Introducing O'Billy - our new Type-II Ambulance

[mike.marcacci]

Operation #6: The Grille

So the van's been up at Diesel Tech for a little while now, and I've started to remember what weekends feel like! We've been climbing, sailing, going to weddings, getting extra work done... but every once in a while I get this fever. And the only prescription is more --- van stuff. So here's a quick little project we did a while back.

We're planning to paint the entire van in 75% (dark) gray Raptor Liner. To make things easy, we got 1 box of white (tintable) liner, and 3 of black which we'll just mix together instead of fuss with adding a bunch of tint. To get a feel for the material and to test the compressor that I had just picked up from a friend, I decided to fix and paint up our front grille.

It had some cracks, chips and missing chrome, so pulled off anything that was loose, cleaned, puttied, and sanded it, and gave it a couple coats. It took a bit of playing with the compressor to get it to keep the pressure I wanted, but by the end I had a much better feel for the whole system. We'll probably go for a bit finer texture on the van, but I really like the way this looks for the grille.

Before: notice the missing chrome in the top left. The exposed plastic was completely sunburnt and dirty for a couple mm, so I took it down until it felt solid enough for the bondo.


This was right after the last coat hardened enough for me to drop on the Ford emblem without it sticking:


The final look:


Over the next few days it continued to firm up, and I'm really happy with the end result. When we do the whole van it's going to add a lot: visually I think it's going to be a beast, but hopefully it will protect the sides from bushes and limbs, and maybe dampen road noise a tad.

 

[mike.marcacci]

I need some quick advice on adding lights to the turn/break signal circuits. Basically, I want to put amber lenses on the side "emergency pulse" lights and wire them into the turn signals, and red on the rear wired to the turn/break signals. I figure this is a really cool way to pay homage to the van's history as an ambulance while adding cool functionality! (I currently have painted the red lenses white as shown in the picture below, but am hoping to get some new ones from amockalypsenow's scrap ambo!)




Intuitively, this is very easy, except...

I downloaded the "ADDING LIGHTS OR ELECTRICAL DEVICES" fleet manual from Ford for the 03 (https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/2003/bb_pdf/207-208.pdf) which includes the warning:

Splicing into the stop lamp switch on vehicles
with Electronically Controlled Transmissions can
interfere with the proper functioning of PCM, speed
control, and anti-lock brake electronic modules. This
can:
• Affect EFI engine idle speed quality.
• Prevent the Powertrain Control Module torque
converter clutch from applying at throttle openings less
than half throttle.
• Deactivate anti-lock brake system operation
• Prevent the speed control from disengaging upon
braking.

Woah... so, I don't want those things to happen, but I feel like this should be easy. Has anybody else spliced into the turn/break circuits?

Thanks in advance!

 

[huskyhauler]

Is the warning just for splicing into the switch, or for splicing into the wiring for the turn signals?

I don't see why you can't run independent wiring from your batteries to the new bulbs, and tap into the existing turn signal wiring with a relay to activate the new bulbs.

 

[Ty_Deschaine]

Subscribed! I've been shopping for a 7.3L E350 Ambulance lately. Nice work so far! Super jealous of your find.

 

[mike.marcacci]

Is the warning just for splicing into the switch, or for splicing into the wiring for the turn signals?

I don't see why you can't run independent wiring from your batteries to the new bulbs, and tap into the existing turn signal wiring with a relay to activate the new bulbs.

That's a really great point – after you posted this, I dug a bit deeper and found Ford's Bulletin Q176 which actually lays out the installation procedure! It describes where to tap the 250mA customer access connector to add relays.

This is going to take a bit of studying – I think that if I do it all right, I should really just be trading the manual switches for the relay, and bypassing the "pulse" generator. We'll see how easy it ends up being...

Anyway, thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[mike.marcacci]

OK, update time! Diesel Tech has been super busy and I told them that this project isn't crazy urgent, so it's only just gone up in the air this past week. But... they gave the drivetrain a solid once-over confirming the newness of the transmission, and exceptional condition of the engine (thank God)! They did find an out-of-range sensor and swapped it out. Now for the fun part: the front axel that was already in their shop had a rear mate, so I was thinking I would have them swap both of theirs for mine, and avoid the need to add the rear spacer.

However, it turns out that the ambo already had 4.10 gears in the rear (yay!) but the donors are 3.73. So, instead of modifying the spring mounts on the rear donor AND changing their gear set, I've decided to stick with my current axel and use spacers. This does mean, though, that they'll be changing the gears on the front and all other wearing parts while they're already at it.

So my question for the forum is: should I add a True Trac to the front while I'm at it? I'm not exactly thrilled to shell out another $800, but with the whole thing already apart, labor is essentially free. I've had to use the rear lockers on Toyotas a few times, and I REALLY appreciated them when I used them. However, I am quite curious if adding a LSD up front with an open diff on the rear is worth the cash? Almost all the times I've needed special torque delivery have been when pointed up-hill, where the front was barely doing anything.

This van WILL be used off-road and in the snow, but never for crawling or anything like that. Is it worth it without anything in the rear?

 

[mike.marcacci]

Alright! Talked to Chris, and we're doing the True Trac's up front! I feel really good about this decision, 'cause after all, what good is 4-wheel drive if you can lose all 4 if just 2 lose traction?

Here's what it'll be wearing:

Pro Comp Series 5001, 17x9 with 8 on 170 Bolt Pattern - Satin Black



Toyo Open Country A/T II


but what size tires... it's between:

LT285/75R17 (33.8x11.2R17)
LT305/70R17 (33.8x12R17)

I was originally gunning for the 35X12.50R17LT, but I feel like I'd be trading in too much mileage, on-road performance, and mechanical stress for a little more "beast factor". Anybody know how much the wider 305s would reduce mileage compared to the 285s? I feel like the wider stance might be worth it.

 

[mk216v]

Nice on the TrueTrac, Chris likes those.
No idea on the mileage difference. I've never seen anywhere which displays this info. Although you should be able to calculate it using tiretech info; http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator

 

[mike.marcacci]

Although you should be able to calculate it using tiretech info

That's another cool little calculator - the real question I can't seem to answer from the simple math is how much the additional rubber effect the performance of the 305 vs the 285, even though they sit at the same diameter... I guess I'd have to factor in all sorts of material values to calculate rolling resistance :-/ Sounds like a lot of work.

Anyhow, Diesel Tech just posted up some photos of the build on their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieseltech_1/

 

[Ty_Deschaine]

Alright! Talked to Chris, and we're doing the True Trac's up front! I feel really good about this decision, 'cause after all, what good is 4-wheel drive if you can lose all 4 if just 2 lose traction?

Here's what it'll be wearing:

Pro Comp Series 5001, 17x9 with 8 on 170 Bolt Pattern - Satin Black
View attachment 343835


Toyo Open Country A/T II
View attachment 343836

but what size tires... it's between:

LT285/75R17 (33.8x11.2R17)
LT305/70R17 (33.8x12R17)

I was originally gunning for the 35X12.50R17LT, but I feel like I'd be trading in too much mileage, on-road performance, and mechanical stress for a little more "beast factor". Anybody know how much the wider 305s would reduce mileage compared to the 285s? I feel like the wider stance might be worth it.

I have the same tires on my F350 but in 295/70/16 and like them a lot. At the time I chose 295 but now that the truck has a 3" lift all around I wish I would have done 305s as they do look a smidge on the small side... I get about 15mpg combined with a 7.3L.

 

[mike.marcacci]

Ok, great to know - that's about the mileage I'm shooting for. I think I'm going to do 305s; I don't want the van to look like it always skipped leg day ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sheep Shagger]

I was originally gunning for the 35X12.50R17LT, but I feel like I'd be trading in too much mileage, on-road performance, and mechanical stress for a little more "beast factor". Anybody know how much the wider 305s would reduce mileage compared to the 285s? I feel like the wider stance might be worth it.

285 to 305 is 20mm or ~0.8". I went from 305 to 285 and it was a bad decision. Didn't notice any mileage change, but you'll need to run a higher pressure in the narrower tire to take the same load, and you will notice that. on the 285 80psi is 3100lbs on the 305 65psi is 3100lbs. Also 285 is on the narrow side for a 9" rim, I think 8.5" is the preferred rim size for 285.

 

[mike.marcacci]

285 to 305 is 20mm or ~0.8". I went from 305 to 285 and it was a bad decision. Didn't notice any mileage change, but you'll need to run a higher pressure in the narrower tire to take the same load, and you will notice that. on the 285 80psi is 3100lbs on the 305 65psi is 3100lbs. Also 285 is on the narrow side for a 9" rim, I think 8.5" is the preferred rim size for 285.

This is really helpful - I think between your and mk216v's stories I'm sold on the the 305s. I hadn't really considered the PSI difference, but that's a really good point. I originally spec'd the rim for the 35's, so the 305 makes the most amount of sense for sure.

 

[mike.marcacci]

One more quick question for the forum – when looking at 17" wheels compatible with the 8-on-170mm bolt pattern, I found a range of offsets and backspacing. Are there general guidelines for how these will effect handling with the wider axels and lift?

 

[mike.marcacci]

OK, so I think the Pro Comp website is wrong (which was confusing the ******t out of me):

The wheels I'm looking at (series 5001) say:

Wheel Size: 17x9
Offset: 6.6
Backspace: 4.75


While others (series 7069) say:

Wheel Size: 17x9
Offset: -6
Backspace: 4.75


And there's just no way you can have the same backspace on the same width rim and have 12.5 mm different offset, right? Like, backspace = ½ wheel’s width + offset + ½”, right?