My New Project W300 Dump

[Flingwing1969]

Well, I finally got my '74 W300 Dumpbed truck, nice running 360, Dana 70s both ends, NP205, automatic home. This was originally a fire department brush buggy, long before I got it. I have a '76 CC Adventure D200 (9k GVW), a little loose 360, NP 203, automatic, and air and a '75 CC Adventure W200 (8k GVW) a newly rebuilt 440, NP 203, and automatic that I plan to get some donor parts from. I hope to eventually have a pretty nice long-bed W200 HD to sell and my dumptruck fully functional to maintain my 3 miles of mountain road - with the help of my tractor-loader-backhoe.

I'm thinking I might swap the 440 from the W200 to the dump, but I'd like to keep the divorced 205, will the 727 bolt up to the 440, what will be needed to accomplish this?

I have a funky vibration at 15 mph that seems to be engine speed related. It goes away at about 21, and becomes a hum again at about 35, anyone have thoughts on this? I believe the 727 was rebuilt at some point, maybe the torque converter wasn't set up with the proper balance for the engine -- I think the 360 is externally balanced, right? Is there a way to check this for the shadetree mechanic, or what are the suggestions?

I'm going to pull the really nice dash, and maybe the whole AC out of the D200 and replace the okay dash in the W300. Has anyone done this? If so, issues to consider, BEFORE I start?

More questions will come, I'm sure. Thanks for your help.

[Flingwing1969]

Oh, I almost forgot, anyone have a "Custom 300" fender plate for sale? I have one on the rig and one missing. I'd consider buying a pair. Maybe trade you a "ClubCab 200" or "Adventure" emblem? Thanks.

[Flingwing1969]

The dump was a fire department brush buggy in a prior life -- I would like to be able to talk my wife into letting me have one of those too.

[KRB64]

Nice! The dump comes in handy for sure. So the red truck pictured last is the blue truck now?

[Flingwing1969]

The photo doesn't show it well and it's been too foggy to get a better photo, but the dump is a deep deep green, almost black. The photo of the fire truck is identical, or nearly so, to what the dump looked like before its transformation. The fire truck is actually one that is currently on Ebay -- I could use it too, but my wife has put her foot down at one Jeep CJ5 and three old PWs - not to mention her pickup. Oh well . . .

[Flingwing1969]

More on the W300

When I first looked at/drove the dump truck, the owner told me there was a "little" clunk when one hit a bump, and it vibrated "a little" when you started out, but smoothed out as you gained speed. Well, as I drove away the vibration was so bad my wife could see it shaking and, when I hit a 1 inch high ridge and I thought the whole rear end had fallen out - KABANG! The vibration was still there as I gained speed, it was just at a higher and more tolerable frequency. When I got back to the yard, I took a look and found the "clunk" was due to the fact that all of the cab to frame bushings were gone - I don't mean badly deteriorated, I mean GONE!

Based on the scary nature of the rig, I negotiated the deal down to $3k (less than half the value of the dump bed and Ramsey lift alone) from the original $4k asking price. Later I returned and gave the truck a good going over, finding that three xmsn to xfer case drive shaft u-joint retaining bracket bolts were loose and the drive shaft alignment was questionable. I torqued the bolts and about 80% of the vibration disappeared. I ordered a new set of body bushings from Energy Suspension and they're on the way.

I live about 90 miles from the truck's former home and the vibrations had made me nervous about driving it home. After my brief fixes, however, I was a bit more comfortable with the prospect of actually driving the rig home. So, with my wife trailing my in the car, filled with tools and parts, we headed home, setting the GPS to avoid highways.

The trip home was uneventful, actually pleasant. The truck backfired a little, indicating a timing issue, but it actually ran pretty well up steep hills. One 20+ mile stretch through the hills, on a very curvy, narrow paved road (only one other car seen on the whole stretch, but five bicyclists, were seen), the joys of the inoperative power steering pump -- did I mention that -- made me appreciate the big steering wheel on the PW.

During the trip home, I only came up with about 35 mechanical issues to fix or modify, most of them very minor. I have to go over the drive-shafts and U-joints -- just to make sure phasing is dead on, that the slip-shafts were not mis-aligned, and that the angles are within tolerances before I determine that the engine balance might be the cause of the remaining vibrations. I'll also check the xmsn, xfer case, and engine mounts.

The dump-bed makes working on the rear drive-train very pleasant -- simply lift the bed and it's like doing an off-frame restoration.

[KRB64]

Half the fun is working on them!

The dump-bed makes working on the rear drive-train very pleasant -- simply lift the bed and it's like doing an off-frame restoration.

Now add a tllt front clip and everything will be easy to service :)

Just hang a pair of tool boxes off the front corners of the bed and she'll be ready to go to work.

[Flingwing1969]

Work Boxes

I will be adding them soon -- I'm also welding up a set of retractable steps for easy bed access. I'm keeping the high sides but only for occasional use, I'm building 2 foot sides that will be on day-to-day.