"The Beast" 85 Chevrolet Crew Cab Dually

[MrBeast]

Well if all goes well I think I may just have a transmission bought out of Houston. I wont know until tomorrow, a good friend of mine is going to bring it back for me possibly.

[MrBeast]

Well I got my hands on another transmission, and soon the truck will be back on the road. Towards the end of the summer I have decided that the truck is going to get the Cummins turbo Diesel I have installed in it.

The Cummins is coming out of this truck.





It has over 200K on it, but the damn thing runs like a sewing machine!

I have a couple of options for setting it up, I can go straight for a chevy bellhousing adapter and just use the NV4500 that I already have, and have to change little.

Option 2 is I can get an NV5600 out of a dodge, and have to install a hyd master cylinder to make it all work, not too bad of an option.

Option 3 is I can get an Eaton Road Ranger 10 speed out of a big truck with a SAE#2 bellhousing, and I can stuff that in my truck behind the Cummins, and be well on my way to being the ultimate redneck!

When the Cummins swap happens I am also going to strip the frame down, paint it with por-15 and install air ride suspension all the way around utilizing the Dakota Digital - Digital Ride height monitor that also does the pressure sensing so I can tell how much of a load I have on.

Then under the back end, I am installing one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxW6YetF-lA

It is a hide away wheel lift, commonly used on repo trucks, but for my purposes it is just to give my truck the ability to work as a wrecker, and retrieve vehicles out of low clearance parking garages. I wont even have to exit the truck to pick up a car with this thing which will make impounding a breeze! I should be able to grab a car in less than 10 seconds with this setup, assuming that it doesn't have to be dollied.

As well I am constructing a 21' hydraulic tilt deck trailer that will have a 13 hp honda engine on it that will drive a hydraulic pump providing power to the deck tilt and to the hydraulic winch. Thus turning my truck into a fully functional flat bed wrecker.





The cool thing is with this setup I will be able to haul a F-550 crew cab dually, or a Z06 vette with the front skirt on, it will be extremely versatile, hopefully I will be able to make some good money with it.



Also above is a mock up picture I did of another truck, I am going to get the same style lund cab spoiler but I am going to put a Whelen light bar on mine, and I wont be putting a sun visor on the truck.

I am also going to run these wheels.



It is going to be a lot of work, but in the end I think the truck is really going to be worth the while. Best of all, I am going to be using it to make a living, and in the other truck the Cummins was pulling 18-20 mpg! This one has the same rear end ratio, so I think it will be similar.

As it sits right now, the truck is a pleasure to drive, I think by the time it is all said and done I am going to have one of the best rigs on the road.

[MrBeast]

And one more thing, I think the girl is having a good time here...



She has sure been taking good care of me too, keeping my house clean, cooking me food, most of all she has been bringing me a lot of happiness. So even though things didn't work out getting to drive out to pick her up, things have worked out regardless because I am really happier now than I have ever been in my life!

[SBTork]

Awesome news about the truck and the girl. It's damn nice when things fall into place.
If all goes according to plan, you'll have one helluva functional truck.

[rod86]

aww thats great man, good to see your happy, now get some of these projects finished, an one for her to drive....

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by rod86

aww thats great man, good to see your happy, now get some of these projects finished, an one for her to drive....

Well I have been thinking about it a lot, but the problem is she doesn't have a drivers license. I have been thinking about getting her a 67 step side 2wd that I have been looking at, or maybe a 73-91 blazer, she wants an old Cadillac hearse but the whole 5 mpg thing kind of would get in the way.

For the time being though she is doing an auful good job of looking purdy in the passenger seat.

[MrBeast]

Well today has been an awful busy day, As the sun was sinking about 7 pm, I hooked the dodge up to my wrecker and pulled it out of the field and set it on the slab.



I didn't waste much time getting to work...



and even the girl lent a hand!



Soon I had it all ripped apart, and I was able to take the obligatory "Engine in air pic"



So I got the motor all taped up, and I needed something to plug the intake, I found a V8 can was the perfect size, so now I can say that my Cummins eats V8's!

If all goes well next weekend I am going to get the 85 back up on the slab, and get the 454 yanked and get it all cleaned up to get the Cummins installed.

I am going to have to make a small modification to the frame to clear the air conditioning pump seeing as how the Chevy frame is only 28" wide in the front, and the Cummins on the passenger side sticks out about 13.5"

Tomorrow when I take the wrecker next door to wash it, I am going to pick up the Cummins with my boom, take it over and give it a good bath with lots of acid and engine degreaser, then shortly there after I am going to spray a new coat of paint on it, and start getting it prepped to go into the Chevy.

I still need to go pick up a transmission for it, I think I have one found out of comfort, going to install a dodge nv4500, as well I will be converting to a hydraulic clutch. I know and after all that work sticking the manual in there.

Also pretty quick I need to order the bag brackets, bags and all that stuff for the suspension from suicide doors so I can get that all stuffed in too. Then once the Cummins is all mounted, and I have the truck running good and the vintage air unit installed, I am going to yank the cab off, run it down to the body shop to be sprayed along with the rest of the body, then while it is there I am going to attack the frame with a gallon for POR-15 as well as get the 4 link in the rear done, and plate my frame from back to front to make sure it is more than strong enough to handle the rigors of towing cars on the wheel lift, and the heavy weight of the trailers I will be towing behind it.

Also I may actually have a true 10 lug conversion in the works for it that would make the truck a true 1.5 ton pickup.

I have also seriously been looking for a big truck 10 speed because if you find the one with the SAE 2 bell housing it will bolt right up to the Cummins.

[MrBeast]

Oh also to add to that, before the truck goes to paint, I need to decide what I am going to do for seats in the front, I am not for sure I am going to keep the 97 Tahoe seats in it, I might try sourcing another set. I am not very happy with the brackets I built, they were kind of done in a hurry.

Once that is squared away though, and the truck is back from paint, I am going to install a painless harness in it, put dynamat over the entire inside, and spray the insides of the doors full of sound deadener/insulation before putting it all back together.

Going to be a lot of work, but I think well worth it in the end.

[rome704]

yes it will bro keep up the good work

[74 C-30]

that truck is going to be pretty bad a$$ if i do say so myself

[MrBeast]

I am work'n on a little sumthin sumthin...

[thirdstreettito]

Bump

[chicklin]

Awesome truck, I'll be following this thread.

But, I gotta know, how do you go about just going and picking up a girl? I seem to remember working at it a lot harder . I've picked up old trucks, washers and dryers, etc., but nothing like that.

Good luck on both accounts (her and the truck)!

[thirdstreettito]

Since you'll be pulling a big heavy trailer you might want to make it easier on the tranny with a Ranger OD.

http://www.high-impact.net/transmiss...roverdrive.htm

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Since you'll be pulling a big heavy trailer you might want to make it easier on the tranny with a Ranger OD.

http://www.high-impact.net/transmiss...roverdrive.htm

If I was sticking with a stock tranny I would, but I have put a NV4500 in it, so I already have an overdrive. Really the best of both worlds because I have a granny gear, and an over drive.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by chicklin

Awesome truck, I'll be following this thread.

But, I gotta know, how do you go about just going and picking up a girl? I seem to remember working at it a lot harder . I've picked up old trucks, washers and dryers, etc., but nothing like that.

Good luck on both accounts (her and the truck)!

It took getting to know her for 3 years, talking on the phone for hours every day. Also, I never looked to be anything more than friends with her, because of that she was able to take the time to learn to love me for who I am, and when that happened she coulnt stay away from me.

[thirdstreettito]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

If I was sticking with a stock tranny I would, but I have put a NV4500 in it, so I already have an overdrive. Really the best of both worlds because I have a granny gear, and an over drive.

Obviously. But the point of the Ranger OD is to save your tranny and give you better mileage. I'll bet you have a NV4500 not the NV4500HD. The HD stands for heavy duty because it is. It can do the 16000# trailer. The stock one can to, but after a while it'll start to crap out.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Obviously. But the point of the Ranger OD is to save your tranny and give you better mileage. I'll bet you have a NV4500 not the NV4500HD. The HD stands for heavy duty because it is. It can do the 16000# trailer. The stock one can to, but after a while it'll start to crap out.

This is why when I rebuild the NV4500 I am going to install the torq king shafts.

as well the problem with the ranger is...

"The unit is built to handle 420 ft./lbs. of torque"

My cummins will snap that thing like a tooth pick with a heavy trailer attached, the motor has been turned up substanically.

[Scootin 81 C20]

Nice build. I'm liking the idea of making it so versatile. Can't wait for more. BTW, what happened to the Dodge?

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Scootin 81 C20

Nice build. I'm liking the idea of making it so versatile. Can't wait for more. BTW, what happened to the Dodge?

I still have the body, havent done anything with it yet.

[Scootin 81 C20]

If you were closer, I would buy the body off of you. I'd get it, get me a HEMI and an A-833 4 speed or a Detroit Diesel and tranny out of an old Brigadier and go to town and build a nice ext. cab cruiser.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Scootin 81 C20

If you were closer, I would buy the body off of you. I'd get it, get me a HEMI and an A-833 4 speed or a Detroit Diesel and tranny out of an old Brigadier and go to town and build a nice ext. cab cruiser.

Yeah, ive had it up for sale, no one wants it, so im gonna take it down and scrap it pretty soon.

[Scootin 81 C20]

I want it!! The older body style Dodge Ext. cabs are getting harder to find especially the duallys. If I had a way to ship it cheaply, I'd snag it up in a heartbeat because at heart, I've always been a Dodge guy.

[MrBeast]

Sadly I am having to put the truck up for sale. 3500 obo

[K30cummins]

u will love the cummins mine turned out pretty nice and made a hell of a tow rig