Project: Doitall Dodge

Rot Box

Explorer
The truck will be getting a full SVO/WVO two tank system in the near future.

Cool! Cant wait to see how that turns out :elkgrin:

fyi I just installed a 12cm wastegated exhaust housing (that I scored for free!) on my 92 and I couldn't be more pleased. I now build boost right off bottom and it holds untill redline all without getting any higher egt's so far. It works great offroad compared to the 21cm that came stock--I figured I'd recomend it as it made a huge difference. There are better options but if you can find one for close to the price I did then I think you'd really like it...
 

Darwin

Explorer
The truck will be getting a full SVO/WVO two tank system in the near future. I have been blending since I got the truck with good success. The next logical step is going to a full WVO system. Its going to be really nice to be able to take almost free trips. Any insight on using SVO/WVO would be much appreciated.
Blending is a good way to kill a motor especially one that is designed to last 300K. I personally would not do it but then again it's not a still under warranty 03 cummins.

I am assuming you have been testing the oil for water by using the hot pan test or other method?
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
I have been looking for a turbo upgrade. I think i will end up going with a HE351cw off an 04.5-07 truck. I thought about the 12cm upgrade but didn't hear good things about towing with it.....

The oil was water tested, long duration cold settled, and separated carefully. It was also blended and filtered to 1 micron. I had good success overall. I was slightly nervous about it but never got so much as one hick-up. These old mechanical injected trucks are pretty tough.

The 2-tank SVO system in the next logical step for me. I am also considering building a bio-diesel processor but I can't figure out a good way to dispose of the glycerin.
 

PapeCAT

New member
Hello, Metcalf/Mieser

I am taking inspiration for your low/no lift big tires idea...

I have a couple options.. I have Similar 16" alloys like you have, but I believe they are only 7 or 8" wide... How wide are your alloys? Wondering if the XMLs will fit.

I have some 16.5x10" Alloys old school mags that are beefy that I could put some hummer H1 37X12.50 R16.5 tires on as well but I love the XML.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
My wheels are only 8" wide. They seem to work well with the michelin tires at 30psi in front and 25psi in the rear. The tires seem to wear nice and flat like that. These tires are rated at 5000lbs per tire at max pressures so don't freak out about the lower pressures on the street, even with the heavy Cummins over them.

I think a 9" wheel would be perfect for these tires, and I think that is what Michelin specs out for them.

I love the tires so far. Zero complaints.

Finding tires this big, for a decent cost, and that are radials was pretty hard. If you can find any decent sets of the 325s I would snatch them up.

I am still looking for a single tire or two for spares.

What kind of truck at your running papecat?
 

MNcummins

New member
PapeCat, are you over on the DTR site too? I am Paul S. over there.. I am running 9.00x16 Superlugs on my stock steelie's with just Skyjacker leveling springs on the front (2.5") of my 93 W250. They rub a bit in extreme situations but short of that I love them...
 

PapeCAT

New member
Hi Paul, yes I'm on DTR and TDR and Pirate4x4 and 1stgen.org as well... haha

sounds like a great plan... well I was just over at 100dollarman's place today and picked up 5 37" MTs for the 16.5 wheels I have and they look meaty.. I plan on keeping it low.

Meiser, I'm building a 1972 power wagon crew cab cummins conversion. Basically the way it sits now it has burly double wrap springs at the front eylet on the front springs, D60F/D70 4:10 LS out of a 1990 dodge diesel underneath, divorced 205, 3spd brownie... Rig has a lot of history to it. I'm sourcing a PTO winch for it as well that runs off the tcase... It originally had an electric winch fabbed underneath but it won't fit with the cummins.

I originally wanted to go 4x4 5sp out of my 1990 w250 donor but I changed my mind when I bought my 1993 w250 5sp 60K mile rig. Now I want an auto to romp around in the brush and beat up a bit and just use the 1993 as a tow / long haul rig. (not to mention that the 2wd 727 route will be a bolt n go cummins conversion with no fab haha - truck originally had the 360/727 ...)

So I'm looking for a non I/c 1989/1990 cummins with 2wd 727 attached... I'll keep the brownie and divorced T case, and all the drivelines, however they'll prolly need to be upgraded with 1410 yokes etc... at least with the slushbox there won't be as much dynamic loading on the driveline with all that monkey motion happening between the 727/tcase/brownie/rear axle...

Here's a pic of where it was when I started, and where it is now... just stripped down basically.. I haven't made much progress.

P1000215.jpg


P1010004.jpg


Sorry for jackin your thread with my pics.
 
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Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Sadly this truck project slowed down a bit with the move to the new house.

I did take the truck up to the high country for a camping trip last weekend. It did great as always. Above 11,000 feet the engine starts to get pretty boggy. I do need to do something about the turbo.

On the one hand this truck drives like stock, on the other hand it has 39" tires. Honestly its very stealthy. It doesn't look like that big of a truck till you park it next to something else or get up close to it. I watched the girlfriend drive it around the other day when I was moving the Willy's to the new house. Then it looked freaking great!

My plans are pretty much the same.....I just need to find more time to work on it. It is truly hard to work on the truck with the weather so nice!

I'll be back with more soon I hope.

Keep asking questions and giving suggestions! That really helps me get motivated.
 

sprale

Observer
This reminds me of the truck my dad had when I was a kid. It was a '70's Ford F100, mostly stock. He built a bed and storage space under a similar shell. We went from Missouri to Guatemala and back one summer. It's amazing how little you really need to enjoy yourself.
 

BlueBomber

Adventurer
Keep asking questions and giving suggestions! That really helps me get motivated.

hows it going??? your truck is looking awesome. how about getting some more off-road pics up?? how about instead of a new turbo, you inject propane? then you can mount a grill on the truck!!!!!! see win-win! extra performane and a simple kitchen.:D

edit: maybe you can make it a part of the tailgate. when you lower the tail gate, you unlatch the back cover and it turns into the backsplash. that way its not in the way and easy to get to. see more reasons to inject propane....
 
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Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Oh it goes....slowly....very slowly.

I had thought about using a fumigant. I would really like to try natural gas but there is not a fill station anywhere around here. Living just outside one of the largest natural gas fields in the country you would think they would be more prevalent. Sometimes I just the energy economy dumb....

While propane works, and would make a great addition for a grill. I don't really have the room in the truck.

Stay tuned for the SVO/WVO 2-tank system. I think this will be pretty dang sweet. I had ZERO problems blending, and this will be much better. The system is going to be a very simple mechanical system that should work well on a rugged expedition/tow/haul truck like this. Now that we are living much closer to town our main fuel expense is just long trips. With the conversion even that cost goes way down. Once the truck is warm I can drive around all day for free. I am just going to be starting and shutting down on #2. Someday I may make the move to making BioDiesel to fill those needs, but I still have issues with disposing of the BioDiesel waste streams and buying chemicals ( and storing them ).

I finally scrounged up some steel for a welder cart too.....a project I have been putting off for way too long.

Then it will most likely be onto a rear bumper with some more body mods back there. The front bumper needs to be built around the winch...so I need to round one of those up too.

Its slow for sure. Sorry. Sometimes life gets in the way.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Micro update.

I stripped the factory front bumper off and promptly threw it in the dumpster. I got out the cardboard and started mocking up the new bumper. After a good deal of thought I think that I will be doing something much more simple. The front end of the dodge has a big radius on the lower part of the grill. Its actually a really nice aesthetic feature for such a large and boxy truck. Instead of trying to do something super complicated and labor intensive I am going to do something simple, light, and clean.

For the front bumper I am going to take a piece of 2x4 or 2x6 box tubing and try and form it into a large radius to match the lower edge of the grill. I think I am going to do this by saw cutting through to the back of the forward face. With enough of these saw cuts I should be able to impart a large radius bend in the tube using the saw kerf space. I need to do some trig and find out how many cuts I need to make at what spacing to get the radius I want. Once I make the radius I will just weld up all the cuts and sand them down flat. Once done it will look just like a large radius bend.

I will also taper the ends down to about 2" tall from the frame to the end. I may also try and build a wrap around feature to the ends....

So this new design for the front bumper raises some questions. What do do for the winch? I don't have room to cleanly mount the winch up front like I want. I can either do a multi-mount system or a hard mounted rear winch. Other ideas or opinions?

The other area I have not been happy with lately is the rear sleeping platform. This was a cheap experiment ($40 ) so I am not too upset about changing thing around.

With the rear sleeping platform its seems that the truck looses a good deal of its capacity as a 'truck' to saw. I find myself needing/wanting to haul stuff in the back while either not having the room or having to really work around the sleeping platform.

The camper shell also adds to this frustration sometimes.

I think I may change the rear sleeping setup to a twin cot system where the cots roll up and store against each frame rail. This way the entire volume of the truck would be open for storage/transportation/hauling. Also, I can only use one cot when its just me or me and a dog. This will open up some more room to move around.

I will most likely install a 4x8 sheet of plywood that is covered in marine carpet on the bed floor for the dogs to walk/sleep/ride on. Plus it would be nice not to have to stand on the cold bed floor in the back when camping.

For a future project....or someone following this....

-I would probably use a soft top convertible style camper/topper that I could take up and down by myself...or that the S.O can take up and down. This would let me carry bigger items that won't fit in the shell.

-I would install a 4x8 sheet of plywood on the floor covered in marine carpet to walk on. Maybe sealed marine plywood so it can get wet and snowy with the top down. Being able to pressure wash it would be nice.

-Build a dual cot system that was somewhat modular. One cot, the other, or both. The 'cots' would roll up and store at the bed rails, maybe even tucked under them.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
No swaybar on my truck. It looks like at one time there could have been, but I venture to say its long gone.

Note: I haven't felt the need for a sway-bar at all. I have some rather stiff front springs however that lifted the front of the truck a few inches. At some point I would like to get a set of quality springs and shocks on the truck.

Do you think you need a swaybar?
 

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