6x6 Power Wagon Project

[Alxj64]

Greg! Glad to see this thing making good progress again! I'm rooting for ya for sure! Can't wait to crawl all over this cool thing!

[Greg Coffin]

Alex, are you going to be at the Rally this year? I'm going to do my best to be there.

[Alxj64]

Alex, are you going to be at the Rally this year? I'm going to do my best to be there.

Negative good sir. It was the intention last fall, however the hand I drew over the winter set me back a good bit. I will make it to one of them, eventually! I always drool over the photos that come streaming back though.

[Alxj64]

Saw your wiring picture over on the other board! Looks really good Greg!

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

You guys both do fantastic work and i really enjoy keeping up with your builds. Thanks to you both for all you do.

[Greg Coffin]

Electrical Progress

Thank you both! I'm enjoying this little spurt of progress, hopefully it will continue as spring rolls in. Having the truck in the garage over the winter was a huge help in keeping the momentum up.

Here's some of what has happened lately:
Firewall pad installed
Engine bay wiring 90% complete
Chassis wiring 60% complete
Cab wiring 25% complete
Choke cable installed
Throttle cable layout in progress
DODGE POWER WAGON emblems sent to be rechromed
New horns ordered!!! You can listen to them here
Power steering hoses ordered - should be ready Tuesday




On the horizon:
Heater installation
Battery installation
Horn installation - can't wait to hear them!
Clutch master cylinder rework
Transmission case replacement
PTO installation

Now off to run some more wires in the cab!

[CSCameron]

Wow! Looks great Greg, it's really coming along now...

Clark

[53Crusher]

Impressive work Greg! Can't wait to see it on the road!

[Greg Coffin]

Thanks Tim, I can't wait to drive it to your house!

[Greg Coffin]

A bit about the horns....

Over the years I've had a few close calls driving my old Power Wagon in traffic; absent minded pedestrians, bicyclists, stoned drivers, and now we have texters on the road. I find that the original-style beep-beep horn does not do an adequate job of releasing the inner tension that is created when dealing with these situations. So I decided to "up the ante" a bit with these new horns.

I had originally planned to have an on-board air system on the truck, and run a pair of Grover Stuttertone horns (be still my heart), but the system got too complicated and expensive for what was really a toy. These marine horns will hopefully satisfy my need for self expression when meeting one of today's many distracted drivers. I call the system the MMD - the Moron Mitigation Device.

I'm going to mount the horns on the outside of the frame rails, about 8" behind the front bumper. There is a beautiful amount of room along the frame because the truck has the old knee action shock absorbers. The bumpers will shield the horns from road spray and debris, and still give them ample breathing room for me to express myself through the art of noise.

If nothing else, it will be fun to let them fly in the tunnel going up Boulder Canyon - an old family tradition.

[Greg Coffin]

New Clutch Master Cylinder

My original plan for the 6x6 was to run the winch hydraulically off the power steering pump (like the Mile Marker winches), since I did not have a PTO opening on the driver side of the NP435. After doing lots of research and buying the major hydraulic components, I started getting cold feet about the system. Some guys were telling me that the system would work fine, and others were telling me that they tried it and were disappointed with the results. Since this is going to be a work truck and get heavy off-road use, I need a winch that I can count on 100% of the time. So I made the decision to run the winch off a PTO.

So 2 things had to happen to mount a PTO:
1) Buy a new NP435 case with a PTO opening on the driver side
2) Move the existing clutch master cylinder to make room for the PTO

The first master cylinder bracket protruded about two inches into the space needed by the PTO, so it had to move. Also, I was never quite happy with how the master was likely to catch water spray when driving on wet roads, so I was happy to have it mounted higher. I tried several configurations to see if I could mount the Dodge master up out of the way of the PTO, but I was never happy with the results. So I decided to find another master that was smaller and might fit in the available space.

After a little web surfing I found a nice Wilwood master cylinder that looked like it might work. After I received it I found that it fit very nicely in the space between the clutch pedal and the bellhousing, much like the original clutch push rod. I fabricated a stout little bracket and mounted it up by the bellhousing, and so far I'm very happy with the results.

This master uses a remote reservoir, so I will mount one of these on the firewall. Though not cheap, I think it will last a long time and look nice. I will also have to lengthen the clutch pedal shaft by 1" so that the lever arm lines up with the push rod for the master. But this new master is a vast improvement over the last one I was using. And now I have enough room for the PTO.

Next on the agenda:
Swap out the transmission cases and mount the PTO

[Alxj64]

Everything fits so cleanly and nice! Looks amazing Greg!

[Greg Coffin]

Thanks Alex. It just kind of fell into place there!

[Greg Coffin]

Last month I noticed a wet spot under the left rear wheel - a leaking wheel cylinder :( My son and I pulled the drum to see what was going on. There was rust on the bore all around the piston. These are brand new cylinders, that have zero miles on them. Granted, they have spent the last 3 years outside, but I did not expect the cylinders to be affected by the weather. Something had to be done about it.

I've done a lot of research and found that over the years different car and motorcycle mfgs have used red rubber grease on their brake components - Chevy, Subaru, and Triumph to name a few. The grease is designed not to degrade rubber parts, and is compatible with DOT 3, 4 and 5 brake fluid. It is used extensively in England and Australia, but not very much in the US anymore.

After a lot of searching I bought a 500g tub from a vendor in England through Ebay (though this morning I found a US vendor on Amazon). I'm going to go through all the wheel cylinders and hone the rusty ones, and add the grease to all the outer bores in hopes that I can avoid this problem again. I'm also going to check the brake master cylinder and the clutch system and grease them as well.

[Greg Coffin]

First Drive

Just a quick note to show you the latest on the 6x6. This is actually the third time I've taken it out of the garage. It's lots of fun to drive, and the 318 has tons of power. Here's a quick list of accomplishments:
- The charging system works very well. Keeps the battery at 14.0 volts no matter the load.
- The steering wheel is mostly centered now. I'll check it again on the highway once I get it registered.
- The electrical system seems to be working very well - a minor miracle
- All the gauges work as expected
- The tach works well and looks good (still needs paint)
- The clutch master cylinder works great, and the clutch is very smooth
- The brakes are smooth and strong. I need to adjust the brake shoes to get rid of some of the free pedal throw.
- The PTO on the NP435 transmission just barely fit into place (1/4-1/2"), but it fits.
- The power steering is a giddy joy to use.

Next things on the to-do list are:
Shorten and rebend the gearshift
Install front lockout hubs
Assemble and install the windshield
Build and install the wiper motors
Install the new exhaust system
Install the winch PTO shaft
Get the front lights installed
Doors
Etc.....

Thanks for watching.
Greg