Bought this yesterday.... 1953 4100 Wrecker...

[joedoh]

haha those big rotators are hilarious. pictures dont give an idea of the SIZE, they are huge in person.

[Brant Campbell]

LOL, The tires hold air. I had to knock the snap rings in on the split rims, then I put an air chuck on them and stood back. :P

[Brant Campbell]

My dad busted out the old 16mm reel to reel video camera to show me the truck back in the day. lol. It used to have side saddle gas tanks, but they are gone. I can see where they were mounted, and have been cut off.

[dsraven]

sure makes that trailerlook small.
keep an eye on those split rims for a bit to make sure that ring stays where it is supposed to be.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Brant Campbell

LOL, The tires hold air. I had to knock the snap rings in on the split rims, then I put an air chuck on them and stood back. :P

like a locking air chuck? my 3/4 ton grain bed truck was sold cheap to me because the last owner tried airing up a split rim on the back and it came apart, I guess forced his hand up through the stake pocket.

[Brant Campbell]

Originally Posted by joedoh

like a locking air chuck? my 3/4 ton grain bed truck was sold cheap to me because the last owner tried airing up a split rim on the back and it came apart, I guess forced his hand up through the stake pocket.

Not even a locking air chuck. A regular air chuck will hold the threads if you put it on the valve stem right. Then you can just shake the hose from a distance and it will jump off.

So now, I have a plan. I need one of these for a body swap:



I'm getting ready to start a build thread.

[Russell Ashley]

Looking forward to the build thread.

[mongocanfly]

SAY IT AINT SO!!!!!....surely your not going to put a school bus body on your 49 frame....hahahahahahaha.....
but....if you swap the other way it might work...school buses can be bought fairly cheap..a guy I work with bought one just for the allison trans..he turned around and sold the engine for more than he gave for the whole bus..win win

[dsraven]

plus you get those cool convex mirrors.
funny mongo, I was thinking the same thing about the bus on the old chassis, haha. great minds.....

[Brant Campbell]

Lmao, Smartasses!!!

I plan to throw the bus body away, and put the 49 body on the bus frame. I also want to n use the grain truck bed for part of the hauler bed.

Currently I am searching for a 97ish model bus with International DT466 engine and Allison transmission. A bus is the perfect swap candidate. Modern steering, highway gearing, already has 22.5 wheels, and if I'm lucky, I'll find one with air brakes. That'll be killer!

[mongocanfly]

Who me???...haha
Have you checked the outside tire width of a bus to see how it matches the 49?...in my mind it seems like it may be to wide

[dsraven]

that thing with the air hose reminds me of my filling station/garage days in senior high school. I volunteered/worked at my buddies dad's esso station in exchange for shop/hoist time after houirs. it got pretty slow getting close to closing time. we would take pop cans (they had the round drinking hole) and put a tire vale stem in the hole and connect an air hose to the stem. then connect the air line to the shop air supply and it would air the can up till it blew the valve stem out of the hole. the can would go into outer space. pretty funny stuff when you are 16. ahhh memories. if we could only do it all again eh?

[dsraven]

what I was gonna say is that you may have to split the cab and add some to get the width right for the school bus track width. being a split window can you have the best scenario because you can cut the cab in half and add down the middle and then just get individual flat safety glass cut to fit the new size for each side, no worries of a custom one piece glass. if you were to do that you would end up with ample cab space for some nice comfy seats and a console. like you said, upgraded everything and possibly air brakes. win all around. you couild possibly use the school bus firewall and floor pan if it worked out. that way you have the reinforced firewall with the pedals etc already mounted and the steering column would possibly work as well. all newer parts that are available if required for repair later.

[Brant Campbell]

The 2 ton truck is pretty wide. I've got a line out on a bus. It's a 98 model freightliner with a 24v Cummins and Allison Trans. I'll make it fit! lol

[mongocanfly]

Just keep in mind that the cab of your 2 ton is the same as the 1/2, 3/4 , 1 ton and 1 1/2 ton..its still a small cab...only the front end is different.only a couple inches wider and longer than a pickup..I've seen a guy that actually narrowed a late model truck frame to fit his ad truck..

[Brant Campbell]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Just keep in mind that the cab of your 2 ton is the same as the 1/2, 3/4 , 1 ton and 1 1/2 ton..its still a small cab...only the front end is different.only a couple inches wider and longer than a pickup..I've seen a guy that actually narrowed a late model truck frame to fit his ad truck..

Everything I read makes it look like the frame rails on the freightliner chassis are actually narrower than the factory 2 ton chevy chassis. Here's a pic of a bare running chassis. lol If I have to narrow it, it is only C Channel. Challenge accepted. lol

[mongocanfly]

I was thinking more of outside wheel to outside wheel being to wide rather than the frame. Or hub to hub..

[dsraven]

it will be cool if you can make it work. i think, worst case scenario, you just cut the cab right down the middle and make it fit. it's only sheet metal. it would be good to have a spare cab laying around for extra parts and dimensions but, at the end of the day, you just make it fit whatever the size turns out to be. keep the doors on the cab and brace the 2 halves seperately to keep the geometry proper, link them up and fill the holes with sheet metal. bingo bango and Bob's your uncle.don't forget the windows are in a V configuration so if the cab is cut the windows will get longer and, being on an angle, will make the cab longer front to rear. unless you change that or p;lan on taking some space out of the vent area in fron of the window. make some new cab mounts too, those old rear cab shackles could be upgraded
hope you are a good welder, haha


do you have a plan?

[Brant Campbell]

Originally Posted by dsraven

it will be cool if you can make it work. i think, worst case scenario, you just cut the cab right down the middle and make it fit. it's only sheet metal. it would be good to have a spare cab laying around for extra parts and dimensions but, at the end of the day, you just make it fit whatever the size turns out to be. keep the doors on the cab and brace the 2 halves seperately to keep the geometry proper, link them up and fill the holes with sheet metal. bingo bango and Bob's your uncle.don't forget the windows are in a V configuration so if the cab is cut the windows will get longer and, being on an angle, will make the cab longer front to rear. unless you change that or p;lan on taking some space out of the vent area in fron of the window. make some new cab mounts too, those old rear cab shackles could be upgraded
hope you are a good welder, haha


do you have a plan?

I'm an alright welder...


First I gotta get the body off the old frame, and do a little patch work and prep work. I found a 98 model 76 passenger bus with a 24 valve 5.9, Allison trans, Air brakes, air ride rear suspension for $3500. I haven't bought it yet, but I think I'm going to.

[mongocanfly]

Underhood of camaro is sweet...I was wondering what it looked like after I saw those vids of it making passes

[dsraven]

what's that big round thing in front of the engine and why is there so many pipes under the hood?
I had to
nice car.

[Brant Campbell]

Ok call me crazy, but I pulled the trigger on this bus. It's a 98 Freightliner with 24valve cummins 5.9, Allison transmission, air ride, air brakes, the works. It is on the same chassis as a freightliner FL70 medium duty truck. I scored it for $3500 delivered to me from Houston. It has 154,000 miles on it, and has belonged to a school district since it was new. I have to admit, I'm pretty excited, but also a little nerve racked about ditching the body after I get it off the frame. Lol. My buddy has a 35ft gooseneck with duals that I hope I can set it on with a big fork lift and haul it to scrap without getting pulled over. Lol

[Port&PolishMan]

Dam - Cool - Man
Lets see the Chopping of the C-Channel - Plasma Cutter ..

There for a Moment - I thought You were making one of those Truck Stop Hotels on Wheels : LOL