W350 Crew Cab - The ultimate first gen - Pics and history

[RSchwarzli]

cool. i will give them a shot. it really sucks doing the speed limit on the 410 just to keep my RC from shaking too much.

Yes, that is true. Get some of these and they should do it. Just make sure you get the right amount in each tire.

 

[RSchwarzli]

Update:

The beast lives.

That is all.

Robert

 

[Simplysmn]

Pictures or it didn't Happen Come On Robert we need to see the Beast :-laf

 

[SRay]

Simplysms: That's right...... Pics!

 

[MMeier]

Update:

The beast lives.

That is all.

Robert

Wth kind of update is that. ???!!!??

 

[Nigel]

Has to video with sound. We're tired of your of being teased with your pics.

Nigel

 

[RSchwarzli]

Pictures or it didn't Happen Come On Robert we need to see the Beast :-laf

Pics or it didnt happen..... lmao Crying here. LOL

Wth kind of update is that. ???!!!??

A good one, no?

Has to video with sound. We're tired of your of being teased with your pics.

Nigel

I actually have video! And it does have sounds. Or do you want more sound than me after Taco Bell?

Got about 2.5 hours of run time on the engine this weekend and about 12-15 start stops. Boy this thing sounds filthy. Even saw 3500 rpm. Bwaaahahahahahahahahaha. Its alive.

Yes, I will work on the video uploading.....

 

[SRay]

BSchwarzli: sounds filthy eh? I'll be the judge of that.... And keep your Taco Bell brown liquid to yourself...... Last thing you need is a smelly skid mark all over your fancy seats....

 

[RSchwarzli]

All good stories are broken out into multiple parts. The intro. The beginning. The main body. And the concluding chapters leading up to an epic end. For the story of my crew cab, we are in the last few chapters of the book. I do apologize for the long delay on progress for this truck. As many of you know and have experienced first hand, life seems to have a way of getting in the way of one’s automotive projects. Time. Funds. Work hours (good for funding a project). It all takes its round. The hardest part of this though is motivation when you get out of the cycle. It is soooo hard when the weeks turn into months, and months into years to keep ones attitude in check. For me, this started back on Dec 24, 2006. And after 8 years, you start to wonder if you made the right choice. If putting every free cent and more into something like this is wise. If the not going out with friends and family to get a bit more work done was the right thing. And then you question ones sanity for starting something like this in the first place. LOL


Then there are those moments that somehow seem to bring all the above stuff back into focus and the battle cry comes back out: Let’s get this f**ker done!! This moment took place on the afternoon of October 31, 2014 and motivation for completion this winter took place.


The Engine:


October 31, 2014 officially marked the start of wrenching season for project Crew Cab. While a relative with 35 years of professional diesel industry background was over, we decided to look into my engine runaway issue. For those that need a refresher, this is where we last left off in May 2013:


https://vimeo.com/79780631


So we decided to trace back my steps from several years ago. AFC spring. All looked good. Cam plate: All looked good. Governor springs: All looked good. After several hours or pulling stuff apart we came to a conclusion: Everything looked the way it should! While scratching our heads, we noticed that the fuel shut off lever was not fully seated on the stop. Within a few minutes we were in under the cam plate and watching the spring on the fuel rack stretch and the external throttle system move. My runaway engine issue was literally being caused by a stuck fuel rack due to having sat for close to 10 years in the same position. The fuel had gummed up the internals and despite moving the external throttle lever, it remained. With a little persuasion with a screw driver, the rack was broken free and then it was time to start the engine again.


After a few minutes of prep, the engine did fire and idled almost perfectly! Full thermostat opening took about and hour and we had about 2.5 hours of total run time before the new fuel had fully loosened the fuel rack allowing rpm to be revved to 3500 rpm without restriction. Here is the video:



https://vimeo.com/110743511



Wheels and Tires:


Committing to getting this truck done, it was time to get wheels and tires.


I have always felt that a 16” wheel looked too small on these Gen 1’s so I wanted to go bigger. In keeping with a concervative wheel that still had style, I decided to go with the Classic Alcoa look. Having spent the last few years pondering wheel and tires, I took note that 22.5s just look a bit too not proportional to the body so 19.5’s it would be. This started a long search for wheels that were styled the way I wanted and could be modified to fit my truck.


As the rear wheel studs are 9/16 and the front studs are 5/8” due to the hub centric vs stud centric nature of the 1993 Dana 60 vs 1998 Dana 80 axles, I was looking for stud and hub combos that would allow the same visual size for nuts and also allow the spare tire to be used front and rear (don’t want to carry two spares with me all the time). I eventually settled on American Force 19.5” wheels and Michelin XDS2 drive tires, and XZE steer tires in 245/70/19.5 size.


#ad



#ad




Wheels and tires arrived and not I am in the process of modifying them. The rear wheels look OK minus needing a bit more polishing (they are scuffed). The fronts however I needed to ream the lugs open 1/16” to allow for the 5/8” studs.



#ad




#ad




#ad





This was my test fit before rubber gets mounted in the next few days:



#ad




#ad




#ad





Front before and after:



#ad




#ad





That brings us up to speed! We will see what this weekend holds for progress!

 

[RWherley]

So Shiny, hope you like polishing wheels to keep them that way

 

[RSchwarzli]

So Shiny, hope you like polishing wheels to keep them that way

What? You think I am going to let these get dirty? Lmao

Meh. That doesn't phase me. I already polish the 90s aluminum wheels every fall so I can't see these phasing me too much.

 

[RSchwarzli]

So, I got the wheels and tires out to the tire shop. My buddy says it took them just over 3 hours to mount the 6 tires on them as they were being super careful not to do any damage! This is what I got back:



#ad




#ad





#ad






To give you an idea of how big these things are, that is a 205/55/16 beside it. LOL




#ad





So, I started mounting the tires onto the truck. Boy does this change the look of the truck!
Back view when only the driver’s side is on:




#ad





#ad





#ad

 

[JHumphries]

Those are super sexy!

 

[RWherley]

That looks real real good, I love the eight hole wheels look. Just a warning you might get a small amount of contact between the front tire and the back of the wheel opening, I don't know when it happens but on mine there is a small spot on the aluminum front plate for my running boards that gets polished up by the tire, I've run the wheels stop to stop and they don't make contact but under the right conditions it rubs just a little, never enough to mark the tires though.

 

[DVolk]

Looks like with a good bump front tire might rub the fender

 

[RSchwarzli]

Those are super sexy!

Thank you!

That looks real real good, I love the eight hole wheels look. Just a warning you might get a small amount of contact between the front tire and the back of the wheel opening, I don't know when it happens but on mine there is a small spot on the aluminum front plate for my running boards that gets polished up by the tire, I've run the wheels stop to stop and they don't make contact but under the right conditions it rubs just a little, never enough to mark the tires though.

This is good to know. Thank you.

Looks like with a good bump front tire might rub the fender

Good observation. You are correct.

 

[DVolk]

Ive had 33s rub before so im real familiar on the issue , although that was on pos gassers , once in my 92 ctd . but no damage

 

[RSchwarzli]

Now, fine ladies and gentlemen of the diesel world, I present to you project W350 with her new boots, with air bags inflated.



#ad



Now, upon this time I noticed an issue now that the bags were inflated and all body parts sat where they should. The drivers front and passenger front tires were not the same distance to the fender. After much measuring, seems the leaf spring pilot pin didn’t end up where it was suppose to so with some help from a buddy, the axle was disconnected from the leaf and adjustments were made to correct it.



#ad


#ad




And the last thing tackled last was the cam plate. Now that I know the engine runs, it was time to slide the plate as far forward as she would go.



#ad

 

[RSchwarzli]

So, after many months of waiting, I finally went down to the trim shop and said WTF. Well, they still hadn’t done my console but promised it would be done in 3 weeks. Fast forward 3 weeks, and I got the call I had been waiting for. It was ready!

Remember this?


#ad



#ad




Well, here we have out fake leather wrapped unit on pickup day (literally you can see the shop materials in the background as these were taken before I ever left the shop):




#ad



#ad



#ad




So then I went home and logically had to test some gauges to see how it looked….




#ad




#ad




Also got the headrests back. Before and after:



#ad




#ad




Gauging shenanigans:



Soooo, I was now looking at this nice console. And I see the gauges. And I see my hourmeter does not look like my Phantom series. This wakes me up two nights in a row at like 2 am as it is eating at me. Things must match. So, I took matters into my own hands once again.


I had a spare transmission temp gauge as I used the sender to replace a failing one on the 1990, so I had this left over gauge. So this is what the two look like:



#ad




#ad




Soooo, the brain had already worked out the solution at like 3:30 am day two so I got to work!


#ad



#ad



#ad




#ad




#ad




#ad




Now this gives me my basis for the matching shape and color for the hourmeter:



#ad



#ad



Thermal label printer….



#ad




And that gives us….



#ad

 

[Simplysmn]

That is 1 Beautiful truck .Very Nice Work .