thejudges69
Well-known member
As some of you may recall, last fall I had my own project where I basically tore down my whole peterbilt and had the frame painted and then reassembled it all myself with some help from a few friends and a couple family members.
Anyways, when we hauled my truck out to Lititz, Pa to get painted we unloaded my truck and loaded one of my good closest friends kenworth and hauled it back to ohio. Its been sitting at my dads since waiting on me to get to it. Well, the time has come to get going on it and I got to say I'm pretty excited to see what the outcome is. The truck is a 1996 Kenworth W900L with a hot Series 60 Detroit and a 13 speed transmission. The truck is now at a factory wheelbase of 274" because it originally had a 74" modular bunk on it. My buddy removed that and installed a 42" kenworth bunk and has not been happy with it. The project is to stretch the truck to a 300-305" wheelbase and install a Double Eagle aftermarket sleeper. I'll try to keep up on the pics as I go along as best I can.
This is the new cutoff, the truck is factory on Kenworth 8 bag suspension and anyone who has ever rode in one knows that it don't ride good for ****. My buddies words to me were "I don't care what suspension is under it, as long as it has 4 bags instead of 8". Well, we finally found a freightliner air liner suspension setup for a 34" wide frame, most of the air liners are 33.5" frame and have Rockwell rearends, we needed DS404 eaton housings so his rears will drop in and go.
Disassembly took longer then I anticipated. the new thing is for these truck manufacturers to huck rivet them together, they claim it is stronger. BUT, it takes forever to tear it down cause you have to cut all the rivets, we will be bolting it all back together with grade 8 bolts and lock nuts. The fifth wheel will be moved back 12 inches on the frame, basically centered over the suspension so he will have adequate movement forward and backwards to move weight on or off the steer axle if need be.
A big thank you goes out to P.G. adams in Vermont for the new rails. I figured that this was the easiest and cleanest way to do this job. It costs more upfront but the reward in the end is worth it. I used the rails from the freightliner cutoff as bolt patterns, only using the bolt holes I need and also adjusting the rail side to side on the new rails since the freightliner rails are roughly 3/8" shorter then the kenworth rails so I have to make the adjustment for bolt holes.
A very respected truck builder friend of mine gave me the idea of this, he told me to just put the old rail on top of the new rail and use each hole with a bit that size and center them and then I'll use my mag drill tomorrow to punch the holes out.
The donor bunk, my buddy bought this bunk 2-3 years ago off of Double Eagle with the thought that I would rebuild it. I finally got to tearing it down only to discover that it is very fixable but not in the time frame set for this job. This bunk is an early 80's sleeper and its a shape it is in such bad structural condition because the bunk is not corroded all to hell. I have the parts to fix it but the roof will need to be removed to do this job right. I decided to use it for parts to fix the damaged one, if you notice the corner of the bunk is cut off for the other bunk.
The good bunk, my buddy caught this one at a scrap yard on its way to its demise, 20 minutes sooner and it would have been a bolt on job but the scrap yard apparently kit one corner with a forklift and also poked the roof inside with a fork, the interior inside is torn and a small dimple in the roof with a small crack. I think it is very fixable though.
I forgot to take a picture before I cut this out but it was crinkled beyond repair. the floor is still crinkled and questionable. When it was struck by the forklift then damaged the corner, backwall and upright supporting the corner. The rear wall panel is junk and no longer usable so a new one will be installed. the upright will be cutout partially and a new upright installed and plated on the sides to add strength since we will only be able to weld it on 3 sides since the interior is still in the bunk. NOW, encase your asking why did I section that corner????? Well, Double Eagle we out of business 2 years ago, everything was sold at auction so these parts aren't readily available. When I spoke to a former Eagle employee he told me that the only way to fix this was to remove the roof, interior, and door jams. These corners are welded, riveted and bolted in, he suggested that we do this section, I was against it til I got into this a little bit. I'm using a piece of the donor sleeper to repair this corner. I still have to drop it at the weld shop to have the floor section cut out and repaired which I'm hoping will go smoothly. The side needs straightened under the door when this is done as well. If this don't come out good I will NOT be happy at all. I'm expecting the worst but praying for the best.
Test FIT..... This corner fit in there with a little work and lots of measuring. Them flap pad sanders on my grinder were awesome for the fine tuning on this piece. It is only in place at the top the wrinkled floor at the bottom is holding it out and also the bent upright is not allowing it to go into place. I measured all the rivet holes though and made the cut precisely the same so that all the rivets will match side to side when its all finished. The bottom light panel will also have to be replaced on both sides do to damage but that's not a big deal at all really.
I'm also going to be installing a unibilt bunk opening in the cab and sleeper which will allow the driver to slide his seat further back giving him more leg room and more comfort in the cab. Stay tuned for more updates hopefully daily this project should move along pretty good at least that's the plan.
Anyways, when we hauled my truck out to Lititz, Pa to get painted we unloaded my truck and loaded one of my good closest friends kenworth and hauled it back to ohio. Its been sitting at my dads since waiting on me to get to it. Well, the time has come to get going on it and I got to say I'm pretty excited to see what the outcome is. The truck is a 1996 Kenworth W900L with a hot Series 60 Detroit and a 13 speed transmission. The truck is now at a factory wheelbase of 274" because it originally had a 74" modular bunk on it. My buddy removed that and installed a 42" kenworth bunk and has not been happy with it. The project is to stretch the truck to a 300-305" wheelbase and install a Double Eagle aftermarket sleeper. I'll try to keep up on the pics as I go along as best I can.
This is the new cutoff, the truck is factory on Kenworth 8 bag suspension and anyone who has ever rode in one knows that it don't ride good for ****. My buddies words to me were "I don't care what suspension is under it, as long as it has 4 bags instead of 8". Well, we finally found a freightliner air liner suspension setup for a 34" wide frame, most of the air liners are 33.5" frame and have Rockwell rearends, we needed DS404 eaton housings so his rears will drop in and go.
Disassembly took longer then I anticipated. the new thing is for these truck manufacturers to huck rivet them together, they claim it is stronger. BUT, it takes forever to tear it down cause you have to cut all the rivets, we will be bolting it all back together with grade 8 bolts and lock nuts. The fifth wheel will be moved back 12 inches on the frame, basically centered over the suspension so he will have adequate movement forward and backwards to move weight on or off the steer axle if need be.
A big thank you goes out to P.G. adams in Vermont for the new rails. I figured that this was the easiest and cleanest way to do this job. It costs more upfront but the reward in the end is worth it. I used the rails from the freightliner cutoff as bolt patterns, only using the bolt holes I need and also adjusting the rail side to side on the new rails since the freightliner rails are roughly 3/8" shorter then the kenworth rails so I have to make the adjustment for bolt holes.
A very respected truck builder friend of mine gave me the idea of this, he told me to just put the old rail on top of the new rail and use each hole with a bit that size and center them and then I'll use my mag drill tomorrow to punch the holes out.
The donor bunk, my buddy bought this bunk 2-3 years ago off of Double Eagle with the thought that I would rebuild it. I finally got to tearing it down only to discover that it is very fixable but not in the time frame set for this job. This bunk is an early 80's sleeper and its a shape it is in such bad structural condition because the bunk is not corroded all to hell. I have the parts to fix it but the roof will need to be removed to do this job right. I decided to use it for parts to fix the damaged one, if you notice the corner of the bunk is cut off for the other bunk.
The good bunk, my buddy caught this one at a scrap yard on its way to its demise, 20 minutes sooner and it would have been a bolt on job but the scrap yard apparently kit one corner with a forklift and also poked the roof inside with a fork, the interior inside is torn and a small dimple in the roof with a small crack. I think it is very fixable though.
I forgot to take a picture before I cut this out but it was crinkled beyond repair. the floor is still crinkled and questionable. When it was struck by the forklift then damaged the corner, backwall and upright supporting the corner. The rear wall panel is junk and no longer usable so a new one will be installed. the upright will be cutout partially and a new upright installed and plated on the sides to add strength since we will only be able to weld it on 3 sides since the interior is still in the bunk. NOW, encase your asking why did I section that corner????? Well, Double Eagle we out of business 2 years ago, everything was sold at auction so these parts aren't readily available. When I spoke to a former Eagle employee he told me that the only way to fix this was to remove the roof, interior, and door jams. These corners are welded, riveted and bolted in, he suggested that we do this section, I was against it til I got into this a little bit. I'm using a piece of the donor sleeper to repair this corner. I still have to drop it at the weld shop to have the floor section cut out and repaired which I'm hoping will go smoothly. The side needs straightened under the door when this is done as well. If this don't come out good I will NOT be happy at all. I'm expecting the worst but praying for the best.
Test FIT..... This corner fit in there with a little work and lots of measuring. Them flap pad sanders on my grinder were awesome for the fine tuning on this piece. It is only in place at the top the wrinkled floor at the bottom is holding it out and also the bent upright is not allowing it to go into place. I measured all the rivet holes though and made the cut precisely the same so that all the rivets will match side to side when its all finished. The bottom light panel will also have to be replaced on both sides do to damage but that's not a big deal at all really.
I'm also going to be installing a unibilt bunk opening in the cab and sleeper which will allow the driver to slide his seat further back giving him more leg room and more comfort in the cab. Stay tuned for more updates hopefully daily this project should move along pretty good at least that's the plan.
