinking I'll rework the motor mounts so it is a bit higher or get a shallower oil pan.

I really didn't want to chicken out and make it too high, I'm really wanting it lowered right down near the ground. I'm thinking that my springs will be pretty stiff, so the weight of the cab, fluids and passengers shouldn't drop it too much, but I think I'll get it tacked together here and put the cab on, put a bunch of weight on it and see where it sits.

wheelbase is 142"

 

[George]

looks bad man can't wait for more pics!!

 

[skull]

angle

over the last 30 years l have owned several low to the ground vehicles.

good rules of thumb:

1. over speed bumps, angle the tires so one at a time goes over it.

2. gravel roads are your'e enemy.

33. driveways with a angle/hump/hill in or out are good ways to hang up the headers or frame.

4. as said above, potholes and rough roads.

5. if ya ever have to put it on a lift, it may not clear the part of the lift ramp edge the sticks up to keep ya from drivng off the side.

6. hitting road "turtles" while changing lanes.

7. parking next to curbs or sidewalks. (l did this in my 1966 chevelle and the passenger coudn't open the door because the curb hit the bottom of the door and would't let it open)

8. use common sense and think before ya do, if it looks iffy, don't do it.


these are my experiences with the lowered vehicles l have had, but overall, l like'em low

Later

 

[CORPO]

142" is pretty long for only being 3" up just my thoughts on it.. I would be afraid of alot of gas station entrances around here.. But if it turns out to be a lot of trouble you could always rework the back set up and throw some air bags on it...


thats some pretty good advice skull...

I knew a guy who had a lowerd s10.. he use to get stuck on stuff all the time, so much so that he had planks of wood that he use to keep in the bed to help him get over stuff...

 

[meteorman]

three steps forward, two steps back

Ok. I cut the frame apart and am raising it up. I figure, it's easier now than later. I was pleased to see that my welding was actually stronger than the frame itself. I'm cutting a section out and shooting for 4.5 to 5" clearance in the middle.

 

[meteorman]

frame tacked together

I finally got the frame put together. it's got about 5" clearance in the middle. I had a bugger of a time getting it all squared up and level since my shop floor is not level. I had to put some blocks under the front wheels to level it out. I'm thinking this is going to work well (or at least I'll make it work whatever happens next)

 

[meteorman]

CAB ON!!! finally some pics

I finally made some progress worth documenting. the cab is sitting on the frame, I'll trim a bit more off the bottom so it's flush with the frame, and I gotta figure out the mounts. but it looks good to me, it's essentially the look I am going for.

Now, for the steering. I'm surfing the other builds pretty heavily looking for ideas. I think I'll try to use the old steering box off the motorhome, but don't know if I want to shorten the steering column to use that or order one off of speedway. $100 here, $100 there, it's adding up.

 

[Sam_Fear]

That looks killer! [cl I assume you'll put the radiator behind the axle - right?

Something bugged me on the side profile. I had to look at it awhile, and I think the ground is sloped because it looks like your rear frame section and middle section are not parallel. It kinda looks like the cab could be lifted 1" or 2" on the back to give it some rake. Get it on some level pavement to get a good picture of it before you weld everything up. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Since your frame is so low, round off the front bottom corner so if you do ever drag you'll slide over instead of digging in. The other thing to watch for is front to back scrub line - While you have it on that flat surface, flatten a front tire and make sure your middle frame section won't drag.

I really dig the dually rats.
[P

 

[skull]

lookin' good

are ya gonna put a bed on? lookin' good so far[cl

Later

 

[meteorman]

are ya gonna put a bed on? lookin' good so far[cl

Later

I am putting a 1951 IH pickup bed on the back, it's a short bed. I have to cut the fenders on it and it'll slide right inside the duals.

That looks killer! [cl I assume you'll put the radiator behind the axle - right?

Something bugged me on the side profile. I had to look at it awhile, and I think the ground is sloped because it looks like your rear frame section and middle section are not parallel. It kinda looks like the cab could be lifted 1" or 2" on the back to give it some rake. Get it on some level pavement to get a good picture of it before you weld everything up. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Since your frame is so low, round off the front bottom corner so if you do ever drag you'll slide over instead of digging in. The other thing to watch for is front to back scrub line - While you have it on that flat surface, flatten a front tire and make sure your middle frame section won't drag.

I really dig the dually rats.
[P

Yes, the radiator is going behind the axle. I think I'll have to run an electric fan to fit it all in there.

The ground is very uneven where the pic is taken. I'll roll it back in the shop where the floor is more flat and take a look at the frame again. I think it's parallel but I'll double check it.
I hadn't thought about the scrub line related to the middle frame section. I will check that in the shop.

thanks for the feedback, I appreciate the questions. I am counting on you all to help me think through the different things that I am missing.

 

[meteorman]

steering box

I'm sorting out the steering.
I'm hoping to use the original motorhome 1978 Mopar steering box. It's power and heavy duty. I'm working on figuring out how to reverse it.
I think if I drill a 1 1/2 inch hole on the plate and reverse the pitman shaft (?) it should work, but I can't figure out how to keep the shaft from coming out. It had a nut on the end of the shaft coming out the other side, but I don't think it's long enough to poke through the other side. I may have to extend that/weld on a bolt? and attach a similar plate to keep it on the other side.
?
Hope this is making sense.
any ideas on how to get that spring retainer clip (?) off in the last pic?

 

[meteorman]

got one. steering box, that is.

I ended up getting a 1975 Plymouth truck 4x4 steering box out of a wrecking yard with the pitman arm and power steering pump for $100.
It looks identical to the motorhome box I have, but the gears are reverse direction.

 

[earthman]

Good find on the steering box.

 

[GJunktionMike]

Hows thr DT coming along, have not seen pics in a while. [P

 

[Torch]

Does InAugerable mean you shouldn't use a post hole digger for drillin holes in it?

 

[meteorman]

back at it

I'm working on the diamond T again. made some progress over the last few months, it's SLOW, but moving ahead now.
The brakes are nearly done, just need hoses to attach the front brakes to the lines. I just ordered a switch for the brake lights, never thought about it until I'm working on the wiring now.
Starting the wiring now. I am woefully ignorant about wiring. I ordered an electronic distributor, to simplify things a bit in that area. I have the battery in the rear, and the starter relay is also back there. I just bought a box that I can put the fuse box in with some of the other wiring. it closes and will clean up some of the wiring mess.
I ordered a simple key ignition from speedway.
I hope I can figure it all out, I've got 5 different diagrams printed out and I'm trying to teach myself as I go. I am sure I'll have some questions for you all soon.

 

[earthman]

So many builds on here it's hard to keep track but good to see that you are still
moving ahead with this one.I really like the 440 for something out of the ordinary.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Just catching up on this build, I like the front end, definitely enough spring up there!
Are the angle iron pieces there for the grill mount?

 

[meteorman]

grill

dirtyrat,
Yes, the angle iron is for the grill, it'll need to be shortened and cut to fit over the front axle, and I need to hang the radiator on the angle iron too.
I'm planning to add a support from the firewall.
sorry for the poor quality pic. I'll try to get a better one tomorrow.