OK, I have been working at Freightliner now for a few months. Love the job. Spend all day around medium&heavy duty trucks. I have fallen in love with the straight forward build of these things. Two huge rails down the center, everything bolts up square to them. Air bagged cabs, tilt up hoods, and the big airbags in the back. So, it got me thinking.....

What if one was to buy a old school bus, completely remove the body&cab, then cut the frame and move the rear axle way up forward, and put a small medium duty cab and hood on the front? Then build up the DT466 for like 1000HP (which I have read is very doable)? Trans too of course. You'd have a bad *** hauler that could do the 1/4 in 11 seconds.

Any thoughts on this project? Cool? Bad idea for a reason I'm not thinking of?

 

Yes this would make a bad *** hauler.

I like the DT466 it has a ton of potential

 

You could do that or buy a Freightliner FL70/80 and repower it.

 

I like the idea of buying the heavy duty frame and the engine/trans I want all in one go. Like to stay away from swapping. This is not a rush project. I can wait for a year to find the right bus, or maybe a flat bed with a DT466 if it's a good price. I just said bus cause I know they tend to come along much cheaper.

I should mention when i said hauler, I meant a really short rear with a swappable fifth wheel or gooseneck hitch. I'd haul using a trailer. Imagine only 5' of frame beyond the back of the cab, with the hitch at the very back of the rails, and the axle right underneath the hitch. Be short like a tow truck is short. I notice those are duallys with a wheelbase of a shortbed/standard cab, and nothing much beyond the back of the tires (no overhang). I like that look.

Maybe even put a 2nd gen Dodge Ram cab on the frame, don't know if that could work, but if it could, I'd like it.

I like the idea of the vehicle being only a chassis to hold the driver and drivetrain, and using different trailers to do different work.

 

Just buy yourself a little older international with a Dt466 already in it. You can always buy a bus and then just drop a cab on it and cut the frame.

 

I know the 93-96 DT466s are "the ones" with the massive P7100 pump. I got a 94 Dodge Cummins now, I love that pump. But are the older ones only different in that they have a different pump? I could go for a older vehicle/engine and just swap a pump in? I'd end up getting a totally bombed out pump anyway.

 

Power company trucks or any fleet type international ya could keep an eye out for also. They can usually be picked up cheap.

www.purplewave.com and www.bidspotter.com are some pretty good auction sites. Purple Wave is primarly KS tho.

 

Wow...cool site that bidspotter. Here's a perfect candidate:

http://www.bidspotter.com/auctions/5005/photos/303.jpg

Those dump trucks already have a ultra short wheelbase. 152". Figure I cut the frame just past the axle. The back of the rear tires would be the back of the vehicle. Those tires are about 41" diameter. So you got 152" wheelbase, 20.5" out back, 20.5" out front, and then it's about 15" from the tire to the bumper. 208" overall. That's the same length as a standard cab, shortbed 3rd gen Dodge Ram. It's also the exact same width as a dually. Cool, I can still park it.

Damn, forget the school bus. Spend a little more on a dump truck like that, and I don't need to move the axle/suspension, or swap a cab. Already done. Just pull the dump bucket off and slash off the frame just past the axle. A shorty flatbed and a hitch off the very back.

I'm getting antsy.......

 

I like the low pros, if you could find one of those it would be awesome.

 

if you get one like that you got to put the old style nose on it, its way better looking