bobbed and lifted deuce

[DanielP]

It is my truck. It is a simple bob job. It has Goodyear 14.00R20s with standard suspension. No rubbing, but it does get kind of close to the exhaust at full turn, but I've never experienced any rubbing.

Thanks for the reply. Looks like a great setup!

 

[MajesticSyntax]

Ouch if you put a rock through the sidewall. Full floaters like that is what we run on the concrete mixers and I have ruptured several on cinderblocks and rebar that is always laying around on job sites. The first company I drove for charged the customer for the tire every time one got popped. They only cost about $750.00 each 3-4 years ago, but are over $1000.00 around here now.

These are the military Goodyears, they have sidewalls that are at least an inch thick, but sidewalls are always a vulnerable part of the tire, but with the weight of a bobbed deuce, I don't think it'd be a big issue. I'd be more worried knocking the tire off the bead before puncturing the sidewall. And as for price, when I picked mine up they were about 150 bucks a piece, and that was about 6-8 months ago.

 

[nhdiesel]

Okay, I'm new here and I haven't bought my deuce but intend to soon. I have a few questions:

How does it drive in comparison to when it was stock?
Any bumpsteer?
How does the power compare to before?
What about your comfortable top speed?
If you don't mind, how much did the power steering setup cost you?
Did you have to do any drilling/cutting/welding to get the power steering on?

Thanks,

John

I think you were asking the OP, but since there was no reply yet I'll share my opinions. A bobbed Deuce steers much better than stock. Getting rid of the rearmost axle lets it turn much easier and tighter. If you move from NDTs to radials, combined with a bob, steering effort is also reduced.

The suspension is the same, so no bumpsteer.

Power can feel a bit better. You have less weight and one less axle and tires to power.

Top speed will only improve by use of the larger tires, easy enough to figure out using a calculator if you know the diameters of the various tires. For example, if you increase tire diameter by 10%, you can change a comfortable cruising speed from 50 to 55mph (just made-up numbers as an example).

I haven't actually driven a bobbed Deuce, but my father has built a couple and I went by his opinions. I'm up in the air about whether to bob a Deuce when I get one. I like the smaller size, easier to maneuver, easier to use as more of a local daily driver. But I like the capacity (weight and room) of a stock length Deuce, and I like the original tough looks.

Maybe I just need 2 of them.

Jim

 

[SasquatchSanta]

I appreciate your honesty and from the outside looking in I can understand why it would appear that way, I too like to modify my truck and was roasted in the modding forum and did not visit the forum for a long time because I was so irritated and just relived my moment through this thread, sorry for the hijack.

I hear what you are saying eldgenb. There are a few members that evidently think it is their patriotic duty inject their unsolicited opinions about how they don't approve of the "sins" of bobbing/modifying a deuce.

Sharing opinions is what forums like SS is all about but it's beyond me how some members feel justified in injecting their unsolicited comments on the modding forum about how they disapprove of bobbing a deuce especially when their comments don't have anything to do with the subjet matter of the thread.

If someone had posted a thread asking opinions of bobbing & modifying a deuce then the opinions against bobbing would be justified but when someone is simply sharing their latest project the sniping and forced opinion sharing from certain elements of the purist grandstands is not only rude but also condescending and boring.

The sad thing about this situation is that is't happened so often that sensitivities are running thin. What normally would be passed off has become a raw edge.

Imagine how it would be received on SS if a few members saw fit to chime in on the non-modding deuce forum with unsolicited, off-topic comments saying they don't feel that any military truck should be restored unless it is for a museum and that no civilian should be allowed to drive a military vehicle? I'll bet it wouldn't take very long before other members were telling them to keep their unsolicited, off-topic opinions to themselves.

 

[mudguppy]

 

[joshuaz223]

I like the looks and like the truck, but one problem I haven't seen mentioned- I believe DOT does NOT allow these frames to be welded to. Thats why the original parts are bolted or riveted on. Keep in mind you aren't working on a regular pickup. I'm not sure what the properties of a Deuce's frame is, but its worth checking on before ruining a good truck. If I were to do that here, I'd be left with an off road only truck, or a pile of scrap metal.

Jim

i have worked in a few places that installed bodies on trucks and modified trucks for various reasons. every place i worked we would get that statement at least once a month. there are two reasons to bolt or rivet things on a frame. 1. to aid in replacement 2. to spread the load where the part attach's so as to better avoid cracks from flex. you could achieve #2 by plug welding the bolt holes but that would be very time consuming and requires a lot more welding skill. it also takes #1 further out of the equation. if you look almost all frames have things welded to them. brackets, cross braces, cab mounts things not normally replaced. i have seen a few frames 2 on cranes and 1 on a piece of fire fighting equipment that were made out of high carbon steel that was clearly marked that no welding was to be done on it. there were even requirements for drilled holes and chamfers. but this is rare

 

[JTaylor11]

smw2402.....Do you have any measurement for the width and wheelbase. Im going to bob a deuce and Im looking to buy a trailer before I get one and want to beable to haul it around.

 

[tm america]

i like all the fab work looks great but welding to a tempered frame is a bad idea at its your truck do what you want but when your frame breaks and kills someones kid on the school bus you ram into dont say i didnt tell you .i just cant see doing all that work only to short cut drilling a few holes and in turn ruin the strength of the frame .guess it would be like building a mansion right on the ground cuz you didnt feel like putting in a foundationguys please do your reseach before starting a job like this

 

[salafrae]

that is one mean looking machine!

 

[USMC6062]

i like all the fab work looks great but welding to a tempered frame is a bad idea at its your truck do what you want but when your frame breaks and kills someones kid on the school bus you ram into dont say i didnt tell you .i just cant see doing all that work only to short cut drilling a few holes and in turn ruin the strength of the frame .guess it would be like building a mansion right on the ground cuz you didnt feel like putting in a foundationguys please do your reseach before starting a job like this

If you think it's such a bad idea to weld to a deuce frame (not heat treated), you might want to read this first before you say anything. The 5 ton frames are heat treated and even they have a procedure to be welded on.

TB-9-2300-247-40 Tactical Wheeled Vehicles: Repair of Frames Manual

 

[SuperiorRam]

I am a certified welder and preheating isn't just preheating in the real world a maintained heat is also needed while welding overheating is also a bad thing and 5500* is kinda hot to work around now isn't it I'd just drill some holes

 

[Billy Bobbed]

Nice truck

 

[USMC6062]

That's only on 5 ton frames, because they are heat treated. I went and looked at it again, and all the pre heating procedures are under SECTION IV. WELDING OF 5-TON VEHICLE FRAMES. If you look at 2.5 ton welding repairs, it calls for 7018 rods. I doubt I would get into all the procedures for welding on a 5 ton frame, but the truck in this post is a 2.5 ton, and people are all worried that he welded something to the frame.

 

[USMC6062]

It just dawned on me, that the preheat temp is a typo. For starters steel melts around 2500*, and it states a few paragraphs later about maintaining proper temperature, and if the surrounding areas reach 750* stop and allow for controlled cooling. I'm willing to bet that the preheat temp is supposed to be 450-550 degrees.

 

[tm america]

well since this is a deuce not a five ton i will stick to bolting or riveting on my frame since as far as i know deuces are tempered steel and that is why they are not welded on from the factory and why they is no mention of it in any tm .ok you can weld a car frame or a go-cart frame but this post is about a deuce so please show us the tm before telling someone its ok weld on a tempered frame

 

[Billy Bobbed]

 

[USMC6062]

I guess you didn't see this on the previous page.

TB-9-2300-247-40 Tactical Wheeled Vehicles: Repair of Frames Manual

 

[qwhisky]

love the truck man..

What kind of gas mileage does it get?

 

[Unforgiven]

I guess you didn't see this on the previous page.

TB-9-2300-247-40 Tactical Wheeled Vehicles: Repair of Frames Manual

It appears you are correct. The 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 tons "can" be welded if necessary. The CUCV & 5 ton are the heat-treated frames that require special welding considerations.

If nobody thanked you yet, THANKS. I've been trying to find out if the Deuce frame is weldable for months. What would be the MIG equivalent of a 7018 rod? Would just a mild steel wire work?

I have a prefabricated dump hinge that I want to weld to the rear of the frame. That's why I was curious.

 

[USMC6062]

Yes ER70S-6 (regular Mig wire) would be the equivalent to a 7018 stick welding rod. I even bought the TM (Welding Theory and Operation) that the above link references, and I couldn't find any reason a deuce frame can't be welded on.