CTD + Crew Cab - who's doin' 'em?

[benhall]

One place to look for Crew Cabs...

I have found that the Government is selling them by auction on at their GSA website. The website is the following: http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gsaauctions/



Copy and paste that, and then go under the trucks section. The last one I saw was in Ohio and was a retired Air Froce truck.



I hope this helps someone that is looking for a truck to convert.



Ben

 

["Mad Max"]

Buuurrrrrrrrrrr

well - got the first snow of the season yesterday - big snow, incredibly cold - a perfect Colorado Winter! Only 'bad' thing about it was yesterday was the day Joe and I were to take his 'stroked Excursion, hook up my 18' flatbed, and head to Nebraska to pick up another 4-door cab from a yard there. Snow was packed up about 2 feet on my back door, coooold... everything around town on 2-hour delays or closed... . so of course we went anyway . Joe's Excursion is a snow monster - we met at 6am, got some breakfast at IHOP, and headed North. Got there no sweat - saw the cab. Nice shape. Doors close nicely - t'will do the job just fine. $1000 later it was stashed on my flatbed and is now alongside my shop waiting for the surgery to commence.

I should have known it would be the coldest day of the year yesterday as the day before I got the heater plumbed into my shop. Ahhhh - heat is good.

... anyways. . progress. Stay warm y'all... and don't forget to vote.

- Sam

 

[SGibson]

I saw a ctd crewcab w/club cab section grafted on a monster mopar weekend. It makes for a very long truck. I'll be doing my swap of a ctd into a 78 crew this winter but I either need a 4500 or a 3. 07 srw setup, any way I'm sure all this info will be invaluable.

 

[benhall]

Questions

I have a couple of questions about a few of the things I would want to do or might have to do and they all involve the drivetrain. First question is about the rear axle. What do the 82's have for a rear axle and will I have to pull it out to put in something with more beef? Second, will I have to get a bigger driveshaft to handle the torque? I already know it will have to be worked on with the conversion. Third and finally, will a nv5600 work in it and if so, what do I need to be on the lookout for? Any answers to this will be great.



Ben

 

[EarlKann]

An '82 will probably have either a corporate 9. 25 (1/2 ton) or Dana 60 (3/4 & 1 ton) rear axle. I'm not going to take a chance with my Dana 60 and will be swapping in the D70 from my donor truck (driveshafts as well).



I don't know much about the NV5600, but I'm sure it could be made to work. I'm thinking you'd need all of the clutch hydraulics to go with the trans. It may be a little big for the early floor pan, but that could be fixed with a body lift or a BFH. Where there's a will there's a way.

 

["Mad Max"]

Ben -

Speaking for myself, if you're going to go with a dually I'd get a Dana 80 dually axle from a 2nd gen, '02~ish version with the discs. A Dana 60 behind a bombed Cummins won't last too long, but a good Dana 70 will. But if you're going to get an axle anyway, get an 80. I'd also do driveshafts that match the axles, typically with the bigger/stronger yokes and u-joints.



On the transmission, I'd almost say, across the board, that anything newer will fit under anything older, maybe with some sheetmetal mods, but should fit.



Just my 2 c's -

- Sam

 

[ndurbin]

I've been throwing the idea around of a conversion on my truck for the last couple of months and I still haven't made up my mind. One main reason I haven't got serious about it is I'd have to have somebody do it for me. I just don't have the shop or equipment to do it right now.



But I have pretty much decieded when I do get around to it it's going to be a ext. crew cab w/ an 8' bed. I know it'll take me a sq. mile to turnaround but thats ok it'll mostly be a highway truck anyway. 4 captians chairs with a rear bench most likely well be the seating configuration. I also plan to fab up my own custom flatbed (western hauler type). Also plan to convert it to a 6 spd. w/ 3. 73s and an over/under drive unit. And one severely bombed Cummins under the hood.



Nathan

 

[flightmedic]

Well, tomorrow I am off to Toledo to pick up a 78 crew cab short bed. I have pictures of it and it looks rough, but the owner insists that the floor is solid!? But even if it is rough, it gives me a starting point for measurements. It also has a good 360/4spd combo and new front fenders and a perfect vintage grill and headlight assembly that would be part of the swap. And for the $200. 00 bucks that I am parting with for it, well it won't be the silliest thing I purchased with so little



My variation on this theme is going to be a crew cab/short bed. Looking at everything, it will be the easiest to accomplish with my limited time and money. My plan is to pull the cab (extended) off my truck and place the crew in place and redo the mounts. Then I will section the bed (rough estimates now are 10") and put everything back in place. As I use the bed little and have a trailer, it won't effect my usage of the truck much.



In the process I will be lifting the body 2-3 inches and hopefully going with a 3' suspension lift. I will also be adding a custom made cage in back for effect. Maybe with roll down convas sides?



Oh yeah, and I just found a local auto recycler that has a 95 12v motor with only 55,000 miles that they want to get out of their lot. They are negotiable, and the starting price is $1900. 00 with eveything attached to it. I am thinking that if I walked in w/ a $1000. 00 it would be mine!



Maybe they have a 6spd lying around there somewhere that I can hook this all up to?



And last but not least. I have pondered color for awhile now, and today it finally dawned on me... . A nice silver. With black accents around the wheel wells and 3" rocker panel bedliner liner spray in black, it should look sharp. Maybe even black military style wheels? 19. 5 in size?



So, thanks to Sam I have been able to get these ideas in writing. The above is not overly costly (save that pesky price tag on that motor). It is mostly elbow grease. I figure when I am done, it will cost in the $3-4,000 range not including a motor upgrade. Thats with myself doing all the work and including the hook up of my overly large air compressor and the paint system I will absolutely need to purchase. I so far have been okay in my justifications to the wife on large purchases by telling her that we will never need to pay for these services again. The only one she hasn't gone for so far is the transition training I need from flying a cessna 152 to a boeing 767. She does not think it cost effective for me to go this route to save on airline travel.



Sorry so long. Once again, Sam good thread.

 

["Mad Max"]

Nate - sounds like a hell of a project - I love it! And yeah, both you and I will need a football field to do a 180... . can you just imagine the sight of a big ole honkin truck like that doing a fishtail/slide during the turn?? Yeah, that'd be awesome.

Sounds like you and I will be doing similar projects. Mine will take probably better part of a year, probably more... . but worth it in so many ways - A unique, powerful, comfortable rig is a great thing, and if you make it from your own ideas. . well, it then becomes priceless. . at least in my book.



F-Med - thanks amigo. I think your 78 Power Wagon crew cab rig will be a great truck - plenty strong, plenty big enough, and just right. Your engione plans sound good - I hope all the pieces/parts are included. Maybe find a good 1st gen wrecked donor rig (I bet they're few and far between tho huh?). Ya know... if you found an older Ramcharger... you could do a Ram'Burban real easy, tailgate 'n all, and the back half would be removable. Personally, if I wasn't doing the gigantor wheelbase rig I'd be doing a 'Burban - I think a removable-top, Cummins-powered 'Burban would be - totally - kick - azz!.



Cool tho - sounds like we'll all be attempting the same things at about the same time. We'll have to keep the threads hot with new information and pics. I'm working on a website for ASA that I'll have my projects for view on - the diesel is just one of my projects.



... . won't a Cessna 152 fit inside a wing of a 767???

- S

 

[mike r]

Stacks

One of you guys need to notch out the front corners of the bed and put stacks on the truck. Anything that long needs stacks and a matching 5th wheeler. Nice work fellas.

 

[benhall]

Thanks for the info guys. I should know the condition of everything in two weeks (20 Nov. ) when I pick the truck up. Just for now I will be getting the truck in running condition so that I can use it. I will take pics and post them under my name in the readers rigs.



Ben

 

[EarlKann]

Just saw a '76/'77 Dodge crew cab shortbed 2wd around the corner from my work the other day. There isn't a stitch of interior (milk crate for a drivers seat), the fenders and bed are rough (cab looks ok though), one of the small windows on the back half of the rear door was broke. Didn't notice anthing more than a little surface rust (gotta love California for that). Owner said that it runs and drives (small block/auto) Can probably be had for $300-$400

I can check it out on Monday if anyone is looking for one.

 

[RSchwarzli]

I saw a crew with stack at the Chrysler At Carlisle this year. Looked awsome. Cant emagine what a ext crew would look like with stacks. This winter my crew will definetelly get stacks, as well as west coast mirrors.

 

[powerwagon440]

has anyone got the new DEC. 04 issuse of Mopar Muscle? there is a very small article of a dodge crew cab with a 98 ctd in it. it has one pic!! its a awesome truck. its a 84 crew cab short box 4x4 silver in color!! the article say the guy lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia Candana. was just wondering if anyone new him or if he was on here!! again AWESOME truck!!

 

[MMiller]

Yeah I saw the gray one. Reason he built it? His later model quad cab was not big enough in the cab. Imagine that! You'd think with the mulititude of coversions going on with these old dodges that DC would have figured it out long ago how bad they need a crew cab truck!



The gray one looked really sharp, it had late model badges on it.



Michael

 

["Mad Max"]

6-pak

Well I'm really considering doing the suicide quad-cab rear opening doors verses the club cab on the back of the crew cab - It'd end up being my own 6-pak rig (6 people would fit, but the rear would be for kids mostly). To do it tho I'd need to get another rear section - don't need the front doros or any interior, and I'd keep the door frames and section a set of rear doors to make them a bit shorter, then move the hinges to the back - would make a great way to access that area, slide in the coolers, remove the seats for cargo, whatever. Thoughts y'all?

- S

 

[ndurbin]

On the extended part of my crew cab I want to use the quad doors from the 98. 5+ trucks. I would like to make the rear seat fold flat (or nearly flat) so when it's not inuse it can be used for storage. I was also thinking of putting a row of cargo trays (or something to hold things still) underneath it with a flat cover so when folded flat it's a smooth surface. I might even look at putting recessed storage units down in the floor infront of the 2nd row seats and the 1st row passenger seat (kinda like the minivans have). I also plan on raising the roof a few inches to add some headroom and for overhead storage at the back of the cab. DVD flip down monitors for the 2nd and 3rd row so the kiddies can watch movies (and hopefully keep quite).



Nathan

 

[RSchwarzli]

Yeah, I got the Mopar Muscle magazine. As for if he was a TDR member, I had started a thread a few weeks ago in the 1st gen forum regarding him and his truck but no one responded. I had also emailed Mopar Muscle about getting contact info, but never heard anything from them.



Robert

 

[powerwagon440]

well that stinks i was hoping he was on here or someone new him would like to have some info on it if he would have liked to share!! it is a really sharpe looking truck!

 

[1stgen4evr]

6 pack

Definitely some merit on the idea. It might be just as easy as the club. If you ever tried to load the club area, you know that it is unhandy as * to get stuff in there. I have tinkered with the idea of larger doors on my 93, something like the three door that GM has on some models with the back seat.



The club with a door under the glass that the dog could load into or small size boxes/AWAL bag could be stuffed through would be useful. You could accomplish that with the club section and 10 or so inches of stretch behind the quad doors and you woulldn't have to find the second set of rear doors. Somewhere along the line, you will begin to run out of space for the full length bed but if you consider the dry storage of the club area, the short bed may be enough.



Or have I been sniffing too much diesel smoke?



James