55*6BT My 55 w/ Cummins power

[II_Slow]

Picked the truck up from First Class Diesel and Performance today after Marty called yesterday and said he had the rack moving freely. Put everything back together, plumbed up a fuel jug, reconnected the battery, primed the pump, and whirled it over. Finally started passing fuel out of the delivery valves. Cooled the starter down and whirled it again and it bucked a little then settled into nice idle. Doing my snoopy happy dance!!! Time to start ordering more parts for this thing. Fuel tank, steering column, Radiator/fan combo, driveshaft, intercooler, etc. It's alive!

[Kim57]

Congrats.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Good deal!

[brimc]

Good stuff. Looking forward to seeing the updates coming.

[II_Slow]

[Dieselwrencher]

Cool project, and nice work! Yeah, your rack was stuck from the fuel varnishing from sitting so long. I have a 160 pump that has done the same thing. I'd run some stanadyne fuel cleaner/lube in the tank for a few tank fulls to help lube and clean it. How's the body coming?

[II_Slow]

I did not get as much done with the cab as I had intended over the winter. But I'm going to get on it soon, for real this time. The dash is ready, except I will probably do some mods including sliding the dash cluster outboard an inch or so becuase that's where the column needs to be. The front fenders are ready now, the rears are ready except for the tail light recesses and a cut out for the exhaust. Passenger door is almost ready (at least the body work - it's still gutted). I am still looking for a better DS door. I think I can find a good replacement for less than the patch panels it would need. I have two hoods I want to prepare for the truck - one I want louvered and one without. The bed doesn't appear to need much work, but might after it is blasted. With the engine running, my motivation has been restored. I have bumpers, most of the glass, grille, headlight trim, park lights, door handles, and a ton of stuff still in boxes new. It's been nice to string this build out and find sales and craigslist opportunities to save a lot of money!

[II_Slow]

Still pecking away at it. Working on getting the cab sealed back up right now. Framed up the seat area and transmission tunnel, now cutting and welding in the pieces. Nothing glamourous, just busy work. But everything I get done is one step closer to finishing so I'm happy as long as I'm making progress.





I will cut out some of the rust in the floor next, then go after the rockers and cab corners. Been stalling to long on that stuff, time to put on my big boy pants and start cutting some exterior metal. Just wanted to get a little more experience on the "hidden" stuff first.

[Kim57]

Good to see you're still at it.
Doesn't look like there will be much room for A.C.
Kim

[II_Slow]

Yeah I'm a little concerned with that too, but earlier cars and trucks (particularly 29-32) are very popular builds and are much narrower and they somehow get A/C. I'll find a solution - no A/C is not an option.

[II_Slow]

Got the dash, core support, and fenders out of the body shop. The dash won't clear the doghouse I built around the back of the engine and transmission. I HATE do-overs!

[brimc]

Ya do overs do suck. Been there also. How do the parts look from the bodyshop?

[Bean Counter]

This project is waaaayyyyy cool. Really impressed with the extent and quality of the mods. I'm a huge fan of projects that involve turning "junkyard refugees" into cool rides, and this one nails it. I want to see this one rolling down the highway! Subscribed!

[II_Slow]

Bean Counter,
Yeah it's so cool to see different people's responses to the same project. Some people say why in the hell would you take a 50 year old truck and try to stuff an oversized diesel engine into it instead of just buying a used truck, and other people see it and absolutely love it. Basically some people get, some don't.
I have absolutely no concerns with reliability or driveability of the finished product, my only concern is NOISE. I'm afraid the old school Cummins, plus the wind noise from the doors and windows might be a bit much so I'm trying to take that into consideration during the construction. If anyone has any recommendations for minimizing either, let me know. I plan on undercoating both both sides of the floor, then lining the interior of the cab and doors with Dynapad or equivalent. I've only heard the complaints of wind noise, not sure if that is a real issue or not with all new door and window seals.

brimc,
The dash was great, fenders close but I spotted more issues after I got them home. I think after I get the fenders hung long enough to modify the inner fenders and fit a radiator I'll send them back. Inner fenders need to be clearanced to fit the upper a-frames. Fortunatly, I have a rusty pair. I'll just cut way too much out of the rusty ones, then shape some poster board to get the opening just right and transfer to my good pair.

I have my axles back and need to make sure they fit OK, then freshen up the back brakes and install the suspension parts from my original donor truck - the wrecked 94. It had all new front suspension before it was wrecked. Plenty of work to do. Much more work than energy/motivation!

[Truck Guy99]

Subbed. Your building one of my dream trucks

[II_Slow]

Had a fairly productive day in the shop yesterday. Test fit the axles - just need to drop the cover and clean the center section and tubes then replace all the gaskets and seals. Cut out the doghouse I have fabbed around the engine - will have to re-do it with the dash in place. Looks like I'm going to have to notch the dash to clear the back of the engine - but I'm not moving the engine! I also finished clearancing the throw-away inner fenders to clear the upper a-arms. I'll just transfer the cut-out to my good inners. Looks like the steering wheel will center up on the gauge cluster so that's good. I'm getting ready to order the steering column now that the dash in back in place (temporarily).

[Kim57]

Nice progress.
Kim

[brimc]

Looks like things are working out great for you. Can't wait to see more progress pictures.

[II_Slow]

More fabrication under the hood, in the cab, and under the bed. Fabbed up what I intended to just be a temporary fuel tank but I don't see any reason to do anything different with it. Just made the top wide enough to bridge the framerails. I need to clean it up better inside, then permanently weld the top on and brace it a little around the top. I purchased the bungs to add fuel pick-up, return, and another fill port so I can add an auxilary tank it the bed if I want to. Also ordered all of the plumbing fittings and adapters gain some clearance on top of the steering box and make a little more room for the radiator. Ordered an Ididit tilt column with shifter - did the price match thing on Jegs again. Just past the URL from another ad for a similar product and overwrite Jegs pricing with customer price. Works like a charm - plus Jegs does free shipping. New door hinges and hidden tail gate latch kit shipped from Brothers.

Tacked on the rear crossmember to get shock length at ride height. Looking at various shocks now but I'm fairly limited by the short shock (13 inch at ride height) on the front.

Trying to make a final decision on the colors for the VHX-55 Dakota Digital analog gauge cluster.


Starting to look and feel like it might actually get finished at some point. More body work finished and in primer, installed the dash a door just to get a little more inspiration. My one year count down has started.

[Kim57]

Sounds like real good progress.
Kim

[Dieselwrencher]

Great work, it is looking nice! Buying the VHX's was rough for me because I got enough to do 3-5 more gsauges. Ka ching.

[II_Slow]

I started fitting more of the accessories on the engine like the turbo plumbing and air filter. That Cummins looks right at home in there!



Still scared to pull the trigger on the radiator purchase. It fits, but just barely. But my mock-up is slightly oversized and I'm pretty sure the actual radiator/fan will be much less boxy.

[Kim57]

Looks pretty slick.
Kim

[brimc]

Looking awesome

[II_Slow]

Just worked on a bunch of boring stuff today. Mounted the Ididit steering column then the Dodge pedal hanger and hydroboost/master cylinder. Centered it up between the stuff on the engine (throttle linkage and fuel shutoff solenoid) and the hood spring - it just barely fits. Pretty crowded in the foot well too. The throttle was right in the way of the steering column so I chopped up the throttle bracketry, flipped a couple of sections over, and welded/boxed it up for strength. Now it sort of wraps around the steering column. I'll have to hinge the linkage off of the floor board instead of the hanger but it should work fine. I was careful to retain the pedal ratio, I just need to space if right for the factory cable to work. I had to remove a little material from the right side of the brake pedal as well.
Also fabbed up a couple of battery trays and crossmembers. One battery under the cab, one under the bed. That took pretty much all - damn I'm slow.
I only had about one inch between the steering box and my radiator mock-up. Bought 18-mm and 16-mm o-ringed power steering fittings, and some -6AN to 1/8NPT 90's. Brought them to a buddy with a TIG and we sectioned the fitting and welded the 90 directly to the metric fitting. Looks like it should by the space I need. I need to get the power steering, transmission, and brakes plumbed up the spend some big money for the radiator/fan combo. I would like to have this thing to the point that I can move in in and out of the shop in the next few weeks.