Power Wagon mud race truck build

[NakeDiesel]

Today I ordered my rear fenders for the truck from Fenders N More for 150.00 each, should be here in a little over a weeks time. I also ordered all the things I needed from Vintage Power Wagon for the cab. I went ahead and ordered a transmission tunnel for the truck instead of trying to make one, so that will be done when it gets here. Other things I ordered from there were door handles for the passenger door, windshield and back window molding, the lacing for the hood area.

In the shop, I worked on the radiator support/trans cooler setup. Picked up some 1/4" neoprene gasket material and used that to make padding on 2 sides of the radiator.



I also notched out for the lower radiator hose with the cutting torch.



Been trying to figure out how I'm going to mount the two trans coolers

[NakeDiesel]

My son welding up the right support brace for the radiator/coolers



The right support bracket installed



Got a new phone the other day and was playing with the camera and took this panoramic pic

[NakeDiesel]

Worked out in the shop today on the truck getting the transmission cooler mountings figured out, adding mounting tabs on the upper sides of the radiator support. I also picked up some 3"x1" rectangular tubing for mounting the 2 battery trays, the ice box and my water pump in back bed of the truck.

[NakeDiesel]

[NakeDiesel]

[NakeDiesel]

Busy weekend around here. Changed the oil in my wife's avalanche, put seals in the step daughters transfer case, new u joints on the rear driveshaft, a new thermostat and I've got to get the front driveshaft rebuilt with a new slip joint. Also pulled a chevy 4.3 engine out of the a rolling frame I have because I sold it to someone I know.

But I did manage to get a little done on the truck as well. We went to T town Sat evening and picked out the paint for the truck. The fenders are going to be gloss black and the body will be Glow Orange. 3 out of 4 of us voted for it. I finally managed to get the window regulator and most of the broken glass out of the drivers side door and actually have that door shutting well now.

I finished the bend over on the passenger side bed side so I have a flattened flange on the back to mount the crossed support bars. I'm going to have to cut some of that boxed piece out and replace it, it's all bent in and twisted on that back side.

I also managed to get one fender filler panel welded in, still need to cut out the other side and weld it in and then grind all the welds down.

[NakeDiesel]

Oh and if you haven't seen "Lone Survivor" you need too. Good movie.

[Andydodgegeek]

Orange and black would also be my first choice. I've got a 79 cj-7 Jeep thats orange also a 1989 dodge truck and when I do get a Town wagon or panel it will definately be orange as well.

[NakeDiesel]

I wanted it to be Neon yellow with black fenders. They wanted a bright lime green. We didn't like any of the greens we saw in the chip book, then we found the orange and that's what we ended up with.

[NakeDiesel]

Finally made it out to the shop this evening after not getting out there the last two nights. I finished grinding the welds down on the inner fender cover and that side is done. I also received a shipment of parts from Vintage power wagon yesterday and my new transmission cover for the truck. I've got to pick up some larger bolts tomorrow to get it bolted in, but before I do, I'm going to cover all of those opening with sheet metal and notch that drivers side hump out of it so I have more foot room.



I also started playing with seat placement in the truck and figuring out how high I needed to make the mounting brackets. While doing this, I figured out my steering column isn't going to work, it's too long and too low. So I'm going to have to get a build your own kit from summit to get the steering part working.

[NakeDiesel]

[Desoto61]

It's deceptive how small those cabs are till you actually start trying to fit an interior in. I had forgot that the cab gets narrower toward the front when I originally started planning seating, so width wise there is not really the room you think you have. I like the seats I bought but if I were any taller they probably wouldn't work.

I ended up doing a shorty column on mine partly for that reason, also because with the stock frame the power steering box is right at the floor board, so you need the room to run the joints for the steering shaft.

[NakeDiesel]

Yes, the cab is very small. I'm trying to fit 2 race seats in there as well as my floor shifter for my auto trans, a fire extinguisher, and really wanted to put my ice chest in there, but I'm sure it's not going to fit. The ice chest holds 15 to 20lbs of ice for my water to air intercooler.

I'm going to route the steering column through where the speedometer would have been. I think that will put it up high enough and get the bottom end of it high enough to clear my motor mount.

I'm 6' 4" tall and it's definitely going to be cramped in there. Especially once I get my roll cage built inside.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Nake,

I installed some Dodge Dakota seats in my '46 PW. Yep room is tight, but with some careful planning and measurements you will find a satisfactory solution. Here are a couple of pix for reference.

[Desoto61]

Maybe if you built something custom for under where you have your seats...

It's amusing how much faster things can go when your definition of functional is way different than normal!

Still, impressive work, might be the only person who will have managed a 6BT under stock sheetmetal.