Started on a crazy project over the last year, and finally made enough progress that I felt it was worth posting. My buddy and I refer to this project as the BADT, Bad-A$$ Dump Truck.

TLDR: This is a 1963 F600 Body/Dump swap onto a shortened 1995 International 3800 School Bus Chassis, DT466/Spicer 5-Speed powered.


This all began when my buddy and I were taking a load of scrap to the local wrecking yard, and a local farmer was towing in his 1963 F600 to scrap. The truck was beat, but still ran and drove, and we asked him if he'd sell it. He said, give me what they'll give me for scrap, and I'd love to sell it to someone who will keep it alive.

This is what the truck looked like when we got it:





We originally toyed with the idea of repowering the existing truck with a newer diesel of some sort. But this would have been a ton of work, and would have required not just an engine change, but engine, trans, rear end, and then we'd need to upgrade brakes and get something other than the widowmaker wheels and tires.

I decided it would be easier to find a newer chassis to swap everything onto. I've always wanted something DT466 powered, so I started shopping.

We bought a 1995 International 3800 school bus for $2500, and the seller delivered it from Missouri to NJ!!! I knew it was a good reliable setup if he was willing to drive it that far.

The night the bus arrived we started tearing it apart...









And continued the next morning...



Short(er) bus!



Convertible!



And that is where the project sat for a while.

Got back into it a couple months ago and got the bus stripped to just the "cab" section and shortened the frame. The beauty of the International chassis is that the spring perches have the same bolt pattern as the crossmembers. We just found the location far enough forward that had the right wheelbase and moved the axle forward. Drilled some new holes for the rear perch and we were done.

One good thing about industry standards is that the framerail spacing on the F600 is exactly the same as the International. That made this project pretty easy...

Swapped the dump body:













Then went to town getting the cab off of the F600...







Measured the frame for body mount locations, and cut the body mounts off of the F600 chassis:









Put the body on some dollies and that is where we're at...









Next is to finish stripping the cab and to send the cab off to be soda blasted. We'll order some patch panels from LMC truck and get the cab repaired. That's the beauty of this whole thing. The F600 has the same cab/doors/hood as a 63 pickup. It's only the fenders and rad support that are different, and ours are pristine.

The 63 frame has a 1.5" dip where the front cab mounts are, but the International frame is straight. We will mount the front cab mounts flush with the frame like they were on the F600, and simply raise the rear mounts 1.5". There is plenty of vertical clearance for the motor, but we're looking at a pretty serious doghouse.

We also have a Spicer 5-speed to replace the AT545 currently behind the DT466.

Lots and lots of work to do, but stay tuned... this thing will be some serious fun when it's done

 

I will stay tuned. Nice project. Will the dump bed be operational?

 

Yes it will be. The 63 had a PTO with a jack shaft running to a pump that was mounted to the dump base. The lever controls on the side of the bed actuated valves mounted directly to the pump. The spicer we got came off of a tree truck and has a hydraulic pump PTO mounted to it. We're likely going to convert to the new PTO, and run hydraulic controls. We'll just have the old cylinder rebuilt.

We would really like to 4-link, air bag, and lower the rig. Make it a medium duty rat rod. The DT we have is one with a 7100, so turning up the wick will be easy.

 

Awesome build you got going on. moving it to a newer chassis was smart seemed to match up fairly well to the donor. Getting everything you need all in one bus bet the scrap money helped pay for the bus some so that's a win win. Are you keeping the cab as is with the patena look or eventually get it repainted?

 

You're absolutely right... Scraping the bus body and the f600 chassis paid for half of the bus cost.


We're going to fix the rusted floor pans, and a rotted cab corner. Debating on leaving the outer patina. Definitely cleaning up the inside nicely.

 

Nice, having a good upgraded interior with a patina'd truck is the best I think.

 

Cool. Definitely subscribed for the ride.

 

I agree. There is a big part of me that wants to notch the frame and 4-link the front/rear with air bags, cut the dump to allow the truck to be lowered, and slam it as low as practical... we'll see.

Thanks!

 

Very nice. The things people decide to do!


When you pull the M/C will you post a pic of the mounting brackets?


I have never seen one in person, but it looks as if the brackets angle the booster and M/C to align the push rod with the hole in the brake pedal.


Im wondering if I ever find a set of the brackets if I could bolt a newer booster M/C to them and install on my 64 F100 without drilling or cutting.

 

I'd be glad to. We will not be reinstalling this booster on the truck, we have a 95 pedal assembly we are going to adapt with hydroboost from an f-superduty and update to a hydraulic over air clutch setup.

If you want the brackets, booster, pedals, etc. Just let me know.





On a side note, is the drivetrain from the F600 worth anything? I'd like to know before I scrap it all.

 

The f600 drivetrain isn't all that sought after. I don't see to many people ever looking for them to often. It would take some time to sell it to the right person. And even then how much above scrap price would they really pay? There's been a rolling chassis with drivetrain on Craigslist around me for awhile now and still no takers.

 

That's what I figured, just wasn't sure if the engine was the same as a smaller truck, and therefore useful to someone. To the scrap yard it goes!

 

If the original engine is a 223 its worth scrap. If its a 292, it has a steel crank.


I would like the booster brackets, the MC is probably bad and those are cheap anyway. The Booster itself is not an easy find, but there are no rebuild kits. It that booster works, someone out there with a F350 needs it.

 

To be honest, I don't even know how to tell what it is.

I'll keep those brackets on the side. Pay for the ride and they're yours.

 

Thanks, let me know how to pay.


The 223 is an inline 6, the 292 is a y-block V8