Posted by Tony WestOZ on Monday, February 06, 2006 at 0:11AM :
In Reply to: I've often wondered.... posted by Jerry Henry on Sunday, February 05, 2006 at 9:18PM :
Fitting a pilot-house body to a FFPW chassis is not a straightforward job. Nothing fits.
It’s not impossible, but fair amount of work.
The main reason for this is the engine in the FFPW sits further back in the chassis, relative to the front wheels. About 5 inches.
I would say with these proto-types they solved part of the problem be using the guards of the large engine (413 eng ) trucks which are about 2" longer than the 251 engineer trucks. (wish I had a pair of those over here)
You can pick up a couple of inches by moving the cab forward, though this is subject to engine-gearbox configurations.
I still might go this route yet. I have looked at some more modern chassis available over here (all jap unfortunately), but the same problem exists. You have to modify some of the sheet metal and cab mount points to get things to fit.
Maybe this is how Chrysler looked at it, to much to modify now, and waited for the new line of trucks to come out which were an easer unit to fit 4x4 equipment too.
The body mods and other such things are not a problem (more one of the enjoyments of the hobby), but because of the laws here this project has to be passes buy an engineer before it can be registered and insured for daily public road use. Red Tape city.
Hopefully soon I will have a better idea on the engineering costs of the different ways I am looking at the project and I can make some forward progress.
I anyone has some more pics of this truck I would greatly appreciate seeing them.
Tony
WestOZ
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