49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Hello all. I've been a member here many years but I've been away for a while. Time for me to contribute again.

A couple of years ago I inherited a 1949 Chevy 3800 SRW 1-ton. My dreams for it are to do light/medium duty towing. Mostly taking my Turbo C10 race truck to the track or dragging home new projects. I'd like to match/exceed the performance of my bone stock 1998 C2500 with it's 5.7 gas motor.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/100_4284.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

In the past two years I yanked out the not original stovebolt 235 and SM420 and replaced them with a mopar 5.9 gasser and a built 46RE from a 2wd ZJ project I couldn't sell.

Since there are no disc brake 8 lug options, I also bought a 1/2ton front axle and converted it to 6-lug disc brakes.

So what I ended up with an 8-lug HO52 in the rear with 5.14 gears and a bastard 6-lug in the front converted to modern bearings and disc brakes.

I had the truck running and driving around the shop, but I was concerned about the entire front axle setup. The conversion tapered roller bearings were lawn mower sized and the brakes are 1/2 ton disks. The entire front suspension and steering was so outdated and cobbled together that I just couldn't imagine pulling 6000lbs with it.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/20180906_001947.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

The truck sat a year while our business moved out of the old shop and my boss and I bought a piece of land out in the country and started building new office and eventually a new shop.

After a year of not working on it. I just got really burned out thinking about how many compromises I made.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...301_104059.jpg
http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...301_104119.jpg

So I bought this. The guy I bought it from said it was a 96 Ram 2500 4x4. Several date codes and connectors I found show it's probably a 2001 Ram 2500. It has a "no good" Gas 5.9, 46RE, NP241HD, and Dana 60s front and rear with 4.10 gears and a limited slip out back.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...301_144627.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

I wasted no time pulling the old 5.9 and 46re out and rebuilding the 46re OD unit and swapping it onto my built 46re.

I then dropped my good 5.9/46RE in and dropped the cab on some blocks on top of the frame. I cut the stock dodge cab mounts off and re-welded them to mate up to the Chevy's cab mount locations and then used the stock Ram body mounts plus some poly spacers.

It became obvious that the Ram had a longer nose. In order to keep the motor in the stock Ram location. I had to move the cab back several inches from the optimal wheel arch centers, but to clear the transfer case I ended up with about 3" of body lift anyway. I also ended up with the water pump about 1" from the radiator so it looks like I'm going to get creative with the cooling fan.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...401_215521.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

nice work!

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Update time!


I figured out the Dana 60 might have issues. It does have a limited slip though. Im happy about that.

http://youtu.be/K6R7YM-ySfI

I also got the truck started

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxxQK9hcdNs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bzuLAmC7qY


two weekends ago I got some major work done! My cousin came up to help and we finished my exhaust. We did a stock crossover, cut the cat off, added a 3" v-band and then a 3" glasspack into a 3" magnaflow and turned down after the cab.

We wired up the battery and put some gauges in so we had water temp and oil pressure.

Then we went for a drive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7d1Xww_qX4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwcQhxOfX2A

Overall the drive went really well. We went a couple of miles and no issues on the road. The truck does overheat at idle with the way the pusher fan is currently mounted. I don't want to drive it too much more until I dive into the dana 60. some bolts in the front fenders also vibrated off and we almost lost the passenger fender.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

This weekend I got the tires that I want to use mounted. Currently they are a 235/85r16. I got these tires used a while back and I wanted to see if I liked the size. I'm considering 255/85r16s as well.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...628_093613.jpg

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http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...628_153324.jpg

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...628_153316.jpg

I also re-mounted the fenders with lockwashers, Re-mounted the pusher fan, and fabbed up an exhaust hanger.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...628_114816.jpg
http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...628_114734.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Thank you! It's been a labor of love. We are starting on a new Shop this summer so maybe I'll be able to work inside again. :lol:

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Nice build. Looks like a beast with that axle and tires. What are you aiming at to do with the fenders to cover the tires?
So long Arnd

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

I'm going to see how much it annoys me :lol::lol:

Texas has no enforced laws about how much your tires can stick past your fenders. They will for sure get dirtier. I can do a big truck front clip or I could do some type of flares if it bothers me.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

I had the same tire sticking out issue when I turned mine 4wd...I hated it...its going back to 2wd now..

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

well the good thing about 4wd.. Dana 60s and Dana 44s are available in custom widths. If it ever bothers me that much I can shorten my axle or buy a whole new axle that's more Jeep width.

It's much harder to narrow an IFS front suspension. I looked into it because I have a 80's C20 front clip, but I decided it was too much for me to do.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Yeah I considered narrowing the axles also... but I used the 3/4t frame..so I couldn't go narrow enough to tuck the wheels and not hit the frame when turning...so back to 2wd goes mine..
On my IH I used 3/4t axles on it, but with the stock IH frame..I used stock style rims with the most positive offset I could find...which isnt much...the tires are right at the edge of the fenders on it..after I get it back on the road and see what it looks like, I may narrow them a few inches...I've got room to do it on this truck..

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Update time!

This past weekend I got some time in.

First thing I did was start the truck up and drive it to the most level surface I could to check the cab mounting. I quickly decided that the nose looked too high, I could raise the entire back of the cab up another inch, or do some cutting and lower the nose. I chose to do some cutting. First. a before and after shot.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...81755-vert.jpg

I had to cut out part of the floor under the seat to clear the transfer case. I didn't grab a picture, but I now have to raise the middle of the floor under the seat by about an inch.

I also decided that I was going to have to cut the wheel openings a bit. I cut them so they would clear the 33's that I've pretty much decided the truck is going to get. This part was hard to do. I'm not 100% happy with it either. The transition isn't as smooth as I was hoping.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...82323-horz.jpg

Then I took a break as we put a 40' tower on the roof of our shop to hopefully pull in some real internet. :lol:
http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...718_164247.jpg


That took most of the day Saturday, and Sunday I was back at it. First, I took some decent pictures.

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Then I re-mounted my gas pedal (i forgot to take pictures) and finally I started filling some holes in the firewall, but before I got to that, I tried my hand at fixing some cab floor spots with trimmed/hammered 18ga mild steel. I'm fairly happy with the results. I'm glad I started on the floor because my sheetmetal welding skills need some sharpening. I also probably need to buy some .023" wire instead of the .030" i'm using.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...719_131147.jpg

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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Monday I went to the junkyard and measured a bunch of rear ends and picked up a transfer case shifter off of a 2nd gen Ram 1/2-ton. I took the transfer case shifter back and tried to bolt it to my 46re. The holes don't quite line up by about an 1/8" and the shifter geometry looks wrong. I'm still hunting for a transfer case shifting solution.


Wednesday, the wife and I drove 3.5 hours to central Dallas to buy a newer disk brake 14-bolt from a guy. The rear end looked great! In trying to spin the ring gear to determine the gear ratio, something didn't feel right. It was way too tight. I thought it might be the disk brakes dragging so we unbolted both axle shafts. Something didn't look right on one side. Turns out one tube was bent enough that the axle shaft wouldn't bolt back into place. I had to pass up the perfect 4.10, limited slip, disk brake rear end that I drove 7 hours round trip for.

I'm still on the hunt for another 14-bolt before I give up and rebuild this rear Dana 60. This axle is the only thing on the truck that's not road worthy. Once I have an axle and some basic wiring, I can actually drive the truck.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Nice going Josh!

-Joe

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

I just figured out why the transfer case shifter isn't "right". The half ton, at least the early ones, were NP231D which is 2wd, 4wd Hi, N, and 4wd Lo pattern. I don't know the pattern on the NP 241HD, but I'm betting it is different and is part of why it won't bolt up.

I know you're familiar with Marty Fletcher and the work he does on our "undesirable" 5.9L Magnum engines, but I'll throw the link up here for anyone else that thinks these engines aren't worth the trouble.

https://www.utawesomeperformance.com/index.html

No matter what the purists may say, this is going to be a great build. Keep up the good work.

-Joe

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

New rear axle acquired! It's a 02 Chevy 14-bolt factory disk brake axle :chevy:

It has 4.10 gears and an open diff, but the 14-bolts have tons of traction aid options including fairly cheap and simple detroit locker upgrades.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C...725_161827.jpg

unfortunately it's raining today and my lack of roof means that I can't work on it this weekend. :waah:

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Thank you! I am very much enjoying your build. Though I will say putting the magnum motor in the original frame was my idea. The frame swap was heavily inspired by your build.

I was just going off of it looked close when I was laying under the 1/2-ton in the wrecking yard. :lol: I figured dodge would have tried to keep the shifters the same to keep costs down. I guess not.

I'm going to go back to the wrecking yard and try again for a transfer case shifter soon. This one is very close but not quite able to bolt to the holes on my 46re but the geometry of the shift linkage looks very wrong.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

The NP231 shifter in addition to the pattern, has a jog in the middle of the gate. You have to push sideways and then continue to pull back to get low range. I think the 241 is a straight pull pattern all of the way through.

-Joe

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

I guess it's time for an update! I haven't done much of anything on the 49 since July-ish. I've been working on shop space and general homesteading things. My wife and I are in the process of trying to build a tiny house on our 4 acres in the country and sell our house in town. The problem is, our land is undeveloped and heavily wooded. The first task was cutting a road through about 250 yards of trees. Now I'm working on clearing the land.

http://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/49C..._220037337.jpg
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Then came the homestead projects.

First I bought a fourwheeler from a friend who was selling it for $300. It's a little Arctic Cat 250 and has come in quite handy once I got it running right.
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Then I needed a tractor to build a road. We've been saving a lot to do our house/septic/carport with cash and I didn't want to blow it all on a $20k+ tractor. So I found this beauty of an unknown front end loader for $2600 on marketplace. Turns out the motor was locked up so I brought it home for $1500. The locked up motor turned out to be a frozen starter and I had the little 38hp gas motor purring in two weekends. The tractor has steadily been getting upgrades. A battery, some new hydraulic hoses, filters, oil, electronic ignition, and now I'm fixing the 3-point. It's not a bad little workhorse. Turns out it's a late 1960's Case Industrial loader.

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The current plan is to get the half-acre homestead site cleared and then build a carport where I can store my C10 and the motors, transmissions and axles that are taking up space in my garage. Then I can bring the 49 to my current house and work on it there until we move and then hopefully soon after we'll start on my dream shop. I've already started doing a few misc things to the C10 and the C2500 in preparation. I have plenty of time to work at my house after dark since it gets dark so early.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

The term Cedar Chopper comes to mind. That truck is going to be a beast! Good luck with all of it.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Here's a year late update!

Last summer, the truck went to my house in the city for about two months where I did some rust repair and fixed a host of mechanical things including rebuilding the Dana 60 in the rear and building a transfer case shifter from scratch. I ended up using the truck to put my camper in place at my new homestead and then the truck sat for nearly another year

The truck did not fit (lengthwise) in the garage.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._031513548.jpg

I was able to finish a bunch of interior rust repair. It's always more than you thought when you start looking.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._205706823.jpg

The Dana 60 rebuild took me a solid month to get right. the carrier went in out so many times getting the pinion depth right.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._062514342.jpg

Turns out the 3/4ton dodges used a floor mounted transfer case shifter that just wouldn't work in my application. I ended up building the entire thing from scratch with some heim joints and bushings.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._025917583.jpg

Finally got to actually use the truck. By far, the biggest complaint was that the windows were rattling around inside the channels. The 4wd worked awesome.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._010211016.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

May of this year, I pulled the truck out of its resting place, went for a test drive, and made a list.

on my test drive it felt like the windows were going to rattle out of their channels, the passenger door kept flinging open, and the truck overheated.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...PORTRAIT~2.jpg
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I started on the overheating first. I moved the radiator forward 2" by modifying the core support. I was then able to put a proper electric fan behind the radiator with a shroud. I also fixed a kinked lower radiator hose and excessively flushed the cooling system.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._235122243.jpg
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Next I tackled the doors and windows. The Altman latch kit was easy and made a noticeable difference in how the doors open and shut. I also rebuilt all the window channel felts and added some firewall sound deadening.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._011120377.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

June brought the start of my new shop and more work on the truck. My cheap amazon water temp gauge stopped working, so new a new gauge cluster. Some more firewall cleanup with a remount of my ECM and relay board.

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Then came the wiring that seemed to never end. I decided not to use the cheap ebay harness I bought last year with missing labels and ponied up for a nice painless harness. It was still a decent bit of work trying to loom everything nice and keep some circuits in place for future upgrades.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._052531726.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

July brought the biggest expenses to the truck yet.

First a brand new set of 255/85r16 Falken Wildpeak mud tires. They really do fit the look I was going for. I didn't want anything too wide.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._205145761.jpg


Next I started on the most ambitious project I think I've ever done. Building a flatbed from scratch.

The main channels are 3" c-channel and crossmembers are 2x2x1/4" angle. The outside edge is 3x4x1/4" angle. The best thing I did for this project was the Evolution cold cut saw.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._162827677.jpg
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Mid July saw the new shop come together really fast. Then I took a few weeks off to finish electrical in the new shop before they spray foamed it.
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Finally the end of July I moved the truck to its new home.
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._010859122.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

wow! i like everything you just posted

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

August has been a busy month so far!

For starters, My trusty white 98 3/4ton chevy developed a bottom end knock on it's 290k mile motor :waah::waah: This has pushed me to get the 49 on the road.

I feel like i've been working on the bed forever now. Here's more pictures. It's pretty much done besides the wood bed floor and eventual stake sides.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._004147332.jpg
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Then came a lot of frustration building a brake light switch bracket that I didn't take pictures of and getting the turn signals working. I finally took it for a real, road legal test drive last weekend. I still have a host of things to complete, but it's very roadworthy. I had some trouble with reverse in the transmission, but a band adjustment solved that. Here's a picture from the first offical gas station visit.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...46825~2(1).jpg

Last night I swapped the 195* thermostat and 210-195* fan switch for a 180* thermostat and a 195-180* fan switch. My gauges indicated that the thermostat was actually opening about 210 and the fan was turning on at nearly 220. Now hopefully I'll stay below 200.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Thank you! I'm getting excited to actually be able to drive this truck soon. It's been in project hell for nearly 5 years :lol:

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Ahh, wiring, the party that seems to go on forever! Nice work.

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Time for my yearly update :lol:

Well it hasn't quite been a year but getting there quick!

I made a bracket for the front bumper! it sticks out a little more than factory, but it looks like it's made for a winch if I ever get there

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...25551810~2.jpg

I finished the bed! This is cheap pine 2x10s with some Thompson's water seal stain. It's held up surprisingly well so far. The 2x10 planks are attached like you'd do a trailer.
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._000136193.jpg
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I started driving the truck a lot! The big flatbed comes in handy!
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...IT~2%20(1).jpg

Two main complaints remain. The truck overheats very easily, and the interior sucks.
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...90332552~2.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

October stayed pretty busy! We hit a couple car shows and did an overnight camping trip with a tent on the flatbed. Was pretty fun!

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...RAIT%20(1).jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

November more driving pictures. The truck was still running hotter than I thought it should be. I had reinstalled part of the inner fenders and switched to a 160 thermostat. The truck also still rides pretty rough unloaded. It wants 500lbs on the back otherwise it's still pretty bouncy.

I don't know if i posted about it before, but I added a GPS speedo. It works great! I need one for the C10.
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._182943451.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

December and more driving and hauling with the truck. The water temp just isn't right. it's not overheating, but it's not right. Put the truck going up a moderate hill and I can gain 10 degrees of water temp in 20 seconds. I broke down and bought a new larger aluminum radiator and a new water pump. It made no difference.

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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

January my cousin came up and we fabricated a new tailpipe section out of 3.5" aluminized tubing with some v-bands and new hangers. The truck had a 3.5" turndown under the bed right past the cab, and the interior noise is so much better exiting behind the rear tire out the side now. I also put the carpet in and recovered my seats. I still hate the factory seats. https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._231952969.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

February I did more interior work. I cleaned up and painted all surfaces under the carpet and seat and painted them and added some fatmat. I also did some jute under and behind the seat as well as installed a 4x4 Posi-lock kit to be able to lock and unlock the front axle instead of leaving it locked in all the time.

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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

March I just worked a lot :lol:

April I installed my wideband O2 and cleaned up the gauges a little bit. I also cut down and built brackets to install the side steps. Late april I got serious with the temperature issues on the truck. I bought a bleeder funnel and tried to bleed the air out of the truck. Every time I revved the motor up, I'd get a ton of air bubbling up but no drop in the coolant level. It passed two different combustion gas tests for a bad head gasket, but on a whim, I hooked shop air up to my compression tester on each cylinder and let it sit for 5 mins. I learned that I had four cylinders where the valves were leaking down badly. And I could also get bubbles in the cooling system if I left shop air on cylinder #5. :smoke:

I broke down and ordered a brand new set of EQ cylinder heads and the associated gaskets. And a very tiny camshaft.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._231009236.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

May was just a lot of cleaning parts and putting the top end of the motor back together. I did install new valvesprings in the heads for the cam. I also may have done a little work to the bowl and port matched the new heads. Not that it matters on this truck. It just bothered me. :lol: I have put the truck back together and taken it for a quick spin. I don't have enough time with it yet to confirm that the overheat problem is entirely gone. I sure hope it is.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._024431805.jpg
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Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

Mid month update! The engine is back together. So far no overheating. Fingers Crossed that it's fixed.

Now I'm tackling a transmission issue that's been bugging me. Reverse is very sluggish and I can't get the low/reverse band adjustment right. I ordered a reverse band strut that's 0.100" oversize, but when I actually got mine apart, it's nearly 0.350" shorter than my new one. I had to drop the valve body to install the strut. Then I had to install the valve body twice because I left out the accumulator spring the first time.


While I was in the transmission, I replaced the pan because my original is dented and possibly not straight on the flange. The new pan has a drain plug as a bonus. I also helicoiled a stripped thread in the pan bolt flange.

Just got the transmission back together last night. Reverse feels more normal now.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._150944936.jpg
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._150903457.jpg
https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db...0381.NIGHT.jpg

Re: 49 Chevy Power Wagon 3/4ton hauler build
 

The transmission works great! I still have an overheating problem though. I'm currently running a new temporary radiator relocation to see if I can get more air flowing through the radiator at speed. So far the results haven't been that great. i just ordered a higher flow electric fan to see if I can make some improvements.

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._132747783.jpg

https://americanmusc1e.com/Photos/db..._132731307.jpg