V8 Diesel Trike... old Uhaul truck

Is the metal baseplate in your pic, going to be incorporated into the frame?
It looks pretty good regardless, but having the engine/trans on a removable platform might ease the construction, & any later service requirements down the road?
Keep pluggin away, you'll get there!ThumbUp
Ask any true builder & he or she will tell you: its sometimes one step forward & 2 steps back...
The trick is keeping those backward dance moves to a minimum!

The steel engine cart it's mounted on won't be part of the final design but the engine and transmission mount will have "feet" incorporated into them so I can pull the engine and transmission out as a unit and it will sit level on a concrete slab or other hard surface. This is a carryover from my oilfield career where pulling engines and transmissions was common and having them stand on their own without the use of a special stand was nice and necessary.
 
Detroit diesel 3-53T mated up to Spicer 3053A Transmission

Well, first dry fit. Love it! Still need a clutch but I just had to see what it would look like. The feet on the motor mounts are part of the design. Built in engine stand!
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So... not a trike but check this out. Jason at Militarytrucks.com in Liberty Hill Texas sold me my transmission and other wonderful things. He had this beauty hanging around. WW2 issue! The real deal!

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Once it'd done I really need help on various social functions going on in louisiana, tx, Mississippi, etc. Where is kerriville?!?!??!

Kerrville is in the Texas Hill country, where we have a yearly gathering in November. Great riding!
 
Well... Test fit the engine/transmission in the frame. Transmission and differential alignment was way off. Had to remove the spacer blocks from under the leaf springs and flip the front spring mounts. Looks better.
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Ok... Educate me. Sway bar on rear axle. I'm running a 10.25 ford (sterling) dually rear axle. It has a sway bar. From what I have read about sway bars I'm sure it came in real handy in my projects past life as a Uhaul truck. Big ass box full of furniture and shit leaned a lot in turns. Well, now the box is gone. Body is gone too. The trike is far from top heavy. Will I still need the sway bar? It might help the handling in corners but from what I read I'll also have a stiffer ride. It's a 1 ton axle on a vehicle that weighs less than a smart car! What's your $00.02?

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It really depends on the type of riding you plan on doing on it.
There is no way you'll be carrying the weight that the running gear was originally designed for so, I can't see how there would be any noticeable benefit it keeping that piece in the end product.
Now if you plan on spirited driving, towing a heavy trailer, or using it for anything other than carrying you & or a passenger, you might want it. It will stiffen the rear suspension which translates to a harsher ride.
If it was me I'd probably build it with it and if the resulting ride is too harsh, it could always be disconnected...
 
It really depends on the type of riding you plan on doing on it.
There is no way you'll be carrying the weight that the running gear was originally designed for so, I can't see how there would be any noticeable benefit it keeping that piece in the end product.
Now if you plan on spirited driving, towing a heavy trailer, or using it for anything other than carrying you & or a passenger, you might want it. It will stiffen the rear suspension which translates to a harsher ride.
If it was me I'd probably build it with it and if the resulting ride is too harsh, it could always be disconnected...

could be mistaken here but i dont think the sway bar will nake any difference in the ride it doesnt act as any sort of shock absorber or spring, basically does nothing till you start to lean

i do agree you probably wont "need"
 
Yeah. This will be part of the test drive phase. Ride with and without. See how much of a difference it makes. I do plan on hauling a trailer from time to time. Maybe a small camper. I could always set up a way to disconnect it and hang it so it's not active but it's there if I need to bolt it up real quick.
 
The only experience I've had with a swaybar on one of my "toys" was on a Polaris 700 Sportsman with independent rear suspension.
The factory installed swaybar definitely made going over bumps harsher.
I disconnected it, and the suspension immediately turned "cushy" and noticeably smoother over bumps and rocky/rough trails.
Not sure how the ride quality would be on a solid axle rear trike operated strictly on the road, with or without a swaybar...:Shrug:

I think your on the right track in this thought: "I could always set up a way to disconnect it and hang it so it's not active but it's there if I need to bolt it up real quick".ThumbUp
 
Well, this has been a trying week. I live dang near in the middle of all the crazy ass flooding in south Louisiana. My house stayed dry but my parents got 2 1/2 feet of water in their home. More friends and family than I can count were flooded. It's a disaster down here. Cajuns will prevail but this crap sucks. My trike project was on high ground so it's still fine. All of this did have me thinking, how big would pontoons have to be to make the war trike amphibious!?!?!!?!
 
Sorry to hear of the flooding & the tough times for all in LA right now.
Looks like lots of outside support is starting to happen, & hopefully the residents pulling together will get most through this tragedy...

As far as an amphibious trike goes, well you may be onto somethingThumbUp
Maybe a modified airboat platform, with a PTO for the fan???
 
Well, this has been a trying week. I live dang near in the middle of all the crazy ass flooding in south Louisiana. My house stayed dry but my parents got 2 1/2 feet of water in their home. More friends and family than I can count were flooded. It's a disaster down here. Cajuns will prevail but this crap sucks. My trike project was on high ground so it's still fine. All of this did have me thinking, how big would pontoons have to be to make the war trike amphibious!?!?!!?!

I volunteered cleanup in the area for a month when Katrina went threw. I was living in florida at the time The shiet the folks had to endue was terrible. Hope all works out well for your family and friends
 
I appreciate the good will. My parents were emotionally crushed after seeing their home of over 40 years filled with over 2 feet of muddy river water. Quick thinking and hard work has really turned it around. They are emotionally doing much better and the house has really come along well....As for my possibly amphibious trike. I'm thinking of a pontoon frame thing I can easily remove with tractor pins and drive around (at low speed) with it attached to the trike. Something like that would have really come in handy recently!!!!Screenshot_2016-08-22-16-46-25.jpg
 
Anyone familiar with the laws in Louisiana concerning trikes built from cars/trucks? I plan on calling the DMV and my insurance company before I really get I to turning wrenches and cutting steel.
Was going to suggest this very action. States all around you are not allowing these vehicles to be registered anymore. You go out a big chunk of $$$$ ($4,000-$6,000) getting the welds certified only to find out you can't drive it on public roads.

Good luck and welcome aboard.

8~\o
 
Well... I'm back at it! I've had ongoing issues with connecting this beast of an engine and transmission to the rear end. The 353t is a tall engine. The bottom of the oil pan is a little less than 15 inches below the center of the crankshaft. Once you get the engine low enough to line up the driveshaft you have to dig a hole in the ground for the oil pan to sit. Anyway, I finally decided to cut the saddles loose on the rear end and rotate it up a few degrees. Due to the short driveshaft and built in offset of the differential on the axle my driveshaft guy suggested I run the driveshaft as straight as possible (up and down). The 1 1/4 offset of the differential (left and right) will be more than enough to make the u joints work. Finished driveshaft is approximately 13 inches with around 5 inches of spline for movement. So... to visualize how the engine and transmission will have to sit in the frame, I make a simple mockup. 1 1/4 box with a flange bolted to the yoke. The expanded metal and plate represent the oil pan which is the lowest part of the engine. I have 8 inches of clearance under the differential. I set the angle of the mockup tube so I would have at least 8 inches under the back of the oil pan. This is what the centerline of the engine and transmission would look like sitting in the frame... many pics below...

- - - Updated - - -

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:Agree: it will be awesome.
Glad to see you back on your project BMB. Don't slow down nowThumbUp
8" of clearance under the pan should be fine for most street use, unless you go offroading?
 
So... now I totally have my panties in a bunch over the angle of the engine and transmission. To get my driveshaft right and have 8 inches of clearance under the oil pan in need 10 degrees maximum angle. This is what that would look like.... freaking engine is jacked back. I'm not concerned about looks, just the mechanics of it. Will it cause issues with the engine?
I will be on the horn with Deteoit Diesel tomorrow begging for help.
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