7.3 Rock Crawler/Street legal trail rig?

[WILD_PHIL]

I currently have a Suzuki Sidekick that I use like most of you use a side by side. It does an awesome job but isn't big enough for my needs. I flirted with a few other vehicles and then it hit me. Why not do a 7.3 Powerstroke. I hit Google and came up with some cool pictures and a couple of videos of an OBS. I'm wondering if anyone on here has done this before. I've seen some prerunner/baja projects but not quite what I'm thinking about.

Platform will be a crew cab 4x4 auto. I'm thinking about cutting the Frame and shortening it up right behind the cab. I'll run military 37s. Cut the front fender like a jeep. Still keep lights all the way around to keep it street legal.

I haven't picked the truck up yet but have a couple of good prospects. I bring this up because I'm definitely going to do it, but I'm open to suggestions. Makes since to me because if something goes wrong with the trail truck I can upgrade my DD and swap the part off of my DD to the trail rig. Double win in my book.

Looking forward to any suggestions.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[cbf9703]

I like the idea. What are your goals for the trail rig? What type of terrain/conditions do you expect the set up to see? Riding locally or want it to be solid for a couple hour ride to the park/trails?

My trail rig is full size with 1 ton SD axles under it, but it isn't a diesel. We started out running a street legal set up, but that didn't last long as it was pretty limiting for the wheeling we do. It's morphed as we found the limits of parts and upgraded. Even as a trailer rig, parts have been pulled off the DD/tow rig to get it back on the trail once or twice lol.

 

[WILD_PHIL]

Terrain will be all over. Primarily the beach and woods to start. As I get further in to it I may start actually going to parks. I wanted to get another 6 speed but there are a lot more trucks out there that are automatic. That OBS I posted above is automatic. I think an auto would be better for trail riding. What do you think CBF?

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[thatsmokinobs]

Why would you want an auto for crawling? I always was told that manuals where better cause you could control more and how fast you went. Well i guess u could just drop it down to 1 or 2 though... Either way this will be awesome and i will deffiantly be watching this!

 

[powerstrokinfirefighter]

I prefer autos in my wheeling rigs. I usually do more crawling/tighter trails so an auto works better for me. If you go manual, look into a hand throttle. One les pedal to worry about.

 

[thatsmokinobs]

A hand throttle? Ive never seen that. How hard is that to get used to?

 

[Vader's Fury]

Not hard to get used to, but definitely not street legal.

 

[WILD_PHIL]

I want a 6 speed so it is a direct copy of my truck, BUT I figured just the tranny being the only difference won't be a huge problem. Definitely have to keep it street legal.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[WILD_PHIL]

Why would you want an auto for crawling? I always was told that manuals where better cause you could control more and how fast you went. Well i guess u could just drop it down to 1 or 2 though... Either way this will be awesome and i will deffiantly be watching this!

My only reason for going on is the ease of finding a truck. The 6 speeds are a lil harder to find. I just started looking for an old beater this week.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[cbf9703]

Terrain will be all over. Primarily the beach and woods to start. As I get further in to it I may start actually going to parks. I wanted to get another 6 speed but there are a lot more trucks out there that are automatic. That OBS I posted above is automatic. I think an auto would be better for trail riding. What do you think CBF?

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

Automatic, hands down, although I would strongly suggest a tugger kit. Nothing against a 6 spd (I have one that's a DD), but they aren't ideal on the trail and can be frustrating on rocks. Plenty of guys make them work because it's what they have or they have a strong preference for a manual, but an auto is more versatile for wheeling applications IMO.

For the beach and light trails in the woods, a fairly stock street legal set up can be a lot of fun. When you start challenging yourself more at parks, especially with rocks, you'll be stressing parts and start the upgrade process... that's when you start down the slippery slope and end up with a good locker or full welded gears, more trimming/more lift to fit bigger tires, regear for the bigger tires, full beadlocks, hydraulic steering, drive flanges, etc.... LOL

Why would you want an auto for crawling? I always was told that manuals where better cause you could control more and how fast you went. Well i guess u could just drop it down to 1 or 2 though... Either way this will be awesome and i will deffiantly be watching this!

I'd always heard that too, but in practice for the mixed woods, trails, and lots of rock that I ride that's just not the case. Put the auto in 1st or 2nd and :rockon:

 

[WILD_PHIL]

Here's a video of that OBS.
Watch "The Beast Ford F350 Crew Cab Rock Crawler" on YouTube
The Beast Ford F350 Crew Cab Rock Crawler: http://youtu.be/eiCNmtRz5DU

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[cbf9703]

Here's a video of that OBS.
Watch "The Beast Ford F350 Crew Cab Rock Crawler" on YouTube
The Beast Ford F350 Crew Cab Rock Crawler: http://youtu.be/eiCNmtRz5DU

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

"Drop it like its hot" lmao!!

 

[Jomax]

That's a slick rig!

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[WILD_PHIL]

It's bad ass. I'm going to look at this one next week. He's asking 5k for it.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[bruce]

Crawling or trail riding with a manual sucks. That was the worst part of my samurai. In stop and go situations on a hillside you would wear your leg out.

 

[WILD_PHIL]

I can definitely agree with that.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[WILD_PHIL]

I'm going to derail my own thread. LOL So what parts can be swapped between an OBS and a SD? Manifolds, up pipes, turbo, injectors, HPOP? Just wondering if I could still stick to my plan of upgrading my truck and swapping my parts to my trail rig.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[mustube]

SuperCrawler

 

[WILD_PHIL]

I seen that one. I didn't post it because it's a lot more extreme than I plan on going on my build.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

 

[Willman940]

Hold up where did you find that for 5K and what's wrong with it?