Civilian Power Wagon 360 Conversion Project Coyote

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

I will post pictures and details of the V8 conversion truck that I built here. Some of the pictures are not the best, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Here is the truck as it started what I thought was a fairly solid rust free project, it will hold lots of surprises and be a full year project.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

The truck itself was fully dissected and inspected, through the entire process we were building and planning and changing as the build progressed.

[Alxj64]

Great looking project!

[Todd M]

Sounds like a great project. Looking forward to seeing the updates

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Once the cab and bed were removed, the frame and chassis were stripped, steam cleaned and ready to begin it's transformation. I could see the common rust and swelling between the inner frame rails. A distance of approximately 3 feet of the inner frame was damaged, Not wanting to search for another frame I carefully drilled out and ground down rivet heads and removed the bad portion of the inner frame. Not more than 60 miles down the road I have access to a really good fabrication facility. In just a few days I had reproduction inner frame repair sections to install. After putting the frame itself on the hoist in the shop the hydraulic press came in very handy. Using a large block of steel that fit nicely inside the frame rails it made easy work of squaring the frame back into it's factory shape.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Here are pictures of the frame repair.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Planning and deciding which steps to take next on this build were made through many phone calls and emails. Prior to starting the project I had spoke with the owner many times, I asked for a wish list, what do you want and or expect out of this Power Wagon. More power, safer braking, reliability, power steering, more fuel capacity. He has plans of towing a small trailer with it possibly even a small Airstream camper. All of these things seemed very achievable. When a person starts begins an undertaking like this it takes a lot of planning, head scratching and dreaming. Most importantly was to keep it looking and appearing as original as possible. The other factor was to have it built and done in less than a year. I knew when I said I could pull it off sleep would become something that I would lust after.

[Alxj64]

those frame repairs are some nice pieces!

One year! Thats some hefty work in a short time! Keep the photos coming!

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

More pictures of the Chassis

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Shortly after getting the frame into shape I had a better idea of the direction of the project. A V8 engine of some type, 318 or 360 had been decided. It needed to stop and stop well, disc brakes were now on the list along with power steering. This truck has a future of lots of highway miles so extra fuel capacity was needed. The 5.83 gears would have to be swapped out for 4.89's. A trailer hitch would have to be fabricated. Completing the rolling chassis and drivetrain would be a big part of this project. The body itself was virtually rust free, that would save alot of time on this project. I had the advantage of having Gordon on speed dial and only being a short distance away to ponder ideas and discuss this build while drinking a Coke from a glass bottle.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Installing Power Steering on a Power Wagon is really nice when you have a bare frame to work with.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

We settled on using a 360 for the engine. Knowing that it would be a daily driver with alot of miles being put on it I chose the route of using a Jasper Crate engine. It had a warranty, and I spent alot of time with the Jasper rep. discussing what all they would do to the engine. It was bored .030 with a standard crankshaft and an R.V. Camshaft

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Switching gears and going between Chassis, Frame, steering and engine kept me from getting bored to say the least.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Completely going through the spring packs, Front axle, and new shocks. At this point in time I was all out of 4.89 gears. More were on order but several months out. I was sitting in Gordon's office talking over my gear situation one evening. We were discussing self energizing brakes. He looked at me with a stern yet teaching look upon his face and said. "Reach behind the brown filing cabinet." "Promise to replace them, trust." He smiled and took a drink of his coke. In the box happened to be 2 sets of 4.89 gears from Veteran Vehicles from long before I knew what a Power Wagon differential looked like.

We continued talking about self energizing brakes until after 10pm. I drove back to the shop and started setting up the differentials that evening.

[Kevin Mienke]

I did the same frame repairs on my WM300. Drilling rivets isn't exactly fun, and it takes a lot of time, but I'm glad I did it. It's nice to know the rust is COMPLETELY gone.