W400 Ambulance: aka: Dubya Four Hundred Bambulance: I GOT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

[wheelspinner]

It was dark by the time we got the skin on, so no shots of that yet. The edges ended up being pretty messy looking, nothing a few coats of Lusterless Forest Green wont hide.

So Don, did the sun come up yet?

 

[michigandon]

Yeah, but I been too busy (lazy?) to put up more pictures.

I have Tuesday off and it’s supposed to be a nice day, so look for more to come soon.

 

[michigandon]

A word of caution for anyone working on one of these trucks or an M886: When replacing rusted out metal on the cabover piece, pay particular attention to the radius around the front above the windshield. The replacement piece needs to be kinda sorta axe head shaped, for lack of a better description. If you cut a straight piece of metal you’ll end up in the same predicament that I did.

This ended up looking like ass IMHO and I couldn’t have been more unhappy with it, so I spent this afternoon doing it over.

 

[michigandon]

Got the grid heaters hooked back up and working. Determined that the windshield wiper motor wasn’t working, so have a new one on order.

Air, tilt, cruise and intermittent wipers. Three of those features this truck only dreamed about having when it was new!

Got the cabover piece to a state where I am satisfied with its appearance. Still have a little sanding and Bondo work to do, but not much. My bodywork skills would NEVER pass muster if one was preparing for a Chip Foose paint job, but for covering over with Gillespie shot from a Ten Dollar Harbor Freight gun, they are more than sufficient.

 

[michigandon]

Forgot to add: Got a new bulb for the Unity spotlight and got it working again, so It will be going back on later. I decided to eliminate the three amber clearance lights that were over the cab (actually my electrical tech did that for me, told me that she didn’t feel like hooking them back up!). Also ground off and smoothed over the studs that held the siren/PA speaker, and filled in the holes for the wiring.

 

[nattieleather]

Looking good and you're doing a great job. Just wondering what you are going to do with the chrome work on the truck. Sand blast it and paint? Leave chrome? Paint over and hope for the best?

 

[michigandon]

Was planning on scuffing it up a bit with some 150 grit, shoot over it, and hope for the better.

LMC Truck sells an “argent” paintable grille, but I’m not sure I want to drop 175 beans on it.

 

[41WC18]

Nice work, Don. More impressed with this than anything Foose (and his umpteen workers and unlimited budget) is into. Have you considered Plasti-Dip over the sanded bumper? You can layer it and it is available in many colors. Just a thought.....

 

[michigandon]

Nice work, Don. More impressed with this than anything Foose (and his umpteen workers and unlimited budget) is into. Have you considered Plasti-Dip over the sanded bumper? You can layer it and it is available in many colors. Just a thought.....

Don't have a chrome bumper. In fact this beast didn't come with a front bumper of any kind.

As of right now, I am seriously considering installing the "Walking Dead" bumper that came on the M882 when we first took delivery of it. I also want to modify it slightly to carry the spare tire and get it out of the back!

Plasti-Dip is a good suggestion, though. I also have some bedliner leftover from the M882 that I was contemplating using somewhere.

 

[41WC18]

imho, that bumper is perfect for your W400!
It is TOO funny that you'd mention bedliner........... I am planning to "Raptor" one of my 886s from top to bottom with the tintable version.
Part of that strategy is shoring up and sealing the seams of the box. I just haven't decided which 886 to do. I just bought a '90 W150 pickup and plan to use the front clip to modernize as well.

 

[michigandon]

Drove up to Maryland yesterday and picked up another Dana 60 equipped with 4:10 gears. This will, of course go under the front, and I’m going to have the rear regeared.

 

[michigandon]

Karen began installing guages (boost and pyrometer) this weekend. I also have an Autometer diesel tachometer left over from another long-defunct project that will be going in.

 

[nyoffroad]

I just found this thread, looking good! I know it's a bit late for your truck, but for large one piece aluminum roofing try checking with big truck body shops. Many times we had 53'tralers come in with 10 or 20 feet of roof damaged and we'd replace the whole roof and save the old roof panel for smaller roofs and we sold a few.

 

[michigandon]

I just found this thread, looking good! I know it's a bit late for your truck, but for large one piece aluminum roofing try checking with big truck body shops. Many times we had 53'tralers come in with 10 or 20 feet of roof damaged and we'd replace the whole roof and save the old roof panel for smaller roofs and we sold a few.

I had hoped to locate something like that, but no dice.

Can't really say that I'm happy with the way the roof turned out. BUT it's better than it was and it does NOT leak, and I guess that's really where it all starts and stops.

 

[michigandon]

Went to East Coast Gear Supply this morning and got my 4:10 rears installed, along with a Power Lock carrier. She can now roll along @ 60-65 with no problem, and the speedometer is now accurate. I pirated some speedo gears out of one of the junker NP203s we’ve got laying around, but it looks as though I won’t be needing them after all.

 

[41WC18]

Thats awesome! Rolling smooth...........
What's next on the punch list?

 

[michigandon]

Thats awesome! Rolling smooth...........
What's next on the punch list?

Install trailer brake controller as well as rooftop AC unit and 120vac electrical system.

 

[michigandon]

Got the AC unit mounted as well as a rudimentary 120 volt 30 amp system. Installed the trailer brake controller as well. Put mini fridge and microwave (not pictured). Wasn’t going to install the front bumper until after I painted it, but decided to throw it on for the Denton Rally. Truck received many positive comments while there, far more than I expected.

 

[41WC18]

THAT is a head turner anywhere you go! Lookin good....

 

[michigandon]

Put the Unity spotlight back in, and installed a pair of Grote LED clearance lights on the roof this past weekend.

Word of advice: I looked all over eBay and Amazon for a replacement bulb, and found it easiest and cheapest to go right to Unity’s own website. Sometimes it really does pay to go straight to the horses mouth!