'83 Crew Conversion

[EarlKann]

Hey all, finally got started on my Crew Cab conversion and thought that I would start this thread to share with you all. Plan is to keep posting as we progress. Part of the reason for this thread is to keep me motivated to work on it, so your comments are welcome.



Soooo..... lets get to the story and the pics. Oo. Oo.

 

[EarlKann]

Here is the crew when I went to Arizona to pick it up.



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'83 Crew Cab shortbed 4x4. Previous owner re-did it a few years back with a '92 5. 9 gas/A518 OD, 5" Superlift, aftermarket leather seats. Pretty good condition, but beginning to show a little wear.





And here is the donor after hauling back from Nevada.



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Left front damage from traffic accident



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Donor is a '92 W250 auto. 280k on the odometer, but the trans was rebuilt about 30k ago and there was a whole folder full of maintenance records.

 

[EarlKann]

After a few weeks of bad weather and picking at the donor while trying to keep it running and mobile we finally got down to business.



Engine/Trans/Tcase removed.

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Interior gutted. I took out the gauges/wiring harness/heat&a/c unit

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[EarlKann]

Couldn't find anyone that wanted a cab and no place to store it so.....



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Loaded up in the truck and ready to go to the scrap metal yard.

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[EarlKann]

That's it for now. Many thanks to Shaun [Jed Rattle, seen cutting up the cab] for all the help and the space.

 

[EarlKann]

Almost forgot... there are a few things that are in good shape from the donor that I am not going to use. Especially looking to get rid of the bed and the doors (pw/pdl) as they take up a lot of space. Parts located in SoCal. Post up in this thread if your looking for something. Donor Parts

 

["Mad Max"]

... a man and his sawzall - it's a beautiful thing

Right on - my kind of project Keep the pics and progress coming - I know it keeps me motivated in my own projects.

How difficult was pulling the engine? Any issues we should beware of?

- Sam

 

[bgilbert]

I love the pics, keep em coming. Awesome!

 

[EarlKann]

... a man and his sawzall - it's a beautiful thing

Right on - my kind of project Keep the pics and progress coming - I know it keeps me motivated in my own projects.

How difficult was pulling the engine? Any issues we should beware of?

- Sam

Only hard part about removing the engine was first removing the hood/fenders/core support. Once we got all of that stuff out of the way it was a breeze. We were a bit worried about our engine hoist getting the block out over the core support. It's not a heavy duty unit, and the truck being 4x4 makes it taller. Since the front end was mangled anyway we just took it all off first. Will probably do the same to the crew to make it easier.



That is actually the third rust free Dodge cab that Jed has cut up. He way saying that he now knows where to make the cuts to make it easier. There just isn't any demand for them around here.

 

[AzCattle]

Interested in the power window switches, motor, etc if interested in selling. Thanks. I am trying to get my crew going as well.

 

[mrpeal]

i did mine last year, mine is 85 crew one ton 4x4. i love it. although i used a 98 12 valve and 4500 trans with divorced case, 93 intercooler and front clip to make life easy of course. that is the best conversion i have ever done in my life i think, the cummins gets wheeled often as well. we had some concerns about getting it up on rocks but it does it well.

 

[EarlKann]

Quick update. I forgot the camera one day so I missed some pics. :{



Pretty well stripped down here.

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[EarlKann]

Frame got cut up the following weekend when I forgot the camera. Plasma is cool.



Here's a couple of the good bits I'm saving. Oo.



Class V Hitch

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Airbags

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8' Bed in good shape for sale.

Please come and get it before it gets cut up as well.

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[EarlKann]

Quick update.



Got the 5. 9 gas engine out of the crew. Went looking for some new engine mounts for the cummins but nobody stocked them.



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Can't start putting the CTD in place without the engine mounts... so I started swapping out the dashboard wiring harnes instead.



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Doors from the donor truck were off to TDR member paccool today. If you have pm'd me about any parts from the donor and I haven't gotten back to you please forgive me. I'll try to go back through the requests to see if I missed anything.



Donald

 

[HSchroen]

Great job with all the pics..... keep em coming! I'm using this as a template for my conversion. Just curious, what did you have to give for the parts truck?

 

[EarlKann]

Well, I don't know about last Sundays work progress.



In the process of taking the front clip off we noticed alot of damage/cracks in the sheet metal. Cracks in the fenders, inner fenders, firewall/cab corners (I understand this is common), and the bed floor is separating from the bed sides. Figured out that the roof rack was securely bolted to the headache rack/bed rails, thus not allowing for any flexing between the bed and the cab.

Soooo... ... Decided to replace both front fenders and the bed. Not to big a deal since I already have a good drivers fender from the donor, and Jed has a decent collection of Dodge parts which happens to include a clean styleside shortbed. Just need to find a good passenger fender and drum up some $$ for a paint job.



Enough of my sad story... On to the pics for today.



Here it is with the offending roof rack/headache rack removed.

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Once we decided to replace the front fenders (they were worse than the bed) we figured we might as well go all the way and swap out to the cleaner bed. Gonna need a paint job now anyway.

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Jed loves to cut stuff up. Oo. Sawsall won't do for this job. Jed wants to save the bed sides (we hate to throw away good Dodge parts) so out comes the Plasma.

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Plasma is cool. :-laf

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Well, at least now it is easy to get to the fuel tank and exhaust hangers.

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[EarlKann]

Got a 16cm turbo housing and a SFI flex plate ordered up from Piers. Also a DTT convertor to go with the flex plate. Oo. Oo. Oo.



Maybe I'll actually get to start putting things back together soon instead of just taking every thing apart all the time.

 

[TKingsbury]

When I first saw pics of your truck, I was wondering if the roofrack/headache rack would cause any problems with flex(or lack there of). I guess the answer is yes :-laf . Bye the bye, did you recieve the check for the hubcaps? I didn't hear anything, so I assume all was well.

Travis. .

 

[EarlKann]

When I first saw pics of your truck, I was wondering if the roofrack/headache rack would cause any problems with flex(or lack there of). I guess the answer is yes :-laf . Bye the bye, did you recieve the check for the hubcaps? I didn't hear anything, so I assume all was well.

Travis. .

Yeah, the flex thing was a real problem. I would occasionally make an awful popping noise when going through an off camber driveway [like the one at my house ]. It also held onto the snow really well. Usually the snow will fall off the roof (of my other truck) within a couple of blocks of driving. The stuff was staying stuck in the rack for days. I was afraid the slow melt was going to cause me rust problems as well. Guess you don't have this issues in flat, dry Phoenix where I got it from.



I did get your check. Thanks It was lost in the pile of mail for a week or so, but I found it. :-laf

 

[EarlKann]

Update: 5/14/05



Been working overtime so I haven't been able to work on the crew as much as I'd like. Managed to get the engine in and a few things done.



The Cummins is in the Crew Oo.

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Had to enlarge the hole in the cross member for the drivers side engine mount.

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Figured this was the time to do the KDP

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Also installed the new 16cm turbo housing.

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and drilled the manifold for the pyrometer.

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Need to work on the transmission cross member tomorrow. Then continue to put stuff back on. Still need an exhaust and a few odds and ends.