Mudbull-68 Gladiator diesel build-need help deciding things...

[dusty]

Thanks! the bodys a bit rough, but no dents, just missing the dually flares. the a/c controls are missing some vacuum lines but the power windows and locks even work. Its going to be really tough to tear into it because mostly everything still works...but I think the trans has something wrong with it. For an instant when i was test driving it, it began to shake real bad, but only once in the run (torque converter lockup or overdrive is probably bad). Even with that i couldnt have been more fortunate (or lucky) in finding it. It has 272,000 miles on it, but starts up pretty easily. The motor is all stock, no mods. The diffs have 3.54 gears, the rear is a posi D80...wish me luck down the road with all the wiring i have to do.

when you rebuild the posi (which is a Power lok) buy the dana 70HD clutch kit NOT the dana 80 clutch kit. the dana 80 clutch kit. the difference is huge, the dana 70HD kit comes with all steel clutches with 4 curved and 6 flats. the dana 80 clutch kit is all high dollar coated flat clutches you'll get better performance from the dana 70HD kit. they say they are not the same but i can vouch that they fit into each others housings. dana 80's and 70HD's arent too far off from each others. if you ever destory a dana 80 carrier you can grab a dana 70HD carrier machine the ringer bolt holes out and use it. this doesnt work with a dana 70 carrier without more machine work but the dana 70hd and dana 80 IIRC also share carrier bearings too

you can swap a flywheel and 5 speed in there pretty easily if you want. all you'll need is the bell housing, flywheel, flywheel bolts. everything else is bolt up (of course hydraulic slave, clutch fork, throw out and clutch.) then change the input on the t-case to 29 spline since with an auto it'll be 23 spline. otherwise if you have the torque converter shutter you'll be tearing the tranny down.

looking like a good start

[rocklaurence]

Man! That looks like a lot of work

[Mudbull]

Thanks Dusty for the tip on the posi...I didn't know 70 and 80 components were interchangeable, I'll keep that in mind when I come to that.

I drove the ram for ~500 miles before parking it, the trans seems to be ok, lockup works great. I'm hoping to get a couple thousand miles out of the trans before rebuilding it and upping the boost on the engine. I think I'll be sticking with the auto, overall it'll be less time and money invested compared to finding all the manual parts (the manual would need to be upgraded sooner or later too). Plus with super-human shift speeds and no loss in boost between shifts the auto seems that much more appealing.
I'm not afraid of rebuilding the transmission when it needs it either, I rebuilt a manual t56 6spd and have been wanting to tear into an auto to learn about them for a while now.

This whole project is a lot of work, but hopefully with all the work it'll be less money spent than other avenues-and with a similar end result. I dont have much of either, but I have more expendable time than income...

[dusty]

........... I think I'll be sticking with the auto, overall it'll be less time and money invested compared to finding all the manual parts (the manual would need to be upgraded sooner or later too). Plus with super-human shift speeds and no loss in boost between shifts the auto seems that much more appealing.
..........

then again there's always that 2nd to 3rd jump that dodges have always been notorious for with their autos......
shoot id tell you to buy that nv5600 on pirate board for $1800, it has the bell, clutch fork, t-case and a flywheel can be bought for $300 from south bend with a sealed roller bearing.

can you tell im jadded and have been burned.... left on the side of the road by a dodge/ford/gm allison diesel auto or two. towing in the back country i grew tired of having to walk into town


great build good luck

[Mudbull]

You make good points Dusty; Im going to have to save up my money and see whats available when the auto takes a dump...ive got too many projects, and once this one is drivable im moving on until it needs attention again.

I helped my friend take his 2500 ram appart. Hes swapping his drivetrain to an extended cab short bed. it took us about 8 hours to get down to the frame and install his 6bt/nv4500 into his new frame. Once everythings swapped over, this is the frame ill be getting-his old frame:

After the cab and front clip are on his new frame and whenever he and i have the time we'll be plasma cutting the frame and welding it back to the proper wheelbase for the kaiser.

[Mudbull]

Hey everyone, I havnt had a chance to do anything on the kaiser, and wont for at least half a year now. I got rear ended in my car a few weeks ago (1970 plymouth duster). The car is totalled now. Because of this i will be focusing almost all of my attention on the duster until its on the road. While i was towing a replacement body for my car with the 3500, i think the last thread holding the transmission together unwound.

Looking around craigslist now, i think i found a deal on either an nv4500 or nv5600 that will be going in the autos place-at the same or cheaper cost than rebuilding the auto. The swap or transmission rebuild will be happening in the next couple weeks, as im driving the 3500 around until i get my car fixed...

[tndonor]

Sorry to hear about the Duster and trans. I feel ya on life getting in the way of the fun projects. Hang in there it gets better

[JeepBountyHunter]

Looks like you got some workable ideas here, I'm liking it. Hey if you do change your mind on that thriftside bed, lemme know.

[Mudbull]

Thanks guys! My friend found a great deal on an NV5600, so it looks like my build is going to be a bit beefier than i was planning for haha...best part is its looking like i can do the swap for not much more than a mildly modded automatic, but the 5600 will handle gobs more abuse. Ill post pictures of the trans later, the thing's massive-almost 400lbs w/ no fluid or tcase. Looking at the gears inside i dont see how anyone could break one of these!

[Mudbull]

Putting my rental to good use:



My friend and i opened up the tailshaft housing to flush it all out (it'd been sitting outside for a while, sadly had some leaves in it). Everything now spins perfectly, we managed to shift it into a few gears even w/o the shifter. hopefully ill get the ram up and running in a week or so.

EDIT: my friend has a manual block adapter that i can "borrow" until i find one to give to him. I bought a cheap eBay shifter, and may have a good deal on a used stock clutch (should handle 6-700tq so itll be plenty for now). The swap will hopefully only take a few days once all the parts are here.

[3rdelement]

glad to see you are keeping the thrift side. like the look of the Jtruck. curious to see your progress.

[Mudbull]

Thanks! I wish most of my time for the next 4-6 months didnt have to be spent on rebuilding my car, but it is what it is. However, my friend and i will probably cut up the spare ram frame to the proper wheelbase soon since itll be quick and easy.

[Mudbull]

Few more pictures of the trans. I have it all buttoned up, but may want to rebuild it once my friend and i transfer the drivetrain over to the new frame. The transfer case is back together, no real surprises inside it (plus I had two to work with).

[Mudbull]

Im going crazy looking at everyones progress and not being able to work on my own!! Its looking like my cars going to take another 2-3 months to finish, then I can finally get going on swapping the rams drivetrain over to its new frame. until then im loving the 6spd commuting everday.

I bought some new-to-me wheels and tires since the others were no longer roadworthy. Theyre 18" rims, ill buy some new 37" 's when theyre on the kaiser, until then ill wear down these 33" 's. The chrome isnt bad, but is pitting, and im more into the blacked out look, so ill paint them eventually.

Im buying a 4" downpipe and exhaust back to a black 6" single stack (probably with a flapper) and installing it whenever it gets here.

Im also talking with someone on another forum to get a set of 70-90hp injectors, which should be perfect for me to max out the stock hx35 and be where i want to power wise. My friend whose going to help me with the swap, got all new gages in his truck, so i could get the engine tuned to how i want it before i swap it over. Im also looking into winches (electric vs hydraulic) but thats looking too far ahead unless i can find a great deal on it


and my work in progress/scrap metal-thanks to ignorant, clueless girl:


EDIT: I also got these with some of the tire money from the sale, itll also be the start of my on board air system. Ill get another compressor and bigger tank when its in the kaiser. I also ordered a 4" downpipe, but dont know if im going to be running an 'aussie' style stack or miter cut w/ a flapper, ill know by monday and hopefully will have it installed in the ram friday

[Mudbull]

Wish i had more progress on the truck, but most of my time has gone into the demon, school, and now an internship...My friend and I cut 14 3/4" out of his spare long bed reg cab frame and welded them back together so its 120" wheelbase now. Ill probably have to cut the ends of the frame off to make it the proper overall length, but that'll have to wait until the frame gets next to the body.


The frame weld should be stronger then the frame rail...i watched someone get completely torn appart on CF for their frame shortening being unsafely executed, but there are/will be 8" plates on both sides of the weld (made up of excess frame rail) and probably on top/bottom too (that makes it practically 3/4" dia there) they are good mig welds w/ good penetration too. the cut may be vertical, but its on the tallest portion of the frame..ill take closer pics when we make progress on it.
Until then ill be driving the cummins ~100mi/day getting 18-22+mpg all the way (7000lb curb weight).
...good luck to everyone else on their projects!