1955 12 Valve NAPCO Clone

[6BT 56]

Looks like a fun event . I dig the baja bug. Id like to build one of those for my boy .

Where is his build thread . Lol.

The white chevy in the background has a cummins elbo sticking out . Nice .

[Luther Grimace]

I'll tell him he needs to make one! It has a bus transmission and an 1800 something cc engine with dual carbs.

Also that white chevy was bad news. It had a P Pump in it freshly rebuilt with 4000 rpm spring, arp head studs, fire ringed head, 90 horse injectors, etc. it made my cummins look like a one barrel four cylinder!
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[1985-GMC]

Very cool, and that square is nice too!

[6BT 56]

Hi luther . Hows it going ? Been geting to put some time on it? You married yet? That was around now if i recall. Just got to put some miles on mine this week. Abt time .

[Truck Guy99]

What size square tube did you use for the cab mounts? I may be doing a similar swap and would like some help with the body mounts. Any tips on making them is appreciated as well.
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[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Hi luther . Hows it going ? Been geting to put some time on it? You married yet? That was around now if i recall. Just got to put some miles on mine this week. Abt time .

Pretty good and yes I did get married! On my honeymoon now as matter of fact. Been sitting by the pool all week reading car magazines and getting burnt! How are you doing? I read the other day where you said you took yours out. Have you been busy with the boating crowd?

And yes I have been able to put some miles on mine. I have prolly driven it 400 miles or so. I actually drove it down to Birmingham when the Hot Rod Power Tour came through last Wednesday. It did great on the trip down even though it rained the whole way and we just had Rain X. It actually got 21 mpg on the trip down! Prolly cause we were doing about 55 mph or so in the rain. I will post some pics from our trip soon.

[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by Truck Guy99

What size square tube did you use for the cab mounts? I may be doing a similar swap and would like some help with the body mounts. Any tips on making them is appreciated as well.
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I think it is 1.5" 120" wall.

[Dieselwrencher]

Luther congrats and enjoy it! Nice to hear you're getting to drive your truck as well!

[6BT 56]

Hi luther .

Congrads on the Wedding . I will post a pic of babby seat in my truck just so you know they fit !! Lol. Been driving mine a bit as well. Kinda thinking abt going high steer . .It works well but it not sumtin you could just thro one of you buddies the keys to and tell em go go give er a go. Added a steering stabiliser , helped . The track bars were the biggest upgrade . What a way to tighten up a old truck . Pusher fan is on the way , truck hasent gotten a bit hot yet tho. Let me know what you have been up to .

[Truck Guy99]

Hi Luther, me again with yet ANOTHER question. Isn't that surprising. I'm sorry for so many but I think the only stupid question is the one not asked.

1. How did you mount the dodge seat in it? Did you have to modify the brackets or just drill new holes in the floor?

2. Did you use a receiver hitch? If so, did it require any trimming on the body to make it fit?

3. Would you mind taking a pic of the side from the front corner to show how far the wheels/tires stick out?

4. What is the plan for bumpers?

5. Are you getting any mods done on the motor? How did you run the exhaust and what muffler?

6. Are you getting sick of the questions yet?
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[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Luther congrats and enjoy it! Nice to hear you're getting to drive your truck as well!

Thank you Dieselwrencher! I couldn't have done it without that FL70 manifold!

[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Hi luther .

Congrads on the Wedding . I will post a pic of babby seat in my truck just so you know they fit !! Lol. Been driving mine a bit as well. Kinda thinking abt going high steer . .It works well but it not sumtin you could just thro one of you buddies the keys to and tell em go go give er a go. Added a steering stabiliser , helped . The track bars were the biggest upgrade . What a way to tighten up a old truck . Pusher fan is on the way , truck hasent gotten a bit hot yet tho. Let me know what you have been up to .

Hahaha! Don't say that! I will have to sell the truck if that happens soon. If you do go with high steer I can say with assurance that you should not use Ballistic Fab for your steering arms. Nothing wrong with the quality but they are just too long. I would get Offroad Design Arms if I were to do it again. You might not be able to do full high steer either. I ordered all the tubing, driver side steering arm, and adapters to do high steer. I basically wasted that money because I can't do the high steer. The crossover does work well. My steering is pretty sensitive I guess because of the long steering arms and the stock diameter steering wheel. It cruises fine down the road though. I have driven it 70-75 mph down the highway when Daddy and I went to Birmingham for the Hot Rod Power Tour. So did the track bars help alot? Also I am still not running a fan. I like listening to folks say "Why that truck doesn't even have a fan on it!" They must think I'm an idiot.

[Truck Guy99]

Correct me if I'm wrong but i don't think you covered how you made supports for the front clip. I would appreciate some info on this. Thanks for your time
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[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by Truck Guy99

Hi Luther, me again with yet ANOTHER question. Isn't that surprising. I'm sorry for so many but I think the only stupid question is the one not asked.

1. How did you mount the dodge seat in it? Did you have to modify the brackets or just drill new holes in the floor?

I ended up buying a 56 truck seat from a guy down in Birmingham. I threw the Dodge seat out to street

2. Did you use a receiver hitch? If so, did it require any trimming on the body to make it fit?

I had a receiver hitch on the truck when it was still a Dodge. I removed it because I had to lengthen the frame rails since it used to have a bobbed bed on it. I will probably add it back on later. Only thing I can see it interfering with is the rear bumper when it is on. I'll figure something out. No reason to have such a strong truck that can't tow anything.

3. Would you mind taking a pic of the side from the front corner to show how far the wheels/tires stick out?

I will try to find a pic I have showing it. They do not stick out bad at all. The task force style was a good choice for this swap because full width axles don't look as silly on it. It seems the advance designs would require a narrowed full width to look like a factory option.

4. What is the plan for bumpers?

My father and I worked on the bumpers last Friday night. I am going to run the factory front bumper upside down. I think it is an old street rodder trick to flip it allowing it to took closer to the truck. I am doing it because my front spring hanger would hit the bumper if I ran it in the original way. The rear bumper I got at the Redneck Rumble last year in Lebanon, TN. It came off a 56 but it matches the front well. It looks alot better than the stock dealership bumper that came on my truck.

5. Are you getting any mods done on the motor? How did you run the exhaust and what muffler?

I have already installed a 3200 rpm governor spring when I rebuilt the pump. I still have to fix a couple of leaks I need to fix. It is acting like a Detroit :p There are alot of mods I would like to do but I don't want to spend alot of money. I would like to get some moderately bigger injectors and just turn my full power screw on the VE pump. I think that would make the biggest difference. I had some problems with running my exhaust with the engine so far back into the firewall. I got an exhaust manifold off an FL70 Freightliner from Dieselwrencher that allowed me to get the exhaust down lower close to the bellhousing. I had to customize my down pipe to make the tight radius bend. I also had to modify my turbo drain back pipe. Since I have a STORM block it has two oil drain holes on the passenger side so I just swapped the holes and modified the drain pipe. I got an exhaust shop here in town to bend me up a new exhaust since my other pipe was beat up. I ran a 3 inch exhaust with a turn down right before the axle. It really helped quieten the truck down in the cab. It still sounds sick though. No muffler either. It really doesn't require one. It is not that loud.

6. Are you getting sick of the questions yet?
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No keep them coming. That's the point of this board to help each other out. I know it helped me at points through this build.

[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by Truck Guy99

Correct me if I'm wrong but i don't think you covered how you made supports for the front clip. I would appreciate some info on this. Thanks for your time
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Some where in this thread you see the front radiator core support where I painted it. I welded some 1" square tubing to the bottom of the core support and welded angle to that rod. This is directly bolted to the existing Dodge front crossmember.

[Luther Grimace]

Here are some pics as promised.

At the exhaust shop.


This was cool. The muffler man is building this. It is made of 100% old mufflers.





My favorite I saw at the show.



My parents bought me this as a present


This picture goes to show you how a 4wd Cummins without a front driveshaft is worthless. I got stuck after I got done bush hogging.

[Luther Grimace]

Here are pictures from the Hot Rod Power Tour when they came to Birmingham this year.








I want to do a Cadillac on bags next



Saw a few fellow diesel swap there. This Buick 2in1 had a 4bt out of a bread truck with a 4 speed manual. They drove it from Kentucky and were getting 24 mpg I think.

Duramax Chevelle getting 35 mpg.

I have a video of another street rod truck with a Perkins diesel that was getting 54 mpg!

Then the rainstorm hit again in Birmingham. Luckily my driver window rolled up. I have never put it up so I was lucky. My Dad's side wasn't so lucky We had to get a beer box out of the trash to cover it. We eventually stopped by a Target and got an old cardboard box to put in it. My Dad said it was like and episode of "Bama Roadkill" in tribute to Frieburger and Finnegan's Hot Rod Magazine Roadkill.




We drove the truck about 80 miles or so down there in the rain. We filled it back up when we got there and it took around 4 gallons. I'll let you do the math It might have been a fluke but 20 mpg is pretty respectable for a 1 ton 4x4 on 36s.

[Truck Guy99]

What did you do when you got stuck in the mud? It's nice to see a 4x4 lifted classic truck. Most people get a perfectly good unmolested farm truck that's totally original and chop it, botch up the bed, and make it drag ass everywhere it goes. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some I like, but most of the time I just wonder, why own a truck is your going to make it an expensive golf cart? One question, why isn't the hood back on?
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[Luther Grimace]

I got pulled out after I cut the tree I was stuck on in half and pulled it out from under the truck. It has walked over much worse. The hood is off because I am doing some rust repair to the latch.

[Truck Guy99]

Hey Luther! Any updates? Sounds like its been a good time with it! Did you do anything with it for the fourth?

I have yet another set of questions. I bet you're surprised (yeah right)

How did you set up the speedo? What about the other gauges?
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[Luther Grimace]

I worked hard trying to get it ready to go to an offroad park on the 4th with my buddies but couldn't get it done so I just was a rider.

The speedometer is not hooked up yet because I still need parts off a non electronic NP205. The 91 Dodge had electronic speed sensor instead of a cable driven. Once I get the proper stuff for the t case I will be able to hook it up to the new cable I have.

Onto the rest of the gauges. The factory fuel gauge works like original. The oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge are both mechanical. I have them connected to the 6bt in the closest oil and coolant port locations and they work great. I chose to not use the ammeter cause that is just asking for a fire. Hope this helps.

[6BT 56]

Originally Posted by Luther Grimace

I worked hard trying to get it ready to go to an offroad park on the 4th with my buddies but couldn't get it done so I just was a rider.

The speedometer is not hooked up yet because I still need parts off a non electronic NP205. The 91 Dodge had electronic speed sensor instead of a cable driven. Once I get the proper stuff for the t case I will be able to hook it up to the new cable I have.

Onto the rest of the gauges. The factory fuel gauge works like original. The oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge are both mechanical. I have them connected to the 6bt in the closest oil and coolant port locations and they work great. I chose to not use the ammeter cause that is just asking for a fire. Hope this helps.

Hey Luther . What was the conclusion on the mech speedo p/u for the 205 ? Use older stuff off a 205 ? Let me know as I have same problem !

Truck looken good ! nice to be able to use it I bet !

[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Hey Luther . What was the conclusion on the mech speedo p/u for the 205 ? Use older stuff off a 205 ? Let me know as I have same problem !

Truck looken good ! nice to be able to use it I bet !

I had planned on using older NP205 stuff. I was thinking the tail shaft housing and hoping just the speedometer drive gear to replace the reluctor wheel. If that deems to expensive I might use one of these. I would rather not because these are like $300. I actually changed my mind about using a 4L60E in my crew cab Chevelle because I didn't want to have to spend that much money on the converesion box.

http://www.abbott-tach.com/cablex.htm

[Luther Grimace]

I got some done on the truck this weekend with the help of my Dad.
We got the hood latch repaired and welded back up.



I also added some peel and seal to the under side of the hood hoping to cut down on some noise.



Made some bumper bracket spacers to able to bolt it to the narrower Dodge frame. We had to mount it upside down to accomadate the front spring hanger. It doesn't look too shabby.


Mockup


Here are some pics of both of them mounted on finally.




Knocking some things off the list. I really need to work on the windows soon. It seems like I need to replace almost everything on the doors. Does anyone have weatherstripping on their doors? Mine came with none when I got it.

[Truck Guy99]

On my Grandfather's 55.2 2 ton, there is weatherstripping on the doors. They were very cracked and dry rotted. The kits for them are pretty cheap. Check ebay, LMC, etc. It's easy to get, just do your research and you'll find a good price on them.
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