Project Frankensquare

DieselSlug · Nov 28, 2022

J_dude said:
This must be a result of the leaky oily diesel power plant eh? I like to refer to my oil leaks as “rust prevention”, makes me feel better about not fixing them.

In the rust belt there is nothing wrong with that mentality as long as your checking fluids regularly. I operate under the same addage!

n8in8or · Nov 29, 2022

J_dude said:
This must be a result of the leaky oily diesel power plant eh? I like to refer to my oil leaks as “rust prevention”, makes me feel better about not fixing them.

Yup, I'd say that's definitely a contributing factor.

Husker6.5 · Nov 30, 2022

And now for the question everyone is thinking, but I'll ask. Ok, Nate, where'd you move the skid steer to to make more room in the shop for all the other stuff?

n8in8or · Dec 1, 2022

n8in8or · Dec 11, 2022

Today I took advantage of a break in the weather and pulled the truck into the barn. Only thing I did once I got it in was pop the diff cover off so I could check the gears - it has 4.10 gears, I was hoping for 4.56 so it would match the Dana 60’s gears, but no dice. So now I either need a thick 4.56 set or a standard 4.56 set and a carrier. That’s a while down the road though, this week I’ll start tearing it down and assessing the condition of the cab.

n8in8or · Dec 13, 2022

I’ve had to do a little rearranging of things in the barn so I can store the parts for this project more effectively, so my progress isn’t as good as I would like, but still not terrible. So far I have the front clip off and some parts off of the firewall. I also got the 700R4 and NP208 pulled that came with it. Last thing I did today was remove the doors, which will make it easier to remove all the parts for this project that I’ve been storing in the cab.

Husker6.5 · Dec 13, 2022

Jeez, Nate, that cab looks like the interior of a unit off of Storage Wars!

n8in8or · Dec 13, 2022

I showed the pics to a friend of mine and he said it was like a squirrel hoarding nuts!

Husker6.5 · Dec 13, 2022

Nah. No self respecting squirrel would ever be caught with a hoard like that. Definitely one of those Storage Wars lockers that was bought for $500 and values out at $20!

Husker6.5 · Dec 14, 2022

I have a better idea, Nate. Call Danielle and see if Mike and Frank from American Pickers can come over and go through that cab, and then your buildings. Who knows what treasures they might uncover, they might even find a skidsteer!

MrMarty51 · Dec 14, 2022

n8in8or said:
One of the steps I needed to take to get ready for this project was some rearranging in the barn. I’d have more workspace if I would get some projects finished, but that’s not how I roll, so here’s where I am. The space actually worked out exactly as I planned and I ended up with 2 work stalls open instead of just 1, so that’s a big win.

View attachment 77754 View attachment 77755 View attachment 77756 View attachment 77757 View attachment 77758 View attachment 77760

First up was parting out the 92 K3500 I got a couple years ago. It was in my way for digging the squarebody out of it’s current storage spot and this thing is always in my way, so I decided that if I took it apart it would be easier/more efficient to store, so I brought it in to disassemble. The frame is junk on this truck, so that’s why it’s coming apart. Unfortunately, this one has 3.73 gears, so that’s another 4.56 gear candidate that didn’t pan out.

View attachment 77759

Is that 3:73 gearing four wheel drive front and rear differential ? I’d love to have a set of 3:73s for My K3500.

n8in8or · Dec 15, 2022

MrMarty51 said:
Is that 3:73 gearing four wheel drive front and rear differential ? I’d love to have a set of 3:73s for My K3500.

It is, but I'm planning on hanging on to them for future projects.

n8in8or · Dec 17, 2022

I got the cab emptied and stripped. It’s a bit rusty, to say the least. Somebody else already did a rocker and cab corner job on it……badly. I can get all the panels to fix this, but I’ll first look to see if there’s a better cab to start with since this is so bad and already molested.

n8in8or · Dec 17, 2022

I couldn’t post the last 2 pics.

Will L. · Dec 17, 2022

Those aren’t rust holes, they are dope dumping hole around here.

Husker6.5 · Dec 17, 2022

Did you know (or suspect) any of this before hauling it home, or was this just a frame/running gear donor to the Franken project only from the git-go?

n8in8or · Dec 17, 2022

Husker6.5 said:
Did you know (or suspect) any of this before hauling it home, or was this just a frame/running gear donor to the Franken project only from the git-go?

This was free, so no matter what I found I was money ahead.

MrMarty51 · Dec 18, 2022

I’ll have to do some snooping in my shed. I might have a few SB parts hanging out over there.
Might be some door hinges and I know knott whut all until I get in there and get to digging.
If there is I’ll send what I have over to You.
I no longer have a SB truck so no need in hanging onto this stuff.

n8in8or · Dec 18, 2022

MrMarty51 said:
I’ll have to do some snooping in my shed. I might have a few SB parts hanging out over there.
Might be some door hinges and I know knott whut all until I get in there and get to digging.
If there is I’ll send what I have over to You.
I no longer have a SB truck so no need in hanging onto this stuff.

Thank you! That is very generous!

n8in8or · Dec 18, 2022

I think I’m going to step away from the cab for a minute and let a plan for what I want to do develop/marinate, and/or see if something presents itself. Before I rolled it out so I could start frame stuff I decided to test fit the tires. These are 315/75/16 tires. The minimum recommended rim width for them is 8”. These dually wheels have a rim width of 6”. I’ve read of numerous people running this exact combo and being fine, even towing….and since everything on the internet is true, I should be fine, but…..

I’m just not sure what I want to do though. I have been working on a plan to widen my wheels that I know will work, but it will be a lot of work to do that. And if I widen them, which direction should I go? Or should I go both ways? There are advantages to all options. Regardless of which option I choose I will need spacers in between the rear wheels, but the actual thickness of it will depend on what I do with the wheels.

With the way this is mocked up, if I stay with 6” rims, I will need about a .5” spacer behind the inner dual since it’s solidly on the spring right now (this is a cab and chassis axle so it’s narrower) and this represents a 2.75” spacer in between using the 2x4s to space for mockup. I could probably get away with 2.5” since there’s 1.5” between the tires right now due to my 2x4 mockup spacers.

I can make a dually wheel with a 7.5” wide rim with just one seam using a combo of single and dual wheels, which I think is close enough to the 8” to be ok. If I add that to the convex side, that should get me far enough away from the spring that I then won’t need an inner spacer (I’m figuring the sidewall will move half of the additional rim width, so .75”), but then I’m going to need 4” of spacer in between the wheels (2.5 + .75 + .75).

If I add the 1.5” to the to the concave side, I’ll need probably 1.25” spacer behind the inner dual and then about 1” between the duals (2.5 - .75 - .75). I hadn’t done the math until now….those thinner spacers sound better than the 4” spacer.

Or if I make a wheel that has an 8” wide rim with 1” added to the concave side and 1” added to the convex side, I think I will need the same spacers as the 6” combo. One advantage to this combo is that my scrub radius in the front will be the same as stock.

So I have a few routes I can go. The easiest is to keep the 6” wheel width and bolt on the necessary spacers. If nothing else, I could start this way since I’ll just be using the truck for trips up and down the road to move dirt and if I find issues then I can change the wheel situation later.

I also test fit in the front just to see. Right now it hits the pitman at full lock, but in reality that won’t happen when I’m done - 1. I’m going to have crossover steering instead of the stock push-pull situation, so it won’t be in that same spot and 2. I’m going to have 8” lift springs in the front so the center of the tire will be much lower.

Does anyone have real world experience with wide tires on narrow rims to share?