The Base Camp - Super Duty Ambulance Conversion

More foreshadowing... the donor truck appeared in the driveway while I was at work yesterday.

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Waiting until the interior is done before the fun begins
 
From what a bud told me, that's converted numerous 2wd to 4WD, he spends more time pulling interior to knock out the shifter slug (he does *not* do "push-button"), than bolting up the transfer/axle.
He's also converted several from leaf to coils and said that even the (majority?) of holes for that are there too?
 
Caver Dave said:
From what a bud told me, that's converted numerous 2wd to 4WD, he spends more time pulling interior to knock out the shifter slug (he does *not* do "push-button"), than bolting up the transfer/axle.
He's also converted several from leaf to coils and said that even the (majority?) of holes for that are there too?
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I've heard similar things as well about the commonality. Having the entire truck should make it very simple to template everything that doesn't line up otherwise.
 
Yep. Everything I've seen says you can bolt the coil spring stuff right in place of the leaf spring stuff and by that....should be able to go right from a 2wd straight to coil spring 4wd :D I've been trying to convince a buddy at work to let me do the same swap to his '01 F350 dually.
 
Been traveling a ton lately, working on things in bits and pieces a the days I've been home. Never played much attention to progress since the chunks of work are so small, but all of a sudden today, it's starting to look like a habitable place.

Cot mattresses came back from the upholstery shop
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Added some "wallpaper"
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And the lighting is finished
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BigBody79 said:
Looks awesome.

How wide is it on the inside? Could you mount the beds the other direction if there were no cabinets?
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Certainly. The inside width is 7'4". That is a more standard adventure vehicle layout as well. I didn't want to block the back doors if you put a bed in the rear. If you wanted to do more extensive demo and move the mechanical equipment in the roof at the front ( above where I have the fridge) it would work.

The rear doors being accessible to load cargo, bikes, motorcycles, etc. Is the main advantage of this setup Which is why I installed this super fancy metal baseboard:
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The interior is pretty close to complete. Countertops, bunk support, and some trim and I'll be moving on to the outside.
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I'm just waiting for 4x4 stuff to happen :D

If you weren't so far away, I'd come help!
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I'm just waiting for 4x4 stuff to happen :D

If you weren't so far away, I'd come help!
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I probably would be well served to host a "beer for wrenching" day but I don't think I could subject anyone to my work environment in good conscience. Broken concrete driveway in somehow full sun from rise to set.

I need to get moving though. The target for the first trip is Labor Day and 4wd will be required. I realized yesterday that means I likely need to reorder the projects to get that done next, and the external cosmetic mods will have to wait until after.
 
Per the above post, I've decided to start chipping away at some small tasks when i have a free moment.

I didn't feel like getting the fab tools out today, so i started on the exterior destruction. Bye bye auto tire chains, and a solid hundred pounds of steel.

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But while I was under there I also found where somebody had "customized" one of the rear shock mounts.
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So, I guess that added repair task means percent completion was actually negative for the day.
 
More disassembled this morning.

Found in the elbow for the stack:
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Everything was going well, save the diesel bath I took at 7:15 this morning... that was one of those " I don't know what I expected to happen" moments... until I tried to move the truck to a better spot to pull the engine and trans.

I hooked it with the TJ winch and only managed to drag the jeep toward it. The driveshafts were out at this point, so I knew I wasnt just in Park. Jacked up the rear end and found neither tire would spin. Then I saw this:

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The wheels interfered with all 4 calipers. Spent the next hour and 45 hearing and removing caliper bolts. There is no significant scar on the wheel, so I'd say this truck never actually ran with these wheels. Mystery.
 
I've got that transfer case input laying here whenever you need it!

Do you need a 31 or 34 spline?
 
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Let me dig out a 31 spline one. Pretty sure I have one out in a different case. The one I pulled out of my case was a 34 and I swapped in a 29 to match the Allison.
 
Man, I've been slacking on this lately, and what I've been doing is mostly non-picture worthy stuff... like determining two glow plugs are bad, and the generator isolators are shot.

But today I conquered something that's been nagging me for a while - the refrigerator mount.

The challenge was that there's no real robust features to mount from, and the space to mount to those nonexistent features is very limited, yet if the fridge was full of beer it would weight several hundred pounds.

Solution was to make cradles and tie down brackets that connect with all-thread so it can be cranked down in the ~1" gap on either side.

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And the test fit in primer:

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No finished pic, because you can't see any of it. Hah
 
As important as a beer fridge is..... four times four is more importanter! I'm going to need you to go ahead and get the front axle under it :D
 
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