Extended Crew Cab- The SuperDuperDuty family hauler

[hawkeye08]

 

[dieselcrawler]

Dave: I've seen the Dodge MegaCabs... I'm sure that makes the back seat much more comfy for adults... but doesn't add extra seating. And I'd have to spend money to buy it... so far, I've got about $220 invested in this project, fuel to go pick up the crew cab I traded for, and bought the ext cab shell for $100. I'm a cheap b@$t@rd.


Mark: that's a good truck you got there... stout, reliable, and good looking. If you're not towing alot, and often, the 5.4 v8 will do good for you, and being nearly 10 years old, I bet you got it at a good price too. Looks clean and rust free... good show!

Hawkeye: those 50's crew cabs you posted a picture of are simply awesome! Are they yours?!?! Somebody put alot of time and effort into building them. Sweet!!!!

I got home from work this morning and almost got to take a nap... but I headed to the barn when my wife's cousins GF showed up to talk babies (she's expecting any time now too) and family gossip with the wife. Spent most of the day on pulling the crew cab off the frame. Cab is now solidly taking up a huge amount of real estate in the barn, the chassis is back outside. Had to take the front tires off and use the floor Jack as a dolly to get motor low enough to slide out under the cab. But it's off!

 

[SirReal63]

I wish I had your skill and desire, I could use that extra space behind my CC OBS but I wouldn't want to give up the 8' bed and the thing is long enough already.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Jack, there is an OBS ext crew cab long bed dually around here... and you're right, long as he!!.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Spent what time I had yesterday getting the dash and wiring out of the cab, separating the door locks/windows harness from the rest of the mess, it will be needed. But the dash, HVAC system, brake system (pedal, booster/master cylinder and ABS driver) are all gone, as they each have some element that's is in conflict with the ones from the donor truck, be it model year 1999 vs 2000, gas vs diesel, or manual vs auto trans. Only had to cut one wire, (remnants of aftermarket alarm system) otherwise everything was neatly disconnected and removed, useable and more importantly, sellable.

 

[clemsonfor]

man I work on my own stuff and tear into things but this is...WOW!! I always have people ask me how do I know where things go, I say cause I took it apart and its pretty easy it goes back a certain way. I am feeling myself tempeted to ask you the same question with this mess of stuff I see!! haha

 

[dieselcrawler]

This was a learning experience, as I've never pulled the dash out of these trucks before. But now that I've done it, the next one will go much faster. And when it comes to putting it back together, it's like a picture puzzle. I can go look at my other trucks just like them to see how something is routed around another thing, or which connector goes where. Most of it 'falls into place', with connection points lining up and plugs having tabs in different places so it's not possible to plug in the wrong one. And I take lots of pictures, amazing reference resource. I only post a handful here, I took 15-20 yesterday, and that was a 'light' day, as I don't really care how the gasser wiring and components go together. When I strip the diesel truck donating it's components, I'll take lots more.

 

[Rustyiron]

How did you make out getting all those ****ing electrical connectors apart without breaking the tabs?
Not sure what type they use under the dash, but some of those electrical connectors are not real obvious on the "release" method and even with patience I've broken the tabs. Grrrrr.

 

[KubotainNH]

The age of cameras on your phone is so helpful for this sort of thing. Make sure you back them up. I kinda like tearing into things like this but you are all in....lol. Good job.

 

[hawkeye08]

Those 50s truck pictures I posted are from a Facebook group.. I have a 54 project, but it is stock (no crew cab). If I was younger, I might take it on.. fun to watch you work though, thanks for sharing.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Rustyiron: Did ok with the clips/release tabs. The only ones that are realy a PITA are the door lock actuators and more so the door open/close switch, which is behind the lock actuator and the window track. You cant see it. You cant touch it. I said alot of words I wont type here x4 doors. The dash itself isnt bad, once the steering column is out, theres 3 wiring blocks thru the firewall, HVAC vac lines behind the glove box door, and power window wiring by the right kick panel. I ended up taking apart more than I needed because I didnt know. There is a crash sensor bolted to a bracket over the trans tunnel that must be unbolted, 4 bolts on the sides, and 3 across the top, and the whole dash comes out. The doors harness is separate and stays with the cab. It should plug right into the diesel dash harness with no issues.

KubotainNH: The option to have visual representation of so many things is an amazing thing. I often reference back to pictures for many projects.

 

[clemsonfor]

yep I learned 15 years or so to take pics. But digital was in its infancy back then and I had grainy pics but they were better than nothing. Well that was really when I started to do larger projects once I was just out of college and the wife and I had a 3mp digital camera.

 

[KubotainNH]

Yeah, I bought my first digital camera when my house was being built in 2003. My cheap phone takes better pictures but having a picture to reference where a certain pipe or wire is in your wall is priceless.

 

[Green Power]

Congrats on the new arrival Greg! I'm looking forward to seeing how this project goes!

 

[dieselcrawler]

I'm looking forward to getting back to it... between work, spending last weekend in the hay field, and now back to working 8hr days this week, (not my normal 12 hr night shift) I haven't gotten anything done in over a week...

 

[dieselcrawler]

Finally got to spend some time on the cab this evening. Got all the parts that had been stripped out of the cab off the floor behind the cab, and out of the cab. Was about to head to the house, was looking at where to cut what to remove the back wall... after a few minutes I said 'WTF... here goes nothing' and grabbed the sawzall.

Lends a whole new meaning to the term 'Separation anxiety'.

 

[showcattle]

Finally got to spend some time on the cab this evening. Got all the parts that had been stripped out of the cab off the floor behind the cab, and out of the cab. Was about to head to the house, was looking at where to cut what to remove the back wall... after a few minutes I said 'WTF... here goes nothing' and grabbed the sawzall.

Lends a whole new meaning to the term 'Separation anxiety'.

Impressive!!

 

[KubotainNH]

You've committed now, that often lessens the anxiety.

 

[dragoneggs]

Holy Carp! I'm hooked... I do know I would never tackle this big of a project however. But sure am enjoying following along! With your family, work, animals, I am dumbfounded as to how you are managing your time! :confused3:

 

[Green Power]

No turning back now! Here is a thread on a 6.0 stretched to a 6 door, may be some helpful things. The Hillbilly Stretch-Limo (my 6-door Superduty project) - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums