| Building the Paddy Wagon
* Condensed Version *
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| Click on an image (above) to enlarge. |
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After looking for two years and driving around 45 different 359s, I found this former Werner Enterprises tractor. It was solid and well cared for. Although a little more money than most of the 359s I looked at, I felt it was worth it. Specced as I wanted, it was powered by a CAT, driven by a nine speed, and had a wheelbase of 250". This was the truck that would eventually become "The Paddy Wagon." |
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The first step in transforming the old 359 was to remove all the excess parts and rearrange the rear axle configuration. Both rear axles were removed, the frame was shortened, and the rear axle was remounted in the front axle position. Rear axle ratio was changed from 3:70 to 3:08. Then the 24.5 wheels and tires were replaced with 22.5 low profiles. The sleeper, fifth wheel and other misc. parts were also removed. |
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Next the truck went to the shop of friend Michael Abraham of Abraham Custom Paint Studio in Valparaiso, IN. There we began to prep the truck for it's new base paint colors. It would leave there with the two main colors (black and white) applied. The frame and fuel tanks would also be painted black. |
After base paint the truck was brought back to my shop where I started mounting the stacks, lights, tank straps etc. From there it was off to Indiana Custom Trucks in LaGrange, IN. While we were preparing the truck, they were building my custom spec 154" sleeper. Once at ICT they began preparations for custom mounting the sleeper to the truck. It was mounted 3 inches lower on the frame than a normal sleeper mounting. This accomplished two things.
Nicer appearance and keeping the overall height at 10 feet to allow it to fit in my shop at home.
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Well, I've condensed lots of time and work into five photos. But in the summer of 1997, the first "rough cut" version of "The Paddy Wagon" was ready to roll. I had lots of plans for refining and improving the truck. However, I needed to regroup and work on financing the upcoming improvements. (Mainly more hours at work) Included in the plans were stretching the cab and building a matching trailer. For the time, I just wanted to get
out and enjoy it.
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As the photo says, "Here we go again." About 2 1/2 years later we started stretching the cab. First the truck went back to ICT to have the sleeper removed. Then off to Abraham again for a "plan of attack". Although this is nothing like Mike Abraham had done before, after 20 plus years of his working on my vehicles, I knew it would be well thought out and a finished project that I would be proud of. This was a project of step by step
planning.
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The sub structure of the extension would be a duplication of the original cab. We left the original structure intact and purchased new Peterbilt original parts and duplicated the frame 12" back. For the new opening from the cab to sleeper, we used the rear window frame from a day cab turned on it's side. From there it was building and framing until we felt it was as strong as the original cab. |
Other parts of the cab and hood were also reworked in the process. Since the original glass was a little rough and we had it out for this project. New smoked glass was ordered and custom cut for all four side windows as well as new front glass with top tint. The air horns were also removed and a sunroof was added. This would make the final look much cleaner.
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Here the hood has been removed to reshape the front fenders and replace the front grill. The cab shell is pretty much finished and ready for the outside sheet metal. Also in the works at this point were new custom built longer step boxes, longer air tanks and custom length 8 inch straight stacks to downplay the 12 inch extension. Our plan was not to make the extension real obvious. |
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Wrapped in sheet metal. This process was tougher than it appears. However it did come together very nicely and was ready to be fine tuned and prepped for paint. Again, at this stage we opted to maintain the original paint scheme. This too would make the change less obvious. |
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The finished project. Almost can't tell, just like we planned. Longer step boxes, longer fuel tanks, longer air tanks, 8 inch stacks and grab handles on the cab all helped to downplay the lengthened cab. Although not noticeable in this photo. Custom cut steel lips have also been huck bolted to the factory fenders as well as the blocks removed from the front axle to give it a lower stance. The addition of a Turbowing to the roof of the cab finished off
a great new look.
Well that's a very condensed look at the process of building "The Paddy Wagon." In addition to those already mentioned, I would like to recognize Neil Sherff at Dermody Peterbilt in Grand Rapids, MI for his countless hours of parts research and giving me a source for the many factory and custom parts required. Also, Belle Way Trucking in South Bend, IN for their work on the heavy mechanical reworking as well as very reliable preventive maintenance
to keep me on the road. I will be adding other creature features along with plans for a custom tweed cab interior. Little by little I am also replacing major parts, air lines and wiring to make the truck like new. Other than that, maintaining and cleaning the 50 feet of tractor and trailer is now enough to fill my "spare time." I love every minute of it!!
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