Question about Gliders

I've read somewhere that Cascadia gliders are coming but not Volvo. The thing is that there's no affiliation between Detroit and Volvo.

 

No on Volvo, unless there has been a recent change, they do not do Gliders. The Cascadia may be too new for the motor you want, but check with Kustom Trucks, if anyone can do it it would be them.

 

Also be aware that outfits like Fitzgerald rebuilds their own engines and sometimes they send them out to another co for the rebuild. So there might be reliability issues. I heard a friend mine say his buddy bought a glider from them and had massive oil consumption. The engines need time to bed in piston wise.
Companies like Harrison sell gliders with OEM Detroit engines built by Detroit, so you have to compare.
Fitzgerald build Pete 389 which normally don't come with detroits so you never know. They may get creative and start on Volvos.

 

A glider has no engine. You buy the glider then get your engine, tranny and rear ends wherever you want to get them. Most buy gliders when they have a wrecked truck that has those salvageable parts in it. Course some do buy them and build their own truck. Not sure about the regulations on emmissions, would have to check with the dealer. That's if you buy at the dealer. I don't know about those others. When you buy from a dealer you get everything but the engine, tranny and rear ends

 

Fitzgerald claim their gliders are compliant with CA.
I have a hard time believing that but I'm not sure CA are up to speed checking whether they are or not, anyway.
But right now, you're ok with any other state, so we will see how it pans out

 

This may seem like a stupid question but here it is for your reading pleasure: What is a glider? I keep getting the notion that these kits are add on's to make a truck more aerodynamic, like skirts/fairings, hoods, etc. But a previous post here is now giving me the impression that it's a [d@#m near] complete truck minus engine, tranny, and rear end.

 

That is what it is, legally what you are doing is replacing parts of an older truck, but in reality you are buying a new truck without two of the three main running gear components, engine, trans, rear. You can get reman parts or use parts from an old truck. In the early 80's ford sold aluminum versions of the old W9000 and I took the engine and trans out of a wrecked tractor and hit the road. Most buyers now are having Freightliner install a reman engine or a rear at the factory and working with the dealer to install the other components.

 

I heard a guy in this site said he saw 2 cascadias with n-14 cummins at harrison's place.

 

You can buy a Cascadia glider today, but it has different wiring that won't currently work with a DDEC4 (pre EGR) ECM. Supposedly, Kustom Truck is building a harness to make it work. Freightliner, Western Star, Peterbilt, and Kenworth are the only brands doing gliders. Freightliner and Western Star can be bought as a powered glider with a reman engine installed by the factory, then you add a rebuilt tranny and rears at the dealer. The only way a glider would be legal in Cali for more than the 1000 mile per year rule would be if it had a aftermarket DPF on it, which doesn't make sense.