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Flipper_1938

He recycles the right way
Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Messages
2,993
Location
Kentucky
"I wanna drive the firetruck"

Finally getting around to building a hotrod firetruck. Plans are to combine a 1950 Searave with a cheap class A motorhome. The drivetrain will be a Cummins 8.3, Allison 6 speed automatic and Rockwell rear axle from the RV...and the disc brake front axle.

It is going to take a lot of cutting to get the bottom of the grill close to the ground.

Basic plan is a land yacht. A big roadster that seats 10. ...a pontoon boat for the highway.
 

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The RV front axle has quite a bit of drop to it. It looks to be about 9 inches from mounting plate. It is way more than the stock firetruck. My guess is that I will need to z the frame and do 4 links with airbags to sit right. The motorhome will provide the frame material.
 

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To get it low, I think I am going to have to raise the fenders and running boards (and section the panel above the running boards). ...and probably require building a new frame.

If I keep the body mostly stock and build a tall-ish front bumper, the lowering won't be as severe and the build should be able to be done in a fraction of the time.

Thoughts? Is having a running, driving, Cummins powered, mildly lowered, roadster firetruck enough?
 
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This big Rockwell rear axle has 5.13 gears! That tall gear combined with the low rpm range of the diesel means that I need to run huge back tires to cruise at 80 on the highway. A 11R24.5 is 43.8" tall. That tire and 6th gear in the Allison should put me at around 2,000 rpm.

Back when I was messing with the purple and yellow firetruck, I had 255/70r22.5 front tires. Those are around 36" tall.

That should give me a cool rake if I can get it sitting right.
 
I talked to dad some last night and I think we are going to go the mildly lowered route.

These trucks are pretty stylish from the factory and Dad isn't sure I can improve it by sectioning the truck. I think he may be right.

We are still going to go with big and littles for the wheels and tires. ...and removing some leaves from the spring packs.

Not 100% sure if I am going to shave off the fire fighting bits and just smooth everything over. Restoring those bits could probably get expensive.
 
4" of rubber rake, wow, that will be a lot. With all that rake, the new front axle, and a bunch of springs removed for ride and height, I think you'll end up with a nice mildly lowered stance.
 

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