Well I guess I will start up an official build thread, even if it's just to specifically start grabbing parts right now. We are going to work on building a family crawler to enjoy wheeling with our two boys, with plenty of room to grow into. We figured the bronco wouldn't be a comfortable back seat and the more uncomfortable it is, the more grumbling we will be in for as the boys get bigger. Might as well get ahead of the curve now right? Ultimate plan is going to be a Bullnose-OBS generation F250/350 crew cab. Currently planning on 05+ super duty axles with radius arm front and a shackle flip in the rear. Rear axle slid forward to behind the cab, front end converted over to the bullnose era front. No bed, simple storage tray for tools/gear. Frame chopped to just behind the suspension. 351W/E4OD/BW1356(for now). Somewhere between a 38-40" tire depending on what is around when we get to that point. As low as possible within reason considering it will be roughly 138" wheelbase (roughly the wheelbase and length of a gladiator with more interior room). Going today to get a donor F250 with a running 351W/E4OD/BW1356. Also has all of the parts to retain AC on the truck as well as a complete wiring harness if needed to swap dashes from a diesel to gasser. Next week I am hoping to go take a look at an F350 that could be a donor for the body and chassis. Plans for suspension and axles may change as the truck is built, this will most likely be slow build as I have until our youngest is into the wheeling age to build it. Will start with making sure the donor is running properly before the swap so it isn't just sitting around collecting dust in the meantime. I let ChatGPT make a quick reference image to keep my plans in mind. I'm certain it will be different wheeling this vs the bronco, but figure this is a good basis to build a capable rig without drowning myself in all of the custom fab and whatifs that can happen with a large build or packaging constraints of something smaller with a similar stance (large tires, lower center of gravity). Feel free to tell me i'm stupid or follow along for what will hopefully be a fun build to watch come together.
Family Crew Cab Crawler
- Thread starter YJKrawlin
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Location
- Stanley, NC
Yer stupid. Sounds like a cool build, I can't wait to see it come together
I mean....if the budget allows.... jk i dont know that i want to fight with something that big....Definitely stupid, cause it’s gonna need 43s lol
Went and grabbed the drivetrain and harness donor today. Possibly the dash as well. Will sell anything left over to recoup some cash. Also got to look at the crew cab i was interested in. Definitely will make some money back after stripping what we wont use. Hoping to pick it up either wednesday or saturday depending on our schedules.Yer stupid. Sounds like a cool build, I can't wait to see it come together
If you don’t have axles I can hook you up on a set. Even the rear e lockers are cheap
Ill definitely be looking once i can get through some of the parting out to get a little cash back in my pocket. The main thing i need to investigate is that the rear superduty axle needs to be a certain year range to retain the vss the e4od needs for shifting. After some quick research looks like the rear needs to be 2010 or earlier? The single vss unit on the ring gear not the one at the hubs.
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paradisePWoffrd
Recovering Project Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2005
- Location
- Newton, NC
Can you put a VSS in the trans output or tcase?
Haven't looked that far just yet. Seems most people who are running 14 bolts or other axles without vss are also running plder transmissions or manuals thst dont need the signal.
ghost
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2006
- Location
- Hartsville/Camden,SC
Didn't realize the E40D used speed input from the axle. Is that also the VSS for the speedo? In to see this "cab truck" build.
Yes it is. No speedo gear in the transfer case. Can adjust tire so by going into some kind of engineering mode on the cluster and inputting a number from some calculation.
ghost
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2006
- Location
- Hartsville/Camden,SC
What era of Ford's are like this?
As far as i know its the e4od only? Maybe the zf5? 92-97 if i were to take a guess.
Talking with a guy on facebook who's done something similar, and he brought up an idea that I hadn't really thought of, not sure the hassle is worth the benefit though. He swapped a crew cab onto a single cab short bed frame, but moved the body back 5.5" to have a better approach angle without moving the steering gear box. This has me interested though. I haven't checked if it is necessary for the trans. But I know the transfer case hangs down stock. If I were to move the body back a similar amount, it might open up some space above the transmission for the trans to be raised enough to flat belly the rig since it will likely spend alot of time sliding up and down obstacles. Just an interesting way of doing things I hadn't really considered. I do plan to move the front axle forward as much as possible, and may look into relocating the steering gear, but haven't gotten that far into my research yet.
