The "Hulk": Ugly green truck to Juneau??

[oldndcctrucks]

Thanks! Chapter 2 will be a bit boring, just all the maintenance steps...

[Pismopowerwagon]

Nice project and story, keep the updates coming

[oldndcctrucks]

I have since cleaned the oil bath air cleaner, disassembled both front hubs and Warn lock-outs, cleaned and inspected all, and replaced the master cylinder, front axle brake hose, left front brake hose, and LF wheel cylinder.

The drums and shoes look near-new, so I will be running them.

[oldndcctrucks]

The Power Wagon owner’s brother offered to let me back up the trailer and use the floor jack, so I got the tire changed lickety-split.

Several years ago I set up a steel 2-gallon gas can with a 1/8” pipe ball valve and 6’ feet of 5/16” fuel hose for jobs like this; so I tie-wired it into the engine compartment and connected the hose to the fuel pump inlet, turned on the valve, and cranked the engine until it ran. I was surprised and pleased with how well it idled cold! I drove the W200 around to the back of the trailer, and with the previous owner and his brother guiding me, I started up the ramps. As I did so, the trailer lifted the back of my Ram 1500 off the ground, causing a bit of commotion. Fortunately, the brakes worked on the ’73, so we recovered, re-positioned, we blocked the back of the trailer, and I drove the old beast up and parked it.

I stopped at a local “tavern” for an ironic(?) picture…
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(This place is near Edwards Air Force Base, home of numerous record-breaking test flights and loss of several brave American pilots)

The drive home was uneventful; at 45 and at steps on up to 60 m.p.h., I swerved a few times on purpose to get a feel of how the truck/trailer combo would handle in an emergency and to make sure I had the load balanced, and it was surprisingly stable.

I finally dropped the new treasure off at my friend’s house and made it home around 7:30 p.m.
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Trip cost: approximately 22 gallons of gas @ $3.73/gallon ($82.00) and one replacement trailer wheel/rim, $112.00.

[oldndcctrucks]

Well, it eventually caught and ran a couple of seconds and died, so they tried again. It caught and ran a little longer, with the added-value entertainment of:
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The fire didn'’t last long and there didn’t seem to be any damage.

We struck a deal and I promised to return on Thursday after work to take the truck. It was a bit tough getting to sleep that night, thinking about all the things that I plan to accomplish over the next year-and-a-half.

Wednesday evening I went to my friend'’s house and picked up his car trailer. He and I just bought five brand-new wheels and tires, but one of them was pretty low, so I aired it up and took the trailer to my house overnight.

Thursday after work, I checked the pressure in the suspect tire and it had dropped about 50%, so I stopped at a parking lot and topped it off with my 12 volt compressor. The ride was long, but traffic was reasonable and I arrived at the desert abode around 4:00 p.m. As I walked around the side of my towing truck and trailer, this was the surprise I got:

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OF COURSE!!!

[oldndcctrucks]

W200 FAMILY ROAD TRIP PROJECT

CHAPTER 1: The Acquisition

I decided I wanted to accomplish one epic family road trip before my kids got married/moved away- so to that end I came up with: southern California to Juneau, Alaska and back.

Now, my wife grew up in a warm, semi-tropical environment, and my kids think their noses will fall off from frostbite if it gets below 45 F, but I don'’t care! The North is a beautiful, awe-inspiring part of this world, and I wanted my kids to see places that don'’t have water rationing, heavy traffic, and millions of people in compact areas. The youngest should be graduating from high school in June 2020, so I have about 18 months to get this truck ready for a slide-in camper and 6,000 miles of highway, back roads, and mountains.

I decided on an early '‘70'’s Power Wagon because I am partial to Dodges, because they are relatively easy to get parts for and fix “in the field”, and because 1975 and earlier vehicles do not have to pass an emissions test. I would have preferred a W300 one-ton model, but this ¾-ton model came up and it seems like a great candidate. It has little rust as a California desert vehicle, and the body is nice and straight.

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The plan is to go through most everything: new brake cylinders, hoses, and shoes and drums (if necessary); new water pump, power steering pump, alternator voltage regulator, pressure and temperature sensors, thermostat, all new hoses, new gas tank (remove in-cab tank and replace with in-frame, 30 gallon+ assembly), fuel lines, fuel pump, new wheel bearings all around, new steering wear parts, new and extra lights. The engine might get new main and con rod bearings. Finally, rebuild the transmission and install a new clutch, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, rear main seal, and if the clutch uses hydraulic master/slave cylinders, all new replacements of those. Of course, new tires and a second spare, with the wheels getting powder-coated. And, freshen-up the interior.

If there is time, the exterior of the truck will get painted!

So I went out to Lancaster, California this last Monday after work to a little property literally in the middle of the desert. Two older guys (California Duck Dynasty stand-ins)

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met me by the truck and we looked at it and b.s.'’d for a minute. Then they went to demonstrate that it would run by dropping in a battery from one of their Jeeps and pouring gas down the carburetor (the truck had been sitting since 2005 so the gas in the tank was bad).

It cranked a little but the battery was mostly discharged so I had to bring my 2012 Ram over and hook up jumper cables.