2008 F-450 Project
 

Ok, so I sold the Peterbilt and now I am left with only one truck that looks like every other white dually on the road. I have driven it totally stock for a year and a half now, so I figured that it was time for a change!

Like most of you, I like the challenge of a good project, so what the hell, here we go. I set out with the goal to make a truck that will stand out in the crowd on the street, go anywhere I want to go on the beach or at the farm and still be a functional tow rig. Well, here is what we have completed so far.

We installed a Pro Comp 6" suspension, but had to go to Kelderman for the steering components since it is a 450. We followed that with a set of 22" wheels wrapped in 37" Toyo mud terrains. Next to go was the factory air box under the hood and the factory exhaust. This is what we had at the end of the work day on Friday.

The new rear tires stick out a bit :p so we will be installing wider, replacement rear fenders from Street Scene when the truck goes to the body shop. These fenders will look exactly like the factory fenders, just a little wider. Needless to say, we will be installing mud flaps as well.

The tires look tight, but they will fit in the wheel wells. We actually installed them for a sneak preview before adding the lift and they fit. I like the look of the new exhaust tip compared to the factory setup. Without the regen cycle and the DPF, the exhaust will stay nice and cool too. We also installed a larger intercooler to help keep the EGTs in check.

Saturday was spent installing items that are out of sight. We installed a set of Firestone air bags in the rear with a compressor and wireless remote. This will keep the rear from sagging while towing. We also installed a second compressor and tank for on board air (air tools/tire inflation/etc) and for the Stuttertone air horns (fire truck sound). For those familiar with fire apparatus, we are using a pedal mounted inside the footwell by the hood release for the horns. A tap of the toe is all it'll take! :cool:

That is sweet I have everything but the wheels to do mine. Almost the same setup. I am going with the fabtech they just came out with a kit with all the front end parts. What are you having to pay for the fenders I was checking into that as well. Seen chrome wheel had some for about $900. Looking good.

Today was spent rough fitting the bumpers. We got both hung, but still have some fitting to do tomorrow. We will be cutting holes in the rear bumper where the logos are now to flush mount reverse lights. We also have to drill holes tomorrow to mount the factory reverse sensors. Since we removed the spare tire and components, we will be using the hole meant for the spare tire crank to install a quick disconnect fitting for the on board air system. This will allow easy access when you need air for something.

Up front we need to finish fitting the bumper, mount the lights in the holes and also pre fit the winch (Warn 16.5). Once everything is how we want it, the bumpers will be removed and sent to the body shop to be painted white to match the truck. Oh yea, the grill shell will be painted white as well.

I just recently did the amp research steps, and the billet grills for the side vent and painted white door handles. Cleaned it up quite a bit. Can't wait to see it done.

We still have to fit the ram air hood, install the power inverter, install the rear fuel tank and install the water tank and pump in the bed. We're getting there one step at a time. I'll keep you posted.

The fenders from Chrome Wheels are a little cheaper, but I think the ones from Street Scene look more like the factory fenders and there is not much of a price difference. The fenders from Street Scene also come with new, wider fender inserts to line the wheel well just like they come from the factory.

I called Chrome Wheels twice when I was putting together the parts list and I got the impression that I was bothering them, so I ordered everything from other places. They were just real short with me on the phone. Maybe I got them on a couple of bad days.


Post some pics of yours if you get a chance. It's all in the details like that and I would love to see it as you build it.

looks like you are setting up the truck for the austrailian outback. truck looks real nice, best of luck,

Will, are you getting the fenders that have the vents built into the front of them?

http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts.as...tfamilyid=6060

I like the looks of the vents on them.

I assume you are going to white out the mirrors and the door handles too. A nice set of clear clearance lights will also look sharp.

I look forward to seeing the finished truck.

The guy at Chrome wheel is a DIK! I have bought two sets of wheels for 4500 GMC from him. He was the only guy I could find that had direct bolt 22.5's in that big goofy 8 lug pattern. If you ever get wheels from him, get the lug covers and hub covers somewhere else. Also the steel inners were not true.

Oh yea......the the truck looks awesome!! Do you have 4:88's? If so, it will finally be geared right and probably pick up a little on mileage.

Great Project! Keep us updated

I am going with the fenders that don't have the vents. I like the look of the vents, but thought that they would do nothing but catch bugs and dirt. I have considered paining the door handles white, but the mirrors are going to stay black. They blend in OK with the black windows. I already have all of the clear LED clearance lights on the truck. All are clear lenses except the tail lights (I like the red better) and the lights in the mirrors. I put smoked lenses in there to make them disappear in the black mirror when they are not on.


Thanks for the info on Chrome Wheels. I got that same impression when I talked to them. I do have the 4.88 gears. The guys att the dealership said the same thing. They think that the larger tires and the exhaust mods will increase my mileage. We'll see.

The truck looks great, but the tires look they will be very loud. Can you take some pics of how you are going to do the water tank and pump?

I still like the Camaro better. :drink:

I agree. I like the Camaro better too!

I have a roll top bed cover on the truck, so we had to find a tank that would fit under that. I chose to go with a tank from ATTA. It forms an "L" shape around the roll top canister and therefore does not waste much bed space. This tank is designed to carry fuel, but they said there will not be any problems using it for water.

Once the tank is mounted we will use a 12 volt RV style demand pump to move the water. We may mount this on the tank or under the truck. We'll decide when we get to that point. Anyhow, when it is finished you just have to flip a switch to turn on the power to the pump and attach a garden hose. The pump will turn on and off automatically as you squeeze the hose nozzle and ask for water.

It's a pretty simple setup actually. We had this same arrangement on our old gooseneck Myco and it worked like a charm. The nice thing is that you can wash and flush the boat anywhere without having to look for a hose or wait in line to use one when away from home.

Here is a link to the web site for the tank. We are using the 52 gallon tank/tool box combo.

http://attatank.com/atta/roll_top_bed_cover_hauler.html

We had the same pump set up in Jacksonville, but the tank was inside a tool box. The tank was to small and we had to keep filling it at the park next to the parking area.

When we were in Jacksonville they had your boat on the big screen with your name and MD. The guy next to me said "he must be a doctor" I said no I think he is from Maryland.:rolleyes:

looks great will, dont get me started again.....:evilb:

I'm a little slow , could you post a pic of the pump . Is there a special hose trigger to install on end of hose ? I'm going to install a wash down tank on my skater trailer .


Larry

Sick project! It's a dually but has a off road look to it (lift, knobby tires, big brush gaurd) which I like a lot...keep us updated with pics!

Looks great. I run the same tires. They are not loud for a MT tire.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...M/Ouray003.jpg

Sam

What programmer are you using to turn off the regen, SCT or Spartan? I hope your running one or it will go into constanst regen after 500 miles.

Here is one I got off the dieselstop while talking to a guy. Its a F-350 wide a wide track frontend.

I saw it too, on the big screen outside. That is always a great run. I love the Jacksonville event. Oh yea, tell your buddy that I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. :p


Thanks man. Now go get your 450 back! :D


We are using the SCT. We got the whole package that included the intercooler, air box, DFP delete, exhaust and programmer. The guys at our Ford dealership claim that they did this package on an 08 F-350 and it increased the fuel mileage by more than 50%.


I saw that too and sent the guy a message to see how he liked the setup, but I did not get a response. After I ordered everything I was second guessing my choice of 37" tires over 35" tires, so I started searching the net for pictures of trucks on 37s. When I found the pictures of this truck I was blown away by the fact that we picked almost the same components. Even his hood looks similar to the one we are using!!

I did feel a lot better after seeing the pictures of that truck though. It always seems that even though you have an idea in your head of what the finished project will look like, there is always that little bit of doubt until you see the final product. Those pictures erased all fears and doubts immediately!


The inlet on the pump is connected to the tank via a piece of hose. Then you mount a garden hose connection wherever you want it and run a piece of hose from that the the outlet on the pump. There is nothing special about the hose or nozzle. Somehow the pump knows when it needs to turn on and off all by itself. I am guessing it works by reading the pressure on the outlet somehow. I'm not sure, but it is an easy setup to make and it works well.

The picture below shows the system we had on our last trailer. We had two tanks that were plumbed together so that they would work off of the same pump. There was a tee in the line on the outlet side of the pump that allowed a garden hose hookup to be mounted on each side of the trailer for convenience. This system in the picture was built totally by Myco.

HOLY SH*T that thing is incredible. Talk about a big truck!! Thanks for posting the picture!

Hot Duck, thanks. Coming from someone who has some incredible "toys" that is a REAL compliment.
BTW, sorry for the highjack. Your truck is looking awesome.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...M/Ouray007.jpg

Sam

Lookin great! Good job on that project! Keep us updated...

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Any updates?

Nice lookin GMC !!!

AWESOME TRUCK! I also had the amp reasearch boards on my F450 and they were great!

No real updates because bike week and its associated activities took precedence over the truck this past week. We just started back on it yesterday. Most of the wiring is finished, but we are still waiting for a few parts to arrive. We hope to have it ready to go to the body shop by the end of the week as long as the rear fenders arrive in time.

Here is the parts list we started with, so we are actually making great progress. The Transfer Flow tank and the bed cover were already installed, so we had a little bit of a head start. We started with the Pro Comp 6" coil springs up front, but the tires were a little close to the wheel well at full lock, so we are gonna slip in a set of 8" springs tomorrow to see how they work.

- 6" Pro Comp radius arm lift
- Pro Comp MX6 reservoir shocks
- 22" Alcoa wheels from American Force
- 37" Toyo Open Country MT tires
- Centramatic wheel balancers
- Kelderman steering components (Pro Comp parts do not fit the 450)
- Kelderman/Bilstein dual steering stabilizer
- Bed Locker roll top cover from Pace Edwards
- 60 gallon fuel tank from Transfer Flow (in place of the factory fuel tank)
- 40 gallon rear fuel tank from Aero Tanks (replaces spare tire under truck)
- 52 gallon water tank and pump from ATTA in the bed of the truck
- Power inverter
- Magnaflow exhaust
- CST programmer
- APM ram air hood and filter
- Turbonetics intercooler
- Street Scene Big Boy dually fenders to cover the wider rear tires
- Rear fender flares from ChromeWheel.com to add to the fenders listed above
- Front winch bumper/grill guard from Buckstop
- Warn winch for front bumper (16.5)
- Rear bumper from Fab Fours
- Firestone rear air bags with compressor and wireless controls
- Second air compressor and tank for on board air (to fill tires, change flats, etc)
- Stuttertone air horns

One word-AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea, the truck is ready to go to the body shop! We got all of the loose ends wrapped up today so it will be heading to the body shop tomorrow. They will be painting and doing the final install on the front and rear bumpers, the hood, grill and the rear fenders. We are still missing the rear fuel tank and the new rear fenders, but they should be here any day.

Here are some pictures from today. The only real difference from the previous pictures is that the center caps are on the wheels and the truck is now lifted 8" instead of the original 6" in order to get more fender clearance up front.

The tank/tool box combo arrived yesterday and we put it in place today to get an idea of where we can mount the pump, outlet and switch. It fits perfectly and is in an "L" shape to use all of the space under the canister for the roll top bed cover. We'll pull the tank out tomorrow and mount everything in/on the tank while the truck is at the body shop. All of the wiring is already done, so when the truck comes back it will just be a matter of sitting the box back in place, plugging in the wires and mounting it to the bed.

I'll take some better pictures when the truck is outside tomorrow.

.....

How is the the front on clearance any rubbing issues. I have been seeing them in the mags on 8 and 10 inch kits. To me it looks like just too much fender gap. Thats why I went for the 6 inch kit as well.

We ended up going from 6" to 8". I liked the look of the 6" setup, but the tire was really close to the rear of the front wheel well. It will work if you are mainly running on the highway, but I just didn't want to take any chances since the truck will be used off road. There is not much difference in the stance. Here is the front at 6" and then at 8". The picture with the center caps on the wheel is 8". I don't know if it makes much difference in the height, but we also have a lot of weight on the front of the truck with the bumper and winch.

Thanks now I really don't know which one to do lol! Truck looks awesome regardless. I guess I will do the 6 and if its not enough I go with the 8 inch springs not that big of a deal to swap out.

after reading this thread, i put stuttertone air horns on my renegade motorhome.. Bad A$$!!! Thanks Guys !!:ernaehrung004:

Looks GREAT.

Sam

Good news and bad news. The bad news is that the truck did not go to the painter today because they did not have room. It will be going to them on Monday morning instead. The good news is that we got to drive the truck all day. What a machine. I really could not be happier. It rides every bit as well as stock, if not better. My biggest surprise was how quiet these tires were on the road. My factory tires had a little hum to them kinda like a medium duty delivery truck, but these tires are extremely quiet! It is amazing how this truck eats up the 37" tires when it is outside. From a distance it doesn't look tall at all, but when you get up close it's a beast.

I'll try to get to the paint shop next week and get some pictures while they are working on it. Until then, here are a few from today.

Two more.