Fuso build in BC (on an islanders budget)

[Uncle_jesse]

Well after a few years of looking at many different builds and pondering what truck to finally do a build on I have settled into a 03 fg ... I searched high and low for one out my way and missed out on 2 that were in my budget range and ended up finding one in Ontario .. Yes not the most desirable place to purchase a truck from that's for sure but none the less after quite the ordeal to bring it out west it's now sitting in my driveway awaiting it's future but I'm hardly out of the gate with my build and I'm at a stand still .. Like I said befor Ontario not the greatest place to buy a vehicle from it did make the 5000km journey under its own power so I'm confident in the running gear but unfortunately the frame and cab are another story the floor in the cab is well... Missing but repairable .. The frame although having no cracks is rather thin the rails under the cab have been plated I'm guessing from damage insued from its days as a plow truck but I can deal with that it's more the issue of the part of the frame just forward of the S bend where it's double plated the inner has rusted out .. Now I'm not afraid of and heavy fab work that might have to happen but I'm looking for .. "Easier" options I have had little to no success with locating any parts or a parts truck orfthe same body style hoping that I could find even a 2wd truck and use what I could but next to completely fabricating a complete chassis from scratch The only other option I have come up with is a chassis from a 05 FE but I'm unsure if they are close enough to being the same mounting points ie: cab mounts and motor mounts I know the back half is different but I can deal with that .. I'm looking for any good ideas and suggestions

Cheers Jesse

 

[kerry]

Have you talked to Busbee's about a frame?

 

[Uncle_jesse]

Yea but the shipping would be huge $$$

 

[kerry]

Have you checked out the thread about Doug Hackney's old truck getting a new frame. Puggslvy's (sp?) thread.

 

[kerry]

Any pictures?

 

[Uncle_jesse]

Have you checked out the thread about Doug Hackney's old truck getting a new frame. Puggslvy's (sp?) thread.

No I havent see that one the only one I've seen is "Alan's " canter build .... I Don't have any close up photos of the frame I'll try and get a few tomorrow

 

[Uncle_jesse]

Here's a couple I had already

 

[kerry]

That's nasty.

 

[Uncle_jesse]

Just took a few but not the greatest

 

[kerry]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/128180-Well-I-broke-it

 

[Uncle_jesse]

What are the thoughts on adapting a FE chassis to work leaving the rails straight and not doing the S drop I'm planning on building a flatdeck with a dump on it so it will hold my camper as well .. Again looking for ideas and wisdom :ylsmoke:

 

[SkiFreak]

Just took a few but not the greatest

You definitely have some work ahead of you...

 

[SkiFreak]

What are the thoughts on adapting a FE chassis to work leaving the rails straight and not doing the S drop

The biggest issue with this is how you would do the rear suspension. You would need to do something like Alan did to cover the 8" or so of the step.

 

[Uncle_jesse]

You definitely have some work ahead of you...

Now that's an understatement haha ... Oh well I've got nothing to loose at this point

 

[Uncle_jesse]

The biggest issue with this is how you would do the rear suspension. You would need to do something like Alan did to cover the 8" or so of the step.

Yea I've built drop brackets on a few domestic trucks before so if I can get 4" out of dropping the spring hangers and do a 4" block I think it will all work out .. I'm running on a low to no budget for this build but I'm not willing to half *** it so regardless the frame has to be dealt with but I'm leaning towards swapping a FE frame under it but still need to figure out if the 05 one I found will work