Q tip Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I told myself I was going to build a nice little day cab out of this kit,but that idea lasted about two seconds after opening the box! Opened a port on the drivers side to take a second air cleaner and extended the hood somewhere around one scale foot. The sleeper was a chore, used two and a half standered sleepers to make this box. Filler putty comes next to clean up the gaps. Comments are more than welcome......thanks Q! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckrodder Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 you made that sleeper look nice on the b ox it looks to short for that cab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 the stock sleeper looked as if it needed lifted to match the cab , but that's how they were made.hence the phrase coffin sleeper. wheel base is way to short for my taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBad Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 (edited) That should look pretty good! What's your plan for diesel motivation since you have all that space under the hood to fill? I could easily imagine a nice 12V71... Even with twin turbos! Edited May 29, 2013 by BigBad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilrathy10 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Looks pretty awesome to me....That's some great work on this....And great imagination, too....I can't wait to see more.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badluck 13 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 John nice stretch on the hood,love the design on the sleeper box,want more!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo590 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 very nice so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 well I have a nice v8 cat I have been looking at. im building this truck kind of backwards. I wanted to get the body the way I want it and kind of build around that platform. does that make any sense? one thing I have decided on was the color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
signguy2108 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Going to be cool with the long hood. Pity the guy who has to drive it, they were hard enough to see over with the regular hood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flat-top Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Dog Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 thats looking good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 using the straight edge and the back side of my xacto knife I scribed panel lines to break up the emptiness of the sleeper sides and then used the pin vise to make rivet dents. since i'm running twin air cleaners I choose to stick with the square ones just because they go along with the boxyness of the truck itself. I had to rework the one for the left side by cutting and regluing the intake on the back side next to the cowling. now the frame. with just the hood and cab setting next to the kit chassis, i can kind of ballpark the stretch i'm looking for. for extra frame rails, I used square stock and cut it in half. find a spot on the stock rails and cut. I try to find a spot that can be consealed if need to be. use angle on the inside for support, and walla! shes straight and square............enjoy Q. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_lever1 Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Sweet looking build John like the sleeper just looks so much better. Glad it's not a true coffin sleep those where true coofin if you woke up you were very lucky.Just think of sleeping under the front of the trailer in the front on the old trucks behind the drives and before exhausts where raised up.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 Now with the chassis together,axles and suspension go on. Kit bashing the IH 4300 for the front and axle stubs for the rear, I ended up narrowing the front by an 1/8 inch so it would fit under the fenders. The rears went on as normal.After that was done,its time to start a mock up and figure out where fuel tanks etc, will be placed....thanks ,looking forward to comments.......Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Finally played down some paint on hood and cab.duplicolor primer chased with aluminum base coat and followed with purple pearl. Used the kit supplied decal stripes and added extras to the fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBad Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 This is looking pretty good, John! You're inspiring me for my own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 I chose to leave the sleeper in bare metal form just for kind of a wow factor. I've seen pics and I've seen in person these old mercury sleepers left with a shiny finish. First its different then the main stream plus their just neat looking. Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckrodder Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 gunna look good sweet purple plus that bare mercury sleeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jekylljr Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostas Parchas Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 NIce color choise and nice stripes. This look is a killer combined with the mercury sleeper. Kostas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 While the forum was down a lot has changed on this build.first the bare metal sleeper had a book accidently dropped on it, so I went with a smaller box.bad paint reaction. So.....on to a different route. Heavy haul, as normal the razor knife came out and went to work . enjoy...john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBad Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Big hood, big frame, big bumper, big exhausts, big tires... Approved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinac359 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Yeah- what BigBad said ! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 x3 what Robert said! In the last pic, are you building a Zacklift removable tow boom for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q tip Posted July 26, 2013 Author Share Posted July 26, 2013 since im in the towing industry and we have a full fleet ranging from a 1 ton up to a 50 ton rotator including 3 different quick swaps I figured I would mix match and create my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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