looking for suggetions on 57 powerwagon upgrades

[soldthehemi]

Steering wanders at 50 MPH pretty bad, is it better to leave it stock and replace the Brass Bushings? The front end seems tight besides the shudder at the higher speeds. Perhaps the tires are also contributing?
I would like to put larger tires on her but not sure what the largest I can go with without changing the wheels. the truck only has 10k on it.
Apparently it belonged to an Officer on a Caribbean Island and was shipped to the US after he retired. This was the story I was told and had nothing to do with my decision to pick it up.

[soldthehemi]

Im hoping to make this truck more streetable in the sense that i could achieve 65MPH. I would like to keep the flat head motor but go to a throttle body fuel injection unit and an electronic ignition.
Originally I was going to put in a 440 and a 727 auto.

[CSCameron]

Not without major mods. These trucks were never meant for 65mph. Many will chime in, but here are some ideas...

11.00x16 tires - hard to come by now
re-gear with 4.89 gears - available from VPW
power steering - Uglytruckling.com
power disc brakes - Uglytruckling.com
new modern axles
re-power (v8, cummins, etc.)

Pertronix will get you the electronic ignition. Not sure about fuel injection on the flathead.

None of this is cheap, but it gets expensive real fast with some of this. Good luck. Let us know what you end up doing.

Clark

Nice truck by the way!

[soldthehemi]

I think the diesel set up with modern axles would be great but isn't the truck more collectable as it is? I live in Michigan and really cant say Ive even seen any of these trucks at the Woodward cruise.
This is by far my favorite Mopar to date. Is swapping on Hummer wheels the only reasonably priced option to larger available tires? Ive found militay hummer wheels and tire sets for around $1100.00 delivered but I would need spacers. the fuel injection I was thinking I could ether make an adapter or mod an intake to accept a throttle body on the existing motor.
I checked on gearing and the 4.88 sets are pretty pricey, they seem to be single sourced. I would go with a later set of axles, anyone have components that will bolt in with minor mods?
I don't have a problem with making the driveshafts I just dont want to change out the chassis.

[CSCameron]

You have such a nice looking (original?) rust free truck that I think it would be a shame to start swapping out components. It definitely is worth more in original condition. They certainly are rare to see on the street. However, as many will say here, it's your truck do what you want.

I think the only real limitation in the size of your wallet. It can all be done, but will cost you. The gears are a single vendor and are expensive. There are ARB lockers available too, also single vendor and expensive as well. The power steering and power disc brakes aren't exactly cheap. :)

Again, the truck as designed, was meant more for the farm than the street. Most that have these trucks live with its limitations and maybe do taller tires, gears, PS and/or brakes or some combination. Fewer venture into re-power/axle swaps. There are some guys on here that are doing some great mods (diesel/axle swaps, etc.) that I hope will chime in here. They can certainly educate you as to what these swaps entail.

I am doing the disc brakes and maybe power steering at some point. I purchased ARB lockers (front and rear) and have 11.00x16 Michelin XZL's. Since it will be a project to install the ARB's, I'll probably go to 4.89's at that time too. Then I'll drive it a while before deciding if I want to do anything else.

[soldthehemi]

Clark, You also have a nice truck! What is the diameter od the tires on yours? I'm not savvy on the conversion but mine are only 32" and I was hoping to go to about what you have on yours. Will the larger tire help the trucks power or hinder it?
I seem to have 5.83 gears?
The truck I have is completely stock. Everything works as it should except the shudder I had mentioned and that even effects the steering wheel and is only at around 45 MPH or so. The only reason we were looking to make it more street legal is to take it to shows with in a 60 mile radios. We have taken several hour long cruises on the back roads "we are out in the country"! The Pentrex Ignition would help with her finicky starting habits.
I think the old school carb set up with its vacuum needs are part of its finikyness that was why I mentioned the FI. Once shes warmed up she drives and restarts with a blip of the key.

[CSCameron]

Happy New Year!

Thanks, the Michelin 11.00x16 XZL's are 39" tall. They are pretty unobtainium at this point, although do occasionally pop up on the internet (craigslist, eBay). Do some research on here and on the Dodge Power Wagon Forum. Tires are regularly discussed. There are some new XZL clones offered on eBay that are in the 9.00x16 size (36" tall). These are the same size tire that came stock on the truck. Many guys are running these and seem to like them. They are the only radial tire available that I am aware of? All the others are bias ply and there is a decent selection available.

The taller tire will give you more speed at the expense of power but not too bad. I also have the 5.83 gears. This is the quickest way to get more speed. Of course, 4.89 gears will also give more speed. Both will help and may be all you would need?

The shudder could be many things. Tires could be the culprit. How old, condition, balance, inflation pressure, all could be part of the problem. Rims? Is one bent, or out of round? Beyond this, check the whole front end for wear and tear.

Your truck looks great, I would try to keep it as original as possible. Good luck, let us know what you find out.

Clark

[W_A_Watson_II]

Their is also some great tire (and other) info on The Garbee Family Site at" Tires for Civilian and Military Power Wagons

[Desoto61]

Cheap isn't really a word you get to use around these trucks. As for tires if you want different time you have two real options:
1. There are a few vendors like CRW that will build you just about any size and type you want, but they use a flat welded center and will not look original.
2. VPW is selling a 17x8 rim that has an original BUDD center welded inside. Will look more correct, but you are limited to their size and backspaceing.

Price wise they run about the same, which is the same or slightly more then the Hummer wheels you were looking at, but the tire selection is better.

[W_A_Watson_II]

MRW's were 119.95 for 17x9 tubeless before the last price increase.

[soldthehemi]

MRW's were 119.95 for 17x9 tubeless before the last price increase.

Are these MRW's Wheels with the same bolt pattern and are 16" as the stock units?

[Duane Aldridge]

Those ndt's is probably where your getting your wander from, those tires are dangerous on wet pavement. Duane

[W_A_Watson_II]

Are these MRW's Wheels with the same bolt pattern and are 16" as the stock units?

Yep, MRW's with stock PW/M37 Budd wheel bolt pattern. These are the tubeless, NOT Bead Locks. That was the last price I was quoted before an impending price increase.

[Greg Coffin]

Gauges

I like the look of the extra gauges on the dash. Can you post a better picture? I really like the look of the OD paint on your truck. I may go with a flat paint on my 6x6 PW. It's going to be a work truck, and I don't have a lot of skills with bodywork.

[soldthehemi]

I post some additional pics soon, I dont suppose there is a newer style carb I can bolt on the existing intake manifold that will work better than the original?
I had to start her up to move my daily driver into the garage yesterday and man is this beast cold blooded.
Ill do the electronic ignition conversion.
That's no big deal but this carb is a turd!
Truck starts and runs great in warm weather but when its cold out, forget it!!
And yes the choke works as it should.