Rusty, Recovry and Panzerwillie's Wrecker Builds

[Recovry4x4]

So, member http://www.steelsoldiers.com/member.php?18545-rustyshakelford and myself found that we are both building CUCV wreckers and thought a thread on what we were doing and comparing notes would be fun. Attached is a pic of what I started with and a pic of the chassis cab rear axle complete with a Detroit Locker.
Here's a link to the story of the wrecker bed. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?117339-Wrecker-Bed-(A-Good-Laugh-)&highlight=laugh

I'm currently working on my Ranger Torque Splitter/ SM465 and twin stick 205 combo. Hopefully next month if the heat isn't too bad I'll start the 4 speed swap.

 

[phil2968]

... Hopefully next month if the heat isn't too bad I'll start the 4 speed swap.

Ha, you live in south Florida remember! Next month will be hotter than this one!
Bring it to SSGR in October and build your self a wrecker!

 

[wheelspinner]

Hopefully next month if the heat isn't too bad I'll start the 4 speed swap.

Already had to wear long sleeves a couple of evenings. Not to turn this to a weather thread, but.........

Any luck on the side panels yet?

 

[Recovry4x4]

I think I have secured a source for what I need. here is a quick glimpse of some of the gearboxes. Transfer case will be cable shifted. The floor pan is going to be a little busy looking.

 

[wheelspinner]

Uh oh. Did you notice the cops were there????

 

[Recovry4x4]

They pay the bills. LOL

 

[panzerwillie]

Kenny i like the trq/splitter what brand is that , are you hooking it behind the diesel or a gassy

 

[Recovry4x4]

She is going to stay with the 6.2. This unit is the Ranger III made by Advance Adapters. Looking forward to seeing how it behaves. 27% OD.

 

[papabear]

I'm liking what I see so far.

When I first started at the wrecker service (18yrs ago) that I now own, we had two 1978 C-30 Chevy's with 350CI engines and 4spd tranny's. One had a 440 Holmes and the other was a 480 Holmes.
They were actually pretty good for towing wrecked vehicles around but if you towed a big old school Caddy or something they were VERY light on the steer axle, (no beefed up rear suspension).

Looking forward to seeing progress on your build!

 

[panzerwillie]

Like the combo should be sweat , the 4spd tranny and bell housing is your regular factory 4x4 diesel or gas set up?.

 

[Tow4]

Wow Kenny, it looks like the drive train is going to be pretty long! Is it an optical illusion or you have to move the cross member and shorten/lengthen drive shafts?

 

[Recovry4x4]

Standard stuff Willie. The gasser bellhousing will have to be clearanced slightly to clear the 6.2 starter. The trannys were the same between gas and diesel.

Papabear, quite a complement coming from you. I have a passion for the 480 but I needed something with an extendable boom for yard work. I wanted a 440 but when push came to shove, I felt having the hydraulics would be worth the effort. I guess we'll see.

Ray, driveline mods are in order. The overall length is 7 1/2 inches longer but with the fixed yoke 205 the rear driveshaft is only slightly shorther. It will require a completely ned driveshaft. The front one can be re tubed. I will be relocating the crossmember.

I have so much to do and the heat is unbearable for an old guy. Bear with me, it will take time.

 

[panzerwillie]

Thank you for the info Kenny, you just open another new world for me and will not stop until i duplicate that set up in a truck for me i love the split shift deal reminds me of my puppy years with MAC trucks

 

[rustyshakelford]

Recovery is gonna have the show piece! Man what a great build you have started! Mine will be more of a rat rod compared to yours!

a few hard details about my build! I've always used photobucket links for pics before so I will need to learn how to add pics for here.

'85 M1008
approx 55k unconfirmed miles
12v conversion

parts awaiting puckup or in stock
-4 37/12.5/16.5 Goodyear mt--won in okc GL auction
-buying 2 more while in okc
-picking up late 70s wrecker bed with Braden pto winch and manual extendable boom. Hand winch operated boom raise/lower. Looks nearly identical to a Holmes 440.
-6 16.5 dually wheels
-D60 dually hubs with rotors and new calipers/pads
-4 2" 8x6.5 spacers for rear duals or possibly front to?

Plan is to get the bed sandblasted and painted. Truck can has been painted almost a battleship gray color with a flat black grill. Bed will be gray also with a black or bedlined floor.

Going to lift the truck approx 4". Crossover steering to come at a later time. If I can easily or cheaply adapt or switch transfer cases to work with the pto winch, I'll switch it to an electric or possibly add an additional power steering pump and run a hydraulic winch to it.

This is the plan so far. We are building our dream house currently so my bride is less than thrilled about all this. I also won an M1102 on Thursday so she is just being super encouraging! Pics to come of when I got the truck to its current look.

Brett

 

[Recovry4x4]

No show piece here. A little story behind my motivation. After swapping off my M108 wrecker, I realized that moving my junk around the yard was more of a challenge than I remember. My original plan was to buy a cheap rusted out late 70s or early 80s GM wrecker with a Holmes 440 for the extendable boom. While shopping around I realized that if I built one on a CUCV base, I would already have many parts on hand.

I was able to secure the truck on GSA (without bed ironically) for under $1000 so then it was on. Finding a bed locally was a futile effort. As my search expanded I found the Holmes 1100 in OH. After some wheeling and dealing I got it delivered to SW Bradleys house. A group of friends showed up there for a little entertainment at the sight of my bed. As luck would have it, Stonepicker1 scheduled a trip to OH and was able to bring my bed back on the super cheap. From there it was just parts gathering.

I had always wanted a torque splitter but they were well out of my budget. While shopping for SM465 parts I found this one on Ebay in CA. It was complete with a trans but truck freight would have been almost $300. The seller reluctantly sold me the combo but allowed me to leave the tranny behind reducing my shipping cost to under $40.

Now just a matter of gathering and building. I have been blessed to find many good deals on the way to this project.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Where are you getting your Holmes info from? I'm trying to figure out how the winch works? I'm assuming off the transfer case the pto turns a shaft which in turn spins a sprocket that's attached to the chain spinning the winch. How do the tailboard controls control the power in/out? This isn't like a normal pto winch that's controlled in the cab I don't believe?

brett

 

[rustyshakelford]

I think I have this figured out. Here's my truck. I've checked it out for years when visiting family in Arkansas. Finally located the owner and asked how much or if it was even for sale. They called back and gave me a price. I checked it out the day before coming home. Wouldn't shift and wasn't charging. Offered $800. They accepted. Ended up taking both originals off and replaced it with a single. Got it home and replaced the vacuum hoses and it shifted great. Flushed the radiator out and added a water temp gauge along with fixing the glow plug switch (manual gp)

Brett

 

[gimpyrobb]

You could always use an electric/hydraulic pump to run it.

 

[Recovry4x4]

That could be a weldbuilt bed too, almost identical to the 440. Operation is simple but slightly complicated by the 4x4. Normally the transmission would have a PTO that operates a driveshaft back to the pillowblock under the winch. Upon exiting the truck you would secure the parking brake or Mico lock and engage the PTO. From there the single stick on the back of the bed runs payout and spool functions of the winch. There is a hand crank on the A frame to raise and lower the boom. Rather than go through all the trouble you could always just run an electric winch to accomplish the same task.

 

[rustyshakelford]

That could be a weldbuilt bed too, almost identical to the 440. Operation is simple but slightly complicated by the 4x4. Normally the transmission would have a PTO that operates a driveshaft back to the pillowblock under the winch. Upon exiting the truck you would secure the parking brake or Mico lock and engage the PTO. From there the single stick on the back of the bed runs payout and spool functions of the winch. There is a hand crank on the A frame to raise and lower the boom. Rather than go through all the trouble you could always just run an electric winch to accomplish the same task.

Once I get my hands on it I'll have a better idea of everything I guess. This will probably be a several week/month project so I'll have time to figure it all out I hope! Looking forward to getting the pieces all put together.

Brett