Sitec's Truck......

Having gutted the body internally, it was time to start getting my head around widening the body by 340mm, without dropping one or both of the halves, as it is quite probable! :) A plan was hatched... Weld 4 spreader bars in place, mark the centers of all the cross spars, and then chop! With some back up straps, stands and blocks in place, it was time to start the chop! An hour and some tentative sizing up and it was time! That Pilbara red dust gets everywhere!!

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I have been waiting patiently for years for an update! [emoji1303][emoji3]

Last one for today. With the two halves now 340mm apart, it was time to weld them back together. The roof is not changing, so this was easy. Cut a load of 50 x 50 SHS and tack them in. The floor however needs to be lowered, making use of the space that was side skirts when the body was on the Isuzu. To make a new floor and keep the body straight was going to be a challenge, so I deemed it wise to fill the gaps in the cross rails on the old floor to keep the whole body solid and in one piece. With this done, I could build the new floor at the new lower level, and once structurally sound, then cut the original floor out. Suddenly our long slim box feels huge! I also need some support for the new floor, so the old arches and side skirts need to go.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by grey_ghost

I have been waiting patiently for years for an update! [emoji1303][emoji3]

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Sorry it's taken soooo long! Good to see familiar faces still here! :)

Welcome back. Good see some progress.
Don.

Thanks Don. Yup, there's been quite a bit. The last few months I've had a bit of a break as I needed it, but I'm getting back into the project finally!

As this project progressed, I realised that there was only so much I could retain in my head! We had a layout, and now I needed a scale plan to work too. Pen was put to paper and for the first time I could see what the truck should look like... Here's our plan and side view, both to scale.

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Welcome back sunshine, good to see the updates - I’ll try and get that info on the series brakes tomorrow as well - plumb forgot today, I was a little hung over... 😇

Hi Simon - Drawings look good. They're not very aerodynamic things are they?

I just got new tyres on my truck. Went down a couple of sizes from 425/65s to 385/65s (so, to Super Singles). Speedo is now correct and I've got a tiny bit more acceleration. Also, the tyres are a bit lighter which makes then easier to manhandle. It looks funny though with the smaller wheels, and it is a bit lower to the ground so a bit easier to get in and out of.

Cheers
David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Hi Simon - Drawings look good. They're not very aerodynamic things are they?

I just got new tyres on my truck. Went down a couple of sizes from 425/65s to 385/65s (so, to Super Singles). Speedo is now correct and I've got a tiny bit more acceleration. Also, the tyres are a bit lighter which makes then easier to manhandle. It looks funny though with the smaller wheels, and it is a bit lower to the ground so a bit easier to get in and out of.

Cheers
David

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Hi David.

Yeah, they were a necessity. Trying to guess where stuff would be just wasn't working. The drawings allowed me to work out bed heights in relation to spare wheel storage and ground clearance etc... What was the reason for downsizing your tyres? Availability when out bush? Cheers!

Yeah - So I didn't need to carry 2 spares, and just due to the excessive tyre weight when trying to change the buggers. I got the 425s really cheap but I knew they were a bit too big when I bought them. Got sucked in by the low price!