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Volvo C303 Overlander Build


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Well its been a long time with no update, put that down to time and money. However the bonus of Covid is that i got to spend 8 weeks in my garage isolating with my loved one (Truck not Mrs).

I've reworked the tilting cab a little, worked on the engine clearances to the diff (still need to cut & weld the sump to improve), but mainly worked on the technical area (is what i'm calling it) Its a structure behind the cab that holds batteries, air compressor, hydraulic pump and there will be 2x 60L water tanks.

I'll post some pictures soon.

On other developments - I always wished i'd bought the longer 6x6 chassis, and am in discussion with a chap to buy a rolling chassis, but fret not all of my work can be trasnfered over.

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On 5/26/2020 at 4:21 PM, HoSS said:

Well its been a long time with no update, put that down to time and money. However the bonus of Covid is that i got to spend 8 weeks in my garage isolating with my loved one (Truck not Mrs).

I've reworked the tilting cab a little, worked on the engine clearances to the diff (still need to cut & weld the sump to improve), but mainly worked on the technical area (is what i'm calling it) Its a structure behind the cab that holds batteries, air compressor, hydraulic pump and there will be 2x 60L water tanks.

I'll post some pictures soon.

On other developments - I always wished i'd bought the longer 6x6 chassis, and am in discussion with a chap to buy a rolling chassis, but fret not all of my work can be trasnfered over.

Consider getting a tgb 20 chassis, that way you can get the 606 to sit behind the front diff like the B30 does. I extended my tgb13/14 chassis by 400mm for that reason, no need to cut the sump for clearance + you end up with a reasonable length rear tailshaft 

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Thing is the 6x6 chassis dont come up every day,  I've not seen a 20 chassis available. And bonus with this one is it has papers already for Diesel, so less headache registering.

But you have a point, maybe even on the 1314 chassis the motor can be moved back, probably requires the round crossmember to be moved.

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Sounds like a good option, the x member would not be too difficult to move back. Also depends if you change from an auto back to a manual you might not need to move it at all. 

Cheers

Nick

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

So i've been lucky enough to find a TGB13 (6x6) chassis in excellent condition, these are as rare as anything these days. Along with another OM606 which has had a nice new Diesekmaken pump and an ML gearbox with a custom Tx box adaptor.
All of my work on the cab and other bits will transfer across.
Now for some scraping, sandblasting and chassis paint...

 

 

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Not sure if it is just the perspective, but that chassis is making the tow car look very small! 

Hoss are you thinking of dumping the merc ecu? (I take it the Dieselmeken pump is entirely mechanical) or is this just going on the spares shelf?

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2 hours ago, Blanco said:

Not sure if it is just the perspective, but that chassis is making the tow car look very small! 

Hoss are you thinking of dumping the merc ecu? (I take it the Dieselmeken pump is entirely mechanical) or is this just going on the spares shelf?

I'm a bit undecided, the ECU has its advantages, smoother, diagnostics, but the manual pump has more power (in fact i will have to detune it a bit to lose the black smoke) but has the advantage of no electronics. Dieselmaken is a swedish company that specialises in upgrading the mercedes M pumps, larger elements etc.

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  • 2 months later...
On 7/31/2020 at 9:33 AM, Blanco said:

Not sure if it is just the perspective, but that chassis is making the tow car look very small! 

Hoss are you thinking of dumping the merc ecu? (I take it the Dieselmeken pump is entirely mechanical) or is this just going on the spares shelf?

Mmmm, it would be illegal in my country to tow that kind of trailer behind a little Duster.. 🤐

 

Entirely mechanical would be not my way to go: it will be ok but is never going to run perfect over the whole rev range. And always more smokey than needed.

The elements can changed over between the mechanical and electronically controlled pump. 😉

 

6x6 Great step forward to more possibilities! 

I saw your plans to mount 2x 60L tanks high up behind the cabin...  Very heavy and bad for stabilty and comfort. Of course the truck can handle it but watertanks are always mounted in or under the floor for a reason.

I would prefer to use that space to store some light weight stuff like my spare pillows or some boxes of Cornflakes.. 😋

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On 10/3/2020 at 12:36 AM, HoSS said:

3 plus the bumpers not enough? The form of the crossmembers and the thickness of the steel all over is way more than a 110 for example.

I'd say there's 5 crossmembers including the rear 'bumper' as they're fully welded and an intrinsic part of the chassis. You're forgetting the rectangular crossmember across the front dumb irons. The front bumper definitely adds some stiffness too.

 

On 10/3/2020 at 12:03 PM, FridgeFreezer said:

@miketomcat I'm willing to bet the thing twists a lot more, Unimogs certainly do, although the radio-bodied ones are probably stiffer. Defenders are unique in not twisting (as much) although they're not as rigid as a Freelander or Ibex.

Unimogs have C section chassis rails in common with nearly all trucks which are designed to twist, the Volvos have a box section chassis like a land rover with big flitch plates where the crossmembers are welded on to spread the load and the thick round crossmembers resist twist a lot more than the rectangular land rover ones. There's also a 5mm strip welded along the top and bottom of each rail which gives the surprisingly skinny chassis a good bit of strength. It's obviously never going to be as stiff as a short monocoque like a freelander but it's definitely stiffer and stronger than a defender chassis and can take far larger imposed loads than something like a freelander could without permanent deformation.. Also similar to the defender, the volvo body is solidly mounted although it uses hard plastic spacers rather than metal to metal. The bodies definitely add some rigidity too. 

 

On 10/3/2020 at 10:29 AM, Carloz said:

Mmmm, it would be illegal in my country to tow that kind of trailer behind a little Duster.. 🤐

The volvo rolling chassis weighs 1220kg stripped like that, I'd say that whole combination is around 2 tons and well within the capabilities of the Duster.

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Proper 6x6 envy now. Whats the plated weight of a 6WD TGB. I'm guessing its over my microscopic 3.5t license?

Eagerly watching this progress👍

Doe anyone know its kept... i may have to steal his axles.

 

Just out of interest how easy is it to source volvo parts? I don't seem to beable to find 2nd hand parts let alone new.

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On 10/3/2020 at 10:29 AM, Carloz said:

I saw your plans to mount 2x 60L tanks high up behind the cabin...  Very heavy and bad for stabilty and comfort. Of course the truck can handle it but watertanks are always mounted in or under the floor for a reason.

I would prefer to use that space to store some light weight stuff like my spare pillows or some boxes of Cornflakes.. 😋

Biggest problem with putting the water tanks (or any other containers for liquid) is that unless you only ever drive with them either empty or brim full then they'll suffer from surge which suddenly changes the weight distribution of the vehicle. Very dangerous if you have to suddenly swerve - could easily lead to loss of control or even a roll.

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44 minutes ago, geoffbeaumont said:

Biggest problem with putting the water tanks (or any other containers for liquid) is that unless you only ever drive with them either empty or brim full then they'll suffer from surge which suddenly changes the weight distribution of the vehicle. Very dangerous if you have to suddenly swerve - could easily lead to loss of control or even a roll.

You’d be mad not to baffle them. 

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