Unimog 404.111 build

Spent late Fri afternoon and Sat in the shop watching the KoH feeds and working on small things during the slow times….

Had the exhaust tig welded for me and got it put back on while the cab is on. Really pleased with the way it snakes through such tight spaces.
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I started stitching together the driver’ side foot well that had to be narrowed to fit the bigger motor. Never did body work like this, kinda sucks. I need to get a smaller grinder vs my angle grinder.
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Also had to widen the doghouse. Looks bowed in the pic b/c there are tabs I didn’t cut off yet, it lays flat now. Leaves me just enough room to a trail sodie holder…
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I had to essentially remove the whole space that the gas pedal was taking up, so my pedal space is narrower. I got Wilwoods pedal setup which is narrow and somewhat adjustable. I cut a base plate that matches the base of the pedals to keep it from holding dirt/mud….
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I’m really happy with the way they fit, I was worried my hiking boots, which I typically wear wheeling, would be crammed but this should work nice, even with the heater core (above) back in place:
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They are sitting about 1.5” low in that pic, but once I make a mount to raise them I should still be able to squeak the PTO shaft right below/between the steering pump and pedals
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I wanted to measure for a fuel tank between the frame and eyeball how a cantilever suspension would fit so I pulled the springs and set the frame on the bump stops to see what full compression looked like…..
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…. Then I couldn’t get the Lowrider song out of my head.

I also moved my (mocked up) radiator to the rear where I think I may move it to leave the grill open to see through and let more air flow through there.

and while I was l looking for petty things to do I got on PRP’s site and mocked up the seats I wanted. I knew this cab was smaller but …. Damn….
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I may be looking at a 12” body stretch 🙄
 
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arse_sidewards said:
Don't get it perfect. Just get it driving.
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I hear ya, lots of other aspects will be effected by the cab size tho, roll cage, bed size (which I may be fab'n) ... but mostly getting seats to fit. These were designed with jump seats that are more/less like those swiveling small bass boat seats. Proper harnesses need proper seats and if the bottom of that seat takes 1/2 the leg space that isn't going to be comfy to drive. I get what you're saying tho.
 
So now you're sitting on two rear portal axles (i.e. four boxes) you're not using.....
 
Austin said:
I broke out the heat gun and started removing the Budweiser wrap. The vertical surfaces came off pretty easy, took about an hour. The warp on the horizontal or top surfaces are cracked up pretty bad. They are going to take considerably longer ....

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very nice unimog.. I've always liked the U900 model or 406.
 
First post since Feb 🤦🏼‍♂️ life has been busy

I mocked up some normal seats, spec’d RPR, and putting those in this tiny Cab would have our shins in the dash. There were little folding seats in these because they clearly didn’t care about their troop’s comfort lol

So to fit them I needed to stretch the cab a bit. I’m not a fan of bodywork so I posted a question the Newb Forum about how to go about it. You can read that here.

I went to the local steel supply and bought a 4x10 sheet and had them cut it in 16” pieces. I could do a whole thread about how awesome the automated shear they had was but will spare you. Also bought a bunch of Clecos and a flange tool based on the advice in the link above. Glad I did, damn it makes this easier already.

Here is the progress so far, my buddy Dave came over to help …. Or have a few… either way we got shit done….

2 x braces to keep the cab from getting wonky once cut
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And tonight I started putting the new sheet metal on:
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It’s way more room than I needed but I’m sure I’ll find crap to put back there.

I do wish the Clecos were stronger, it doesn’t pull the Unimog’s 18 gauge together as well as I hoped but they sure are nice to have.. Just going to have to use more. :smokin:
 
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Did you learn the lesson about bending before you flange the easy way or the hard way? :laughing:
 
Austin said:
And tonight I started putting the new sheet metal on:
It’s way more room than I needed but I’m sure I’ll find crap to put back there.

I do wish the Clecos were stronger, it doesn’t pull the Unimog’s 18 gauge together as well as I’ll hope. Just going to have to use more. :smokin:
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Looks great! It definitely wont be “way more room than you need”.

They do make a wing nut cleco that have a lot of power. Are you planing to weld the joints later or solid rivet? If you are welding , maybe a bigger size cleco will work the big sizes have allot of strength.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Did you learn the lesson about bending before you flange the easy way or the hard way? :laughing:
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I just learned that reading this lol. Luckily that bend end the top is the only real bend and it went nicely around a piece of 5" exhaust I cut out of my truck. I probably got lucky there, good to know though.

WaterH said:
They do make a wing nut cleco that have a lot of power. Are you planing to weld the joints later or solid rivet? If you are welding , maybe a bigger size cleco will work the big sizes have allot of strength.
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I did see those. I may need to get a few for areas where the cab had some damage. Nothing major.

Hard to see on those pics but I did leave a bit of a gap of the flange exposed so I can fully weld in that channel.
 
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gt1guy said:
When you need more gripping power than the Clecos have.

I use these. Probably have 50-60 pairs in different lengths. They range from 6"-24"deep.

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These are very useful, but won’t work here without an opening.
 
Gumbybronco said:
These are very useful, but won’t work here without an opening.
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If that filler piece is 16" wide , a 24" reach over (that's what I've always called them) will make it to the second row of Clecos. That's coming at it from the door opening.
I also have a few sets I cut up to make the arms whatever ever I need. Have even welded nuts on the end of the arms. Screwing a bolt in gets you a bit more clamping force when the arms are long.
 
gt1guy said:
Lets see the finished product of the cab stretch. :beer:
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Taking a slight pause as I figure out next steps, this is how it sits:
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I didn’t think about leaving extra width to roll some support into the floor, not overly concerned as it will be under the seats and have plenty of support under it. I do need to set it back on the frame to see where the transmission and shifters stick up before I cover that back hole in the floor.
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The biggest reason for the pause is to figure out how to build in the structural support/exo cage here. I’ll do that once it’s back on the frame.
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So in the meantime…..

I got a slave cylinder to convert the manual clutch to a hydraulic. The stock clutch arm was designed to hang straight down and go around the PTO shaft. I flipped it around on the shaft and angled it back to work with the pull-type slave cylinder. Just had to make a new mount and extend the bellhousing bolts. Also ran a braided line from it to a new mount on the crossmember:
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After that I started making 1/2” oil lines. I decided to cycle the oil through the block till the oil is warm and the cooler block opens to let the oil to the filter then a cooler. I’ve read a lot about more damage being caused by cold, lack of oil, than contaminates in the oil from the previous run. So my goal was to keep the oil in the block until warm.

I 3D scanned the top of the transmission and made a mount for the lines to attach to on their way back to the oil filter and cooler.
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Going to need the body on the frame and a plan for the new body support before finishing. I got a spot I’d like to put the filters but it could interfere depending on what the support ends up looking like
 
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WaterH said:
Nice. Is that a PTO with front and back outputs?
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Yea, I only have the front shaft and pillow block. I don’t necessarily have a use for it more of a proof of concept for the 6 to 8 speed transmission mod I did. I would like to eventually put a T-shirt canon on top of that port in the cab so I may use it to power the compressor down the line :grinpimp:
 
So it’s been a hot minute, as in too damn hot this summer to get in the shop, finally getting back into it with the cooler days.

I started stitching together the cab extension, and quickly remembered ….. I hate bodywork.

I set the cab back on the frame to see how the transmission shifters and all that come up through the floor so I can build that out. I also realized I got a bit carried away with the stretch and should have only gone 12”. I can still do a 6’ bed but I prefer the look of a truck when there is more bed than truck.

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Austin said:
So it’s been a hot minute, as in too damn hot this summer to get in the shop, finally getting back into it with the cooler days.

I started stitching together the cab extension, and quickly remembered ….. I hate bodywork.

I set the cab back on the frame to see how the transmission shifters and all that come up through the floor so I can build that out. I also realized I got a bit carried away with the stretch and should have only gone 12”. I can still do a 6’ bed but I prefer the look of a truck when there is more bed than truck.

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Do your best and bondo the rest!
 
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