A visit to Quigley Motor Works

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Building the Ultimate Service Vehicle

Being in the two way radio industry is a demanding business, and requires us to be able to go anywhere and do anything. We not only do two way radio sales & service, but complete tower work and mobile installations too!

When it became apparent that we were going to be looking for a new vehicle early in 2000, we looked for a full size van....in 4 wheel drive to handle some of our muddy site roads and tough New England winters. Disappointed, we found that no manufacturer made this vehicle! Although a pickup truck was an option, they don't offer enough DRY cargo storage to make them worthwhile, and a fiberglass or metal workbody just was not watertight enough for electronic equipment to make it worthwhile!

In May of 2000, we found out by accident that there was a company that did 4X4 up-fits of GM and Ford factory vans....enter Quigley Motor Company!

We promptly called them and they sent us out some fantastic literature describing the process along with pictures of finished vehicles. In June on 2000 we traveled to the Quigley plant to get a tour of their operation and to test drive a vehicle.

I drove a Chevy Express 3500 van with the 7.4l motor, and had the opportunity to take it both on the highway and on local/back roads. The van literally handled like a Corvette! Although it is significantly higher than a stock van, the center of gravity is not raised much!
To say I was impressed was an understatement!

The tour was Excellent!
Expecting a small hole-in-the wall, we found they had a full scale operation dedicated exclusively to the conversion of factory vans. We were extremely impressed with their level of detail and professionalism towards ensuring that each and every vehicle was converted with the same level of detail that an original equipment manufacturer provides. Each process is well documented and performed by competent trained technicians.

Every truck is first weighed on an in-house scale to determine the actual GVW, and then the vehicle is driven onto one of the 15 or so lifts they have in their plant. All existing components in the front end are removed, and new leaf springs are installed, a Dana 60 front end (on the 1 ton vans), with new brakes (including custom abs sensors), a Borg-Warner transfer case is bolted onto the rear of the existing transmission, and finally the rear end has all the mounts for the shocks and springs removed so that the drive-shaft angles can be optimized for proper operation.

An independent evaluation after the conversion shows nothing but the best! Every weld is PERFECT, lines are re-routed properly, suspension geometry is proper, and the truck sits just right!

I then was given the opportunity to meet their staff, including 3 in-house engineers, customer service personnel, etc. All were very pleasant people to meet! It appeared that each person had the same level of dedication to the company! In short, it appeared that it was a good company to work for...and that translates to good work and professionalism.

Now to the ordering... Anyone can order a Quigley 4X4 from any Ford or GM dealer. We selected a GMC Savana 3500 1 ton as our vehicle of choice, due to our previous experience with GMC excellence! The truck is ordered through your local dealer, GM builds the truck and ships it to Quigley Motor in Pennsylvania, they perform the up-fit and ship it directly to your dealer. All warranties are intact, and Quigley gives you a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on anything they install. They have to pass the same crash tests as the OEM vehicles, and the Quigley engineers work constantly with GM on any issues.

What follows here are a few pictures of our visit to their plant,
including vehicles in various states of conversion...


A view of the rear end and spring mounts. Note the blocks installed for the suspension lift.	A view of the new transfer case and reworked exhaust/beefy cross-member bracket.

A view of the Dana 60 front end before installation.	A view before the engine cross-member is cut out.

And a view with the engine cross-member gone and the new Quigley cross-member installed.	The test drive truck.
The first pictures of our truck courtesy of Quigley!


These were pictures after the conversion and the stainless brush/grill guard and running boards installed by David Shuff at Team Automotive. Larry Yates sent these to make us all drool before it was picked up! :)

	A side view of the finished truck, shows the custom stainless ladder rack with quick release ladder rail.
A front view showing the Tal & Hadas Stainless Brush Guard-This really MAKES the truck! Will soon have 2 BIG Bug-eye lights in the center!
	Another view of the front and side!
Another view of the truck showing a better view of the roof racks.


Here's a few pix of the inside all loaded up! Note the slide-out vise on the left-great for fabricating in the field! Not shown here is the pancake compressor that also goes in the back! The inverter is to the left of the yellow toolbox. We installed all of the interior racks because the local upfitter didn't want to do it the way we wanted it. Grrrrr.

	This is a view of the dual relay setup to switch the 5kw inverter. This is 4/0 wire run back from dual 150 amp dc circuit breakers. Enough power to run 2 20 amp circuits at the same time! There is a master switch in the front on the radio tree that allows me to turn off the inverter completely, and also a switch for 110 volt power is located here in the rear and also on the side door outlets too. These provide a quick shutoff for power if needed, and both are paralleled so either one kills complete 110 volt power at the main relays.
What follows below is some pix of the new JEEP Landrunner that Quigley is up-fitting. Kind of neat, looks like a HUMMER that got squished :)




Here's a Ford Conversion van done by Quigley also, needs bigger tires though!

06/04 Update.....Our Quigley has been great, almost 80k miles on it now and still going strong. Regular maintenance is all that has been done except for a fuel pump problem last month. Waiting for the 05's to come out, hearing rumors of a detuned Duramax diesel with Allison transmission..... drool drool :)

Fast Forward 08/05

108k miles and time for a new one. The diesel vans are finally out, I've ordered a 2006 GMC Savana Van again to be a Quigley conversion! The Quigley platform has been fantastic, I've worked this truck like it was designed and can honestly say I only ever got it stuck ONCE! The rear end was high and dry on glare ice. A slight pull from the shop suv and it was back going again. Next time don't try and go through a 4's snowbank :)

The truck was delivered to Quigley and is currently under going the 4x4 conversion. 6.6 liter Duramax diesel with a 4L85 transmission behind it!
Go here for the page on the new truck "Brutus"

For more information on purchasing a GMC Savanna Quigley contact:
Rob Webster
Phone: 978-562-3492
Toll Free: 800-MY-TRUCK
Fax: 978-562-6058

Tell him I sent you. Maybe I'll get a free truck some day :)

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