Mid Engine Truck Welding...

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Hey Guys,  So remember me?  I am the crazy guy that shortened a truck, asked a few questions, and then was bombarded by flames about how unsafe the end result was.    Anyways, I am CERTAIN this one is going to receive a handful of flames as well...  But, I really don't care.  There are several people that will enjoy the project and these links are for them.  So, I took that short truck, and it just wasn't doing it for me, the 60HP diesel was just too slow.  I found a Ford Taurus SHO for next to nothing, and decided to persue an old dream by building a mid-engine car.  So, I cut the front off the car, cut the back off the truck, bought some 1/4" steel, and well...  You can guess from there.  My welds aren't GREAT.  But they are good.  In it's current state it wouldn't hold up to many wheelies, once I get it running, and mobile, I am going to grind down the poor welds, and re-weld them, and then add some additional plate between the Taurus "frame" and the plates.  All in all, when finished, even with my poor welds, it will be More then strong enough...  Link to pictures: http://www.joeynovak.com/wiki/index.php/SHOTruck  Link to coolant system pictures: http://joescoolprojects.blogspot.com/    Flame On!      Joey
Reply:Ok......... Not gonna flame you, I just don't get it. At all!I think it could really redefine the phrase "back-seat driver" I'm lost, and I really don't see how it could ever be road worthy. Maybe I'm missing something....Miller EconotigCutmaster 38Yes ma'am, that IS a screwdriver in my pocket!
Reply:Just when you thought you'd seen it all.. Interesting no doubt!...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Um.....I got nuthin'
Reply:I'll give you an A for imagination, but will reserve the rest of the comments and questions that come to mind until I see the finished project. Well at least I'm assuming and hoping it's not done yet. DaveI am what I am, Deal with it!If necessity is the Mother of Invention, I must be the Father of Desperation!
Reply:Are you going to rig it up for 4 wheel steering or install a seat for the back seat driver?
Reply:HAHAHAHA!!!! Man, you sure have a great imagination!! As long as you are happy,SAFE, are having fun, and so long as you keep that thing off the highway where there will be other cars, I say let your imagination run wild!! Good luck. I'll check the shed out back, see if I have any rocket parts or plane engines for you to add to it......And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rojodiablo I'll check the shed out back, see if I have any rocket parts or plane engines for you to add to it......
Reply:It cracks me up.  Around here we call em field cars. I once rode in a VW bus some one shortened.  Funny as heck.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Do you have to register it twice?  And is it on a two car insurance policy?Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Reply:on flame here  you have imagination ,but there are other ways to do what you want that would work and look better just my $0.02have fun with it lets see it wen your doneChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:You know, for all the threads we have had implode on themselves lately, and all the crap slingin' that has gone around..... I LIKE THIS POST!!! It reminds me of when I was young, and full of crazy ideas. I made some cool crap way back when. I made a lot of plain ole' crap, too. But it keeps the mind working, and in thinking outside the box, many great improvements to life have come about. So long as I don't have to drive next to it on the freeway, I am all for experimenting. THAT'S WHAT FABRICATING IS ALL ABOUT!!And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:I like it too. If the DMV will inspect it and let you run it on the road,go for it. If not it'll be a lot of fun off the road. That's why welders build trailers                       MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:I opened it waiting to see a Sho front end with a pickup bed not that.Will   Supports Autism Awareness                            My ToysBobCat 225 PLusMillermatic 130Miller Spectrum 300 CutmateEverlast Power Tig 185 Micro April is Autism Month .
Reply:I've heard stories about a truck that was built by Downing Atlanta - the motorsports company that was heavily into Mazda Rotaries.  Anyway, they wanted a crew cab and had a standard one, so they added a second cab mounted backwards behind the first.  It was known as the "push me pull you" truck.So, what diesel engine did the truck originally have?  I have an '84 Ford ranger that came with a 57hp Mazda diesel from the factory.  It redefines slow.
Reply:WTF.......good stuff-Graham-Mechanical EngineerAutosport Mechanic/Fabricator
Reply:Hmmm, I wish I had your energy!   Then I might take on the challenges I have been putting off.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Hey kf4oij,I like it!One of the dream projects I used to talk about building, -Besides the 12 cylinder diesel motorcycle- was an 800hp "booster pack" disguised as a tow behind camper trailer.  You don't know anyone who would be interested in attempting such a beast do you?
Reply:that´s some good imagination... But I don´t think that design for attaching the taurus will work...any good bump and voila! you got again 2 half vehiclesMy Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:A mid engine truck is a cool idea. Placing the car front behind a truck cab is an interesting way to accomplist this.I would however look into a shop in your area that has custom frame or frame lengthening experience ie a limo builder. See how they would attack the two section together.It's a good start to a project and an imaginative way around a couple problems and from what I could see your welds may be strong enough buy the design of the frame connection is not how I've done it in the past (not that there is only one way to do it) but I have never worked on unibody either. I just think it will cause you less grief if you find out now if the design will work rather than at the end.Keep up the projects no mater what people think. Just ensure the design will hold and not put yourself at risk.My Photos on Flickr
Reply:Hey Guys,  Wow!!!  I never expected that kind of response, I wasn't even going to come back and see what anyone wrote, until I saw how many of you had looked at it.  Thanks for the encouragement.  elvergon: Yeah, it looks like I just bolted those plates to the front, you may not have noticed the plate that is welded to the "frame member" of the unibody frame that attaches it to the vertical plate.  I already towed it about 25 miles from the garage I did the original cutting and welding to here.  I am fairly certain it will hold now, and I am not done yet.  I want to re-infoce the lower bar, as well as add another vertical plate on each side to further attach the unibody "frame member" to the truck frame.  denrep:  Have you seen the EV pusher trailors people build?  Check them out here: http://www.mrsharkey.com/pusher.htm  I think you could totaly build the 800 HP "Booster" pack, and make it "fairly" safe.  That would be awesome!!  Joe H: really???  Getting this thing to fly is my next goal...  j/k...  But, a rocket bike!!  Oh, what fun that would be!!!  I am going to keep the steering in the back operational, but to get it moving soon, I am just going to lock the shaft that used to attach to the steering wheel so that the wheels won't move.  But, I want to get a heavy worm gear, and set it up so you can steer the wheels from the front (only when going slow) with an electric motor. (Eventually)  Field cars eh?  That is awesome.  A short VW bus?  Would it flip over if they dumped the clutch?  Anyways,  Thanks again guys, I will post again when I get it closer to completion.    Joey
Reply:It looks like a lot of work for a SHO Tarus enigine.I've seen it done in the late 80's, and it was a real beast.  The guy put a Caddy Eldorado 500CI, FWD, mid engine in a Chevy S10, under a modified bed cover with ram-air scoop.  This was the largest American production motor ever made. I've also heard of one running around mid-engine in a VW Pickup (yeah, the old ones).  He used a custom, tube chassis rear section and the whole bed tilted up to allow access to the motor. It was a super-clean, show quality.  What a handful that would have been but it may have cornered OK.Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:Originally Posted by Rick Moran ...The guy put a Caddy Eldorado 500CI, FWD, mid engine in a Chevy S10, under a modified bed cover with ram-air scoop...   I've also heard of one running around mid-engine in a VW Pickup...
Reply:Personally, I can't see the end result you're trying to achieve, but, to each his own.I've toyed with this idea too, but I had visions of a '73-'80 Chevy truck with a blown big block mounted in the bed compartment and a tonneau cover over it.  My dream was to keep the truck looking as stock as possible, street legal, and have lots of HP behind the cab. Anyhow, good luck with whatever you're trying to accomplish.
Reply:Seen it done.....Remember those ugly cab-over pick-up trucks? I think ford built one.....There was a guy here in town that had one with a toronado front clip in the back.PatrickI have wondered for years why no one has marketed a kit car using this format.  I have seen a home made circuit race car using a toronado front end for the rear and a corvair front suspension with discs.  The guy layed up a fiberglass two seater body.  There are tons of front wheel drives laying around.
Reply:I think I remember those ugly cab over pick up trucks. They pick mine.
Reply:Wow! Talk about timing! I have an S10 coming in for a cage in 3 weeks and we're going to be doing almost the same thing! 1st gen SHO motor mounted as a mid engine swap. I'm sure there will be plenty of head scratching, measuring, and chalk drawings on the floor before it rolls out. It'll be a full on race truck with full cage, body dropped and sectioned 8" out of the cab for center steer/seating. I'll keep you guys posted on its progress.