hey all! im fairly new here. my name is Bill, and i usually hang out over on RCC. but i have been frequenting this place alot in the last couple years since i caught the diesel bug. i will NEVER go back bye-the-way. i have been driving, and wrenching on pre-84' Dodge trucks since i was about 13. im now 41. about 1.5yrs ago i bought my first CTD rig. and consequently fell in love with the engine! now i have 2 fairly large CTD projects. my first rig is a huge project, its a 91.5 4x4. i have been trying to build, and drive it at the same time since i bought it. but that is just not working out! LOL. during that time i found a 2x4 parts truck for a good price. then sold some stuff off it, and ended up with a fantastic running Cummins truck that i had a grand total of $400 into! woo-hoo. then recently i decided i need a driver so i could park the project and actually tackle some of the major jobs without having to have it back together monday morning. so i found a nice, straight, 82' 4x4 short bed. along the way, building the "big truck" i had this vision of a short-bed, 2x4, 8-lug, Cummins "hot-rod" truck. i thought it would be cool to paint it satin black, and call it "rollin' coal". that idea was definitely in my head when i decided to purchase the 82' and half the reason i bought it. originally i figured i would drive the 82' as-is while i finish the big truck. then build "rollin' coal". but here i am 2 months into driving the 82' daily, and i HATE it. i mean i really loath driving it LOL! so, i am swapping up the logistics of my projects. "rollin' coal" is going to happen first as it is the quickest way to get me back into a diesel powered truck that sips fuel. and shifts gears by itself LOL. the current plan is:
shorten the 2x4 CTD chassis down to short-bed wheelbase. rebuild the front suspension (it has issues). reseal the engine. reinstall the engine/transmission. and get the entire chassis ready to run/drive. then take a weekend and swap the body from the short-bed onto said chassis!!! the reason for this hasty little project? the 10mpg the short-bed is netting is starting to tick me off LOL! and i really cant stand driving it. its a 318/435 truck with 3.23s. the engine is anemic at best, and the gears suck. not to mention i am really tired of shifting. i loved driving the 2x4 CTD parts truck (i actually drove it full time for several months) and it was getting 20plus MPG. this is a no-brainer!

this site has given alot to me since i bought my CTD rigs, so i figured the least i could do was share my projects. soo, a thread like this is worthless without pics. here goes:

the 2x4 parts pig the night i drove it home:



the 4x4 driver affectionately known as "cupcake" (dont ask LOL):



that is the current state of "cupcake". here is kinda the current state of the 2x4 parts truck. it was affectionately known as "little-whitey":



actually it looks a little more like this:



and this:



LOL! i have the cab gutted, and ready to come off and head to the crusher (no place to store it). now the fun commences. time to rebuild the front suspension. clean up and reseal the engine. finish up the tranny. its getting a little DTT love. shift kit, and billet pistons for sure. im gonna try like hell to scrounge up the coin for a DTT converter! then tackle the shortening of the frame. then get it all buttoned back together as complete rolling chassis. WOO-HOO! fun stuff.

 

Sounds like a fun little project. I look forward to following along.

Oh and I officially welcome you to the board.

 

Thats a nice lil' 4X4. Good luck with the project.

 

Sounds like a fun project. Do yourself a favor and buy a good $550 torque converter from goerend and install that when you put the trans back in, and a 94+ 2nd gen flex plate are stronger than the junky 1st gen ones. Those are 2 things I'd do while it's all out. Tighten up the bands in the 727 and do the line pressure mods and you should have a quick little truck for sure after some tuning.

Looking forward to the build

 

thanks guys. during this first assembly "go-round' there will be alot of temporary aspects of the truck. like the wiring will stay 82' gasser for now. i will just run switched 12v to the FSS. and i will just put overdrive on a toggle switch. i am also going to run the engine non-intercooled for now. not sure what to expect from running an intercooled inj. pump without an intercooler?? and im still not sure what i am going to do for a radiator, but i have some ideas, and options (i have lots of parts! LOL). the theme of the first phase of rollin' coal is cheap and quick. and i dont mean quick as in 1/4 mile times LOL. then after i finish my big truck (affectionately know as "big-whitey") i will come back to rollin' coal and build it the right way.

 

here is a pic of my main project "big-whitey":

 

Looks like the 4x4 version of JQs truck or what his used to look like and great project btw can't wait to see the finished product!

 

yea, im gettin' excited! found one hurdle last night. after i take 16" out of the donors frame, the fuel tank doesnt fit between the rear axle, and cab. i had been planning to run the stock tank, and just move the front tank crossmember forward. but there just isnt enough room. looks like i will be pirating the tank out of the short bed. almost makes me think about swapping the diesel 2wd eng. crossmember onto the shortbed 4x4 frame. but, i hate the rivets! ohh how i hate the rivets LOL! not to mention the crossmember is made up of 5 pcs, then after its all riveted together, it all gets welded. ALOT of work. shortening the frame is actually easy. so, i am sure thats the way i will be going, as quick, and easy, are 2 of the top 3 criteria for this little build. the third is cheap. i should have the frame completely bare other than suspension by mid-day tomorrow. then i will get it in the garage and start cutting. fun-fun-fun!

 

I can't believe you scrapped all those rust free body parts.

 

okay, hang on a sec! in my defense, let me explain. (i grew up in the rust-belt so i totally understand!)

the bed was obviously a service body. it was sold for 3/4 the purchase price of the whole truck . the core support is perfect, and stored out back behind my shed. the passenger door was junk. at some point the latch malfunctioned and somebody totally ruined the door trying to get it open, which they never did accomplish (he was ticked when i did it in front of him with a piece of wire in 30secs). the drivers door was donated to "big-whitey" (his drivers door was garbage because the lower hinge was ripping out of the door). both fenders had many-many dents. so the only good panel i really tossed was the hood. the cab is leaving this weekend though!!!! it has some dents, but is completely rust-free if somebody wants it. but, i cannot store it. that spot you see on the side of the house is all the room i have! and i have 3 trucks, plus the wifes. there is no way i can store anything.

 

Explanation makes it better. Have you ever tried contacting the companies that sell rust free cabs in the rust belt? You would probably get more then scrap price. Depending whether they can pick it up or not.

 

bye-bye little whitey...... :'(



so, its official, little whitey is no more. spent a couple hours scraping crap off, and hosing off the frame:



didnt do any cleaning on the front end, because its all coming apart, and very greasy. the hose wouldnt have done anything anyways. now its time to source a bunch of parts. i need to rebuild the front end. ball-joints, and bushings. i actually had to buy a replacement set of upper control arms. this drivers side arm was effed' up. i found a set on a forum, and they should hopefully be here next weekend. also need to clean the engine. its very-very greasy. then new main-seals, and gaskets. then while i am waitin' on parts, i will shorten the frame. fun stuff! i cant wait to slam this dude together! it is gonna be such a cool truck.

 

Gorgeous little yota man! and good progress

 

yea, the Yota belongs to a friend of a friend. it is pretty dang sweet. ive got a little soft spot for solid-axle Yota's, and that is a nice one.

 

They look good if not rusted to bits and are fun too