1952 Dodge B3b 1/2 Ton, Cummins Diesel

[clamor]

Stellar job so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing more!
I always dreamed of putting a 4bt/nv435 into my '93 Wrangler when I was off-roading, life got in the way and preferences change. Plus RRR is much better than pirate4x4.
:-D
-Chaz

 

[rusty46]

I got some more done on the front suspension tonight. Installed the drag link, tie rod, steering box and disc brake kit. Obviously i grabbed a hold of the steering wheel and made vroom vroom noises while turning the wheel back and forth It feels good to see the front suspension together, even though it still needs to come off to get the frame blasted.

One thing i am having trouble with is installing the spring clip that hold the pads in place on the calipers. Ive attached some pics of the caliper and clips, does any one know how it goes together? They're calipers from a '78-'87 Chevy Caprice.

Thanks for looking,

-Chris

Great info and build. What are the rotors from? Any machining needed for the kit to go on the axle? Or just put it together??

 

[1952B3b23]

Stellar job so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing more!
I always dreamed of putting a 4bt/nv435 into my '93 Wrangler when I was off-roading, life got in the way and preferences change. Plus RRR is much better than pirate4x4.
:-D
-Chaz

Thanks a lot for the compliments and sorry for such a late reply. I havent checked the thread in awhile and been busy with a different project.

That would make for one heck of a ride. Theres tons of guys out there putting 4bt's in Jeeps for off roading. It must work pretty darn well cause i've heard lots of good things. You'd definitely have more than enough torque for pushing through those tough trails.

-Chris

 

[1952B3b23]

Great info and build. What are the rotors from? Any machining needed for the kit to go on the axle? Or just put it together??

Thanks for the compliments.

The rotors are from a '78-85 Dodge Diplomat. The calipers are from a '78-87 Chevy Caprice. I bought the kit off of the following site:

http://rustyhope.com/site/?page_id=7

He makes the kit to mount the caliper to your spindles and gives you the parts list and assembly instructions. All the parts you can easily get from a local auto parts store like NAPA. So its basically just a matter of putting it together once you have all the parts. I'd highly recommend his kit and Charlie is a real nice guy.

-Chris

 

[1952B3b23]

Hey Guys,

I have a small update finally. I haven't had any time to work on the truck lately because i was working on a '39 Plymouth Coupe i picked up back in July. Today i was able to get out to the shop for a few hours and work on the new drivers side door jamb.

I've attached a few pics of it and it still needs some fine tuning before tacking it in. I will also need to cut in an opening for the lower door hinge to pass through.

It sure felt good to get back out there for a little bit and accomplish something.

Thanks for looking,

-Chris

 

[Torchie]

[cl [ [ [P
Torchie.

 

[1952B3b23]

[cl [ [ [P
Torchie.

Thanks Torchie. It felt great to be able to get out there and work on the truck a bit. It had been way to long and i was missing it.

-Chris

 

[1952B3b23]

Well i had a few hours today to work on the old girl. I decided that before doing any more work on the cab im going to get it blasted. With that said i worked on removing some stuff that needs to come off for blasting. The cabs loaded up with bondo and i dont feel like having to grind all that junk off in my garage. The same guy who blasts it is going to shoot it with primer once hes done. That'll keep the rust at bay while it sits around waiting for me to work on it.

So i got to removing the heater, wipers, e-brake assembly, and a few other miscellaneous things. I was happy to see that the heater core looks new. The previous owner must have had it rebuilt. As it looks to new to be original. The last thing to remove is the windshield glass and back window glass. I'll need to recruit a helper for that cause they're still in good shape and i don't want them to break trying to get them out. I've attached some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks for lookin'

-Chris

 

[jmlcolorado]

Well crap. Somehow I've missed this one, and now I have a ton of pages to read up to catch up on this project. You've sparked my interest as a fellow 4BT'er.

Edit:

okay all caught up! Now, time for you to get back into the shop!
I'm excited to see this thing roll. I've got a 4BT out of a bread truck. It's p-pumped so I'll be compounding the turbos and cranking the fuel up a bit on it. Im running a 47re auto in mine.
This is the second 4bt I had for this truck. I drove out to Southern California (from Denver) on a blistery winter weekend and drove back a 99 ram 1500 a guy had swapped a generator 4bt in. Believe it or not it drove fairly well. It took some getting used to but it made it pretty far before we lost power and the fuel shutoff silinoid killed it. Flat towed it the rest of the way. That one was an A-pump. Basically a p-pump but for agricultural use.
Started tearing that one down and found a botched cracked block repair. So it sits in the corner collecting dust.
I'm excited to get mine going for sure. If you read my thread you'll find life getting in the way is very common. Heck, I've been working on the damn thing for like 6 years or something stupid. Build thread is stupid long. Skip to the end for the 4bt stuff.

Anyways, looking good. Keep up the progress!
Oh, might as well post pics of the Plymouth too since you mentioned it......a couple years ago

 

[1952B3b23]

Well crap. Somehow I've missed this one, and now I have a ton of pages to read up to catch up on this project. You've sparked my interest as a fellow 4BT'er.

Edit:

okay all caught up! Now, time for you to get back into the shop!
I'm excited to see this thing roll. I've got a 4BT out of a bread truck. It's p-pumped so I'll be compounding the turbos and cranking the fuel up a bit on it. Im running a 47re auto in mine.
This is the second 4bt I had for this truck. I drove out to Southern California (from Denver) on a blistery winter weekend and drove back a 99 ram 1500 a guy had swapped a generator 4bt in. Believe it or not it drove fairly well. It took some getting used to but it made it pretty far before we lost power and the fuel shutoff silinoid killed it. Flat towed it the rest of the way. That one was an A-pump. Basically a p-pump but for agricultural use.
Started tearing that one down and found a botched cracked block repair. So it sits in the corner collecting dust.
I'm excited to get mine going for sure. If you read my thread you'll find life getting in the way is very common. Heck, I've been working on the damn thing for like 6 years or something stupid. Build thread is stupid long. Skip to the end for the 4bt stuff.

Anyways, looking good. Keep up the progress!
Oh, might as well post pics of the Plymouth too since you mentioned it......a couple years ago

I apologize for not seeing this until now. I'd been so focused working on my '39 Plymouth that i hadn't touched the truck for a couple years. Likewise i didn't even bother to check on the build thread and see if anyone posted. I'll have to check out your thread. It's awesome that you're also running a 4bt!

-Chris

 

[1952B3b23]

Well i'm finally back to working on this thing, boy it's been awhile! Since i last posted i got my '39 Plymouth coupe (see my avatar) back on the road after buying it in July of 2014.*That turned into way more of a project than i expected.*But i learned a ton in the process and the new skills will help me on the truck.

The cab needs a lot of metal work *so i decided i'd start with the drivers side door jamb. I had removed the rusted out section a few years ago so i copied the passenger side jamb using the flexible shape pattern method. This method is something that was created by my friend and top notch metal shaper/coachbuilder Wray Schelin (check him out at proshaper.com). Using this method i was able to take the passenger side pattern and turn it inside out and i instantly had the pattern for the drivers side. I then used a combination of bead roller, hammers, dollies, chisels, and sand bag to form the jamb section. It still needs to be gone over one last time to tune up the surface and also to do the final fitment. For now i just clamped it up so i could get an idea of how it was looking.

I just looked back in this thread and saw that i tried recreating this jamb previously. I can't help but laugh at my first attempt. It was missing all of the beads and joggles that it's supposed to have. I'm glad my metal shaping skills have improved considerably since then lol.

Thanks for looking,

-Chris

EDIT: Sorry for the picture orientation. I don't know why they all became landscape orientation after uploading them. They were all taken portrait style.

 

[jmlcolorado]

More details on this flexible shape pattern method!!!

 

[1952B3b23]

More details on this flexible shape pattern method!!!

I'll try to explain it as best i can. I was looking for a specific thread on one of the metal shaping forums that detailed exactly how to do it. Of course i can't find it.

Step 1: Apply strips of low tack tape to the surface that you are trying to copy. The strips of tape must not overlap each other. I usually shoot for an 1/8" gap between each one. This serves to copy the surface information of the panel (i.e. where it needs to be stretched, shrunk, beaded, tipped, etc.) This tape is the same stuff that sign painters use.

Step 2: Apply strips of fiberglass reinforced packaging tape over the top of the low tack tape. These strips of tape can overlap each other about 1/4". I generally lay the fiberglass tape at some angle (45 deg. or so) to the low tack.

Step 3: I use a razor blade and trim the pattern to the area that i want to copy. Some people pull the pattern off and then trim it.

Step 4: Pull the pattern off of the surface, making sure it stays together and you don't let it stick to its self.

Step 5: Take some powder (plaster of paris, talc powder, etc.) and dust the sticky side of the pattern. This will ensure that it doesn't accidentally stick itself back together or get stuck to something else.

I did some quick googling and found a short article on how to make one:

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/metalshaping-body-panel-fabrication-269064-singlepost1.html

He overlaps the low tack tape. I say not to do that. The first layer of tape must lay totally flat on the surface so that it captures the surface info correctly. If you did a little bit more digging im sure you'll find some better articles on it and how to read what it's telling you.

-Chris