Re: Crew Cab build preview...
 

Thanks!
I had her running and driving in July then all kinds of family issues came up...I guess it is a summer 2018 driver....

Re: Crew Cab build preview...
 

I copied this from my post in the diesel conversion section....

I bought a Cummins donor today, 1995 2wd 5spd truck, 293k or so....didn’t want such high miles but did want The 5spd, it was advertised as a 96 which had me excited since those are 215hp, ended up being a 95, oh well. Runs good and no weird noises, trans is quiet and shifts very smooth. Bad power steering pump. Recently had the KDP fixed and a new front timing cover installed.
Anybody know why it might of needed a new front timing cover?
Here is a pic of the beater...it was close by so I just went ahead and bought it, $3600 and he drove it home for me. It not a factory dually, it has adapters in the back and what appears to be factory hubs and rotors in the front.
I’m gonna jack it up tomorrow and measure the width of the Dana 80, I think I can use it, problem is the tag says it’s 4:10 ratio, probably change that to something taller. It is posi though, at least the owner states that and the tag on the cover states the same.
Changeover parts to convert the 5spd to mate up to my np205 are about $700. I will order that stuff tonight or tomorrow.

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Nice buy. I responded about the kdp issue over in the diesel conversion area.

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Moving unders it’s own power again...

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Rear shackle flip worked out perfect, it sits 1/8” higher in the rear now. Should drop a bit in the front when I install the Cummins then with the lift gate on the back I think it should Even up the rear.

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At this point it doesn’t matter but the engine compartment looks factory, I like how it all fit together.

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I drove the crew out of the garage today and brought in the diesel, engine will be out tomorrow...

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Damn dodges are weird for me, unusual metric sized bolts like 16 and 18mm....

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Get used to it, that entire engine is metric. :lol: 12mm, 17mm, but 10, 13, 15, 18, and 19 are pretty common in and on them. Haha

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I'm cool with metric, just don't have a lot on my tool cart, have to go to the big box constantly.
What I'm not cool with is 16 and 18mm usage, that's uncommon except gm power steering and engine mount bolts I think....and when a fastener could be 12 or 13, and another could be 14 or 15....have it be consistent like a Japanese or German car
I had every wrench and every socket out and guessed wrong half the time...

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This Cummins is a beast...

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Man, you don't play around! looks like you're well on your way to completing the Cummins swap.

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Wow Good thing there is plenty of room under the hood

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Well I hope to get a cross member built for the Cummins mounts over the next few days then it should go pretty quick. I'm waiting on a couple transmission parts right now.

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Randy
Your truck is looking Great.
I have a question on the 3rd and 4th door.
I noticed early in your build you tried the front door hinges on the back door and the door did not open enough and you chose to use suburban hinges. Do you have Dimensions for these door hinges so I can make them or know where they can be bought?
Thanks
Dwayne

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I used standard 3rd door hinges flipped over for the 4th door. I got the set I needed by placing a want to buy ad in the parts section...they are readily available there.

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Thanks
I am trying to round all my parts before I make the first cut.
I don't have a Suburban but I think I can do it without one. It will just be a lot more work. I have plenty of doors and a Extra cab.

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Make it easy and at least buy 2 "B" pillars. I bought one off the forum and used it on the drivers side by cutting it in sections and flipping each over and re-welding them, I don't think I documented that in my build.

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That sounds like a plan. Thanks.
I have been doing a lot of research.
I have looked at the builds on this forum.
Also looked at lots of Pictures on the Web.
The B Pillars seem to be the Big deal.
Also the choice of a high or low roof line and joining the roof together.

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The Cummins with 5spd and NP205 is mounted and new exhaust installed.
Of note in this picture is that the turbo is about 5/8” from the AC box and I had to build a bracket for the power brake booster to mount it directly to the firewall.
The master cylinder would not clear the intake elbow so I fanned up a bracket similar to the one captainfab sells.

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I mounted the engine as far forward as possible and even used the 1st gen Cummins fan hub which is 5/8” shorter, I had to mount the engine forward to get turbo clearance on the AC box, I even offset the motor to the drivers side as much as I could which wasn’t much due to my use of 2nd gen engine mounts which stick out a long way from the block.

The fan is very close to the radiator at the top, I will re-mount the radiator closer to the core support at the top to gain some clearance. The radiator in stock location is tilted back at the top, so it will be easy to make it more upright.

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The 2nd gen exhaust angled right into the passenger floorboard so I ordered a full 1st gen 4” exhaust system, a little cutting and it fit right up nicely.

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New exhaust has a real 4” downpipe off the turbo...

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Looking good Randy! You are flying.

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I boxed the front frame for the engine crossmember from the rear shackles past the engine crossmember, I will finish boxing the front frame to the front crossmember.
I will also be boxing the frame from the rear of the front shackles to the rear spring mounts. I had some 3/16” plate sheared to size so boxing that will be a quick job.
Pic of the crossmember...

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Crappy lighting but here is a pic of the exhaust.

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2nd gen mounts

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Thanks man, it’s been more work than anticipated, I guess I’m too optimistic.

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Nice work Randy!

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Making good progress!

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looking really good!! love the work so far

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[QUOTE=randy500;8115422]Make it easy and at least buy 2 "B" pillars. I bought one off the forum and used it on the drivers side.

I have got the parts I want now.
Thanks for the good (insight) info.

I hope to start my Build Soon.

Hope you are doing good with your Truck
Dwayne

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Your telling me... I rebuild them as well as a bunch of others for a living! Very nice work!

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Ive been on a few week thrash...went on the maiden voyage tonight, amazingly it runs, drives and stops good.

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Glad to hear progress Randy, got to be a nice feeling. Trevor

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Thanks! It is a great feeling.
I underestimated the time and work on the cummins install, I know better too but its been a long time since I restored a truck, and those were just restorations, not all this fabricating. I have fabricated before just not on such a grand scale.
I'm stoked now and want it street legal. Amazingly brakes, clutch trans, etc all work good. My wife and son drove it last night and both said it drives normal.
I'm gonna get the roof welded on, install the front and rear glass and start driving it.

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Great Work Randy.
I really like how you have done your build thread.
All the Pictures are Awesome.
Thanks for all the idea's
Dwayne

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Thanks I appreciate the nice comments.

A picture of my liftgate, it’s attached to the rear receiver hitch, removable with a couple set-bolts.

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I’ve been driving it everyday and I’m very impressed.
It steers great and handles parking lots and drive throughs at least as well as my 2002 duramax crew cab. When I bought the frame the seller said it had a redhead box on it, seems true, it has a nice heavy feel and is about 3.25turns lock to lock.
The Cummins has a lot of power when your on the turbo, the afc is gutted so you have to throttle it based on boost build up.
The brakes are great. I used the optional larger brake parts from square body trucks option code jb7, 1 1/4” piston master cylinder and the larger 3.14” piston calipers, luckily it works well together, especially considering I’m not using the factory booster linkage. I built a bracket to mount the booster directly to the firewall since I needed intake manifold clearance.
I put in a new clutch and hydraulics, it works great on the pedal linkage and firewall mount I made.
Overall it’s real easy to drive and doesn’t seem to have any quirks that need attention.

I’ve got my car trailer hooked to it, picking up a 24’ I beam today.

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I put a windshield and rear glass in it last weekend and yesterday I tacked the roof skin on. Gonna finish welding the roof up this weekend and get the side windows all in too.