Ford LTL 9000 Custom with Livestock Trailer

[Romell R]

Hey Matt when your down in Cali in that monster just stop by and pick up me and the wife I know you have a spare room in there LOL! Great job Bro but im like the others need an update MAN!

[highway]

there are a few shows close to your area, toledo ohio nnl in oct, three rivers in pittsburg this month and old potbelly show in new stanton pa in nov. i have to check my list.....i'm sure i can come up with a few more. i will be at most of them, hope to see you at one

Thanks, Hunter! I guess I should rephrase that slightly, I should have said shows that are close enough to me that I trust my truck to get to and won't take a full tank of fuel in the process!

Pittsburgh and New Stanton are only about 60 miles each away, and the round trip is almost a full tank of diesel in my big dually, but I'm maybe hoping to get a friend of mine convinced to go to at least one of them, and we'll take his PT Cruiser. Much better fuel mileage!

[highway]

Hey Matt when your down in Cali in that monster just stop by and pick up me and the wife I know you have a spare room in there LOL! Great job Bro but im like the others need an update MAN!

No problem, Bro! By the way, you forgot about the hot tub!!

As for updates, I know I need to badly do that, and I've been slacking (McFLY, YOUR A SLACKER! ), but I'm planning to get back to it this weekend and work on it while I'm trying to finish a couple builds I have for the Jairus race plane build that are due on the 22nd.

[codie27]

Nice work,looking forward to seeing this one finished. Its gonna look great!

[Alfnut]

Not sure bout the Pitt date but I think Potbelly show is Nov 7th. I know its at the firehall off exit 57 on I70

[tanarries]

you better get going on that truck or void will beat you in gitting it done....lol

but i know the feeling i am stalled on mine too matt hope to get some updated pics in my wip soon

[highway]

Well, finally I have it back on the bench, and even though it's a mini update, it's an update! First off, many thanks to Hunter (showbuilder) for saving my rear and having an extra set of hood hinges for this he sent me and I received today. I tried to make a set, but failed horribly, but I'm hoping to at least turn the fail into a win, I'm going to modify them to make hinges for the bumper. Here's where I'm at with it right now.

I was also lucky enough to talk to a fellow trucker one day who was nice enough to show me how his 1:1 moose bar operated and mounted, so the idea of the hood and bumper as one is completely gone, the bumper will be independant of the hood. I also noticed that the real one I looked at sets about 6 inches forward of where the stock bumper would mount, so I added a front crossmember to push the bumper out so it doen't hit the steer tires.

[b_lever1]

that is very nice wish we had something like that here on the farm

[highway]

Ok, another little mini update, but hey, at least I'm working on it again! I did a little refining to the metal rods that failed as hood hinges, and got things to more or less fit the way I want. I still have to do some work on the tubes that I'm attaching to the frame and the bumper for the hinges, and may try to make another less bulky set of hinges, but the tubing is at least in the right places. The bumper still lines up the way I first wanted it to.

I still also have to modify the bumper some more and make it even bigger to extend back since the bumper now sits a scale 6 inches more forward, but that also solved the other slight problem, the bumper hitting the steer tires.

Here's the bumper tilted,

...and plenty of room for the hood to open fully!

[cowboysevens]

hey matt couldnt you move the tube hinge part that is on the bumper down towards the bottom of the bumper that way it wont swing down , instead it will just lay out?

dennis

[highway]

hey matt couldnt you move the tube hinge part that is on the bumper down towards the bottom of the bumper that way it wont swing down , instead it will just lay out?

dennis

The tube on the bumper is as far down as it can go, the buckets for the driving lights won't let it go down any farther.

[mikeD1]

The tube on the bumper is as far down as it can go, the buckets for the driving lights won't let it go down any farther.

where the hottub and the ladies!!!!??? lol

[Kostas Parchas]

Matt,

The bumper looks great!!!

I like the way it works.

Kostas.

[highway]

Who's ready for an update? Well, here's an update, I QUIT! I got so upset that I just couldn't keep my sanity and before I needed to be dragged to the looney bin, I took the biggest sledge hammer I could find and SMASHED IT TO BITS!!!

HAHAHA JUST KIDDING!!!!!

I had you all going for a minute, didn't I?!?!

Ok, seriously though, I do have a major update, but you have to see the teaser update first. The teaser update is some in progress pics of the interior.

I put some BMF on the door handles, since I like the shiny stuff!

These are a few teasers of the idea of what the interior will be like when it's finished.

Oh, by the way, there is one thing that is in pieces, but it's not because of a sledge hammer! The bumper is in a few pieces because I have been reworking it slightly, and it is nearly finished, so you'll see it hopefully by the end of the week.

[highway]

Ok, I tortured everyone enough with my last post, so here is the big update. The frame is now in paint! It's just not any paint, either, it's another Rustoleum Colorshift color called "Gamma Green". I found it Saturday night when I went to Lowes to pick up another can of the "Galaxy Blue" Colorshift to put a couple more coats on the cab. I have seen, of course with the execption of the intense green, shades of purple and gold in the frame so far, and waiting for the rain to leave so I can see it in the sunlight. Anyway, enough chit chat, on to the pics!

Here it is with the (finally finished) cab.

[cowboysevens]

looking good matt!! i really like both of those colors

dennis

[clayton]

I have got to get mine going again,,, all most done till I dropped it just about had it done over then A 8 year old got a hold of it,Honk honk move out the way( it broke can you fix it)

Looks great.

Edited October 27, 2010 by clayton

[Guest Johnny]

Coming along nicely! Going to be one heck of a rig when done!

I had to give up looking last night and come bact to it this morning! I was looking at one of your newest pictures and found myself trying to figure out just what I was looking at. It was the upsidedown cab!!! I knew it was time for bed at that point!

[whale392]

You know, Matt; with the truck being as long as it is.......it almost screams for some lower tank/frame cladding to add to the long/low/smooth look.

[highway]

You know, Matt; with the truck being as long as it is.......it almost screams for some lower tank/frame cladding to add to the long/low/smooth look.

Well, she will have chrome strips along the bottom of the cab and sleeper for the extra light panels, I gotta have chicken lights! As for the tank area itself, I'm going to have fuel tanks from front to rear and then steps I got from Porky (Eric), so there hopefully won't be to much showing under the sleeper after that, just a LOT of chrome!

[whale392]

That's cool Matt. Chrome and colorflip should look good together.

[freightshaker]

Thats one heck of a truck.. you're really stretching it buddy. haha

[Gray Smith]

I've been lurking thru this thread and figured it was time to say hello..lol

I really like the paint colors you have chosen and the stretch is great! I can't wait to see this one finished.

[cam]

Looking good,I just went back through all nine pages of this post. You've come a long way Matt.

[highway]

Looking good,I just went back through all nine pages of this post. You've come a long way Matt.

Thanks, Chris! It's been a little tough at times, but comments like that and all the kind words everyone has given me the inspiration to keep going!

By the way, a small update, I still have a few things to paint in the interior, but I hope the interior will be installed later tonight or tomorrow. I will also have a mock up pic or two of the slightly larger front bumper, too. I want to try and get the small things out of the way before I get to the last major modification, the monster under the hood! I'm still not letting the secret out yet, but it will be reveiled later this month for sure, the community build this is in is over Dec. 1! I will give everyone one hint, it is definitely NOT a Cummins 6!