55*6BT My 55 w/ Cummins power

[II_Slow]

Spend some time this weekend on the intercooler plumbing. I had already cut the inlet tubes to length and hand them marked and clamped, brought them to the local aluminaum weld shop and had them welded so that side is done. Played around with the routing on the exit side boost tubes and now have those cut to fit and clamped together. Waiting on the intake flange to arrive this week, then will take this side to the weld shop and have them welded up.



Was a little concerned with the hood fitting since I raised the radiator a little (had to move up when I moved it back since the frame rails are sloped). Had to change up the boost tube routing a little but everything clears good now. I don't have the factory brace on the hood so I've got to brace it back up somehow - very flimsy without it. First time I've had the hood on it in months.



Finally finished with all of the big patch work on the floors. Sill have to weld in the drivers side cab corner and both rockers, and some patch work on the lower hinge pockets and at the back cab mounts. Both to be done with the cab off after finishing the rockers.

[Kim57]

Looks good.
Kim

[dug224]

Great build!!!

[II_Slow]

Only 115 days until the Power Tour!
Sure glad I got some help on the body work. Bed is off at the body shop while I work on the rest. I sould be ready to give up the fenders and hood as soon as they finish with the bed. Still a lot of work to do on the cab but I'm pecking away at it. Taking off Friday to finish up the intercooler plumbing and more metal work on the cab.

[Kim57]

Hope you get it done in time.
Kim

[II_Slow]

OK we have boost now. The intake flange was delivered Thursday so I had the tubes all welded up Friday. The gas pedal bracket that I thought was aluminum had broken twice so I had it re-welded as well - it was pretty obvious that it wasn't aluminum when he tried to weld it - it just turned to mush when you hit it with an arc. It is pot metal or something. Re-fabbed a bracket out of steel - good to go now.



The A/C unit was delivered Saturday. It just barely fits between the transmission tunnel and kick panel - don't even have room for the supplied brackets so I'll have do something different.

Also received the remaining parts from RainGear so I can finish up the wiper install.

[Kim57]

Looks real nice.
Kim

[Nev68]

I like this build . Since I have had diesels as my last 2 daily drivers I am a bit of a convert.
Good luck, I hope you can make the Power tour start.

[brimc]

Looking real good!

[Dieselwrencher]

Great work!

[II_Slow]

Just about finished the step on the passenger side. Been fabbing mounting tabs for stuff under the hood (like the window washer). Bought a coolant recovery tank but don't like the way it fits. Got an Air Raid filter from my brother and bought a 90 to mount is up - looks good.



Did a little more work on the console - starting making provisions for the Sony stereo and A/C controls.



Had some spacers fabricated to hang the Old Air Hurricane unit under the dash. It is too tight right now so I have to cut out the kick panel and box it back in to make room for the air intake.

I work a little on it every other day - I tend to burn out f I work consecutive days. Tonight is a shop clean up and re-group night!

[Kim57]

You're making good progress.
Kim

[II_Slow]

Thanks, Kim. Yeah, profit sharing was good this year so I have the money needed to finish her up, so that in itself is good motivation. I have a pretty clear path to finishing in time for Power Tour, but the interior won't be in it's final form at that time. This all assumes everything goes as planned with my paint and body man! We was trying to get the bed in primer this week. Only real hurdles I see is the cab brow repair, and the driver's side door is still a mess - it's bowed across the bottom. May need a new lower section -I'll let ben make that call.

[_AJ_]

II Slow, you gonna long haul or just do a few days of the power tour?

[II_Slow]

Planning on the long haul. It starts east of here (Louisiana) then heads through Houston and Austin, then to Dallas. I live near Dallas so I think the wife is going to do the first half with me, then my daughter will hop in and do the second half. She has accepted a softball scholarship offer from University of St. Mary just outside of Kansas City which is the last stop so it's going to work out perfect for another campus visit, assuming I finish the truck. This is her idea of a graduation cruise! She already has a list of cars she wants to ride in.


101 days to go. I saw them restore a basket case car in only a week on TV so I should be good.

[_AJ_]

You'll make it..no worries. We've long hauled the last 4 years and plan on doing the same this year in the 54. I'll be keeping an eye out for you while on route for sure.

[II_Slow]

Long day in the shop yesterday. Replaced both ends of the rocker area and stepon the drivers side. Just need to fill the area between the floor and cab corner.
Got the A/C and heater controls installed on the console, mounted the A/C unit to the firewall. It was all the way against the kick panel, and that is where it is supposed to pick up air so I cut out the kick panel to provide an air path so I need to box that in. Also completed the exhaust and hangers from the down pipe to back behind the cab. I am trying to re-use the old Dodge exhaust - hopefully it will clear the differential and fuel tank. I need to pick up a couple of mandrel 30 or 45's to put a little dog leg in it to move it over to clear the shock. Almost ready to prime the cab, but tyhe Lizardskin will have to wait until I to remove the cab and finish up some patch work from the bottom.

Spent the moring at the regional DVM applying for a bonded title. A little tricky since the 55 cab had no VIN plate, the Dodge frame had no VIN, and the engine had only a serial number, no VIN since Cummins has no knowlege of the intended VIN when they ship the engines. Thankfully, my information was passed to a fellow gearhead at the DVM by the detective that did my VIN inspection last week, so the application sailed right through using the engine s/n as the "asigned VIN". Purchasing a surety bond now then to the county DVM for title issue later this week. Should be no lein or ownership issues since the only VIN referenced is the engine number, and I hold the title to that truck. I was able to get it titled as simply a 55 pick-up - no salvage, reconstructed, or assembled tag applied so that will make insuring much easier, as well as preserving resale value.

[II_Slow]

I got the Surety Bond issued Monday afternoon, brought the Bond and big stack of paper work to the county DMV yesterday and they processed the request. They said everything looked good and hit me up for $312 in taxes and said my Title will show up in the mail in a couple of weeks. That was sure a lot easier than some of the horror stories I've heard in titling basket cases, especially in California. Texas doesn't discourage keeping classics on the road like some states. After I showed them what I was doing, and they were convinced I wasn't trying to title a salvaged vehicle or change a VIN on someone else's car, they were all quite helpful. Sure glad I didn't pay a title company several hundred dollars to do it for me!

[II_Slow]

I finally found the documentation that I need to sort out the wiring. There were a lot of references to download factory Service Manuals but most were broken links. Finally found one that would allow download so I now have 1800 pages of documentation, including detailed schematics and circuit/plug details. I ordered an 18-circuit fuse panel and harnes from Hot Rod wires and have that as well.



I had originally planned on relocating the PCM to underneath the dash, but there is no room under there. I was then planning on relocating it under the console between the seats, but if I did that then absolutely nothing would reach. New plan is to put it back under the hood. About the only place it fits is very near the turbo. Finally settled on this mounting location and fabricated a bracket, but obvioulsy I will have to shield it from the heat of the turbo.



The PCM will manage the transmission overdrive and lock-up functions, and the cruise control as well as controlling the fuel shut-off circuit, grid heaters, wait-to-start, and some status indicators. I don't think I will use it for the A/C control or the harging system.
The Dakota Digital dash has it's own sensors, and I'll be adding boost and EGT monitoring later - either to the existing dash as a BIM input or do stand-along gauges (or a compound gauge with both).
I neglected so save the ABS harnesses, and never had cruise control servo or wiring so I'm browsing Craigslist now for those parts now.

[II_Slow]

I hit that brow with some light gray primer so you can really see the cancer. Started laying out the cut lines, just about ready to go after this repair. I've put it off long enough. Taking off Wednesday and Thursday next week (plus Good Friday) to hopefully get the cab in primer, maybe even Lizard-skinned.



Yeah, I jump around a lot. My wife says that I'm about as organized as the discount DVD bin at Wal-Mart. Breaks the monotony though......

[Kim57]

Makes me appreciate how clean my cab was when I see what some of you guys have to deal with.
Kim

[lower50's]

Just read your build. Great job it's not easy to put a diesel into the old trucks but it's fun to do. I'm the same with the shop cleanup day, do it after every stage of the build then start fresh. I also used Lizard skin I'm happy with it so far. Good luck getting to the power tour, it's on my list for maybe 2017.

[II_Slow]

I took a couple of days off last week and finished up the floors and finished plating the cab corners flush with the floor. I had to make more room on the kick panel to clear the A/C unit, and box on part of the transmission tunnel to clear the turbo flange at the down pipe. That completely "sealed up" the cab except for a couple of spots that I needed the cab off to repair (easier from the bottom or with the cab away from the engine).

I also started on the exhaust and got it routed back behind the cab. Just tacked on a temproary turn-down becuase I need the bed in place to finish it up. It quietened things down a bunch with the cab work complete and some exhaust. It will just have a straight pipe initially, but I'll add a resonator if the drone its too bad



I also permanently mounted the seats. Got a wild hair and took it down the highway for no good reason other than to drive it. That was at 2:00. By 4:00 the front clip was off, the cab was back off, and the transmission was out and loaded up in my other truck. It is headed to the transmission shop for clutch upgrade, shift kit, and billet converter. Plans are to change out the fuel plate to max out the P-Pump to whatever the stock injectors and turbo can support - maybe 300hp/700ft-lb. Too much money to go beyond that.

[dug224]

Making great headway. dug

[Dieselwrencher]

Great progress! That's great news on the title too. Good luck making your dead line for power tour as well.