Project: Doitall Dodge

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Is it just the photo or is that crank giant? If it is as big as it looks i love it!! Looks like a piston from a lawnmower =)

It's interesting to me how more and more peoples build's that I look at are the guys who are like me and build pretty much everything themselves.

Keep it up, and what is this new project that you are talking about? Seems like there is more that you want to tell me about it.

Sean

The knobs are just about 1.5" in diameter and 1" wide or so. The size feels a lot better than the stock little knobs....

Yup. I build everything I can.....usually with scrap material I pull out of the bin at work. Building everything myself is just about the only way I can afford to modify things as much as I do.

New project. I want to build something basically in-between my Dodge and Willys. I have a thread going over in the Jeep section with some preliminary thoughts....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/100795-Long-Jeep-chasing-unicorns

Something like this will probably be my next project. I have another competing idea for more of a tube frame totally scratch built pickup/suv thing that I have been working on lately. Basically make a new pickup/suv chassis out of tube with full replaceable skins that make it enclosed and stuff it with some one-ton truckish guts.....4bt, g56, atlas, stout axles, and 40" tires. Basically scratch build a complete vehicle from nothing....blank sheet of paper.....
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Reading back through the 80 some pages of this thread landed me on this.....

I have never seen the little willy you have talked about. I heard about this thing in Moab and saw some pics of it in the mag. Its awesome! You get out to Easter Jeep every year? We should definately hook up next year and grab a cold one, maybe hit up some trails together.

Sean

There is a thread here and on pirate about the build....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/58343-Rango-1942-Willys-MB

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-willys/1000503-rango-1942-willys-mb.html

I go to EJS every year, usually for the end of the week ( thurs-sun ). I only live a few hours away so its pretty easy. If your out next year let me know for sure!

Everyone really seemed to like the little Willys! It makes me feel pretty proud for sure....
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Dang this thing requires so much maintenance....



After about 300,000+ miles the alternator decided to give up. I got a code 41 out of the computer this weekend and noticed the volt meter was reading low. $102 for a lifetime unit at Oriely Auto parts and an hour of so in the garage and all is well. They did have one in stock local, which was amazing. There was a $50+ core though.....I stuck the old one back in the box for a return.

The install is pretty painless. I suggest unplugging the harness at the fender and just swapping it to the new alternator on the bench. Getting the belt back on was probably the biggest pain in the rear. There where some metric and SAE stuff so be prepared for that.

Geez.......this thing requires so much upkeep its ridiculous!
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Welp, another little issue to deal with....

If you have a 1st gen Cummins its worth checking the pedal assembly, specifically in the area where the bracket for the clutch master cylinder bolts on, for really big cracks....

After some 300-400,000 miles mine finally cracked through both sides pretty much. I think I had about 1/2" of material holding the mess together. The clutch gets a little mushy at that point and pretty much stops working since the bracket flexes so much. This really isn't that much fun when your parallel parked with a nice guy snugged up RIGHT against your rear bumper.

Needless to say I didn't stop to take any pictures when I was fixing the mess. I was a little hot under the collar.....

I had to pull the clutch master out of the bracket, its a twist off deal. The pushrod needs to come out and its best to tie the clutch pedal up out of the way. There are FOUR bolts that hold this little bracket for the clutch master onto the main pedal assembly. Once that is out of the way you get to SQUEEZE in, under, and around the dash and steering wheel on the floor to try and weld up the bracket with the welder! It was so much fun. I even got a new hole in my elbow from a nice little flaming hot weld booger that dropped off! Yipee!

Then you get to put it all back together. The good news is that the clutch works better than ever.

Hopefully I won't have to deal with it for another few hundred thousand miles.....
 

trasko

Adventurer
For some reason the truck projects that you HAVE to work on are so much less fun than the one's you CHOOSE to work on. Ha.

My power-break boost failed the other day for about 30 seconds and has been fine since. Grrr.
 

rb70383

Observer
Well its time to get going again on this thing....

The list of little things has been a long tedious one, not the fun make a huge difference in how the truck looks kinda stuff....

-I changed the oil. 3 gallons is just enough to get it to the middle of the 'safe' zone on the dipstick! Heck, I think the filter held more oil than the girlfriends Jetta!

-I found and fixed a really annoying noise coming for the front end. It took a while to find but it ended up being a brake pad slightly, though not all the time, rubbing on the squealers.

-I also removed those stupid chrome hob cover things from the front wheels. I hate those things. You can't feel the bearing hub to see if its warm, cold, or too hot. That is a VERY good indicator for wheel bearing condition. I still need to rip the rear ones out.

-I replaced the last leaking seal under the truck that I could find. It shouldn't leak anything anymore. For my friends that are reading...yet I think I own a vehicle that doesn't leak! It was the rear output seal on the transfer case.

-I finally un-bolted the goose neck hitch in the bed. I won't be needing it so all that nice 1/2" thick steel is going to make the main frame brackets/clevis mounts/recovery points for my front and rear bumpers that are coming.

-I cut a patch panel out of the inside of the old tailgate to fill the hole left under the goose neck hitch in the bed. I think I can get it welded up good enough that I can spray some bedliner over it.

-I also made a nice little adapter sleeve for a new air cleaner project I have coming up....

And last but not least I started laying out and modifying the new front passenger side fender. I am lengthening the fenders so that I can run around a 37" tire with chains if needed without adding any more suspension lift to the truck. I hope it will also really set the truck off from stock. Its going to be a lot of work but I think it will be really cool when its done.

IMAG0008.jpg


This is the outside of the fender. I am lengthening the fender a total of 6 inches, 3" front and back. I will be adding two new sections of fender lip so that I can keep at least one of the inner fender bolts in the stock location. I hope this will help me rebuild the inner fenders easier.

IMAG0009.jpg


This are area in the middle is where the one top bolt is for the inner fender.

IMAG0010.jpg


This is a little better detail of the front fender section, this is the easy one.
The bottom of the front corner of the fender is also getting bobbed down for a little more clearance. The new front bumper will also wrap around and provide protection in this area. The new bumper will be shorter top to bottom than this section....that's why its getting cut. More clearance overall.

IMAG0011.jpg


The backside of the fender gets a little more interesting. There are two stiffening brackets that need to be modified or repositioned. Not a big deal, but a little more work. In the end it should all look very close to stock.

aftersectioning.jpg


Here is a rough 'chop of what the new sectioned front fender will look like. Its not going to be a huge difference, but it should allow some 37s to fill the wheel wells nicely without having to have any more lift on the truck, maybe even a little less than it has now. I think the front could stand to loose an inch from where it sits now to level the truck out, especially with anything in the bed or on the trailer.

I am hoping to do both front outer and inner fenders in the next week or two. I am waiting on some new hand shear/nibbler things to make some of the cuts a lot easier and efficient. I have to do a lot of sections on the truck! There are about 8 planed right now. The one on the front of the drivers side rear with the gas door should be really fun! That is going to have to have a dog leg in the section!

I try and do a little every day.


Nice build just finished reading the whole thread.
Couple questions, Do you happen to know how wide a 2nd gen ram D70 srw is? I have the old one out of my ram and want to swap it into my D350. (link in sig) Reason is the seperate brakes drums, factory trac loc, and hopefully wider enough to help offset the front end length. Its really noticeable on my RC.

Ok on the fender stretching how did you Get a straight line across the fender. In ur pics ur cut line is not parallel to the fender wheel opening. In "Judges'" build on RCC he talked about not using the opening as well, as it isnt flat. He referenced off the rear wheel well. On my truck I took the bed off already so I dont have a easy reference to use.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Nice build just finished reading the whole thread.
Couple questions, Do you happen to know how wide a 2nd gen ram D70 srw is? I have the old one out of my ram and want to swap it into my D350. (link in sig) Reason is the seperate brakes drums, factory trac loc, and hopefully wider enough to help offset the front end length. Its really noticeable on my RC.

Ok on the fender stretching how did you Get a straight line across the fender. In ur pics ur cut line is not parallel to the fender wheel opening. In "Judges'" build on RCC he talked about not using the opening as well, as it isnt flat. He referenced off the rear wheel well. On my truck I took the bed off already so I dont have a easy reference to use.

The 2nd gen rear axle is about 71" wide if I remember right. That would be about 5-6" wider than the stock axle.

On the fender for a horizontal reference I used the body line and worked down from that. In the last picture in the post you referenced you can see the tape I 'stacked' down from that line to give me a good line for cutting and sectioning. The fender opening is a little bit of an odd shape so the patch panels need a little love to match up along the opening.
 

rb70383

Observer
That much wider? That should be perfect. The utility box on mine is from a dually so the extra width should help fill it up nicely.

I now see the tape stacking. Thanks again. That will help.
 

Redpim1

New member
Nice rig...

Just my 2cents on the 14 bolt rear axle swap the park brake on the disk brake axles are a total joke. They don't stay adjusted wont hold a heavy truck in a hill for the life of them and are a pain to change. If you should happen to forget you brake is set about 50' of driving with it set and the .120" of friction material on a new shoe is gone. The benefits of the disk brakes with them are ok but IMHO the durability a 14bolt with the 13"x3" drum brakes is unbeatable even with the extra weight.

This is first hand knowledge from working on fleet trucks at a mining company that are a mixed bag if the disk/drum equipped trucks. We almost never have to touch the drum brakes. The disk brake trucks average about a month on park brake changes. Company requires the brake to be set on trucks if driver exits the vehicle. This could contribute to premature failure in some cases but not every single one of them in the fleet like we have experienced.
 
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Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Sorry, no. I have been busy prepping my flat fender for the Ultimate Adventure trip this year.
I still drive it every day though, it's always been a very reliable ride.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
That's a pretty good update in itself!

You wouldn't happen to have a thread for the Willys, would ya? :p

Thanks. The truck has always been good to me. It might be 7/8ths worn out but it still trudges on...

My willys thread is one here...

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/58343-Rango-1942-Willys-MB

And there is a more 'colorful' version on pirate....which probably gets more traffic and updates.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-willys/1000503-rango-1942-willys-mb.html
 

BjarniThor

New member
Hello Metcalf

My opinion on What you should do: Get yourself something smaller, newer and lighter
to daily drive and pull the Dodge off the road.
Then, just do a full restoration of the truck. It could then be good for decades for use as a
expedition truck right?
I am looking at 1.gens myself, always liked their looks and engineering and of course
the mechanical Cummins industrial engine. See how that goes.

Regards,
Bjarni
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Hello Metcalf

My opinion on What you should do: Get yourself something smaller, newer and lighter
to daily drive and pull the Dodge off the road.
Then, just do a full restoration of the truck. It could then be good for decades for use as a
expedition truck right?
I am looking at 1.gens myself, always liked their looks and engineering and of course
the mechanical Cummins industrial engine. See how that goes.

Regards,
Bjarni

I am not much of a full restoration kind of guy, I am more of a experiment and modify kind of guy. The truck is rough enough that I wouldn't spend the money making it all straight and pretty again. One of the big issues with the old dodge trucks is that they are just not that well supported in the aftermarket in regards to small parts. This makes restorations pretty difficult and expensive.
 

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