1978 W150 "Southbounder" - new purchase barn find

[78w150Southbound]

Hi folks,

I'm new to the forum, new to Power Wagons and I just picked up a cherry old Power Wagon that's been in a barn for a number of years. I'm looking through threads for similar trucks and learning as much as I can, but figured I'd go ahead and post up with my setup and initial plans.

I'd appreciate any advice as I get started on getting it ready to be a reliable driver; I've never had a truck that sat up for so long and I'm not a professional wrencher, so any/all suggestions are appreciated, whether general or specific to these trucks.

Here's the summary:
1978 w150 Power Wagon "Southbounder" edition. It's a 318 with a 3-spd auto, NP 203 full-time transfer case, and I'm not sure about the gearing.

It's a GA truck from 1978 with 106k on the odometer and everything is surprisingly clean. The owner cranked it up easily, idled, and drove in all gears with an auxiliary fuel can feeding it since the tank is surely full of gas varnish. All the electricals seem to be working including all lights, but there are a couple of jumper wires in the fuse box that will need to be sorted.





My draft to-do list so far:
Drop and clean out the tank (it's original plastic!)
clean fuel lines (blow out with air?), add new fuel filter(s)
Oil change / radiator flush / check all radiator hoses
disassemble and clean carb
ignition upgrade? (rotor, coils, plugs, wires) and check timing
Lube all grease points (including the hidden front wheel bearing zirk I've learned about)
check brake lines / change brake fluid / shoes / pads
change transmission fluid? gear oil?

Also: does anyone know anything about the "Southbounder" edition?

Thanks for any and all suggestions/advice/encouragement/help!
Cheers,
Jake

So you know - I cross-posted to a couple other dodge truck forums - I'm still trying to figure out which forum community is best for me.

[712edf]

Nice!

And haven't heard of that version.

Bucky

[04 Diesel]

Wow!! That is a nice truck, bring it over to my house and I will take care of it for you. Joking, change all fluids, rebuild carb, change fuel filter. If the gas is old you better drain it out, then new fuel and a good fuel additive.

[KRB64]

Wow, cool old truck. And no I've never heard of that edition either but somebody on here probably has.

Your to-do-list sounds spot on. Should be good to go after that. May need to add tires to that list if they are old though.

Welcome to the forum!

[horace]

The South Bounder is most probably from a conversion co which did a little of this & that, overcharged then they were sold to dealers who retailed them. Could be even a local dealer who made changes to increase sales with something a little different

[W_A_Watson_II]

Looks like a special package for an area of NC (The Appalachian Trail) in 77/78?
http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/42121549/

http://www.mopartruckparts.com/gallery/g195.html

[KRB64]

Hey, you're some detective. Nice to have that search feature. I could sit for hours and look though old newspapers...

[78w150Southbound]

Thanks for all the encouragement, friends!

The South Bounder is most probably from a conversion co which did a little of this & that, overcharged then they were sold to dealers who retailed them. Could be even a local dealer who made changes to increase sales with something a little different

Interesting...

Looks like a special package for an area of NC (The Appalachian Trail) in 77/78?
http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/42121549/

http://www.mopartruckparts.com/gallery/g195.html

Nice find! Mine was sold new in Lafayette GA, didn't come from NC though. Some guy from Alabama told the PO that there were only 500 of these made.

I'm getting started on my to-do list this weekend. I need suggestions/recommendations from expereince on a few items:

-dropping and cleaning the tank. easy? difficult? pointers?
-I picked up some Lucas 80W90 for the Diffs - agree?
-Forgot to mention that the key is broke off in the ignition. I've got a new ignition to put in - any experience?
-Suggestions on flushing the cooling system?

Thanks for everything - I'll keep you all updated!
Cheers,
Jake

[712edf]

About the ignition key/switch, I have done this.
If the column doesn't have tilt then its pretty straightforward, I think just a steering wheel puller & some normal tools are all that's needed.
But if it DOES have tilt then seems like there is a spring inside there that may need to be compressed, or at least it does to change out the turn signal switch. I cant recall if you can get to the ignition switch w/o disturbing that spring.
Go to ramchargercentral & read up on steering columns. They deal mainly with 70's trucks there. You don't have to register/log-in to read most of the threads but do if you want to use search feature or reply to posts/ask questions.

Cleaning cooling system & gas tank are good ideas. Nothing overly complicated about either, just make sure gas tank is as empty as possible before dropping it.

You will eventually wind up replacing most all of the rubber hoses on this truck. They are likely old/brittle & will begin to leak once you start using the truck. (Heater/radiator hoses, vacuum lines, brake lines, transmission cooling lines, fuel hoses,etc)

Bucky

Bucky

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

That is a really, really nice find. I would love to find one that clean.

[78w150Southbound]

About the ignition key/switch, I have done this.
If the column doesn't have tilt then its pretty straightforward, I think just a steering wheel puller & some normal tools are all that's needed.
But if it DOES have tilt then seems like there is a spring inside there that may need to be compressed, or at least it does to change out the turn signal switch. I cant recall if you can get to the ignition switch w/o disturbing that spring.

Thanks for the advice, Bucky!!

Now a more general question:
What years and models should I have parts overlap with?

One thing I want to find is a jump seat (I've got one, but the other is missing). What trucks can I look for in the junk yards?

[712edf]

That depends on the parts. Engine parts may be the same from 67 til late 80's. Interior parts 72-80 (club cabs began in 73). Your transfer case was used 75-79. Some suspension parts used thru 93, so it just depends on what you specifically need. FWIW 72-80 were the "Power Wagon" yrs of the Lifestyle era, 81-93 were "Power Ram" yrs.

On the jump seats, I don't know if they remained the same after 1980. 73-80 are bolt-in.

Bucky

[78w150Southbound]

That depends on the parts. Engine parts may be the same from 67 til late 80's. Interior parts 72-80 (club cabs began in 73). Your transfer case was used 75-79. Some suspension parts used thru 93, so it just depends on what you specifically need. FWIW 72-80 were the "Power Wagon" yrs of the Lifestyle era, 81-93 were "Power Ram" yrs.

On the jump seats, I don't know if they remained the same after 1980. 73-80 are bolt-in.

Bucky

Thanks for the info. Good to know!

[78w150Southbound]

Got started with the fuel tank today....

It sure is a hassle getting the tank strap unbolted... the nuts are inside of the frame rail on one side (and just spin when you try to remove the bolts) and very difficult to get to on the other. I've got to buy a set of ratcheting wrenches. (Harbor freight, here I come!)

I removing the rear strap on the drivers side (I was able to get a wrench into the frame rail from the rear and catch the nut), but removed the other two straps from middle of the truck. It took far too long... Thinking about welding the nuts onto the frame before I put the tank back up to make this process easier in the future.

I've got it out, but I need some advice next. The tank has about 1cm of gas sludge in the bottom (See pictures below). I think I'll waste a ton of acetone trying to get it out that way and I'm not too keen on doing the nuts and bolts and lots of shaking - not even sure it'll work with how much sludge is in there. I'm going to call a radiator shop on Tuesday and see if they have an easy process for cleaning it. Any advice?

Under body after tank removal:


The "hidden" nuts that you can't get to with the tank up:


Tank is out! PB Blaster to get the filler sleeve (rusted!) and the fuel pump out (still not out - might have to use extractors).


continued in next post...

[78w150Southbound]

(continued from previous post)

Sludge... consistency of grease when hot (I put boiling water in there) and more like clay when it's cool.


Inside the tank - see the marks where I scraped sludge up with my screwdriver:


Filler inlet is in bad shape... easy to find a replacement? is this a universal part?


I'll let you know what I hear from the radiator shop about cleaning it for me...I'm open to all suggestions.

In other news, I got new door seals and window wiper seals in to keep the rain out. There is enough rust in the floor at the doorways to do a couple small sheetmetal patches. Bad rust is less than 3" by 5" on both sides though.

Thanks again for all the support and advice!