I'm starting this thread to help myself organize my ROVE (Ridiculous Offroad Vehicle Experiment) project, as well as get input from others who are familiar with these specific vehicles.

Background... Right now my truck is essentially stock with no major upgrades. I have a chip, 6637 mods, 5" exhaust, thats about it for performance. It has an RSK and shackle flip, 35's, 4.10 gears and zf5 trans w/ ValAir SMF.

Goal... this is where the ridiculous part comes in. My goal is to make this into an off roader, hardcore style. Picture-- Toyota wheeler on Ronnie Coleman doses of roids. And of course, diesel I want stage 2's, 40"+ tires, Flatbed, exocage, Durabak all over, lockers, ets.

I know the basics I'll need. Planning on 4-6" lift with significant front fender cutting. Rear shouldn't be an issue with the flatty on the back. I think I'll go with a 4.56:1 rear, Possibly 4:86. key with that is that I want it to be able to drive on the highway without redlining it. I could do the math but I'm too tired at the moment. Not sure what the best way to go with the turbo is... input?

Another issue I have, does anyone make a snorkel kit for these things? I know it's kinda a joke around here, but I wish I was joking when I think of how many times I have wrecked my 6637 in deep mud. So, to fit in with being ridiculous, I'll toss a snorkel in there too.

I've had several people try to talk me out of doing this for several reasons, the top two being that its a diesel and because it's so d@mn big. I love diesels, so that's a simple one, and I also love things that are slightly larger than average. Bottom line is, I'm determined, just gotta find a way to make it happen.

Thoughts?

This is what she looks like right now...



More in my gallery.

 

I like the enthusiasm and interest to build it up! The only drawback I see, is that it is a LWB, and that will pull a lot out of your super off road ability. I dont know what kind of off roading you plan to do though.. Good luck! Keep the updates going!

 

Snorkels are just plain awesome, even more so the need for one.

 

I think it's a great plan. Good luck with the build. Not sure on turbo options. The H2E might be a good one for you, but I'm not sure what RPM those like to spool at, so you might want something a little smaller to spool quicker.

 

I would think that a stock turbo will do well because the H2e will spool at 2000 RPM. You may want to spoll before then.

Some Rediculous things come to mind:
1- If you want a diesel and you heart is set on it then good... BUT...
That motor is way heavy and the front of that truck is going to want to sink real easy. If you really are going radical then think about trying to move the motor back thru the firewall. Yes you will have to do some major mods but you are looking to get a better center of gravity.

2- If you want the 4 door then that is great too ... BUT...
You will want to loose alot of the length off the rear. I would cut the frame and shorten it. I saw a pic once where somebody took a reg cab frame and put a 4 door cab on it. IT LOOKED AWESOME. The rear wheels were 6" behind the cab. Then you can loose some of the frame behind the axle. Slap a flat bed like you said on there and some roll bars/Exo skeleton and you are good.

Back to the turbo, If you get big enough gears the turbo will not be a problem trying to get it to spool. You can set the gears where she will run 2000 - 3000 RPM while cruising the trail. And if you want stage II's for sure then you will be in the H2e range so that will put you in the low gear category. You will still be able to drive on the roads but not on the interstate.

Also I would go more than 4-6 inches but if you wanna cut the front fenders you will be fine.

Also TOTALLY get rid of that suspension. I would go coil overs and a link style suspension. You have a 350 so you are good to go with the axles. I would look into machining the knuckles to accept the over knuckle steering. You will have a one off suspension but it will be bad azz!

Sounds like the first thing I would do is completely remove all body panels. Start shortening the wheel base and relocating the engine. Get the geometry and weights right first then the body will be gravy work.


Good luck.

 

Yeah, I haven't decided what I'll do about a turbo. Maybe stock, but if I go stage 2 then I would like more air. I'd like the low spool but I tend to run higher RPM off road so I'll probably go the bigger route.

I did the math this morning, and I think I'll probably do 4.86 gears if I can get away with it. I'll definitely have to upgrade axle shafts but that would put me at 2000 RPM at 60 MPH, and I think 1st gear in 4low should be low enough. I think I have the zf5-42, so if I can swap for a 47 then my gearing would be a lot better.

I know it's insane to keep the truck as long as it is... but... I'm gonna try. I already take it on quite a few trails that no one thinks I can make it. As far as the suspension goes, I'll probably keep leaf springs but go quite a bit lighter, more like half ton ratings but with the length of the stock springs, I think I'll get a pretty good amount of flex. And I like the simplicity of that swap...

Not familiar with over knuckle steering... I'll look it up.

 

Try to use SD front springs with the RSK. They are longer. Yo don't have to change the rear spring mount just the front.

 

You know, for the life of me, somewhere I remember comming across an aftermarket manufactorer of snorkels, and they had some general models that could fit our trucks, and speicifc types... I wish I could remember where I came across them!

 

A few more thoughts on this project...

I was looking around and I think I'd really like to upgrade to the ZF6/NVG271 combo. Between that and either 5.88 or 6.17 gears, I'd have an awesome low range (2.8 mph @ 2000 rpms!) and still hit 70 mph at around 2400 rpm, which isn't too far off of what it ran stock. Since I'm gonna be pretty deep into this project, I might as well.

No new thoughts on the turbo, except that I know mine is gonna need replacing sometime in the near future. I hate to replace it with something I'm gonna swap out soon anyways. What is the max PSI out of the stock turbo? I'd really like to be able to push 40-50 (obviously with some upgrades to the head area).

Axles... oh axles. I've read so many contradictory things on the internet about these axles. Bottom line is, I'm going to be upgrading to Detroit Lockers front and rear, 35 spline cryo'd shafts, etc. What I'm wondering is, with the front knuckles hold up, and if not, what upgrades are available? Also, will the housing hold up? If I swapped out the axles from a 99+ F350 to match the tranny/T-case, would that be an upgrade at all over stock? If nothing else, are the brakes better on those?

Fuel tanks are the next issue on my list. I'd really like to remove the current tanks and run dual saddle-style tanks either under the edge of the flat bed, on the bed, or something along those lines. Reason being that A.) I really want to mount a winch in the rear where the fuel tank is, and B.) I prefer easy access to as much as possible. Does anyone make something like that, or am I on my own there? Maybe I could just plumb into one of those big transfer tanks...

Finally (for now), I'm wondering about the steering. I've seen some pictures of some people running 44's on these, and I'm curious what was needed to upgrade the steering in order to handle those. I'm sure just driving around on the road would be ok, but serious wheeling would tear up the stock stuff I would imagine.

 

Maybe I will just do Rockwells... I didn't realize how cheap they were... plus the 6.72 gears... that would be interesting...

 

Stock turbo won't hold up long over 35psi. I probably wouldn't push it over 30 for long.
Check out the QSSB turbo from Wide Open Performance. Supposed to spool faster than the H2E and good over 450hp IIRC.

Don't think that the SD axles would really be an upgrade. With detroits your stock axles should hold up fine. Just remember your speedo won't work if you don't have a VSS on the rear axle. So Dana axles or Rockwells in the rear you'll have to figure out something for the speedo. The brakes are better because they have disc on the rear, but you can upgrade your stock rear to disc pretty cheap.

 

I think this might be what you are looking for as a starting place.






I would love to build one with rear steer and 6x6, but I misplaced my money tree.

 

I was thinking that a 6x6 would be cool. Even a 4x6 would be cool, just the rear 4 powered. Not sure what axles I would use though. Wouldn't want anything wider than stock.

I have a friend who built a 6x6 '74 Dodge using two stock rear 1/2 ton axles with custom leaf spring setup and using two t-cases to power it. Two rear driveshafts. One directly to the front-rear axle, and one to a carrier bearing then to the rear-rear axle. Running 42's on it and it's SICK!

 

How much power can a GearVendors overdrive handle?