1952 Dodge B3b 1/2 Ton, Cummins Diesel

Frame Boxing

Got some work done on the frame boxing today. First off i primed and painted the inside of the frame rail to protect from rust. I taped off the edges of the rail so that i could spray those areas with weld thru primer which are the edges that the boxing plate will get welded.

I also made a sort of triangular "tent" out of a piece of angle iron to go over the hole in the top of the frame rail. This is a bolt hole for attaching one of the cross members that mounts the bed. So obviously i need to be able to get the nut on after boxing is complete.

I also made up the boxing plate out of 1/8" thick steel. Next steps are to clean up the rust, prime it, and weld it to the frame rail.

Stay tuned for more,

-Chris

Frame Boxing

Welded on the passenger side boxing plate, came out pretty well. The plate is primed and painted on the inside to try and stop the rust. Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

-Chris

boxing plates look great, the tent idea is a good one. try to keep them sealed so as not let them fill with water and dirt. another option is to weld in a nut or threaded tube welded to top and bottom frame flange.

Thanks "kenny c". I left a few holes in the bottom flange of the frame rail for drainage. Its pretty well sealed up so i hope it wont accumulate to much dirt and crud. The reason for using the tent idea and not welding a nut or threaded tube is that i don't know what size the nut is. So rather than trying to find the hardware i just left some room.

-Chris

1952B3b23 said:

Thanks "kenny c". I left a few holes in the bottom flange of the frame rail for drainage. Its pretty well sealed up so i hope it wont accumulate to much dirt and crud. The reason for using the tent idea and not welding a nut or threaded tube is that i don't know what size the nut is. So rather than trying to find the hardware i just left some room.

-Chris

Click to expand...

Smart thinking.

Torchie.

Thanks Torchie.

-Chris

This is killer, I'm hoping to do a diesel swap on an old truck once my current project is done.

Wasn't picking on your idea, just giving more options. after all, all roads lead to Rome. like the cummins idea. I have a 12v 6bt in a 93 dodge 4x4 and it's been my favorite engine for lack of problems and great mileage

kenny c said:

Wasn't picking on your idea, just giving more options. after all, all roads lead to Rome. like the cummins idea. I have a 12v 6bt in a 93 dodge 4x4 and it's been my favorite engine for lack of problems and great mileage

Click to expand...

Hey Kenny, I didn't think you were picking on my idea at all. I just decided to explain my reasoning for the "tent" idea. I always like hearing other ways of doing things. I like explaining what I'm doing that way if I've missed something blatantly obvious. someone else will pick up on it and lemme know.

Yea those 12 valve 6bts are tried and true. The tranny that's going in this truck is a getrag g360 from a 92 cummins 2wd. The 12 valve in there had a ton of miles but she still ran like a top. Cummins power is by far my most favorite Diesel engine.

Thanks for the comment,

-Chris

falconvan said:

This is killer, I'm hoping to do a diesel swap on an old truck once my current project is done.

Click to expand...

Thanks man. If you do end up doing a diesel swap I hope you post it up on here so I can follow along.

What's your current project?

-Chris

I've got two; one is a 48 Plymouth Club Coupe with a 5.3 LS that I'm building for my wife. The other is a 49 Plymouth Business Coupe with a 3.2 Taurus SHO engine. There's a build thread on the 49 on here if you'd like to take a look.

falconvan said:

I've got two; one is a 48 Plymouth Club Coupe with a 5.3 LS that I'm building for my wife. The other is a 49 Plymouth Business Coupe with a 3.2 Taurus SHO engine. There's a build thread on the 49 on here if you'd like to take a look.

Click to expand...

Cool, sounds like some pretty sweet projects. I would like to check out that 49, I'll look for the thread.

-Chris

Sweet truck....real nice workmanship on it.[ you should have a truck to be proud of when its done. Good Luck and have fun. Doug

DougnDog said:

Sweet truck....real nice workmanship on it.[ you should have a truck to be proud of when its done. Good Luck and have fun. Doug

Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch. This is my first build so I'm trying to take my time and do it right. I've read your thread on here and really dig your work too.

Thanks for lookin'

-Chris

Hey Guys,

I got the drivers side frame rail boxed up, it came out pretty well. I left a larger opening for access to the bed mounting bolt. I found out that its a 1/2 inch diameter bolt and that my "tent" idea on the passenger side didn't end up leaving enough room for tightening. So on this side i welded two pieces of 2" x 2" angle iron together to form a channel that'll leave more than enough space. The bolts that mount the bed to the frame are carriage bolts so they cant be tightened from the top. I like the clean look of the carriage bolts so switching to a regular bolt is less desirable. Although that would allow me to just hold the nut on the bottom and tighten the top saving me some work. I'll probably end up changing it so it matches the drivers side though. No big deal, ill sort that out a little later on.

One thing that still needs to be done is that the area where the steering box mounts (see attached pictures) on the drivers side rail needs to be reworked. The steering box attaches to the three mounting holes and then that arm extends to the front crossmember. The reason this is necessary is because my motor mounts are going to have to go there. The Cummins 4bt has motor mount points right at the front of the block and those are the ones i need to use. They just happen to run right into the arm that extends off the steering box. All is clear on the passenger side. My thinking is to cut the arm out and tie the plate that the steering box mounts to into the frame and finish boxing the frame rail up to the front crossmember. This should make it nice and sturdy and add rigidity like the extension arm did.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance,

-Chris

I think that it will work fine. Steering box will still be good and solid and frame will be boxed to the cross member.
Torchie.

Torchie said:

I think that it will work fine. Steering box will still be good and solid and frame will be boxed to the cross member.
Torchie.

Click to expand...

Thanks Torchie. I believe that it'll make it even more sturdy than stock. Those boxing plates really take away a lot of frame twist.

-Chris

Got a little bit of work done this weekend. I modified the steering box mounting plate so that i'll have room for the motor mount on the drivers side. The first picture is before modifying it, the rest are after shots. I also tossed on a coat of primer onto the frame rails to keep the surface rust away.

Next step is to fix the triangular opening for the bed mounting bolt hole on the passengers side. Hopefully i can get that done after work this week. Stay tuned.

-Chris

Looks Good!
Torchie.

Torchie said:

Looks Good!
Torchie.

Click to expand...

Thanks Torchie!

-Chris