Posted by J.R.
on 7/27/2012, 12:18:55, in reply to "TIlt Cab Idea-?"
71.95.18.40
If you look at the pictures of the various FC Roundups & GTGs, you'll notice that quite a few have been done, even a couple of M-677s, and a huge number of tilt/dump beds as well.
Planning to do a tilt cab & dump bed on my FC170 here also, so I've looked around a bit & asked a bunch of questions of folks. One thing I've noticed is that our FC cabs are quite a bit lighter than most of the COE truck cabs... basically a good thing, especially if one is adding A/C, interior 'upgrades', or other cab modifications.
A good suggestion I received was to use aircraft surplus control surface hydraulic units, but with utilizing the onboard compressed air, to tilt up & lower the cab, good balance & smooth controls being the main concerns with that idea. Another recommendation was to tilt the cab -away from- as many floor controls as possible, to avoid unnecessary cable, hose & line chafing or binding, as well as simplifying routing of control rods, etc. That would also depend on the engine layout, one reason I'm losing the V8 & returning to an inline six-cylinder configuration, although not the original Willys.
With a goal of secure mounting & minimizing cab twisting, my plan is to connect a sub-frame to the cab in several (more than 4!) spots and actually pivot the sub-frame off the FC's frame. Doing it that way should also allow more flexibility for better ride cushioning in the cab, whether by air bags or variable density foam/rubber cushion pads.
Given the scope of today's hot rods, show cars, jumpers, cab dancers, low riders, wannabe desert racers & urban ricers, etc. the pieces & parts are readily available. The challenge for most of us is to actually do it right the first time, and at a minimum of cost.
Hope that gives some useful input to the process for you. If you look around Craig's website you'll see a lot of great ideas that have been carried out, most with really good results, and some just downright ingenious.
Have fun.
J.R.
SoCal
--Previous Message--
: I'm in Fl. and I want to tilt the cab on my
: FC-170, and put A/C in it also. I have
: looked at the pic of the green & white
: one for hours, but I've never done a tilt
: cab, I have 1 COE here now that is a real
: bear to work on it and I want my FC easy to
: work on.
: Any input would be great, Thanks, Wayne
: PS-my FC is all stock wrecker
:
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