ewatts2003

Hello everyone. I want to build a pulling truck, nothing extremely wild, just something to have fun with. I have a 1976 Dodge Power Wagon that I bought for $300 that I was going to build a gas-burner pulling truck with, but I've decided that diesel is the way to go. The only thing is that I'd like to use the truck that I have and put a heavy-duty drivetrain in it. What all will I need to make this happen? I know that the frame will need beefed up, but I just need to know where and exactly how. Thanks in advance and if you have any questions about the truck itself let me know and I will answer them as best as I can. Thanks again.

Eric

Boykid88

DieselPower mag just featured the same swap.

Pretty Cool idea. The only problem is going to be when Dodge offers it as factory option for 07.5.

Then again you'd figure that 2nd and 3rd generation Hummers would have gotten a diesel by now too right?

ewatts2003

No DieselPower did not do the same swap. I'm talking about a 1976 Power Wagon, not a new one.

Boykid88

My bad, just reread your orig post. I just read the article last night and was so stoked I just rushed into it.

Good luck!

gmctd

Go to yer local boneyard, take ALL measurements off a Gen1 truck frame for reference - what you see is what you got to do

wysiwygtd

ewatts2003

What measurements do I need exactly?? I would really like to find a wrecked 1st gen and swap the drivetrain into my power wagon.

JAX

Well, I guess it all depends on how much of a monster you are going to try and make out of the motor. If it were me, this is what I would do (Remember that I WAY overbuild things here)

1. Frame strength: I would look for another p.o.s. powerwagon that's the same vintage, with a straight frame. I would then "stack frames". Meaning I would stack one frame directly on top of the other and weld them together. This will accomplish 2 things. First, it will make the frame VERY strong fairly easily. Secondly it will make a Hybrid suspension/body lift by allowing you to bolt the body, engine/tranny/transfer case to the top frame, and bolt the suspension components to the lower frame. If done properly, this can net you anywhere from 4-8 inches of lift.

2. Axles: If the truck you bought is a 3/4 ton, then it may have a Dana 70 in the rear already. Pretty unlikely though. I would source running gear from a 1st gen CTD. I believe the frames are pretty similar, and you wouldn't have to do much modification to spring perches and such. This would get you the front D60 and rear D70. If you are going with a standard tranny and a built motor, then I would reccomend a D80 rear axle. Quite a bit stronger, and rated as a 10,000 pound axle by the Dana/Spicer corp.

Like I said, I overbuild things, but if you're building a Diesel to begin with, then you're really not trying to save any weight, that's why I'd go with the dual frame set up. It would be super strong, and it's something I have previously done with a 77 chevy with a 427 in it. It really is a good setup without having to sacrafice strength.

ewatts2003

I thought about stacking frames actually. It sounds like a pretty good idea, but we'd have to see I guess. How else could I beef up the frame, as finding another power wagon around here is pretty difficult?? I found a set of 3/4 ton axles, but they are the 60 rear and heavy duty 44 front found with the gas burners. I'm trying to find a wrecked 1st gen as we speak.

Eric

Diesel-Dan

I saw a Power Waggon with a 2nd Gen 24V engine in it at IRP....Actually it had the whole frame and drivetrain come to think of it (The DSS gave it away! haha)......VERY SLICK!

Not to mention that early '70ish Chevy Short Wide with the Cummins..........Just aint right (In a very good way) to hear a 6 cly beast where a hot 454 should be! haha....BUT very cool none-the-less! I didn't get to see it up close...but very clean from what i heard.......

one54ton

Call J and H diesel. they have one that runs 11s I believe...

JAX

The other option would be to assemble the rolling chassis without the body on and see where you might have room to add tubular crossmembers without interfering with any powertrain components. I would also look into boxing the frame. Also, those axles won't work. You can grenade a heavy duty 44 front with a mildly built small block chevy, let alone something that weighs twice as much and puts out 3 times the torque. Ditch the 60 rear as well, just too light duty IMO.

ewatts2003

I was planning on ditching the axles, and looking for a wrecked 1st gen or 12 valve 2nd gen to get the drivetrain from. I'm just wondering how much different the 89-93 frames are from the older frames. Thanks again.

Eric

coalburner400

I had been interested in performing a ISB 300 swap back in 1999/2000. I gathered the information on both engine and trans and was looking into adapting the 4wd.

I finally realized it was cheaper to just purchase the truck with the engine in it. Saved me some time and money since the ISB 24V was not easy to come by in the bone yards.

Anyhow, to answer your question. There was a very good site out there with photos and a write up on the power wagon ISB swap. I'll look for it again, but in the interim you may wan to do a google for it.

I had come to the conclusion that it would be better to have the cummins power control module with a allison 2000 trans. The cummins power management might make things easier for you vs trying to get the dodge setup to work in the older power wagon. Better yet you should look into the B6 12V swap. I'm sure there's information all over the place on that.

From what I recall the ISB motor used in this power wagon swap came from a school bus.

Mcmopar

That would be cool, I want to do that to my 75 Crew cab, the 440 is thirsty!! I might have a D-60 front??

JAX

Remeber that front axle out of an early 2nd gen with a 12V will be coil sprung and not leaf sprung. Therefore you will need to have a pretty good background in fabrication and chassis design in order to fab up the contol arm brackets, and location for the drag link and so on. Also I think that the frames on the 2nd gens are wider than the 93 and earlier frames, this means that the rear axle out of a 2nd gen would need to have the spring perches burned off and moved in closer on the tubes to match the location of the leaf springs on your Power Wagon.

I have a question for you, why are you building this power wagon when you could buy a 1st gen that's already exactly what you are trying to build, only pre-assembled. I know that the older power wagons look cool, but the body styles weren't changed that much between the 70's and 93, and the interiors only got better. With a little bit of work, some debadging and so on, a new paint job, you could easily make a 1st gen look like an older Power Wagon. Not to mention it would be a helluva lot easier and cheaper!