a108 to L-600?

[69.5CUDA]

ok guys heres me running wild with an idea...any insights ideas etc will be noted

first off im sitting on an A-108 pretty much rust free save for a few tiny areas easily repaired.....round here you cant give one of these things away..its a windowless version save for the side and rear doors....8 3/4 360 esscentialy stock save for the 360 and headers....was fun to drive but a pig on gas and well its not really what we need ..and its been sitting for wow..6 year or more?..fishy would probably know better than me how long its been since i drove it last

anyway ..coming into my possesion is a PAIR of 440 powered old dodge motor homes..1 is a ambasador II 27? footer the other is a van faced lighter duty 22 footer?..i think the ambassador is longer than that tho.....both run i assume(if they dont it wont take much judgeing by the care that was done to them)

soo what im thinking is cut the a-108 up into a somewhat "extended" l-600 CAR HAULER,,anyone got any input or ideas......projects NOT set in stone yet but i think for the upcoming buisness stuff it would make a VERY profesional looking hauler...note the vans pictured was something i just grabbed off the net and ms-painted into what i thought i could do....cab would likly be a flip forward for the l-600 sake of making things easy to work on

im still not sold on the "extended cab" idea and may go with a more traditional looking L-600 cab fabbed from the a-108

 

[71dusterman]

Cool idea, but would the single axle be enough to carry a vehicle on top? :huh:

 

[69.5CUDA]

i would be using the "big" motorhome frame and rear axle and the little motorhomes front suspension...sooo BIGASS dually rearend and the 1 ton disk brake van front suspension....sooo i dont see an issue with weight...run the low profile 16inch "truck" tires on it to keep it as low as possible..admitedly there not really low profile but there smaller than a normal 16inch truck tire..ther more like a standard 15inch pickup truck tire in size

 

[Dr.Jass]

While I essentially like the idea, and even have some cool ideas to add to it, I see one monumental obstacle: To use it as a car hauler, you're gonna need to use the M-chassis axles as the normal-van-based stuff won't be heavy enough. That's going to require some big rubber in the front... as in, the M's dually wheels. The wheelwell/door rework is going to take major effort and require a lot of room. Being that they're right under the front seats, that's going to be costly in terms of seating space. Of course, you could probably move the axle backwards (or the cab forward) several inches and rework the metal to approximate the original shape, but it's still an awful lot of effort.

If the motorhome has split rims, spend whatever money it takes to get rid of 'em. You can buy a new wheel for what it costs to change a split-rim tire around these parts; to my knowledge the only place that will do it is over 100 miles away and charges huge bucks to do it.

If you can work the build, figure out a way to put a Cummins into it--you'd be the swankiest car haulin' mofo ever. :dance:

 

[69.5CUDA]

you dont think the HD motor home 22+ footer IFS would be up to it eh doc?....i wondered..i hoped...since i know brakes would be easyer to get and its narrower etc etc etc....im sure you see where i was going with the idea..since it is a HD front end...i just wasnt sure how HD it is 8 lug with new rubber even on its duals

the 27+ footer IS an M chassis..its a nast big huge thing with a massive I beam with discs up front and huge dualys in the rear with the biggest rear ive seen in quite a while....also sitting on new tires and "normal" HD wheels no split rims in sight..i know how nasty those are,.....in fact i own 6 of them and ther holding air and still on axles(1947 ford 1 1/2 ton).....440 looks clean headers msd 5 with blaster coil new exhaust

i know what your saing about the massage work..i paid close attention to the only L-600 ive ever seen in person so i know what the factory did to make it work..its mostly trimming fender flairs and a slight push of the cab up and forward...i think i can avert some of that with modern smaller HD tires used like on lowboy trailers and such

seriously if you have some extra input im all for it....this is no rush job its a project in the wings slated for probably next summer or so

hmm sell the pair of 440's and get a cummins turbo D ..yeah i like that idea....ALOT!!!

 

[Dr.Jass]

Well, I guess the first thing I'd do would be weigh the 22' motorhome. Hell, if it weighs 14,000lbs then I'm sure you'd be OK with it. But that's not really likely, and you have to remember that no matter how much the thing weighs, removing the camper part of it needs to take off similar or more weight than adding a flatbed/tiltbed, plus the weight of the heaviest thing you're ever gonna haul will put on the suspension and brakes. The cabs likely have similar weight, so if removing the camper part takes off 4,000lbs that doesn't leave you with a lot of leeway. A tiltbed is going to put close to half a ton on there. Is everything you're going to haul going to way 3,000lbs or less? Your customer might find a '67 W350 crew-cab longbed that moistens his knickers, and you'd be outta luck.

I think you'd be better off using the M-chassis as a basis. Those things were overbuilt to hell and back, and though the look may suffer, I think long-term durability/reliability would be the reward. Brakes and chassis parts will cost more, but if they last 3 times as long, well, you've found your value in the long run.

Additional ideas? Oh, yeah... just looking at your initial pic inspired me. Thoughts of cool add-ons instantly sprang to mind. More work? Absolutely. Worth it? To my mind, on a project like this--without a doubt. However, one other thing that popped into my head--the A-108 is fairly narrow. Would you be widening the cab, or building some kind of fairing out to the lower bodywork of the flatbed? To me, that lower bodywork is key to the look; I know you're not afraid to widen/narrow/shorten/lengthen a body where you see fit... do you have a plan there?

 

[69.5CUDA]

doc i hadnt put to much thought on the width..personaly im probably more inclined to widen the whole body..vs to the stock l-600 flare BS they did.....and as the pic shows i was FULLY planning on maintaining the body roll and line from nose ot tail with a bed on it...probably not a tilter..not sure it may just be a lowboy flatbed with some 300 foot ramps(we already own them).......this cuts the weight down of the rig itself CONSIDERABLY,,,,but means no dragging hulks of trash onto the rig..however we have a good 22 foot low boy tilt trailer for those kind of things. .........this would be more of a delivery rig and or picking up cars that atleast roll...sure id KILL for a tilt and roll deck but those are not light and im not sure if i could get the deck as low on it as my mind says it needs to be

hmm wide body the whole thing and not taper out to the bed...hmmmm..ya know i think i really like that...probably would have come up with that when i got to that stage..thankfully even the windshields are flat glass sooo cake walk on a widening...and means not having to be smashed against to doors when driving(if you havnt driven one you dont understand) not to mention the posibility of better east mounting more seat to engine space etc etc etc

if you got any more ideas doc..spill em...i have a hunch were on the same page

ill definatly get that 22 footer on a scale just to check..since well..an IFS front end is certainly going to have a smoother ride over that king pinned Ibear..not to mention be less likely to wander the road.....course i could pretty easily air bag that i beam...mmmm

 

[Dr.Jass]

I totally agree... with the shape of the body, maintaining the full width for the the entire length of the truck is crucial for the look, and the "how the fuck?!" factor will be staggering with the Mopar faithful, whether at a show or on a delivery. I say do what it takes, and with the relatively-flat front and the flat glass, I don't think it'd be that tough for you. You can section where it's not only convenient, but where it optimizes space.

When I have a little more time, I'll post a few ideas... you'll really want to build this thing by the time I'm done with ya. Like you need another large-scale project... :doh:

 

[69.5CUDA]

ive been given the full rights to buukd this thing and well..let me say that "cost" wont exactly be an isssue...i wont be shoestringing it...it will be mine but it will be part of the "buisness" ..so its subject to being rather well funded...and parts like a cummins turbo D would be in the budget...yeah if im going big D i want BOOST!!!!!

hmm lets see..2 cuts down the face are required..treat it as if i was going to take 18 inches out of it but after cutting add proably im guessing 4-6 inches per side ..if i cut at the 9 inches out off the centerline of the rig it will give me a clean cut down the grill a clean cut cleaing the engine tunnel and a clean spot in the window line..all in all the best areas to fix for widening...wondering if the grill will look right "stretched" or if i need to take 2 grills and cut them both down a bit for a double bared grill IE 1 bar at each cut line instead of a single bar down the middle..hard to say without having a cut rig in front of me

your right i dont need another "big" project but it wont be long term by no means....sure funds for the first 6 months coming may be thin...but theres a list of projects(not mine) allready laid out in front of me ontop of initial no car work required..by the end of summer ill be moved into a 30x60 or 60x60 shop with a set of my own keys and codes....sooo yeah....and my lloyd is one of the projects on the slate to be finished for the buisness as a show piece of "this iw what we can do"

you want "large scale"..ill be building a 4dr duramax powered 49-54 chevy 4x4 long box.....but thats on the down low right now