'56 S-120 4x4 Build

[guidolyons]

Interesting way to widen the frame. I assume you are going to plate it top and bottom, then cut part of the original frame away? Are you going to fish mouth the ends of the new frame rail?

[Azzy2000]

Originally Posted by guidolyons

Interesting way to widen the frame. I assume you are going to plate it top and bottom, then cut part of the original frame away? Are you going to fish mouth the ends of the new frame rail?

Yes. Plate top and bottom, cut away about 1 3/8" width of the original inner frame rail and then also box it with 3/16". I don't plan on fish mouthing the outers.

[Azzy2000]

I didnt get nearly as far along on this as I wanted to before I leave town again.. only spent a few hours on it the whole weekend.

I got the dr. side outer rail bent and tacked in place and cut out the 2 upper filler pieces. Got one of them formed and fit into place this evening. The fillers are a pain in the ass to fit.. each one needs 6 bends to conform to the factory frame rail profile.





I need to start looking into engine mounts. The cummins type mounts look really sturdy, I might give them a shot for the rear engine mounts. Not sure what to do for the front engine mount.

[K-TRON]

I do not visit pirate 4x4 much, but I noticed your thread when I typed in Detroit Diesel.
I have a 6v53Turbo diesel, and I was wondering if you ever got your engine running?
I saw the pictures which you posted, and they had me worried. I had very minor surface rust on the two cylinder heads on my engine. When I removed them upon inspection, I found that one of the heads was cracked, and the other was badly pitted down through the valve seats. If the injectors are installed improperly, you can scarr the injector seats, which can allow coolant to get in and cause all sorts of damage. I bought 2 new heads for my engine, after replacing the geartrain, exhaust manifolds, oil pan, fuel filter assemblies, and the connecting rod/main bearings. Ive got over $2,000 into fixing my 320horse 6v53T up, and I hope it gets running soon.
If you havent started your engine yet, I would advise checking it inside and out for any problems. Detroits are heavy animals, you dont want to be removing the 136lb cylinder heads when the engine is located in such a tight area. I have been told that the biggest killer of the V53 is the fuel pump coupler. Go ahead and replace it. It costs $5. If the coupler goes bad, it will fall into the crankcase and destroy the entire geartrain. A complete crankcase gear set is $820 for these engines. I just replaced them on mine. If you have a Series 53 manual, and you are careful and sure you are working on it properly, you will get a lifetime of reliable power out of these engines. Hopefully by the summer when college lets out, I will have mine running. Then it is on to swapping it into a Ford F550

Good luck with your project,

Chris

[just4cuz]

Just read about the oil rig fire off the Louisiana coast. Hope your OK buddy.

[rugburn]

Ditto on the safety out there on the rig..

john

[Azzy2000]

Originally Posted by just4cuz

Just read about the oil rig fire off the Louisiana coast. Hope your OK buddy.

Originally Posted by rugburn

Ditto on the safety out there on the rig..

john

Thanks guys. I'm doing fine. Our rig was approx 100 miles West of the Deepwater Horizons location. It is sad to see it happen, and I feel terrible for the men that were lost and their families. That could have just as easily been our rig. We've done the same operations they were doing many times.

Andrew

[just4cuz]

Glad to hear your OK. Sorry about the other guys, it is always hard when things go bad and you lose folks. You can only hope they did not suffer much.

[rugburn]

Prayers off to the families of the lost platform workers

glad to hear you are safe man

[larboc@hotmail.com]

updates? Thanks again for the unicef hubs and parts!

[Azzy2000]

Nothing new just yet, but I will have some time to work on the truck from fri-mon.. looking forward to making good progress.

I'm glad you can make use of the parts Paul.. I hate to see the old stuff go to waste. It made me a little sick scrapping the old engine and front axle.. but noone wants the stuff and I cant keep it in the shop. The original rear axle is going to be saved and used as a tool in the shop.. I'll post it up here when I'm done.. I think it will be pretty cool.

I found a '56 hood in good condition for sale... not sure if I want to pay almost $300 for a straight one or just try and fix the original one. That is a big dent to take out and still maintain original dimensions so that it fits half ass good when I'm finished.

Update coming this weekend

[mountainguyed67]

Only noticed your thread recently.
I have A 1964 IH C1300 with the stock D70 front that I heavily modified.It has ARB. and 1.5" 35 spline chromolly axles.I put about $3500 into doing it,including spares.Go to the Norcal Scouts Rubicon run thread to see pictures..

[TxJake]

Originally Posted by Azzy2000

Nothing new just yet, but I will have some time to work on the truck from fri-mon.. looking forward to making good progress.

I'm glad you can make use of the parts Paul.. I hate to see the old stuff go to waste. It made me a little sick scrapping the old engine and front axle.. but noone wants the stuff and I cant keep it in the shop. The original rear axle is going to be saved and used as a tool in the shop.. I'll post it up here when I'm done.. I think it will be pretty cool.

I found a '56 hood in good condition for sale... not sure if I want to pay almost $300 for a straight one or just try and fix the original one. That is a big dent to take out and still maintain original dimensions so that it fits half ass good when I'm finished.

Update coming this weekend

As a former resident of Lake Charles, its great to see LA represented so well. Have you looked out on oldihc.org for sheetmetal? Seems like a roof panel could be had to r&r yours. I'll look up here in OKC, but I mostly see L models. Also, check with Ricky Bordelon at Light Line of LA in Baton Rouge, they are the kings of all things in light IHC trucks.

Great fab skills, this will be a cool truck. I have been looking for one like what you started out with for years, or a Travelall from a similar year, but they are few and far between.

[Azzy2000]

Originally Posted by TxJake

As a former resident of Lake Charles, its great to see LA represented so well. Have you looked out on oldihc.org for sheetmetal? Seems like a roof panel could be had to r&r yours. I'll look up here in OKC, but I mostly see L models. Also, check with Ricky Bordelon at Light Line of LA in Baton Rouge, they are the kings of all things in light IHC trucks.

Great fab skills, this will be a cool truck. I have been looking for one like what you started out with for years, or a Travelall from a similar year, but they are few and far between.

I'm actually from Spring Texas near Houston.. but I have spent a lot of time in LA for work. Our rig is currently stacked in shallow water south of Cameron right now. Thanks for the kind words and the contacts for parts.. I will give them a call and see if they have anything.

I will actually be moving up to OKC in the near future.. NW side just in Yukon.

[TxJake]

Originally Posted by Azzy2000

I'm actually from Spring Texas near Houston.. but I have spent a lot of time in LA for work. Our rig is currently stacked in shallow water south of Cameron right now. Thanks for the kind words and the contacts for parts.. I will give them a call and see if they have anything.

I will actually be moving up to OKC in the near future.. NW side just in Yukon.

you might like OKC, the livings good and there are deals on houses here. Not a lot of wheeling, but you are sorta between Clayton and Disney, relatively speaking. Hit me up when you get out this way, and I,ll buy you a beer.

[Azzy2000]

Originally Posted by TxJake

you might like OKC, the livings good and there are deals on houses here. Not a lot of wheeling, but you are sorta between Clayton and Disney, relatively speaking. Hit me up when you get out this way, and I,ll buy you a beer.

I like OKC so far.. but havent spent a whole lot of time there. I'll give you a shout when i get up there.. thanks!

[gbkeith]

Just read the thread. Any updates?

[larboc@hotmail.com]

Which weekend?

Originally Posted by Azzy2000

Nothing new just yet, but I will have some time to work on the truck from fri-mon.. looking forward to making good progress.

I'm glad you can make use of the parts Paul.. I hate to see the old stuff go to waste. It made me a little sick scrapping the old engine and front axle.. but noone wants the stuff and I cant keep it in the shop. The original rear axle is going to be saved and used as a tool in the shop.. I'll post it up here when I'm done.. I think it will be pretty cool.

I found a '56 hood in good condition for sale... not sure if I want to pay almost $300 for a straight one or just try and fix the original one. That is a big dent to take out and still maintain original dimensions so that it fits half ass good when I'm finished.

Update coming this weekend

[Azzy2000]

Sorry guys, nothing new. Got side tracked dealing with some other issues and have been working on painting the whole shop and moving some of the machines around. Hoping to get back on this soon.

I decided I'm going to re-design my front frame rails though. I picked up some 2"x5" rect. tube to make the new rails out of. It will take less time, less welding and will end up stronger than the way I was going to do it.

[FatSmitty]

Updates?

[Azzy2000]

Originally Posted by FatSmitty

Updates?

The old shop is no more.. I moved the truck back to my house temporarily. I moved up to Oklahoma and just rented an 1,800 sq/ft shop space here. I'll be moving the truck and all of my tools up here later this week.

I should be able to make some progress on this in the next 6 weeks.

[FatSmitty]

Cool-this truck is so sick-I really like the colors. I dig old iron, especially IHC. Do you work off-shore? My brother works off-shore, he just went from Trans-Ocean to Sealand(?) last hitch, he's a crane operator and he works deep-water overseas-I think near Nigeria. Good luck with the new shop and can't waite for more on this build. Laterz, Nevada

[Azzy2000]

Originally Posted by FatSmitty

Cool-this truck is so sick-I really like the colors. I dig old iron, especially IHC. Do you work off-shore? My brother works off-shore, he just went from Trans-Ocean to Sealand(?) last hitch, he's a crane operator and he works deep-water overseas-I think near Nigeria. Good luck with the new shop and can't waite for more on this build. Laterz, Nevada

I work as a derrickhand on a floater drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Thanks for the compliments.

[Harold Phipps]

Gotta be a bummer losing your shop down south!
Good luck where you are now!
Anxious to see where you take this project!

[just4cuz]

Been some time! Will be good to see this build come together. What ever happened to your fender ornament? Was she a keeper?