Old tow truck upgrades.

[NIsaacs]

My '74 Ford F-350 has been neglected for the past 12 years, from non use, it just looks sad So, now that I am semi-retired I have more time for it even tho I still don't really need it, but I might... .



New steer tires; 215/75x17. 5 load range H, Hercules all steel construction. They are replacing the old style 8-17. 5 10 ply Bridgestones. New 5"x72" stacks with turn outs, by Lincloln Chrome and both gear boxes get some new Valvoline 50wt synthetic transmission lube, out goes the 15/40 engine oil. Need drive tires next... . $$$



Nick

 

[RVTRKN]

Cummins powered, nice!

 

[NIsaacs]

Cummins powered, nice!

Yes, I finally made a real truck out of it. The only thing left thats Ford, is the cab, frame and rear suspension.



Nick

 

[Bill Stockard]

Is that a coolant cooled aftercooler? If it is, I haven't seen one of those on a B-series in years. Nice conversion job!

By the way, that looks like a Ford radiator.

Bill

 

[NIsaacs]

Is that a coolant cooled aftercooler? If it is, I haven't seen one of those on a B-series in years. Nice conversion job!



By the way, that looks like a Ford radiator.



Bill

Good eye, yes, I call the radiator as part of the cab. It is in it's orginal position and no mods to the firewall. Yes, thats an aftercooler, I said it was old I did the conversion in 1990, with a then, new crate engine. I used it hard in the log woods for 6 years, run hot shot for 2 years, then got a real job with the county. So for the 13 years I worked there, it has just set. Time to use it a little, again. It is too good yet, to abandon. Paint and upholstery is tired but mechanically it will still work hard.



Nick

 

[RVTRKN]

When did CTD start using the intercooler, I noticed there isn't a intercooler. If my memory is correct, the original CTD did not have one. OK I think I see what your talking about Bill I see the coolant lines. So the original CTD Dodge B series 5. 9 was water cooled after turbo?

 

[RVTRKN]

That trans oil, I wonder if that would work in the G56 manual trans?

 

[Bill Stockard]

I did the conversion in 1990, with a then, new crate engine.

Nick

Yeah, I figured either a Cummins crate engine or an engine from an industrial application since it is equipped with an aftercooler and is painted Cummins beige.



Congratulations on (semi)retirement. You're gonna' love retired life... you'll wonder how you ever had time for your "real job".



Bill

 

[NIsaacs]

Congratulations on (semi)retirement. You're gonna' love retired life... you'll wonder how you ever had time for your "real job".



Bill

I do love it, I can't understand the one's that retire then get a job I quit the county two years ago and have been busy doing my own thing since..... a little trucking, buy and sell hay, mechanic work, build fence and I cut and sold 12 cords of wood this season that will keep your heart rate up



Nick

 

[NIsaacs]

So the original CTD Dodge B series 5. 9 was water cooled after turbo?

Dodge never used one but the higher rated Cummins industrial version did. They claimed for years (even after intercoolers were the norm) that the water cooled aftercoolers were better for the exhaust valves/seats, that the intercoolers cooled too fast on a down hill run. Dodge started using intercoolers in '91. 5.



As far as the Valvoline 50wt, the list of approved use includes almost every manual transmission, but does not list the MB G-56. It might have something to do with the aluminum case? My guess is it would work fine. Eaton recommends synthetic 50 wt manual transmission fluid first, 50 wt synthetic engine oil second and 50 wt regular engine oil third.



Nick

 

[RVTRKN]

Ya, the dissimilar metal issue is critical with iron brass and aluminum, per MB 235. 13, the only oil authorized that you can get in the US for the MB G56 is Mobiltrans SHC DC, but $85. 00 a gal. Also, grounding is critical due to electrolysis.

 

[NIsaacs]

Also, grounding is critical due to electrolysis.

That is a true story with aluminum. When I had my aluminum flat bed built I mounted my CB Radio antena to the headache rack and kept burning up my radios even tho the bed was bolted to the frame and the lights worked fine. I complained about it to Radio Shack and they recommended I run a ground wire from the bed direct to the battery, yup, no more burnt up radios.



Nick

 

[RVTRKN]

I had a weird issue when my steel bed was installed, B&W used the old method of grounding the bed to the frame and using that for ground for the lighting systems. My truck had issues with EVIC messages about the left turn signal not functioning, but was fine when I inspected it. Turned out, they didn't use the truck ground wire from the rear harness. I corrected it when I had total failure and was proved it was their wiring, I rewired it properly, and problem went away.

 

[BSeyler]

Nick,

Nice looking old Ford. When I went to work in the oilpatch in 1980, we had about a dozen '73 and '74 one tons with Leland oilfield beds on them. Mine also had a fuel tank mounted to it. For the time, they worked well - nothing like what a CTD would do, but were the best of the offerings available then. They got pounded 5, 6, and sometimes 7 days a week.

In looking at the picture - is that a load of auto gates?

I also found the engine picture interesting - I wasn't aware that they used air to liquid aftercoolers on these engines. All of the trucks I drove in the timber and oilpatch were Cummins powered with air to liquid aftercoolers, with the exception of an old Pete we hauled skidders on. I think it was a '74 and had an 8V92.

Bud

 

[NIsaacs]

Nick,



In looking at the picture - is that a load of auto gates?



Bud

Ha ha Bud, you are giving your age away, when I was a kid we called them "car gates" the younger generation call them cattle guards:-laf But yes that is what they are, 3, 27"x8'x15' @ 5k# each. I hauled those from Lakeside, AZ to Prineville, Or. for the forest service.



That is exactly what my Ford was used for, an oil rig truck. It was only 3 years old when I bought it but dang it was well used. I bought it in Miles City Mt. to help move to AZ in '77.



Nick

 

[BSeyler]

Yep, the age thing is often pretty easy to figure out if you look for certain things. We called them both auto gates and car gates. When I got out of high school, I went to work for our county road and bridge dept. My boss gave me a crash course on a backhoe and sent me off to clean, widen, and repair auto gates. Most of them were put in with old railroad ties for a cellar and we built the guards from worn out railroad track and 2 7/8" tubing. I have no idea how many I worked on. I know I've seen ones like pictured on FS roads. I think the middle was hinged for clean out.

I remember one road we had been working on and a new blade operator came along and filled a couple of cellars in, just a few days after I had cleaned them out. I told my boss and asked if he wanted me to take the backhoe and fix them up. He said he'd take care of it. The next time we saw the blade hand, he had the winch truck and a shovel. That was the last time he pushed dirt in them! When they let me start running a blade, I took special care not to get any dirt shoved in, because I knew what would happen!

Bud

 

[Mark31]

Nick, my buddy Chris, who is a TDR member/reader that doesn't post, has an 03 3500 SRW long bed (work truck) with around 307k, a 06 or 7 mega (Sunday truck), a 98 reg cab long bed for his high-school son, and a 98-2000 Ford 250 or 350 crew cab with a Cummins 12 valve (either 115 or 135k on the engine out of a rolled 93 Dodge) hooked to a (Ford) Getrag 5 speed. He has it 98% ready to go, but hasn't finished it. Maybe you could burn his ears and get him to make a move before all his work/money are (for lack of a better word) wasted! He (we) enjoys your posts! Mark Edit__Here in humid SC, the rust "termites" would have devoured your Ford if it wasn't being driven. Most old Fords around here have had a buncha coin spent on them, or look like escapees from a junk yard. Even though Chris' truck is under a shelter and Ford bodies were some better by then, it is still gonna mess up.

 

[NIsaacs]

Thanks Mark, for the kind words. Arizona is easy on rust, mostly none but Rats are a problem and if I locate one that I can't get at, out comes the Bobcat, BB gun, trap or what ever it takes:-laf Pic of when it was a gasser and some of my Skidders. Moutain Logger ML-130, Cat 508 and IHC S-10, the S-10 was big and tall enough I could load/unload on flat ground, heavy tho After that pic was taken I cut off the beaver tail, I was always hung up crossing creeks.



Nick

 

[NIsaacs]

Replaced the rear brake shoes, wheel cylinders, wheel seals and changed the rear axle oil. I use 85/140 regular gear oil. Also changed power steering fluid and filter. Drained and flushed out the ATF and went back with regular power steering fluid. When I did the conversion I used a reservoir off a big truck, it holds 3 quarts and has a filter in the canister. I hope the new stacks come today The Cummins, a flatbed dually and stacks are like bread and butter:-laf



Nick

 

[Shadrach]

That engine looks like an Ind version that was used a lot in the 80's & 90's. The most common CPL would have been 599 rated at 174 HP and 450 TQ IIRC. Is there still an ESN tag on the engine ? If so the CPL would be listed on it. For those who don't know the CPL # is basically and emission code. It stands for Control Parts List and tells thing like pistons, inj, turbo - the parts that make the ponies.



I like to see the mighty CTD in other trucks. Eat your heart out F*erd Motor Co. :-laf Shad