need some input

[Rick Lapointe]

Hi , new to site hopping to get some feed back on a project conversion. I have a 1959 Diamond T transport truck that I would like to put a 16'motor home box on along with a 5th wheel deck. I know that the power train , brakes and the rest on this truck are old, so I am looking at taking the body off the old frame( half done already ) and putting all of it on a new chassis. My 1st question is does any have any recommendations on a good donor chassis for this old rig. Thanks in advance, looking forward to your responses.
Rick

 

[KAYE RIVERCITY]

.....you got be having a lot of spare time on your hands to pull this one off....almost any modern truck will do but getting a '59 cab on it will be a nightmare....hope you got a lot of freinds and beer & large garage to work in....winter is a coming.....geof

 

[shinyblackpaint]

Hi, nice to see another REO in the making. I have a '45 REO Gold Comet. It's all stock body and chassis (single axle, air brake), except I retrofitted with a 453 Detroit Diesel. Real cool strictly a show truck to tool around in. I know another local guy around here did what your after. He did an old Pete' on a late model chassis. He runs this highway truck everyday and looks awesome. As far as a good donor chassis pretty well any will be good as long as air ride suspension. Propably simpler to have an engine with all mechanical controls rather than all the computer electrics to incorporate but that's even no problem if you have the time and know how................or a fat wallet and have someone do it for you.

 

[KAYE RIVERCITY]

......actually the "fly by wire" setup is a lot simpler if you get all the wires and little mounting brackets with the rolling frame.....you can move most of the accesssories around with a wire stripper and a soldering iron to lengthen as needed...I saw a military truck with a 3408 installed and it was a drop in -pretty much from what I could see from the pix.....geof

 

[Wick-TC]

Rick,
When looking for a donor chassis try to look for one that has a steering box in about the same place as your current chassis. I have done this many times as I was building class 8 trucks to run in the 70's-to early 90's. The rest can be modified but the steering was the thing that got me sometimes. I have an old 50's model Diamond-T that I will eventually redo.
Wick