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

[712edf]

Keep up the good work!

Bucky

[oldndcctrucks]

Thank you very much for your kind words about the tank! It had two pinholes to grind and re-weld when I pressure-tested it for leaks, but it's done now.

The headlight switch on the left in the picture is from NAPA, new; the one on the right I believe is original from 1973 (but could not prove that). I guess since the new one is from NAPA and not Mopar, you could call it a repro.

I will post part numbers for the switch and the fuel level sender tomorrow.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

This is more than Impressive. That tank is remarkable!
Talk to me more about that headlight switch.
The style on the left, new or repro... looks just like all I have removed. Am I looking at the RH unit wrong?

[oldndcctrucks]

SO:

I was unable to post pics because I had unwittingly allowed my subscription to expire... That has been rectified!

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Continuing the post about the instrument lights not working:
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The two arrows of the right switch show the coiled resistor (NOT a spring!) has
broken and so the instrument light circuit is bad, or open. The new switch
assembly on the left fixed the problem; arrow points to how the resistor is
SUPPOSED to look.

I have FINALLY finished the larger, custom fuel tank; that took only about FIFTEEN
months (hang on, I gotta drink some water so I don't dehydrate from all my crying).

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The filler pipe is a stainless steel food-grade fitting from Amazon; the fuel sender
hub is hand-made from 1/4" thick stainless, with the hole cut using a hole saw, and
the "milled" set-in flange made by cutting about 1/8" deep with progressively-larger-
diameter hole saws and then polished with die grinder flap wheels.

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The fuel sender is new, made for a Dart; I had to straighten the tubing to get the right
length. It seems to be reasonably accurate.

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Hindsight tells me I could have created a sump and therefore been
able to utilize the last of the gasoline volume; as it is, I probably lost
about three gallons of useful capacity as this sits. I lengthened the
sender float arm about 1 1/2" using 3/32" stainless welding rod.
Not shown are two baffles that split the tank into thirds.

I can still add a sump and bend the tubing down more, in the future.

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The big notch is for the crossmember.
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The straps are not visible. The brackets, bolted to the frame, are designed to allow removal of the tank
without disassembling any other part of the truck. The strap bolts are double-nutted, and a pair of the
bracket bolts have drilled heads and are safety-wired. The parking brake cable just barely clears the tank.
All welding was done using a wire-feed MIG machine.

The measured total volume, including the filler neck, is 34 1/2 gallons.

It would have been a better weight-distributed truck if the tank was on the passenger side. Of course,
would I place the filler neck on that side (pain in the butt at the gas station), or use 6' of large tube and
cross over to the driver's side?

I have decided that I will build a rack to mount the original gas tank onto, and place that in the bed during
our trip to Banff and Alaska. That will give me an extra 25(?) gallons. I will mount a 12 volt pump with a
dash switch, so when the main tank gets low, I'll just pump gas into it. I'm not interested in a permanent
dual-tank set-up with switch and valve.

************************************************** ******

Now that the in-frame tank is finally done, I am back to bodywork and paint for the back of the cab, then
the same for the bed, then mounting the bed and finishing rear wiring and any mods necessary to the
custom bumper. As I made that for the stepside bed, it will not fit under the sweptline bed without
modifications.

My brother is trying to convince me to make a custom front bumper with a piece of railroad rail (65-pound,
I believe); but I am not immediately inclined to swap out the chrome factory one, yet.

[oldndcctrucks]

MORE FUN:

Whilst piloting my Hulk (big, ugly, green) around town, making old-school V-8 rumblings, the speedo started fluttering, then swinging wildly, then went BANG!! and the needle whipped around clockwise to straight down and didn't move any more.

*SIGH*

Removal of the bezel and probing the flacid needle proved an internal catastrophic failure occurred. $200 for a replacement used one.....

[oldndcctrucks]

Sure, what’s one more mod??

ill look into the headlight relay. I already bypassed the ammeter.

This was likely the original headlight light switch from 48 years ago, so I’m in no hurry.

[KRB64]

Yea, that pesky little hidden buttony thing...

Those little switches do a lot of work and seem to burn out or overheat unless you do the headlight relay and/or the voltmeter bypass (can't remember the wiring diagram exactly, been a while since I messed with it but I think it's the headlight relay which would make more sense).

I seldom drive my '77 in the dark but did the other night and was surprised how dim and yellow the light was compared to the newerish vehicles I regularly drive now. I have yet to do the relay myself.

[oldndcctrucks]

While the headlights work, I have had intermittent problems getting the instrument lights to work properly.

I bought a NAPA Echlin headlight switch assembly #HL6571 for about $18.00 including tax....

...and this is what I found:

Ummmm apparently I am no longer able to post pics!

I will contact the Moderators and ask.

Anyways, the coiled resistor in the dimmer assembly had broken and gotten wadded up. Works great now.

NOTE: I damaged the knob trying to extract it by twisting WHICH IS NOT HOW IT'S DONE. I found that there is a mechanical button release on the boittom of the switch to get the knob and shaft out. DUH

[oldndcctrucks]

Aaahhh congratulations!!

[KRB64]

Life definitely gets in the way! Just checking to make sure we weren't missing anything. Don't feel guilty, we all deal with the same/similar distractions (of time AND money).

At least the kid is making a valiant effort at schooling. I just graduated my oldest last weekend...

[oldndcctrucks]

Feel like I’m letting you guys down!

My 20-year-old has decided to take classes next summer at university, so WE’RE NOT GOING NEXT SUMMER. I can say unequivocally that I am bummed-out, but the kid is trying hard so I just accept and support.

The current goal is summer 2021...

I have been in the middle of repainting the cab and the donor bed, as well as making the 30 gallon gas tank, for three months. Family and work obligations have made time available for this project next to zero.

Now, I am in the process of buying and fixing up a vehicle for a friend of my older kid’s who is poor and just starting out. So there will be another month lost...

Lastly, my M35A2 deuce needs some attention, maybe two or three weekends’ worth!

I hope all of you have had more successful past few months than I have!!!

[KRB64]

Any updates for us or on a hiatus?

[oldndcctrucks]

Yes, slightly. The box was 12” x 11”; the stainless tank body is 11 1/2” x 12”.

You’re right, there IS a lot of weight on the driver’s side. I put the exhaust on the passenger side to get the noise further from the driver.

It would be easy to move the battery; maybe the tank would have been better on the passenger side.

[KRB64]

Is that a smaller mockup on the right?

Dodge put a lot of biased weight on the driver's side: driver, battery, steering box, fuel tank...

[oldndcctrucks]

The D-100 has been sold to an older guy who plans to restore it. I delivered it to his property about 30 miles away; got flea-bit after I said hi to his horses, and the transmission locked up while trying to roll it off the trailer...!


I've started the new fuel tank: it's about 56"L x 11 1/2"H x 12 1/4"W. That works out to about 34 gallons. The steel is stainless 304 and is 16 gauge, and will weigh about 50 lbs. when finished. The one sheet of 48"W x 120"L cost me about $350. When full, the tank will weigh about 360 lbs. which is about twice what the stock, thin-wall 20 gallon tank weighed full.

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Cardboard box mock-up

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Not too low...

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