My Project

[unbreakable]

Well, finally got some decent weather on the forecast so today was the perfect day to trial fit the cab to the frame. Looks like it is going to work out quite well so far. Tomorrow I will work on getting the front fenders sitting on the cab so I can see how its initial placement will work fore and aft. After I am sure everything is going to fit together I can then get the cab mounts into a permanent situation and decide what to do with the gap between the cab and bed. I would love to stretch the cab to make it more roomy, but that is a ton of work and I dont know if I have the time/skill necessary to make it look right.

Here she is, just sitting on the frame;


Front tire reveal looks to be about the same as the rear;


Here is the gap I am dealing with;

Instead of cutting the frame, is it possible to move the rear spring hangars forward on the rear of the frame and just cut the excess tail off the truck? Just a thought.

[MoparFreak69]

Wow, has it really been almost a year since I replied to this thread. Where does time go?
I ended up moving late last year and haven't really been able to accomplish much on the PW. I also started a new job last summer which has me working a lot more hours. Busy busy busy! Anyway today I finally said to heck with it and took a half hour to just prep the truck for more work to come. Mocked the front bumper up on jackstands so I can get an idea of how the front sheet metal is fitting to the donor frame. Looks like my gaps are going to be nice and the frame shouldn't sit out exposed and awkward looking.

Rick, I have seen a few ads here and there on Craigslist for D's and W's of this era. The guy who bought my A100 pickup a couple months ago said he knows somebody in the Weiser area who has a couple trucks and a town wagon or 2 he said. I will see if I can come up with his contact info and pass it along if you would like.

[Rick Walker]

Power Giant Series

I just finished looking at the work you did on your truck very nice work. I live in Kimberly and am new to the site. I am looking for a W2oo truck , Town Wagon , or crew cab project to work on i was wondering if you may know of a project vehicle for sale . Thank You Rick.

[MoparFreak69]

Another small step toward progress. Got the steering column shortened (roughly 6" cut out of it) and got the shifter linkage basically set up. I just need to replace the factory '97 snap-in end with a sleeved bolt to fit through the steering column's shifter bushing. Simple enough. A quick bend to change the alignment is also in the cards.
I fit the steering column to the stock '97 steering shaft to make things simple in case of repairs/replacement.
All I have left on the brakes is to cut the booster input rod and thread it to fit my coupler that connects to the stock pedal rod and reinforce the firewall where I did some cutting in that area and brakes are set.
Next big hurdle to jump is getting the front sheet metal all secured to the cab and the frame for a permanent fit. Then on to radiator/condensor and the cab should be ready to come off again. Well, maybe I will figure on where to make my frame shrinking cuts first, then get the cab out of the way.

[Ron in Indiana]

Progress no matter how small is still progress. Getting the big parts bolted down is always a milestone. Looking at your cab, when you get down to it I have all the places for weatherstripping, window channels and glass rubber to finish the details. Just let me know when you're ready.

[MoparFreak69]

Small progress report.

Got the body mounts moved and mock-up welded in place. Cab is now bolted to the frame in its permanent position.
Got the brake booster mocked up into position. I ended up moving the pedal assembly to the left quite a ways to center the brake pedal below the steering wheel. I am going to run an automatic so no need for the clutch pedal anyway. I wanted a more comfortable driving position so the stock pedal location just wasnt going to do it, plus the lack of booster clearance in that position made the decision easy.

Also got the steering wheel/column temporarily mocked up into place so I could start fitment of the steering link from column to steering box. Also time to start working on shifter setup.


Work continues....... one day a week at a time........

[MoparFreak69]

Little bit more progress today fitting the cab and front end to the frame. I had to hack the core support down quite a bit to clear the frame and to make room for the donor radiator. With how the steering gear sits in the frame there was no way I was going to fit the original radiator into the space. The donor radiator is much more efficient anyway so I just did what was needed to make room for it. I will go back in later and add some more material to beef up some of the areas where I removed a bunch of material.

[MoparFreak69]

The only frames that manufacturers dont want you to weld on are the big tractor-trailer rig frames, as they are hardened and heat treated for high strength. Regular pickup frames are simply mild steel and therefore can be welded as long as its done properly. I will make Z cuts at either end to give me more weld surface area to increase strength potential. The frame is boxed at the spot where I will be making the cuts so I dont think fishplating will be necessary. I am confident that my welder can put enough heat into the weld to properly penetrate and provide a very structurally sound joint.
Turns out that after bolting up the front fenders that a bit of clearancing for the shock towers is in order, and I have to move the cab forward a couple inches to place the tire in a nicer looking position in the wheel well. I will start with beating the firewall a bit where the passenger side valve cover/head will come close and then when I am satisfied with clearances/positioning of the cab I will scoot it back and do a proper clearance bulge. I will also need to cut more of the floor out to make a bit bigger of a trans hump, but that isnt a big deal as I was going to make the floor solid anyway, without a removable panel to worry about leaking/vibrating/etc.

[Ron in Indiana]

Looks like things are lining up except for the frame length. There was a PG at the Iowa rally one year that had been made into a crew cab. It was a lot of work and it looked ...well strange. The work done was good but it was different. I'll assume you are contemplating a frame cut with fish plates at the cut? I know welding the frame isn't advised by the factory. It'll be a nice truck when completed.

[MoparFreak69]

Steering shaft lines up with the existing column hole very nicely;


Brake master cylinder even lines up with the stock master cylinder hole. Makes fitting the '97 booster to the stock pedal assembly that much easier;

[MoparFreak69]

Cab sits on the frame

Well, finally got some decent weather on the forecast so today was the perfect day to trial fit the cab to the frame. Looks like it is going to work out quite well so far. Tomorrow I will work on getting the front fenders sitting on the cab so I can see how its initial placement will work fore and aft. After I am sure everything is going to fit together I can then get the cab mounts into a permanent situation and decide what to do with the gap between the cab and bed. I would love to stretch the cab to make it more roomy, but that is a ton of work and I dont know if I have the time/skill necessary to make it look right.

Here she is, just sitting on the frame;


Front tire reveal looks to be about the same as the rear;


Here is the gap I am dealing with;

[MoparFreak69]

Got some progress on bed fitment accomplished yesterday. I ended up having to remove the upper shock mounts from the frame for the time being to get the bed to sit a bit lower on the frame. Looks like it is going to fit on the donor frame quite well. I will beef up the bed frame as its pretty tired and tweaked as it is. I think I will make the majority of the frame from square tubing and basically make a perimeter frame with some more cross bars to tie into the existing ones that are under the bed. That way I can use the donor frames factory front bed mounts effectively as well as support the bed quite a bit better than when it was on the original frame.

Here are a few photos. The bed is just sitting on the donor frame for the time being. Removing the shock mounts allowed me to move it back to a natural position over the wheels.


Width wise it looks like its going to work out pretty nicely. The lift blocks are most likely going to go away. The bed sits about 5' high at the top right now, which is a bit higher than I want.


Both sides have about this much tread showing outside the fenders with the wheels that are on it now. I think stock style steelies will have a bit more offset and tuck them a bit closer which will be just perfect.

[MoparFreak69]

Well, looks like the weather is going to start getting good enough to where I can begin fitting the cab to the donor frame shortly. Cant wait. Got the frame pulled and and throughout the week I will continue removing parts that are not necessary/in the way.

[MoparFreak69]

Thanks Ron.
I thought they would fit the truck perfectly with what I have planned for it.
I am thinking about etching Dodge into the space below the large gauges using a sand blaster just to give it a bit more of a custom feel. Either that or reproduce the old Dodge logo that is on the key I have.
I think it just needs a little something subtle to complete it.

Ben

[Ron in Indiana]

Beautiful job I like the old time flavor of the gauges.