I have nothing to add besides GO BIG RED.

Nice to see a fellow husker fan on here. 

So I'm heading to PA tomorrow to pick up the 12 valve donor truck and all my tools.  I'll be able to get my 105gal transfer tank finally for the bed of the Zombie 350.  Some history about the tank.  I bought a utility bed for my 3500 and the tank/toolbox combo came with it.  I never put fuel in it or even took the cap off of it.  I'm wondering if I should attempt to clean it out before I put fuel in it.  What would be the best free way to accomplish that?   I knew a guy who welded a steel tank for his truck and he used water to leak test it and he said it was a big mistake due to constantly having water in his fuel for months. I'm kind of thinking of blowing it out as best I can with air and then just running fuel in it.  I will be using a 12v pump that came with it to transfer fuel when the time comes so I will put a filter on the output side of that to catch any debris. 

Thoughts ideas?

Any progress?

A little progress.  I am pretty close to completion of the overhead console.  It went through several small tweaks which basically meant me using darn near an entire 4x8 sheet of plywood to finish it.  When i made cut outs for the lights they were to big, so I had to cut a new shelf portion, then I decided I wanted to go another route with the lighting, I'm pretty happy with it now.  I'm still waiting on two 3/4" courtesy lights to show up from Amazon then I will wire those into the dome light and should be finished with it until I get my radios.  I'm debating on how to run additional wires up to it because there isn't enough room to run them all up through the A-pillar.  In the end I will probably copy Flyin6 and run some split loom up alongside the pillar to run the wires and antenna coaxes.

Here it is uncovered starting the wiring.


More wires and covered with carpet.


First switch plate for measurements and proof of concept.


Finished switch plate


And overall shot

IT also gives me a nice place to display all the patches I've picked up over the years.

Hopefully the rest of my lights will be delivered tomorrow and I can finish the console with the exception of running wiring down from the plethora of switches I installed for future expansion.  I have 8 standard switches and two with safety covers which in all honesty are not needed but look really cool and i've always wanted a vehicle with them. :)

I'm currently only using one switch to activate my red map lights.  Future lights hopefully will include front light bar, front fogs, roof light bar and reverse lights.  Safety switches are still up in the air.

Today I worked on wiring my headlights up to relays.  I had a headlight go out when I was leaving for my last 14 day hitch so while I was gone I ordered new Hella 100/80w bulbs, new headlight assemblies and all my relays and wiring to upgrade the stock 18ish gauge headlight wiring.  I ran 14 gauge to the lights via a relay so i should gain 1-3 volts over the crappy Ford design that runs from the battery through the switch back out to the lights. 

Tomorrow I will tackle pulling my grill and headlight assemblies.

Thats all for now

I haven't had much time to work on the Zombie 350 lately but that hasn't stopped my wheels from turning on ideas.  I'd like to start a discussion in alternative security ideas.

Everyone knows vent window fords are extremely easy to break into.  So I was thinking of ways to secure not only the contents of the truck but also the truck itself.    Obviously it has the factory locks which like most vehicles are easily defeated with a slim Jim or coat hanger. I haven't  figured out a redundant system to supplement the door locks short of bolting a hasp and padlock to the doors lol.  While not aesthetically pleasing would do the job but then they could just break the window to gain access so that is a moot point.   

I know that 3M makes a product designed for building windows that makes them less likely to shatter when hit.  This could be an option.

As far as immobilizing the entire vehicle I've thought about putting a simple toggle switch hidden under the dash somewhere to interrupt the ignition wire.  Would work pretty well for a thief in a hurry.  I've also considered a master battery switch in a non conspicuous place to cut power to the entire electrical system.   I'm going to do this one to my truck as it can sit for long periods of time and I can't afford a dead battery when I get back to it. 

Any other thoughts on this.

Quote from: Flyin6 on March 06, 2015, 09:37:12 AM

Quote from: OldKooT on March 06, 2015, 08:07:56 AM

JR...... I have re-centered H1 wheels yes. Three sets over the years.

The process I always used was to swipe time on a friends large lathe and do the cutting/welding on that. That usually made for nice wheels as far as runout. What I often ran into issues with using H1's was balance problems. Also the 3.5" BS using pressed centers never thrilled me.

JR, need to borrow your thread a moment

Norm,
On the subject of balancing the H1 recentered wheels, how did you do it?
Do you recall how I am attempting to do it?
I added about two tablespoons of BB's and several tablespoons of the air-soft plastic beads
I added all that outside of the dual beadlock
I do not want out of balance wheels

Now this sounds like a great reason for a new thread in the tires and wheels section, not just a DOT post

Yes yes yes.  I am wanting to use hummer wheels and tires on the ford and cheapest I've found is trail worthy fab for ~$375 ea. The website referenced earlier in this thread it looks like you could build one for around $100 if you could do your own welding. 

Thanks for the compliments and words of encouragement guys they are appreciated.

As I stated above I am on my days off and I've been working on some cheap things I have wanted to do for awhile.

I started building an overhead shelf and overhead console for radios and lights etc.

I started off finding a bracket template online.  A piece of thin gauge steel and some jigsaw work later I had a couple brackets.





I cut the shelf and after fitting it onto the brackets I realized it was going to be a little to large.  SO i cut out a portion over the drivers head to allow for some more room it also created a perfect angled spot to mount a CB or other radio.



Here I am mocking up the center portion of the console  It was originally going to be straight all the way back to the dome light but after looking at it I saw I could angle it down and create the other spot for another radio.  This way I can have a dual band mounted overhead as well as a CB.



I can't decide If I want to try to keep the factory dome light and attach it to the console or just use the two 2" truck lights I got for that purpose.  They are both clear lenses but one is white LEDs and one is red.  I will wire the clear into the factory switched dome light wiring and wire both the clear and the red to separate switches so I will have the clear when I open the door and then with the door closed I can run the red, and or white at any time.



It all looks pretty rough currently but It will all get covered in carpet which will hide my amateur woodworking skills. And its rough due to the fact I built the whole thing with nothing but a jigsaw, because yet again all my tools are in storage with the exception of a few.

And an overall picture to show where I'm going with this.



It will attach just at the edge of the overhead shelf , I had to shove it in there farther to get it to hold up for the pic.  mostly all thats left is to wire in the lights, create some trim pieces to go between the shelf and the roof, and cover it then final assembly.

I watched the movie a little while back and there was some creative license applied in the adaption from the book.  I read the book twice and listened to it on audio book a few times.  It is a good adaptation and hits most of the high points from the book but they did have to add something's to make it hollywood material.  For example in the book His lonGest shot he took was not to kill a rival sniper but was almost set up like a challenge.  Them seeing bad guys a long ways out and them telling him there's no way he could hit them. He dialed all the elevation in and used a crazy holdover and basically got lucky to hit the guy at that distance.  At least that's what was said in the book.  Great movie and great book.   Very disheartening to lose a true patriot like that.  We don't have very many to begin with.  :'(

So it all seriousness adn wondering, how much work / how hard is it going to be to swap over the 12V?

All the major pieces for the swap are available from various vendors.  I will probably buy the adapter plate for the transmission and the motor mounts.   Then just tear into it and piece it together as I go.  Kind of a haphazard plan but I haven't got to terribly deep in the research other than knowing parts are available and quite a few people have done it.  I believe the only main issues are the space for the turbo is a little tight in the passenger side. And it can get a little tight up front when you add the intercooler due to the cummins being longer than the Ford engine. 

It will be a pretty monumental undertaking for me anyway as I have never done anything like this before.   It's not completely out of my wheel house as I've done a lot of mechanic work on various vehicles I've owned in the past. But I'm not trying to pretend it's not a huge job. 

Add to that I am going to try to run a 250amp alternator off of a big rig and I'm researching an engine mount air compressor as well so that will add to the complication.  Air compressors came on some 12 valves that were originally in buses so the parts are out there but there is talk that some of them won't fit due to fender clearance on the drivers side. 

When I get the donor truck down here hopefully around Easter time I will start getting more serious about the swap.  First thing will be to pull the 12 valve and due a light rebuild.  Head studs, gaskets and whatever else it might need.  The donor only has 130k on it so I'm hoping to find factory cross hatching in the cylinders.  If that's the case then it will be mostly clean it up and do mostly external things.  I want to unbolt everything that's on it and give it all a good coat of paint and make sure it's ready to run a million miles.

Quite a few build threads over on cummins forum

Ok I had to go to work yesterday so I didn't get all of my pics uploaded in time so I will finish up here and bring you all up to where I stand today.

The new bed when I brought it home, I even like the plain tailgate with the big ford logo better than the later years.



More body work on the bedsides but overall it was in great shape for the year.





Started masking for the full coat of rattle can primer.



And where it is now.  AHHHH a blank slate

Just eyeballing it on the wrong fender, I could mount the louvers to act as scoops to draw in air, or mount them traditionally to allow air to escape.

I'm thinking keeping the opening facing aft will keep the fenders from scooping up mud and channeling it into the engine!

I've had this same idea to cover up the holes in my fender where I  removed the badges.  Mine would be more for looks than function which goes against most of what I believe in but for $30 for a pair I can live with it.  And I don't have to use my sub par welding skills to fill holes. 

I actually owned a 92 7.3 IDI truck. I added a hypermax turbo kit to it, turned the pump way up and WHEW it really woke that thing up. Mileage improved. When I traded Big red in on Great White a newer 94 PowerStroke, I'd have to say the IDI was right there with the stock PS.
Have you experimented with turning up the stock pump yet?

It's also funny you have the same names for trucks as I do.  One of my 97s is a 3500 we call big red and the other is a 2500 that is little red and my 2012 is great white.  Great minds haha

I tried a single point on one of my ARs and I didn't like it.  It seemed like I couldn't get it to the point of hanging comfortably.  It either put to much pressure on my neck or it was awkward hanging off my shoulder.   I ended up going with a two point for my rifles I may carry at some point.  Vickers, BFG, etc all make good ones there is even a forum I can point you to that shows how to make a tactical two point sling for less than $15.   As far as transitions I've only been to one carbine course so I have limited experience but as was said above all you do is drop it in a controlled manner and in a way that allows you to get to your sidearm.  If you are being shot at or shooting at something that is shooting back and your rifle goes down properly slinging your rifle will be the last of your worries.  Getting the pistol out to finish what was started is priority number one.  And on that note the single point seemed to always be in the wrong place for me.  Ymmv

I started on the body work first because most of my tools and parts are in storage in PA.





Small dents like this all over


I had never done any kind fo body work before this so it is a learning experience for me and it is much more difficult than I ever imagined.  Flat panels are easy with a hammer and dolly and a little filler but I'm having trouble with places where there is a body line.  Some of it will need to be redone before Paint but that's a long ways down the road and from a distance it looks OK

I figured I would jump in with both feet and share my ongoing project with you guys.  It's a 94 F-350 Crew cab long box with a 7.3L IDI, and a ZF5 transmission.

A little background on why I chose/was forced to do this build.

I worked pipeline construction for 12 or so years and I was always away from home.  Not just a few hours but usually 1000s of miles.  Ever since I read the book One Second After i always had the thought in my head about an EMP attack.  I know, I know its very unlikely that a scenario such as that would play out but I figured if I could build a vehicle to survive that then it should thrive in lesser threats.

I am also building this because I stopped pipelining a few years ago and moved to south Texas to try my hand at OG oil field work (frac, drilling, etc).  Well as many of you know the price of oil has tanked in the last few months and it has hit us pretty hard.  I've gone from 100+ hours a week, every week to no more than 40 hours a week.  I was barely making it before the cut in my hours due to some stupidity on my part in my previous life, and now with the cut its time to start selling toys and things I really don't need.  Thank the lord I still have a job even if its woefully inadequate currently.
   
None of that bothers me much because I am selling what I don't need.  I have 4 trucks currently a 2012 Ram 2500 CTD, two 97 Dodges with 12 valves in them, A harley, an 86 CJ7, and various other items.  Who needs all that?  Especially considering that most of it is still spread out over the country, Dodges in PA, Jeep in NE, etc.

OK background is done TL;DR version Im building my F350 to survive all threats short of a direct missile hit and I am doing it on a budget.

My requirements or plans for this truck include.

1) swapping one of the 12 valves into the truck eventually.  I will build it to provide a similar power level as my 2012.  I want reliable power, no twins or anything else that adds complication simple, tough, proven mods.

2) Increase off road capability (not going for rock crawler or mud truck here just make it more capable to navigate tore up    back roads or interstate shoulders that may be packed with people fleeing an incident).

3) Increase reliability i.e. make it darn near bulletproof.

4) Increase range

5) Increase creature comforts and have mobile communications.  I have my ham radio license so I am going to try to incorporate that into my interior build when it comes time for that.

I apologize in advance for how slow this build may have to go and along with that the corresponding updates.  I will do what I can with the budget I have and hopefully some things go my way and I can get it done by the end of the year.  Plus in the next month or so this will become my daily driver so doing anything that causes the truck to be down for more than a few days will have to planned very carefully so I can still get back and forth to work.

Imgur is slow uploading my photos.  I hoped to post some before I go to work but I may have to wait till this evening or tomorrow.

KC3BXR checking in

Just joined this site so I figured I would say hi. I got my technician and general license over a year ago and I have done absolutely zilch when it comes to ham radio since haha.  I was laid off at the time and always wanted to get my ticket and since I had the time I figured why not.   The only radio I have so far is a Yaesu VX-8DR and a beofeng Amazon cheapie dual band.  As soon as money allows I hope to to get a HF rig to try to see how far across the world I can go. 

I also am actively searching for a dual band mobile to put in my truck so I can use down time at work to hone my skills a little bit.   I'm still learning about of ham radio because honestly I just studied to pass the test and didn't retain much of the knowledge.  >:(

Very informative post. Thank you for that.

Hello everyone. 

Like many of you The square D build sucked me into this site lol. 
I've been reading through some other builds and hope to add my own very soon.

  8)

Thanks in advance for the advice and answers to questions I will no doubt have, and ask.