'72 4x4 diesel

[wildwilly4x4]

Heres a lil bit of what i've been working on. I am new to these trucks and this forum, so heres what i've got going. I got an old '72 longbed 4x4 that was fixing to be crushed for $100 at a junkyard. My old military chevy 4x4 was taking up too much room,so i thought i'd build me a '72 diesel 4x4. I started by junking the long bed(it was rusted bad), cut 12" out of the frame and bought a short stepside off a kid I grew up with for $200. I nabbed a couple of nice doors from a salvage yard and started welding, fabbing, and cutting to get this all to work. I used the whole 4x4 engine crossmember out of my military 1 ton (cut,hacked and massaged into the '72 frame). Next I stabbed in the turbo 6.5 diesel and the dana 60/14 bolt out of the military rig. Since my '72 was originally an auto, I went to the salvage yard again to get a clutch pedal and manual steering column to clean up the interior. I modded the hydroboost system to fit the firewall, and mounted a hydraulic clutch master next to it. I'll be using a '97 nv4500/np205 combo that I had laying around for gear duty in this rig. As I tore the trck down I started painting the underbody/firewall with implement spray paint( IHC red), and will be shooting the entire truck this color once I have it all back together and running. Heres some pics of where Im at as of now.

[mtdave2]

bad ass man

[mosesburb]

Looks like it will be a fun ride when you get it done. Was the Banks kit on the motor when you got it??

[texanidiot25]

Badass franken truck!

[wildwilly4x4]

I put the banks kit on my 6.2, but after cranking up the fuel a lil too much it went boom. This 6.5 was a '93 turbo, but the original 6.5 turbo stuff didnt fit my other truck as well as the banks kit does.

[rwolf9653]

Did you keep it 24 volt oir swap it to 12 volt? Looks nice.

[Sinister]

Originally Posted by texanidiot25

Badass franken truck!

x2, lol

[chadio72]

cool, man ! I love retro rides and alternative engines !

[QKENUF4U]

very cool...

[95light]

I don't remember any of the military trucks coming with a turbo setup. Was it built after 1994?

Edit: of course the a/c compressor wasn't an option on a military version either.

[jay6891]

Cool Truck and Welcome from a former Texas Panhadler.

[Thealien]

You're an fn madman!! I like it. Keep posting with updates and pics!

[wildwilly4x4]

My original mil truck was just your normal CUCV 1ton chevy 4x4, but then my wife let the door get caught in the wind, which screwed up the cab. We were still newly weds so since my tow rig was a single cab duramax 4x4, and I had a screwed up CUCV work truck, I decided a crewcab would be better for us to camp in when we took my jeep out 4 wheeling. SO, I ended up with a 2wd '87 crewcab, which I then cut in front of the cab to fit my '86 CUCV front frame, behind the cab(shortend 14" for short bed) rear 4x4 frame, and used all the CUCV drivetrain. After a lil searching I found a Banks turbo system on craigslist for $400, so naturally I put it on my 6.2. APPARENTLY my EGT guage didnt work properly because I ended up turning up the fuel WAY too much and melted the pistons to slag. So I bought a turbo 6.5(93 model) to replace it, and ended up with the wrong pressure plate after finding the NV4500 for $75. So, now I'm currently building this '72 single cab since I ended up trading my single cab Duramax for a FAR better Dodge CTD. I'm a Chevy guy, but when it comes to a heavy duty diesel, my duramax just wasnt up to snuff, even though it had more power and a WAY better tranny, the Dodge is a far superior truck as far as my driving style. Anyways, enough rambling, I should be mounting the tranny and such this weekend. Thanks for all the complements, Laramie.

[packers05]

I love chevy diesels my coworker burns 50/50 diesel and used trans fluid in his and it runs great and cheap get her done and on the street its real cool

[wildwilly4x4]

Originally Posted by packers05

I love chevy diesels my coworker burns 50/50 diesel and used trans fluid in his and it runs great and cheap get her done and on the street its real cool

Yeah, I've even burn citranella( or how ever you spell it) in these things, at least it keeps the bugs away! Everytime I change the oil or tranny fluid I just dump it in the tank and the fill her up with diesel and keep on smokin!

[wildwilly4x4]

I got the tranny/t-case installed today, along with a few other small items. I still have to buily my rear driveshaft, hack up the tranny tunnel to fit, work on the turbo crossover pipe, and a few other things before I can at least run it around the block. I cant wait to try out the nv4500 and 3.73s on the highway!

[thepartsguy]

Originally Posted by wildwilly4x4

Yeah, I've even burn citranella( or how ever you spell it) in these things, at least it keeps the bugs away! Everytime I change the oil or tranny fluid I just dump it in the tank and the fill her up with diesel and keep on smokin!

I sell alotta injection pumps to guys that do this and get too greedy with it. Be careful.

[wildwilly4x4]

I got some more work done today. Went to the salvage yard and picked up some pretty nice inner fenders, a nice heater blower box, and a rotten battery tray. I painted the inners and box with black rustoleum and got them mounted up. For some reason my pics arent wanting to upload....I will try again in a lil bit.

[wildwilly4x4]

heres the pics!

[mal68ibu]

From what I can see that is turning out alot better than the mess I've made. I'm jealous of the NV4500, but after driving my 6.5 with the mods on it I'm sure I'll survive. Bad ass frankenstein for sure.

[wildwilly4x4]

I put in a seat out of a '96 p/u (although its tan and has a hole in it for now..lol), got most of the wiring done, and got my glow plug relay mounted to the engine, instead of the firewall. I still need to fab up a battery box for the driver side for the 2nd battery.

Does anyone have pointers on getting a fuel sending unit that has a return line plumbed in. If I have to add one, it wont be too big of a deal. I got my tank from a salvage yard, but I dunno if the truck was a manual or auto tranny. Apparently, from the sending unit searches I have done, there seems to be a difference for the fuel sending unit depending on what tranny the truck has. WTF, can anyone shed some light for me? Thanks, Laramie

[mal68ibu]

Originally Posted by wildwilly4x4

I put in a seat out of a '96 p/u (although its tan and has a hole in it for now..lol), got most of the wiring done, and got my glow plug relay mounted to the engine, instead of the firewall. I still need to fab up a battery box for the driver side for the 2nd battery.

Does anyone have pointers on getting a fuel sending unit that has a return line plumbed in. If I have to add one, it wont be too big of a deal. I got my tank from a salvage yard, but I dunno if the truck was a manual or auto tranny. Apparently, from the sending unit searches I have done, there seems to be a difference for the fuel sending unit depending on what tranny the truck has. WTF, can anyone shed some light for me? Thanks, Laramie

1972 chevy big block, I believe has a double tube sending unit. If I remember correctly the 72 BBC air truck I had, had a fuel pump with two lines (one I believe was for return). I have a factory driver side battery tray that has been media blated to bare metal, but its not the cheap way out at $150.

[wildwilly4x4]

Originally Posted by mal68ibu

1972 chevy big block, I believe has a double tube sending unit. If I remember correctly the 72 BBC air truck I had, had a fuel pump with two lines (one I believe was for return). I have a factory driver side battery tray that has been media blated to bare metal, but its not the cheap way out at $150.

Thanks for that info, I'll see if I can find one. Thats about all I lack in getting my fuel system buttoned up so I can start her up

[texanidiot25]

edit: nevermind, wrong idea

[tcb-1]

all business!! LOVE IT!!