Contemplating a Bobber! To do or not to do that is the question!

[robson1015]

Four kids and in bankruptcy - the last thing I would spend money on is that project. No disrespect intended but my priorities would be very different.

 

[Section8]

Snowy, thanks for the words of encouragement.
However.
I have a 5.9 litre Cummins with a Getrag 360 (5 speed). Not a 6.2
I do plan some day to get a better tranny more capable of handling the weight and torque this truck produce.
For now though I am probably just going to use the 395 V8 with its tranny, that is in my international 1600 (5 ton) that has a rotten cab on it.
Robson1015
I assure you I have my priorities fully in the right place. My family always comes first. I actually get scolded by my wife and some times my kids for the fact I never take time to do anything for my self. My wife pointed out when M1010plowboy left that that was the first time I had done anything to my truck or related to my truck in almost 2 years.
Everything I have done, which isn't much, has been done with stuff I have either scavenged or saved 2 bucks here or there. I have a grand total of 2000 bucks in my trucks.
1000 bucks for the M135, 500 dollars for the international, and 500 bucks maybe in rust paint and grinding discs.
That's it in 5 years of having the project.
So I assure you! I have my priorities set right where they need to be. My family first, farm, work, lastly me.
I am by no means ripping a strip of of you sir. Just clarifying.
I have actually tried several times to sell them but no one but me seems to like them. LOL.
Also discharged from my bankruptcy as of the first of September. Wahoo! I can buy decent groceries again!!

 

[robson1015]

Good luck with everything - I wish you nothing but the best...

 

[snowyrivers]

Ya just can't fault what ya got going on.

 

[USMC 00-08]

Also discharged from my bankruptcy as of the first of September. Wahoo! I can buy decent groceries again!!

That is great news!! I am glad it's over for you and your family so you guys can get back to enjoying life again.

 

[Section8]

Thank you very much USMC 00-08!
It is a huge load off of one shoulders when dealing with the huge debt we had.
Will be glad to be able to save a little money here and there to get things accomplished on the build.
Slow and stead......

 

[Section8]

Ok. Here is a question to all you metal fabricators and fellas with operational experience with these trucks.
I don't know what their actual designation is but I will take a stab at trying to describe what I am thinking.
Upon opening the doors to the cab on the M135/211 series trucks there is seen some u shaped metal forms in the entry way. I call these the squeeze/ trip gates.
Every time I get in the truck I have to squeeze my legs past them and getting out I always catch my legs/feet and end up falling out more than simply getting out!
My question is this.
Has anyone cut these out or is there any reason to not cut these out?
Aside from maybe having to do a little cab reinforcement is this a major no no?
I await to hear the winds of knowledge.

 

[dilligaf13]

Don't remove them!! They provide much needed can re-enforcement and if you remove them the cab will flex to the point that the doors will not open and close.

 

[Section8]

Ok I figured as much. Thank you Dilligaf13.
Now next question is if a person is going to be doing an extended cab/ crew cab, could they not use some x bracing in the ceiling to account for flex?
I am contemplating building an internal roll cage in mine to act as extra protection plus have a place to rig a proper shoulder/ lap seat belts.
Of course I know the roof line will be changed some but that can't be helped especially with the build I want to do.
I just really hate those gates.

 

[tobyS]

Doesn't your cab have a three way mount, one point at the rear and two at the front? How would you mount the extended part, to the back of the cab and to the frame? That might be where flex becomes an issue. Then you say to mount bars inside the cab and x brace the top...that sounds reasonable.

Do you have fabrication skills, materials and a place to work? I see you have had some rough times and I hope your organizing priorities wisely.

What about extending a cab about 4' with strategic cuts across the width and not try to mate 2 together. Use 4 oem doors and fabricate the part in between and also reinforce, rebuild or replace the floor with a lot of longitudinal strength built in. And retain the rear cab mount, but 4' back. At that point you might as well weld a complete tube cab frame, reinforcing it and make the top rigid, x bracing where you can, including the sides. Take a look at a race care cage. I was thinking it would need to be a cab off build, but building on the frame may make sense too, since interference would be readily apparent and some welds hard to get to. Best would seem to be to tack it together well and take it off for a weld-out, including on it's sides for getting the bottom.

Then make sheet metal panels, perhaps with some diamond plate to get on the top and not dent it in. I want a front overhang that protects the hinge from direct rain. Oh yes, then take out those darn reinforcements that we all trip over.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Jersey took some decent pics on how he solved the mount problem and I'm thinking there are as many ways to do this as there are people. I'd end up doing it with landscape ties, binder twine and PL400 so I'll keep my opinions on the down-low.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?100212-My-M135-Quad-cab

Making something worthy of the MV engineering guru's here on SS, as well as making it safe for the kids, will be a fun challenge. Glad I get to watch because that puts all the pressure on you. If this weather keeps up we'll have another cab off before the new year.

That rear cab mount....soon to maybe be center mount....with the model T style spring just might support and flex enough that you leave it and simply weld the cabs together. Add a cross member for the rear/rear center cab support, set it up on the springs and report back.

Due to flex, It seems logical that a tricycle mount system would be most beneficial. That means the cab floor must support you and 4 big Alberta kids, hovering between the mount points. The floor area would be what??? 40sq. ft. Put 1000 lbs of beef and say, 800lbs of cab on 3 pts., that'll get you about 45 pounds per square foot. If you put a Moose in the cab and he stands on one foot in the middle of the floor, that could be thousands of pounds per Moose foot in the cab so I can't wait to see how you solve this.

Lots of spare metal, sheets, beams, angle iron...stuff that might have some smoke damage/ rust on it but can be hauled down with the cab once you lay down a design...on paper...for input.

 

[Section8]

No I hope the picture load in the proper sequence.
My plan is to use a couple long pieces of channel iron from front to back to stabilize the front and rear cabs. Instead of how others have done it by bolting the front of the rear cab on top of the front cab. This is usually done since the front of the cab has that up swept portion of the floor board.
By using long channels from front to back will lock them more securely. Then x brace the corners and ladder down the length for added strength and keep the cabs from flexing on their own. This will also give me a more solid base to either bolt or weld my internal roll cage.
Also as seen in the pictures Jersey tabbed his rear mount with channel iron. I will do similar. Thus keeping the cab with the ability to have its flex independant of the frame.
The roll cage would have mid cab, between the two cabs, angle supports just like seen in Jerseys build pics of the angle bracing, lending more cab support due to being set higher than qhat looks like 6 inches. I would probably go bum height and angle to
the center.
Then of course mimic that behind the rear seats then of course x brace the roof.
If I can find a way to tie the cabs to the roll cage I may end up cutting out the gates inv the doors.
It would be the first M135/211 with easy accessibility!!!
This is my thoughts.
Yours will either improve this design or negate it all together.

 

[hendersond]

Pic number 1 looks like it is the one I did. I cut he channel on the rear cab too short. Has I left it long and cut the other shorter they would have lined up perfectly. Later I found another channel to cut right. They unbolt. When you take that extra cab off, take the front cab mounts off of the frame and make it a 5 point mount. The only real weak spot is the center post between the doors. It well flex the floor when you have the rear door open. The gusset is nice, but you will need something below the floor running right to left. It does not need to be much. If you are building a hardtop it is a non issue.
If you look at the channel on pic 1 you will see where the center cab mount will go. Easy.
We moved this cab from shop to shop, stood it on end, winched it on trailers, hung it from straps many times. The only real weakness was the center post wanted to lean out when we hung on the doors open. never got around to adding that metal under the floor.

 

[Section8]

Hendersond,
That very well could be your pic you posted of you build.
I have a HUGE collection of pic from the forums! There are so many awesome builds going on or that have been done. I try to collect as many pics for fast reference instead of trying to remember what thread they were in originally.
Even the simplist picture speaks volumes to me, with out digging through the archives to find a post I have a general idea what is being done in each pic.
Thus feeding my brain with plans of OD greatness of my own.
The pic I posted of yours, now that I check my own archives, looks almost identical to how Jersyhicks did his.
I will have to go crawl under my rig and find the exact spot that the channel sweeps upward. I'm pretty sure it's the front most portion of the cab were the peddles would come through the floor. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I wonder if a person could cut the section out all together, making a straight flat channel front to back?
If it wasn't sitting in snow and mud I would go take some measurements and see what's what.
Hendersond I don't recall reading a build thread on your crew cab. I believe you posted about your crewcab in another thread as reference. Did you ever do a build thread on it? I would love to read and re read it!
When you mentioned that the centre section flexed when you had the doors open speaks volumes on reinforcement.
I do plan on the rig being a permanent hard top so hopefully I won't have much central pillar flexing with the doors opening.
Hendersond, you also mention doing a 5 point cab mount set up. I have thought of this but wonder if it will lock the cab down to much and cause fatigue and damage at the mount sites.
I will have to research how the big semi tractors with their oversized sleepers are set up on their mounts.
If I do the under cab sub frame strong enough could I use air bags??? Hmmm?
M1010plowboy, I don't know about putting a twinkle toed MOOSE in the cab but some Alberta brethren, when ya all come out to visit, would be awesome! Then of course my very own platoon ( wife, 4 kids, and myself) need to be safe and not fall through the floor!
My concern about the two cabs flexing seems legit from what Hendersond has said, thus my plans to build a sub frame for the cabs.

 

[hendersond]

Clarification. There is no flex between the cabs. They are rock solid. There is no concern. The front and middle mount are about 4' a part and on rubber mounts. you won't flex that frame enough in 4' to make any difference. It is a non issue. The rear mount is original just moved back I believe 39"???
If you have a hard top you need NO more bracing on the center "b" post. I would say get some 16g sheet and fabricate the back of the cab to match the front curve above the windshield. Cut out for a rear window. Make the panels on the sides the same way. You can cut down the original side panels to get the bends that the weather strip mounts to and weld them behind. Take some 14g diamond plate 3" longer than it needs to be and lay it over the top and weld it on. Diamonds up of course. run a support down the center inside and you can stand on the roof. I'd run 1-1/2" overhand all around because I like the way it looks.
Weld up a low railing around the roof to tie stuff down. Maybe 3/4" pipe about 2-3" high. whatever looks best.
You could drill holes around the overhand every 6" to hang ornaments if that is your thing.

 

[Section8]

Great minds think alike!
That I exactly what ideas thinking to do for the roof line!
I figured the center post s are the weak points in the cab. I will either tie them into the internal roll cage or add some gussets.
Sure sounds like you would like a do over. Didn't you ever finish your build?
Post up some pictures.
How much space did you allow to make your center posts. Did you just butt up the cabs flush and weld a piece of sheet over top? Did you just bolt them together?
I have seen lots of pictures of the bonded together cabs but none of the pre fabbed cab process.
Did you cross brace the cab during fab to keep everything square? Did your doors stay true for opening and closing?
So many questions to ask!!

 

[hendersond]

I stood a couple 2x12s on edge on the garage floor and slid the first cab on it. Measured it up so the center post would be exactly the same with as the front post, cut the back off the front cab with a sawzall. Then unbolted the dash from the rear cab and cut across the floor. Only screw up was my cut on the floor was wavy. I thought I cut it an inch long but was right on. Had a patch welded over, oh well. Rubber mat covers a lot. I stitch welded every inch for an inch. Sometimes 3". It is not coming apart, ever. You can still see the 2x12s in the pic.
Stop worrying about gussets and tying to roll cage and just do it.
I never did the top. Got sidetracked with another project.
I took about 5' of frame from another truck. I planned to stretch it 39" as that is how much the other cab added.
Just measure 39" from the back of the rear cab and draw a line and cut. The whole thing took 2 weeks to think about and 2 hours of cutting and grinding. Welding was honestly 20 minutes.

 

[hendersond]

Back up! Unbolt the 2 channels from underneath when you get them up on the 2x12s and then cut. That is where I went wrong. The rear one needs to be longer. See pic 1. I suppose you could just remove the rear. I would butt weld it to the front one. It would look better.

 

[Section8]

Ok I will try to remeber that.
Oh man I am chomping at the bit to get at this. So many good ideas and advice here.
Just gotta fix my welder now. Pulled the guts it of it in the fall during haying when it sickle mower broke down then our bailer.
Plus gotta get that second cab.
Lots of time to work on other things first. Like getting my Hydro boost master cylinder in place along with the peddles. Air ride seat (think it's air ride? Maybe just spring mount) installed wiring harness squared away from the donor truck.
First things first. Finish my son's bedroom so he has his own place to sleep instead of with his sisters and finish the wife's horse stalls. All of which is getting done with salvaged materials. Except the insulation. That is new thanks to an good friend coming out for a rescue mission that turned out to be a mercy killing. Still hope the tranny works out for you M1010plowboy. If not let me know so I can make amends.

 

[Section8]

Hey!! I'm a General now?!
Didn't think I knew enough for that promotion!!
First platoon fall in!
Riiiight dress!!!
Aaaaattennnnnntion!!
At ease.
Here it is troop! The lower planes of the abyss must have frozen over. The powers that be found it in their infinite wisdom to put me in charge of you sorry bunch of miscreants!! There will be blood there will be pain there will be confusion. We will persevere and over come and complete our objectives. We will build and we will learn we will pass our knowledge on to the new recruits! I will endeavor to lead you as best as I can but remember we are a force of many and others may have their own orders to pass down the chain of command. We will adapt we will overcome!!!
First Platoon, Aaaaateeennntion!!
Dismissed!!
Faaall oout!!

Yeaaaa. That's why I never made it past Master Corporal in Army Cadets! Bwaahahaaa!!
Ground pounders all the way!!