1952B3b23
Well-known member
Hey Guys,
I just joined the forum not long ago but ive been working on this project for a little over a year now. The truck is a '52 Dodge B3b, part of the pilothouse series of trucks. I bought the truck in running and driving condition but as you can see from the pictures it was missing lots of original equipment. The plan when i bought the truck was to find a bed for it and remove the ugly wood flat bed. Then just cruise around in it for awhile. So i went ahead and bought a bed and then completely changed my mind on what i wanted to do. This is where my love for Cummins diesels comes in... i got to thinking that the truck would be pretty sick with a Cummins 4bt. That got the ball rolling and off i went researching "4bt" swaps. I found tons of info on them, and a whole forum devoted to those kinds of swaps. So i decided to commit and bought a 1993 4bt (VE Pump) out of an Oshkosh truck with a Borg-Warner T19 transmission (4 speed). The motor ran well when i went to see it and the owner claimed it had about 180k miles on it. Well that was one piece of the puzzle that was missing next i bought a mopar 8 3/4 rear end with the 742 case and posi. I figure that if that would hold up to the big muscle cars of the day it should do alright behind my 4bt. For a transmission im not going to use the T19, i have a Getrag G360 out of a '92 12 valve dodge cummins that i got for free. That tranny is a 5 speed with OD so it will give me decent cruising combined with the 3.55's in the 8-3/4. My reasoning for going diesel is because i love the Cummins motors and i think it will make for a unique truck and fun to drive with all the low end torque.
The Plan:
I plan to use the original frame and strengthen it as needed to handle the weight, vibration, and torque of the motor. These 4bts are pretty heavy (750 lbs dry). Then again when you compare that to a big V8 gasser the weight difference isnt all that much. The original flathead 6 and three on the tree tranny weighed in at a combined weight of about 750 lbs. I figure with fluids and the Getrag attached the weight will be at about 1000 lbs.
The front suspension will be the stock setup except ill be replace/rebuilding its components. New tie rod end, king pins, drag link, etc. A very important mod will be getting rid of the drum brakes up front and going to discs. The steering will remain as the original cross steering setup with manual Gemmer steering box.
Rear suspension will be the leaf spring setup with the mopar 8-3/4 rear end. That has updated drums which combined with the discs up front should give good stopping power.
This truck isnt going to be a rat rod per say, more like a mild custom. Im building it for me so i can have a cool ride thats different and fun to cruise around in. I hope you guys like it.
I know this is a pretty long post but it basically sums up what ive had rolling around in my brain for the past year or so.
Thanks for looking and questions/ comments are welcome,
-Chris
I just joined the forum not long ago but ive been working on this project for a little over a year now. The truck is a '52 Dodge B3b, part of the pilothouse series of trucks. I bought the truck in running and driving condition but as you can see from the pictures it was missing lots of original equipment. The plan when i bought the truck was to find a bed for it and remove the ugly wood flat bed. Then just cruise around in it for awhile. So i went ahead and bought a bed and then completely changed my mind on what i wanted to do. This is where my love for Cummins diesels comes in... i got to thinking that the truck would be pretty sick with a Cummins 4bt. That got the ball rolling and off i went researching "4bt" swaps. I found tons of info on them, and a whole forum devoted to those kinds of swaps. So i decided to commit and bought a 1993 4bt (VE Pump) out of an Oshkosh truck with a Borg-Warner T19 transmission (4 speed). The motor ran well when i went to see it and the owner claimed it had about 180k miles on it. Well that was one piece of the puzzle that was missing next i bought a mopar 8 3/4 rear end with the 742 case and posi. I figure that if that would hold up to the big muscle cars of the day it should do alright behind my 4bt. For a transmission im not going to use the T19, i have a Getrag G360 out of a '92 12 valve dodge cummins that i got for free. That tranny is a 5 speed with OD so it will give me decent cruising combined with the 3.55's in the 8-3/4. My reasoning for going diesel is because i love the Cummins motors and i think it will make for a unique truck and fun to drive with all the low end torque.
The Plan:
I plan to use the original frame and strengthen it as needed to handle the weight, vibration, and torque of the motor. These 4bts are pretty heavy (750 lbs dry). Then again when you compare that to a big V8 gasser the weight difference isnt all that much. The original flathead 6 and three on the tree tranny weighed in at a combined weight of about 750 lbs. I figure with fluids and the Getrag attached the weight will be at about 1000 lbs.
The front suspension will be the stock setup except ill be replace/rebuilding its components. New tie rod end, king pins, drag link, etc. A very important mod will be getting rid of the drum brakes up front and going to discs. The steering will remain as the original cross steering setup with manual Gemmer steering box.
Rear suspension will be the leaf spring setup with the mopar 8-3/4 rear end. That has updated drums which combined with the discs up front should give good stopping power.
This truck isnt going to be a rat rod per say, more like a mild custom. Im building it for me so i can have a cool ride thats different and fun to cruise around in. I hope you guys like it.
I know this is a pretty long post but it basically sums up what ive had rolling around in my brain for the past year or so.
Thanks for looking and questions/ comments are welcome,
-Chris