Mid-Engine 1965 IH Metro A-120 Dmax/4L80

Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
Here we go again. I still have my Dmax street rod but I got the itch to build something different a few months ago.

Rewind to October 2014, I had a 65 Lincoln Continental that I was going to put a Dmax in but changed my mind after realizing how much I was going to need to butcher the car. Felt like it needed more of a purist to do it justice. So I sold it to a guy who drove over from Nebraska to pick it up. Bye Bye Lincoln.:(

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Later that month I found this gem on Ebay, I surprisingly won it, so me and a friend jumped in the truck and drove 14 hours to Yuma,AZ to pick it up. Apparently it spent most of it's life as an Air Force crew line vehicle. Clock only showed 90K. Kinda cool to hear the history on some of these older workhorses.

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It sat for over a little over a year until I decided I was ready to get back in the shop for another build.

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In December, I took the body off, yanked the engine/trans/rearend. Gave the engine/trans to a friend (it ran, LOL) and scrapped the rearend since it was bent.

The plan is for an LLY Dmax, 4l80E, 10-bolt rear. Bagged on 22's to cruise around, tow, camp in, whatever. Basically drive it until someone decides they want it worse than me. The body is clean with minimal dings/dents and only a little rust in the back doors that I've already partially fixed. No body work, no paint. Might just poly the rusty body to give it that brown leather look. Sorry for novel. Here's the pics.

8" Rear Notch to get ride below the stock monster truck height it was at.

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Got an IFS and steering box from an 91-92 GMC Vandura 2500 then bought 6-lug hub/rotors from Summit to match the rearend bolt pattern. Narrowed up the IFS track width 14" to get decent turning radius at ride height. Since I narrowed it so much I had to build a new front chassis section to mount it and clear the wheels and tires. The wheels are just $200 craigslist cheapies I bought to roll it around the shop, mockup, etc but now I think they might stay. They're silly Fugly on most trucks but they kind of fit the feel of this thing.

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So... now a Dmax wont fit in the middle of that skinny front suspension and I don't want to tunnel the entire floor to allow it to sit higher. Here comes a mid-engine.

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Just fab'd in the motor mounts today and cut the floor to fit the engine/trans.

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Here's a pic of ride height with the wheels so you can get a feel for how low it'll be should be able to go +4"/-5" from there with the bags to get over bumps or crush ants.

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Got some 53 Cad front/rear bumpers. They need narrowed and the "tooth" grille removed but they should fit the look I'm after. Here it is mocked up for fun, it obviously needs a bunch of work to look right.

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That's where it sits now. Wrapping up major fab then I'll make the bumpers fit, then I have a 60 Lincoln dash that is going in, along with 6 captains chairs I got from the same Vandura the IFS came from. I'll update as major hurdles get jumped.
 

Awenta

Active member
Sep 28, 2014
4,090
2
38
CT
Holy shit that's amazing. I think I'm drooling, best bread truck ever!

I think the wheels should stay. Keeping the patina or painting it?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

RitzBlitz

Member
May 20, 2010
113
0
16
Ritzville, Wa
Man that stance is perfect! The wheels definitely fit the overall look way better than they should :thumb:

Looks like it's gonna be a sweet build!
 

TheBac

Why do I keep doing this?
Staff member
Apr 19, 2008
15,599
1,849
113
Mid Michigan
Found yourself an old 1960s UPS truck, did ya? :roflmao:

Pretty cool project, Levi. I like your ideas. :thumb:
 

motoking_1990

Active member
May 9, 2011
1,957
5
38
Terre Haute, IN
This thing is BADASS! Pardon the language I couldn't help myself, plus it's the truth. I think I want it more than you already! Definitely different and cool. Keep the rust look and powdercoat the wheels jmo.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
Thanks guys. :hug: I think the plan for now will be to keep the body rusty, maybe just poly it to make it look more like brown leather. I can do bodywork and paint to some degree I just don't enjoy it, especially on a rolling billboard like this. Plus, I just want a cheap/fun/easy cruiser without having to worry about parking it somewhere.
 

ALLY Fox

Old Man Truck
Dec 14, 2010
434
0
0
Oregon 7S5
Cool project!! Brings back "fond" memories from the '60s when I was a SAC trained killer and we used those old Metro vans on the Castle AFB flightline for taxis and running B-52 parts. We abused the crap out of those poor old trucks, you could sit there idling and kick the gearshift into granny without using the clutch... for a couple of times anyway... I almost flipped one once when I drove behind a B-52 running up 95% power. Make sure you post some pics when it's done!
 

SmokeShow

Well-known member
Nov 30, 2006
6,818
34
48
43
Lawrenceburg, KY
This is awesome! Love the look with the patina & those modern size/style wheels. Looks awesome! What's the inside look like where the mid engine is? Is it between the front seats or farther back than that?
 

Burn Down

Hotrodder
Sep 14, 2008
7,092
28
48
Boise Idaho
That is awesome Levi!

You and Josh should have a Van grudge race. Yours looks way nicer but I think he can capture more little kids with his:rofl:
 
Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
This is awesome! Love the look with the patina & those modern size/style wheels. Looks awesome! What's the inside look like where the mid engine is? Is it between the front seats or farther back than that?

I'll snap a pic when I get the chassis back underneath the body. Working on the 2-link now. Let's just say if it was a bench seat, the Dmax sits where a girlfriend would.

That is awesome Levi!

You and Josh should have a Van grudge race. Yours looks way nicer but I think he can capture more little kids with his:rofl:

:spit: Hopefully he can load enough kids up to slow him down. I don't think my creeper will have near the power his does.