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

[JHumphries]

That's a photoshop. Stop and look closely. Tey are all copy and paste. Secondly autometer does not make that many phantom series. I know no almost have one of each. :-laf

Sounds like someone has Gauge Envy! Oo.

 

[RSchwarzli]

I disagree. However I will say if my phone had not altered the last sentence it would be more clear.

I was attempting to say I know. As I now almost have one of each.

 

[idlinthetruck]

all the pictures on pages 1 and 2 are broken!@ what happened?

 

[SRay]

Idlingthetruck: both this post and the first gen thread without a subject have been unused for too long and have been covered in dust. 3/4 of the photos need to be cleaned in this post.

 

[RSchwarzli]

all the pictures on pages 1 and 2 are broken!@ what happened?

Those pics are off the TDR server. That was before I started using photobucket to host them.

I would say TDR server has either archived the pics or there has been some form of change... ... Thanks for the heads up! Let me see what I can find out here!

 

[Shadrach]

One of my latest pictures, downloaded from Photobucket, has "disappeared" as well. I checked and it is still OK in PB. Strange. Shad

 

[RSchwarzli]

OOOOOOOOOK Folks! Here we go!!




OK. Mirrors is where we left off. Mirrors were the first to get finished. Here are the final shots including the mirror power for the lights, power mirror head, and heaters:



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Well, the other item we should really finish is the seat frame. Having finished welding and fabbing, it was off to the power coater. Well that finally came back and was installed so I can start with interior layout. Now I don't think I have posted pics of these seats like this so I will make sure I do a few. These are SRT-8 seats from a Dodge Charger and a Magnum. They are power and heated. The center rear is a borrowed SRT Ram center console so I could use it as a size template but that will also match with red stitching when complete.




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[RSchwarzli]

In playing interior, I thought it was time to start fabbing the rear seat switches for the power windows. So I started with a pw switch from a 1993 Dodge Spirit. I had pirated it from a bone yard a few years ago. At the same time I completed the rear controls for the front door. As there is no 2 switch control on the gen 1 rams I had to make my own. I could have used the passenger side 2 switch but they are not proportionate so I made my own from a few donor pieces. Also, as the rear switches did not fit 100% perfectly into the rear panels, I made a trim piece that they will lock into and cover the hole.


Rears:


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Fronts:



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[RSchwarzli]

Console:



Next up was the console. As I do not have any armrests on these seats, I will need an armrest built in. I also want some storage, and something to house the gauges that don't fit on the dash, A pillar, and roof pods. So was time to start the idea into reality. Now please don't mock me too much. I know this is a pretty hillbilly console but it does the job, and as I am not a great wood worker it is about what one would expect. LOL


So I started with cardboard so I could copy the shape of the trans tunnel exact to the wood.



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Next, I traced onto the wood and cut it out. I used iron ply as it is a very lightweight material as well as very strong and durable. As it will be leather wrapped you won't notice the grain either so it works well.



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Then came the test fit and determining gauge angle:



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And more building……

The original arm rest concept failed as it did not allow for room for the cup holder I pirated out of a Chrysler Concord in the boneyard. So the second one was started.



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Next came a hinge for the arm rest. I needed something strong to support peoples arm weight so I went with ¼” x 3” aluminum plate anchored into the 2x4 wood frame. The stop on top actually stops it from going too far back and forward. Brass bushings were pressed in so that it would not wear too badly over time. Then they were sent out for powder.



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[RSchwarzli]

Engine:



So it was time to get back to the engine again. I was going to run a PDR HX35 with non wastegate but my gut tells me that will result in bad things, so I picked up a 14CM WG Holset housing. I then also installed (with some modifications) the turbo piping:



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Then a check to make sure all clears as it should…. .



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Next was to start prepping the engine for its first start. After all oil lines were connected, probes installed, seals in, filters pre filled, gauges temporarily hooked up, and turbos connected it was time to prime the oil. You may remember from a ways back that I had picked up a spare oil pump and welded a socket onto the main gear. Well now was the opportunity to finally try it! So oil was filled and with cordless in hand, I went to cracking the oil pump.




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All said and done the Dewalt cordless got the oil pressure up to about 35 PSI. Not bad all said and done! We also rotated the engine a full revolution slowly so that all galleries would get a chance to fill.




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Once oil pressure was done, the real pump went back in and the KDP tab was checked one last time. The gear case was then sealed up!




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Coolant filter:



Although it has not arrived yet, I pre plumbed the coolant filter in via the port in the block while the alternator was temporarily off and also installed a auto trans Y into the coolant return line for the filter return.




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[RSchwarzli]

Washer fluid reservoir:







This one was ugly. I tried to find a new reservoir but couldn’t so I had to clean this one up. I started with a degreaser, then a wash in hot water and soap, then a final wipe down and it actually came out cleaner than expected. The cap was very faded so some Testers model car paint and a fine paint brush as well as a toothpick, 30 min, and budda bing you got yourself a new looking cap!









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Blower Motor Cover:







I had found a replacement blower motor insulation cover a while back but it was still not clean enough for my standards, so out came the degreaser…. . a few hours…. . some Krylon paint and you get this!





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Install was a bugger due to the HT3B and actually took over 3 hours to install this simple piece by the time the grinding and all was actually said and done. But it looks good!







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Engine Assy:







Then it was time to assemble the engine a bit more. Tach pickup sensor, Fluidampr, etc.







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[RSchwarzli]

Rear Power Windows:



Such a simple concept right? Ah just slap in a PW motor and call it a day. Or so I thought….


The rear doors never came with power windows as an option so as I started to show above, I would use a Dakota window regulator. As I found out, the concept works but after I spent about 10 hours proving it would work, Dad decided he wanted to assist in getting this truck finally out of his garage so he would tackle the doors. To the time of this typing, he has about 35 hours into the doors to get them working perfectly. Here is a small sample of what he has been working on.

First off, you need wires to power the lock cylinders and window motors. So the door was removed and holes were drilled for both the wiring and the mechanical door pillar switches.


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Then after much cutting and hacking of the donor door, it was decided on best position and then the cutting started on the real door. (Oh gawd……I cant watch!!!!)





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Door pillar posts back from powder….




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Glass channel gets removed due to the Dakota style regulator. Sadly, I had polyurathaned them on so they would never fall off…. . Yeah, got the joy of very carefully cutting them off so as to not damage the glass!



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Clutch:



Cant remember if I showed this or not so…. . Also the clutch hydraulics were installed. I ended up using a full South Bend HD kit and as I could not find a good 1st gen fluid reservoir, I decided to use the 2nd gen unit but make an adapter bracket.



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Also, the Ebrake cable was finally fully finished.


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So that brings us again up to date. There will be good progress in the next few weeks as well. I am just starting rad, intercooler, and condenser mount fabbing. Engine starting should also be within the next 4 weeks. Rear doors should be done in about another 10 hours (working on the passenger side now). Once the doors are done, the wiring will be buttoned up and gauges will start going in.


One last teaser of whats coming……



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[HHhuntitall]

:{ Why you gotta do that!?!? It's awesome and makes me cry at the same time... ... I'm so jealous.....



I worked on a Chevy today... . :{

 

[SRay]

Hhhuntitall: yeah, me too!! I'm so speechless at the interior! Showed the photos to all my buddies tonight, they all dropped their jaws as well!

 

[ENafziger]

Beautiful... just beautiful!!!! Keep up the momentum. You're making great progress!

One thing I may add concerning the blower motor cover. It looks like you ground the turbo/exhaust to just barely get the cover to clear it. Unless you're using solid motor mounts, I think this is going to make contact.

Keep up the great work... and the pictures!

--Eric

 

[RSchwarzli]

Eric

I appreciate the concern. I does almost touch. But I will do some more modifying as I still have an exhaust blanket to for on there and at current it won't fit!!!

 

[SRay]

Bschwarzli: even if you got the turbo blanket to fit, the turbo willl still heat your cab up to 300°f through the heater system. Heat will still be blazing even with your A/C running max cold and all 4 windows down. :-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf

 

[RSchwarzli]

:{ Why you gotta do that!?!? It's awesome and makes me cry at the same time... ... I'm so jealous.....

I worked on a Chevy today... . :{

Sorry to hear you had to work on a shevy.

Hhhuntitall: yeah, me too!! I'm so speechless at the interior! Showed the photos to all my buddies tonight, they all dropped their jaws as well!

Wait till its done. I have WAAAAAY more up my sleeve!

Bschwarzli: even if you got the turbo blanket to fit, the turbo willl still heat your cab up to 300°f through the heater system. Heat will still be blazing even with your A/C running max cold and all 4 windows down. :-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf

Don't you have something to be doing like, chasing rabbits or something in the forest?

 

[SRay]

Bschwarzli: I'll leave the rabbit chasing to HHHUNTITALL. He's equipped for all that

Is the leak in the airbags fixed yet? :-laf

 

[SRay]

Bschwarzli: can't wait to see what you got up your sleeve!

Hhhuntitall: what did you have to do to that Chevy? Did someone put a bullet in it? :-laf