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

[HHhuntitall]

Well Our's is running Great so no bad fuel on this side of the country . and the Only reason she would make me take the Jeep is a easier ride for her .as she need's a step stool to get into my truck it's too Tall

Too tall? Please explain... I've never seen that happen before...

Mmmmm, Cummins tour.... I made May Madness last year, I wonder if I can make the Cummins tour!! I got outvoted the last time.... stupid wedding.

 

[Simplysmn]

Wife is 5 ft 4 and truck has roughly 7-8 in lift with big tires .she hates riding in my truck but has . but it Requires having a 3 step step stool in bed so she can get in and out of truck. I don't know why I don't have a Problem :-laf:-laf

 

[RSchwarzli]

What's this June thing that you speak of????? Really a possibility???

It is every other year. Or at least that's what I push for.

Well Our's is running Great so no bad fuel on this side of the country . and the Only reason she would make me take the Jeep is a easier ride for her .as she need's a step stool to get into my truck it's too Tall

Meh, its a "once in a lifetime experience honey...". :-laf

Mmmmm, Cummins tour.... I made May Madness last year, I wonder if I can make the Cummins tour!! I got outvoted the last time.... stupid wedding.

Yes. That needs to be fixed this time round.

 

[RSchwarzli]

Sooo, lets talk gears. I have had a lot of questions asked regarding what I think the RPM will be and all so lets talk numbers.

This is what a stock Gen 1 Gutbag G360 with 3.54 rear end and 235/85/16 (stock tire) looks like.

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This is a NV5600 with 3.55 rear and a gen 1 tire:

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This is how the 90 is set up with its NV5600, 265/70/17, and 3.07s (you can see why I like that gearing so much!)

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This is the way the crew cab is setup with 3.54, 19.5’s, and 5600:

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And as I know you will ask anyways , this is the crew with 6th gear plus gear vendors in double overdrive (not that you would tow in double over but…)

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So what does that all mean? And why is the crew not much different than the regular 16” wheel 5600 equipped truck? Well, let’s look at the math:

235/85/16= 31.7”
245/70/19.5= 33”

All said and done, the small tire diameter change is a lot smaller a change of highway RPM than final drive ratio. So yes, all the hype of a 19.5 and it doesn’t make that much difference. LOL


EDIT: And for those that ask as they are curious like I was , this is the 1990 with its tall gear 3.07 in Double Over. Notice the top end speed at the approx 3000 rpm redline. Yeah baby!! Oo.

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[JHumphries]

Nice. I had an excel sheet I made where you can pick a shift point and it will highlight the range in each gear so you can see the rpm drop for each shift. Of course, I can't seem to find it right now...

 

[HHhuntitall]

Lots of calculators out there.... here are several on one page... just for fun.

http://www.ringpinion.com/Calculators/Calculators.aspx

 

[RWherley]

What I want to know is, dose the 90 really go 173? cause lets face it know matter how high they are geared 1st gens are bricks with wheels

 

[RSchwarzli]

What I want to know is, dose the 90 really go 173? cause lets face it know matter how high they are geared 1st gens are bricks with wheels

Well, based on power output, I would say yes. It theoretically could. However, I am sure body panels will start flying off at 140-150. I will say I was impressed how stable it is at 110 mph loafing along at 1800 rpm.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Remember the '94-5 back in the day? Set the record for fastest production truck in the diesel class out on the salt flats? I think it was 154mph or so.... The wind resistance was so much it would slip the rear tires..... They had those funky looking SS wheel covers to help reduce wind drag....

 

[RSchwarzli]

That one.


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[jakeman]

Hey Robert, I've read through this thread a bunch of times and I'm sure you've mentioned it but where do you get all these OEM parts like all the weatherstripping and whatnot just stupid small stuff like that I'm looking for and one of the website I've found is moparpartsoverstock.com but the parts they offer are sort of hit or miss.

 

[RSchwarzli]

Hey Jakeman,

My local Dodge Dealer. Thankfully, much of the stuff I ordered back in 2006-2007 when I started this resto. I anticipated certain items becoming hard to get so I ordered what I could afford and stocked it. Sure enough, much of it isnt available anymore. Kinda wish I had bought two of some things but funds didnt allow.

Some stuff you are right is still hit and miss. Other than that, ebay, craigslist, etc. Sorry to say...

 

[jakeman]

Yeah I figured as much. Oh well. Guess I'll have to wait till mopar or truck carlisle. Anybody ever been to them and know if they usually have good parts for first gens?

 

[RSchwarzli]

Yes. I go to Chryslers At Carlisle yearly. They normally have 2-3 vendors for gen 1 stuff. Not much clean stuff but good odds and ends. Most is semi good if you clean it up but not good as is.

 

[jakeman]

Well that sucks I was hoping for some cool NOS goldmine. Guess I'll just have to get my elbow grease on. At least it'll save my bank account. Thanks for the info!

 

[RWherley]

You just have to go and look 2 years ago at Chryslers at Carlisle I found NOS front turn signals and the black plastic trim for front bumpers, but nothings for sure you just have to spend a day in the swap meet and look. I have had luck at the Carlisle truck show as well but not as much again you just have to go look.

 

[RSchwarzli]

Yes, that is true. There is items you do find scattered throughout. But not the motherload of parts I gathered jakeman was looking for all in one place.

 

[RWherley]

Yes that is the quest for the Holy Grail there

 

[RSchwarzli]

So we last left off with the finishing of the hourmeter and the return of the console from the upholstery shop. So, I added them all together and got this completed center console:



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Then, the drive shafts came next! Yaaaay! I did all the measurements and it was determined I required a 2 pc shaft still due to the length. I am not a fan of hanger bearings when I don’t have a spot to put them so after much back and forth with the driveline shop, we decided on a 4” diameter aluminum shaft giving me both the single length, but also the strength due to the diameter and thickness of the material. Being mindful of the torque of the compounds for this length span is important. For the front, it just needed to be lengthened the shaft as the 5600 relocated the NP205 back about 7” further towards the rear than the G360 Getrag had it. Then the 4 week wait began after I got the shaft shop going. (Fast forward 4 weeks here. ).

I then got the call to come get my shaft! First step upon getting the shafts home was to prep the rear with a stripe. This is an old drag racing trick. This painted stripe is a 100% straight line and if the torque of the engine ever starts to twist the shaft, the line will start to curve around the shaft alerting me to the issue. If the shaft twists, the slip shaft in the GV is exposed more and more until it shears the output shaft teeth off. So this is very important.


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So, this is where I am all smiles now that the truck is coming along very well in time for spring right? Yes, I THOUGHT so too. I was wrong. Lol

 

[RSchwarzli]

So, I closed my hood for the first time since the rad was hard mounted and I heard a thud and then the hood wouldn’t close anymore. Seems the final resting place of the mounted rad hits the bottom side of the hood. %$@*&. How the eff did I screw this up! I only had one job dammit! Seems when tightened to the core support, the rubber mounts condense just enough to allow the rad cap to hit the hood. So there was only one thing to do….rip the front end apart again as I couldn’t lean the rad any more towards the fan as I only had ¼” of clearance to start with! All in all, this killed about 2.5 months worth of weekends although we did do some other needed items along the way.


So this is the hood closed as far as it will go:



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And you can see the fresh nick in the paint where the rad cap hits:


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So, out comes the rad and the cutting began again until the rad cleared the hood.


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My buddy who has been over every weekend this year to assist with the motivation in getting this giant paperweight done is seen here with a grinder cutting rad core support out:



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But now I have a new problem. The IC ear hits the lower rad hose. Arrrrg!!! So more cutting began so the IC could be lowered 1”. That meant all mounts had to be cut off and new ones made.


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And now the ear of the IC hits the inner fender as it is lowered. %&*$ toad stools and ^%#@$ son of a seacook! So both sides of the inner fender had to be chopped now.


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This is what was chopped out of the rad core support:



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So, then with so much material cut, it was time to test fit the grill! Guess what? It no longer fits as the IC hits the grill backside! Cursin screechin sufferin mother of &%#$. So the mods continued with now relocating the condenser to the front side of the IC core so the IC core can get closer to the rad and the condenser being narrower, will be relocated to the center of the IC with hopes it will clear the grill.



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