1971 Power Wagon camper project

[mtm_motors]

My cousin and I bought an Avion camper a while back and finally found a home for it, in a 1971 Dodge W200 Power Wagon. It came from the factory (and still has) a Dana 44HD front, Dana 60 rear, NP435 trans, a divorced transfer case (I don't remember the model) and a PTO output all driven by a mighty 225CID Slant 6. We got the truck from a college buddy of mine in running condition, just needed brakes and a few things here and there to get on the road.

We hauled the truck with Evan's OBS F250 and it did well for the nearly 2000 miles we racked up over a week.

We had some trouble getting the clutch to engage (the truck had been sitting for a few years) and it was pretty late by the time we got it loaded up and strapped down.

Evan washed it up and and got the brakes working. It just needed a master cylinder and a good bleed.

The truck is very complete, but was missing some small trim here and there. The gas pedal was shot and luckily I was able to find a brand new one. Parts are hard to find for these years of Dodges, more so than Ford and Chevy. There are a couple companies that specialize in them and they have been invaluable.

My buddy had started working on the heat box and had a brand new heater core for it, but parked the truck and never got around to getting it together. Evan cleaned and painted up the heater box before he put it back together.

Finally, the truck was drivable!

Evan is currently working on mounting a beefy homemade grille guard that came with the truck. It doesn't look like it was for this truck, but the lines and style seem correct for a Sweptline truck. Eventually he will build a better bumper for it to mount on.

 

[jscusmcvet]

Sweet truck!

 

[harv3589]

Very nice! Watching this build...

 

[runuover]

This should be EPIC!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

There have been a couple Avion campers for sale locally this summer, pretty cool and always thought it would look good on a vintage truck.

 

[boll_rig]

Awesome looking truck. This is gonna be good.

 

[mtm_motors]

Thanks guys!

The plan now is to put a service bed on it so we have plenty of external lockable storage and a better place for the camper to sit. I have thought about Humvee tires but I don't want to cut anything and we don't plan to lift it, so we will have to see about fit. It is geared very low, however Chrysler made an OD trans (A833) in the 70s that fits behind the Slant 6 and should work great with the divorced transfer case, I may go that route to try to get some top end out of it. We plan to use the rig to do some long distance trips and don't want to be going 45mph cross country.

 

[mkitchen]

You've got yourself a project now.

You are going to have a lot of work ahead of you but the end result is going to be very nice. Have you thought about what upgrades to the drivetrain you are going to do? I have a 71 Ford 3/4 ton and love it to heck and would really like to get an Alaskan or Avion camper for it. Enjoy and good luck.
Mikey

 

[evilfij]

Why keep the slant 6? I can't imagine it is anything near powerful enough with that truck and that camper.

 

[PhilipE]

Being a /6 it most likely has 4:56 or 4:88 gears. That's all I ever found behind those trucks for gearing.

Your a couple of months late. I gave away a OD 833 and another nonOD 833 to get them out of the garage. A gasser NV4500 would be a good swap. Those went into the 90 and up gasser Dodge trucks. Those wouldn't be to hard to find. The diesel and gas NV's are different. So the gassers trans are cheaper.

 

[mtm_motors]

I don't want to get involved with an engine swap. My ultimate rig would be with a Cummins 12V/NV4500m but I'm not ready for that at this time. I will have to look into the NV behind the Slant 6. I love big sixes, I have had several 90s Mercedes before they went to V6s and am also a big fan of the Ford 300-6. They are smooth, torquey, and very pleasant to drive in my experience. I have towed a goosneck cattle trailer with a 95 Ford F150 300-6 with little problems. There is alot of aftermarket support for the Slant 6 as well (mostly from Australia, they drag race them there). I think the axles may be 4.88s... I remember thinking they were geared extremely low.

Why keep the slant 6? I can't imagine it is anything near powerful enough with that truck and that camper.

Being a /6 it most likely has 4:56 or 4:88 gears. That's all I ever found behind those trucks for gearing.

 

[Diesel YJ]

Nice truck, glad to see it being put to use.

 

[M35A2]

The slant six is a great engine but I always hated changing points on the taxicabs I worked on because on sedans the dizzy is tucked underneath. I got good at changing them by feel or just yanking the distributor out. I reckon you have a lot more space under the hood of that truck. If you ever consider swapping it out for a different six, the big Ford or GMC motors are nice. So are Jeep (Rambler) sixes. And if you are after continental elegance, a Jaguar XK six is bulletproof and has plenty of torque.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

I suggest a 1995 5.9 Magnum. Cheap to buy and repair. Keeps it all Dodge.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

 

[toylandcruiser]

Thanks guys!

The plan now is to put a service bed on it so we have plenty of external lockable storage and a better place for the camper to sit. I have thought about Humvee tires but I don't want to cut anything and we don't plan to lift it, so we will have to see about fit. It is geared very low, however Chrysler made an OD trans (A833) in the 70s that fits behind the Slant 6 and should work great with the divorced transfer case, I may go that route to try to get some top end out of it. We plan to use the rig to do some long distance trips and don't want to be going 45mph cross country.

The a833 is geared way high.