Revisiting some of my past discussions, explorations and similar where i've been asking and trying to figure out ways to basically upgrade a sedan or station wagon which had good natural aero and a modern engine with increased towing ability... and after considering and reconsidering, i'm thinking maybe I do have it bass-ackwards afterall because I was having difficulty seeing the polar opposite strategy as having similar chances for success.
So Round 2 I think i'm going to explore the opposite strategy:
Get an older pickup (or at least chassis) FULLY RATED for towing 10,000lbs, and then aeromod the HELL out of it (including potentially radical things considered like putting the Caprice body on that chassis then slicking down further, someone else actually did this with a 1/2 ton elsewhere - but if I can get a similar CoD and reduce frontal area to the truck body despite the more vertical windshield thats just as good) and then in addition repower it both engine and transmission to bring it much closer to modern specifications for mileage. Instead of trying to tow too much with a Caprice just because the Caprice is so aero and nears 30mpg on the highway with with the LT1 and some careful driving, the goal will be to raise the bar for pickup based aeromodding instead.
I basically realized that all the things I would have to upgrade on say the frame of a caprice, el camino, or similar to try and make it handle 7-10k still to have perhaps either a marginal safety vehicle or something possibly ticketed by those who don't appreciate the careful engineering going into my modifications for safety... it's less work to bolt in a new engine and transmission to an older tow-happy pickup and to find ways to seriously slick it down afterwards. Combined with the extra room under the hood and everything else. I mean making slick bricks is what stuff here is about, what with even semis getting the treatment to double mileage, so that's probably going to be the goal here - take an "old" tow vehicle and more than double it's mileage between engine/trans and aeromodding.
So with that being said, please help me brainstorm a bit for version 2 of this project. Because budget is vital and critical I need to start with much older vehicles - nothing 2000up even worth considering. Think 1980-1999 more likely to be chosen for projects, or even back into the 70's as for instance the earlier chevies had the same body from about 73 to 87. Plus there may be easier fits with such a wide range to have little or no modifications to frame length for instance if I did stick a car body on it. (in the same way rednecks used to throw el camino bodies onto blazer 4x4 frames at the same 116" wheelbase) Nothing older than the 70's due to low availability, skyrocketing price in any decent shape, and way more primitive suspensions and such.
The Chassis Has To Tow 10,000lbs - that's my core metric right now, whether body swapping or not, and it has to do it on a budget to boot. I'm hoping to find a basic running vehicle for maybe $2000 or less for just a chassis/something like a rollover if I did do a body swap. A bit more is okay in cases like already having a bodystyle for easier aeromodding, or already having a suitable diesel in good condition without a swap, but much over $3500 for everything all in starts to seriously push limits. I'm not too concerned about being rust free, "being a looker" or anything else. Just having a suitable and reliable starting point. Since "HD" halftons are new, and many experienced towers still find them iffy for 10k figures, i'll make it easy and just go 3/4 ton and be done with it.
However aerodynamics may not be as hopeless as it seems, case in point - the 1999-2004 Ford Lightning F150 had a coefficient of drag of _0.36_.
Vehicle Coefficient of Drag List - EcoModder The 10th generation F150's start in 1997 so i'm wondering, could the parts that make the lightning more aero simply be carried over to or simulated on another F150? (technically 250) Then taken further? The windshield is already raked back nicer than most. This would be preferred to say, the Dodge Rams which show a horrible 0.52 and perhaps are much less fixable... or is it not the nose/would a whaletail smooth it all out? If near vertical windshields don't matter as much I could use almost any other starting pickup however.
If the 150/250 cabs arent the same there's another possibility though - swap cabs. Or like take an older chassis like say a 1993 Ford already with a 7.3 IDI diesel, then sticking one of the newer cabs on from the 10th gen to do the Lightning style slickening. It could even be a Ford cab on a Dodge frame, it doesn't matter, the chassis does the job of towing, the body i'm hoping to choose for it's aeroability. Note I actually like the larger quad cabs and such, provided length doesn't negatively impact aero, so if there's a way to have a 4 door full crew cab plus the 8 foot bed i'm even happier. That reduces part of my other desire to have the Caprice body to bring 5 other people with. However at some length it doesn't fit the garage anymore so this is an iffy maybe - the fact I cant fit any 3/4 ton into my garage AT ALL due to height makes me prefer a shorter vehicle, if I get something too long i'll have the same problem again.
In any case i'd like to get it under 0.29 and then work on combining that with an aeromodded trailer to be figured out later. Also dropping frontal area and ride height - I know most 3/4 tons sit up noticibly higher, but do they have to? Can they drop back down again and still do their job?
A diesel engine would either need to be included in the likely model choice or swapped in. As this is a huge part of the expense in most trucks, older model diesels are perfectly fine and nothing is off the table. Anything from a GM 6.2/6.5, to the Ford 6.9/7.3 IDI's, to even things like mercedes RWD car engines boosted in power. This is not intended to be a barn burner, nor is it expecting to tear up mountainsides pulling 10k at 70mph with throttle to spare - pulling 10k would be so rare that the rest of this build is oriented towards economy unladen and while deadheading, and only transmission leverage even makes the tow possible. Power may well be less than what the factory shipped for pulling 10k almost assuredly under 200hp perhaps well under as low as 130hp or so. But at least it will be capable of handling and stopping the weight safely unlike my Caprice-chassis project idea. It may only be going 40mph uphill in the rockies with it but it will not be overheating, or fishtailing out of control while doing so. The vehicle will spend most of it's time unladen and far more moderate loads will be the norm. Anyone replicating the project may choose more power but I wont need it, I mean 10,000lb Unimogs had 82hp in WW2 so I think most peoples perceived cravings for power is a little overrated. I'll go slow the few times I have those loads but i'll get there without endangering others, just annoying them, putting on my John Deere hat, and looking back at them all bitter. :^)
Furthermore i'm actually a big fan of the older IDI diesels because this will eventually be experimenting with SVO, hopefully heavily. They tolerate the viscosity differences far better than modern engines and the lack of computer means one less thing to worry about in the swap.
Transmission trickery is one vital area of exploration, but since it's a pickup some of my original ideas of using transfer cases are alot more appropriate since those come in pickups just not normally in 2wd. I'm alot more interested in having what amounts to range box ability, with a fairly close ratio transmission, then some radical new 6 speed. Afterall the biggest thing to change in normal use would be the "mode" of the car - it has to have the power to start in 1st gear, and will generally cruise in drive since towing doesn't happen in OD anyways so why have it at all? Either a closer ratio 4-5 speed stick even if there's no OD, or a 3spd automatic like a TH400/C6 will probably be fine. But I want to play with range boxes and axle ratios so that the vehicle at rest can simply be put into the most appropriate driving condition:
- High speed cruise would be the numerically lowest gearing of course, if i'm unladen i'm probably in a hurry and have alot of miles to cover.
- A step up from that would be more appropriate for around town, steep hills, slower 55mph cruise, or light tow loads of maybe say 2000lbs or something. I've seen people say that for a Caprice like fullsize car, going from a 2.56 ratio to a 3.73 ratio IMPROVES mileage by 2mpg around town because the engine doesnt have to work as hard. I may not jump that far but then it may depend on how I work up a range box too.
- A possible second step up if a four range is possible would ideally be for notably heavier towing say around 6000lbs or so, or more steep hilly areas with a lighter tow load.
- The highest numerical ratios would be solely designed for the goal of towing 10,000lbs even up 6-7% grades without alot of engine power, not really expecting to get much over 40mph while doing so.
Two possibilities exist for a range box that i know of so far, if you have others i'm all ears but there's no way i'm spending $2000 on a friggin Gear Vendors just for a mere 0.30 overdrive or underdrive:
- The hot rodders used to connect two TH400 transmissions in series, in effect the rear one becomes a range box for the front one. Similar options could be done with others like a Powerglide, or even hooking a manual transmission of some sort behind an automatic or vice versa as long as it is tough.
- 4x4 people already have 'dual range boxes' by adding an NP203 divorced range box to usually an existing NP205 transfer case. The 1.96:1 ratio is steep but appropriate and the boxes are tough as hell rated for 5500lb/ft input shaft torque. What i'm hoping is to use two range boxes but with one of them reversed so in essence it becomes a 0.50:1 overdrive. This has already been done on a 4x4 project
BC4x4.COM four wheel drive, 4x4, offroad and fourwheeling site. and that the boxes must be shifted while not in motion doesn't bother me, as whenever I change loads or radically change driving situations it's no big deal to park at the foot of the rockies for instance. It's possible that other gear options could make it a 4 range instead of a 3 range, still researching it, but this is near as I can tell a cheap and effective way to seriously increase the flexibility of an inexpensive 3spd automatic or close ratio manual. Each range box weighs about 81lbs by itself.
That's what i've explored so far, if you have unique ideas or analysis i'm all ears.