Project Re-Gen: 1985 D350 Headed to SEMA '15!!

[Taquache]

Vulcan Specialties out of Lubbock, Texas is building a very interesting truck for the upcoming 2015 SEMA show. This ride will be very unique sitting low against a lot of the late model lifted 4x4s that are becoming very common. A little back ground on the shop: Vulcan Specialties has been in business for the last 12 years. They build everything from race cars to show cars specifically on suspension and fabrication with a strong focus on Hot Rods.

Contact info for the shop:

Vulcan Specialties | Suspension Tech and Fabrication
-- email address removed --

The shop has asked that I help promote their build on the forums so without further adieu, allow me to introduce to you Project Re-Gen!!

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It’s nice to see old iron getting a new life and having the opportunity to represent at a prestigious show such as SEMA.

Aside from SEMA, Re-Gen will be used to make the 2016 show circuit to help promote Vulcan Specialties along with any partners in the build. This truck is being built so that it will be reliable and able to rack up the miles.

I will be keeping this thread regularly updated as progress is made to reach that deadline.

 

[Taquache]

Now on to the build!

The truck, belonging to Humberto Ortiz (owner of Vulcan Specialties), started life as a relatively stock 1985 D350 Crew Cab Dually that had been fitted with a 1990 1st Gen Cummins engine and 5 spd Getrag transmission. The truck is in very good shape with a clean interior and majorly rust free body. It all works, even down to the A/C which is a must out in that North West Texas sun!

Humberto plans to drive the truck regularly so all of the modifications will be done with performance and drivability in mind.

Before the tear down began he put it on the rollers and layed down a healthy 232/648 to the rear wheels uncorrected. While this is a good improvement over the stock power output it is not up to Humberto’s standards for power so the power plant will receive a strong set up upgrades along with the rest of the build.

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Being that Humberto’s specialty is to build custom fabricated Hot Rods, Re-Gen will have that old school hot rod hauler feel with subtle modifications to the interior and exterior along with a raked stance that is traditionally hot rod. He hopes that this build using the 1st Gen Dodge platform will bring new attention to and revitalize the interest in older Dodge trucks. I strongly feel that this project will definitely bring out the potential “cool factor” that all 1st Gens have!

 

[Taquache]

The general build specs are as follows:

Exterior
Sherwin-Williams Planet Color Automotive Finishes
Original grey/white paint scheme
Original dodge trim, lights, grille, mirrors
Cab lights from a 3rd gen 1-ton
Chevy C-10 bumpers
Chevy rear dually fenders
Big rig wheels with adapters

Interior
Hot Rod red everywhere
Original bench seats covered in leather, with updated design
Original dash with modified gauge cluster
Dash covered in red leather
Aftermarket A/C under dash for smooth firewall
Hidden sound system

Drivetrain
1990 Cummins 12-valve
Twin turbo setup for street and tow
Upgraded 14mm VE pump
Upgraded injectors
Stainless manifold
Gear driven air compressor
Hydro-boost brake setup
NV5600 6-speed transmission

Suspension
Air Ride Equipped
Accuair air ride management system
Engine driven compressor
Custom flat plate upper/lower control arms
4 ply front bags
Custom HD 4-link
HD commercial style rear sleeve bags

 

[Taquache]

Projects like this are difficult to complete on your own so Humberto has enlisted the help from both local and major companies that can share his vision to help source parts an other items needed to complete the build and advertise their product lines:

Local
Farmers Hose Supply (fittings and hoses)
Lubbock Bolt Bin (fasteners)
BMTR - Benitez Mobile Truck Repair (rebuilding complete drivetrain)
West Texas Auto Color (paint supplies)
BMF hot rods (body and paint)
13 Sins garage (interior)
Taquache Motorsports (promotions)
DC Deliveries (engine sponsor)

Other
Sherwin-Williams (paint)
Backbone Industries (bed rail system)
Lowrider Depot (air suspension products)
Michigan Metal Works (front suspension DIY pieces)
Mishimoto (cooling)

 

[Taquache]

I'll continue with more pictures of the way the truck sat at the start of the project and then get into the modifying!

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Very clean truck! Minimal rust and great body lines. This is an excellent platform to start this build with. Everything works, clean interior and body.

This way the mods can start immediately rather than a bunch of repairs just to get to a clean canvas.

 

[Taquache]

Here is a walkthrough of the interior.
It's a good thing Humberto likes RED!
As stated in the build sheet red will remain but will be modified and updated a little. I have to say that custom red interiors are starting to grow on me and I have full faith that this truck will be pulled off flawlessly.

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[Taquache]

After speaking with Humberto I have a few more details on his ideas for the interior:

This is going to be an awesome truck!

Interior sheetmetal will be painted silver to match the exterior color.

Just about everything else will be red.

Dash, Seats, and Door panels will be wrapped in red leather with silver stitching.

Classic Instruments bezel to be used for the gauges in the dash as they are square rather than round.

There will be a few brushed aluminum accents as well.

The bench seats will be red with silver stitching and the centers will have vertical pleats with silver double stitching. Also adding a little bolster to the seats to give them a modern look.

Door panels will retain the factory shape but again update by wrapping them with red leather with accent silver stitching. The door pull will be the stock chrome square pull and the window cranks will also remain a stock chrome. There will be an insert in the door panels that matches the pleats with double stitching in the centers of the bench seats and maybe add some aluminum trim pieces for accents to match the dash or something.

I'm talking to Humberto about running a wooden and brushed aluminum steering wheel as I think it'll compliment the interior well to have that one different piece.
 

 

[Taquache]

Time for some teardown pictures!

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[Taquache]

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Don't mind the old school hauler creeping in the background...
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[Taquache]

This truck is being expertly re-built, thus requiring it to be completely stripped down.

Nothing left untouched.

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[Taquache]

Humberto has been busy!

Here are a few updates:

He chopped the frame and added his own frame rails. This is done in a way that will eliminate the need for a big C notch to bring the height down. A mini notch is put into the frame rails for clearance. This truck will have a raised FLAT bed floor and will only lose 3"-4" of depth according to his measurements. This keeps the bed very usable. Humberto intends to be able to carry motorcycles in the bed amongst other things.

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Looking good!

 

[Taquache]

A little preview of what will be going on in the rear:

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Let’s look at what is going on on the front end a little:

Humberto sketched and then set up templates for plate arms of his own design.

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Precision cut from 3/4" steel plate, these are stout!

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[Taquache]

The entire front end had to be completely stripped down so that it can be built back up custom.

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In order to have a respectable low ride height and still be able to turn lock to lock as well as tuck wheel and tire Humberto opted to convert the front end to a 3/4 ton setup so that the wheel and tire setup will be sucked in narrowing the track width enough for clearance.

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Here you can see a tape showing the difference between the 3/4 and 1 ton hub setups.

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Humberto had to machine the center bore of the adapters from 117mm (Chevrolet spec) to 120mm (Dodge spec).

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[Taquache]

Here they are mounted up:

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[Taquache]

Everyone likes a little mockup!

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[Taquache]

Here are some pictures with the fabricated 4 link and bag brackets.

These parts are fabricated in house by Humberto.

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The truck is moving right along.

 

[Taquache]

Here is an update on the A Arms that Humberto built specifically for this truck:

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[Shadrach]

Cool Truck . Now if we only had access to that kind of shop and sponsors WOW that would be fun. David

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Neat Idea for a truck to be rendered completely useless (except for show only). I'm sure it will look cool once it's finished, but I don't see a point in throwing a bunch of time and money into something that will get stuck on a speed bump.

 

[MoparBob]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!