RyanB
New member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2006
- Messages
- 977
Well after a few days of trying to get a forum going here we go!!!!!
First of all I would like to give you all a little info of what the truck was like before the conversion.
1989 GMC 1-ton 2wd reg-cab dually.
-350 EFI
-Turbo 400 Auto trany
-Dana 70 GM dually rear axle with 4:10's
-the body was forest green needing alot of body work.The dually fenders were cracked and chipped, paint peeling off the hood and some nice rotten doors.
-Interior was red (uggly) NO POWER, cracked dash, falled head liner.
It was in pretty bad shape but a blast to drive seeing I didn't care what happend to it!
About 8 months after I got it I started a new job with a 1 hour drive everyday...the 3-speed auto was a BIG PIG on fuel and getting the truck for next to nothing and not wanting to buy something else I decieded to convert it to a 5-speed NV4500. I got all the needed parts from the local wreckers/rebuilders in town and for less than $2000 I jumped the truck up 5 miles per gallon!!! still only was managing to pull off 15mpg as an altime best.
That was just right around 4 years ago...right when this new rage in pickups started called "preformance diesels" started! I remember going to the local Dodge dealers that had a Demo day going (had just got in the new Hemi's at the time) and everyone was wanting to take one for a spin. In the far corner of the parking lot was a little tent setup with a Diesel preformance shop showing what they had to offer. I was looking at the Hemi and all of a sudden they started up there 2001 Cummins, reved it up, (smoke started pouring out of its stacks) and dumped the clutch and off he went spinning and burning rubber!!! At that time I had never seen anything like it and to say the least I was hooked!!!!
Anyway, back to the truck! after being to that dealership and seeing what the diesel could do I started looking for a new truck (new to me anyway) only wanting a reg-cab 4x4 Dodge Dually I was bummed when I only found one and saw the price...$10,000 more than I wanted to spend!
I also at that time joined the TDR and started reading about the huge amount of Chevy/Cummins conversions that were going on!
BINGO!!!! it all started! thought I would save a bunch (boy was I wrong :bang )...maybe I should have just bought that new truck! but thats beside the point!!!
I went back to the local wrecker/rebuilder looking for parts (engine/transmission)....at that time I was just going to keep it a 2wd! and he said not a problem and sold me the engine. It was a 1996 12valve 215HP Cummins! It would take a few weeks for them to get a Dodge 5-speed ready for me and said they would swap my GM version for it seeing it had little miles on it since I bought it from them!
At the time I was also building a Super Stock gas Pull truck (tilt body..the whole 9 yards) and money was tight so I thought that if I were to sell it I would have enough for maybe a 4x4 conversion.
I got looking at my 2wd frame and met a guy close buy that gave me a junk Dodge60 to use as a mock up. To my amazement it started to look like I could keep the coil springs instead of going the leaf spring route that many 4x4 conversions do!
I then called up the local shop I was getting the trany from and told them to put it on hold! I relized that if I had the 4x4 I could just pull with that (diesel pulls were just starting here at that time) so I was deffinatly going to make it as beefy as I could.
I figured that a 6-speed NV5600 was in order (wish now I would have just done the 5-speed after seeing what they are being put thru and weight almost 200lbs less!) so they actually had one rebuilt in stock and I went and picked it up with my engine and a few days later picked up NP241 DLD transfer case (they used the DLD because they could adapt a GM style speedo onto it seeing the GM's also used that 241 style case)
I then relized that my Dually Dana70 rear was to week for what I wanted and seeing I wanted 3:73's I just decieded to junk it. The shop were I was getting all the drivetrain from had a brand spankin new Chevy 11.5AAM dually rear loaded with 3:73's and a posi (looking into it I found out that the GM posi in the AAM's was better than the units Dodge was getting with there AAM 11.5's) so I picked up that axle as well as the Dodge 60front with the 3:73's. and brought it home and started to look at what I had and where I wanted to go!!!!
First of all I would like to give you all a little info of what the truck was like before the conversion.
1989 GMC 1-ton 2wd reg-cab dually.
-350 EFI
-Turbo 400 Auto trany
-Dana 70 GM dually rear axle with 4:10's
-the body was forest green needing alot of body work.The dually fenders were cracked and chipped, paint peeling off the hood and some nice rotten doors.
-Interior was red (uggly) NO POWER, cracked dash, falled head liner.
It was in pretty bad shape but a blast to drive seeing I didn't care what happend to it!
About 8 months after I got it I started a new job with a 1 hour drive everyday...the 3-speed auto was a BIG PIG on fuel and getting the truck for next to nothing and not wanting to buy something else I decieded to convert it to a 5-speed NV4500. I got all the needed parts from the local wreckers/rebuilders in town and for less than $2000 I jumped the truck up 5 miles per gallon!!! still only was managing to pull off 15mpg as an altime best.
That was just right around 4 years ago...right when this new rage in pickups started called "preformance diesels" started! I remember going to the local Dodge dealers that had a Demo day going (had just got in the new Hemi's at the time) and everyone was wanting to take one for a spin. In the far corner of the parking lot was a little tent setup with a Diesel preformance shop showing what they had to offer. I was looking at the Hemi and all of a sudden they started up there 2001 Cummins, reved it up, (smoke started pouring out of its stacks) and dumped the clutch and off he went spinning and burning rubber!!! At that time I had never seen anything like it and to say the least I was hooked!!!!
Anyway, back to the truck! after being to that dealership and seeing what the diesel could do I started looking for a new truck (new to me anyway) only wanting a reg-cab 4x4 Dodge Dually I was bummed when I only found one and saw the price...$10,000 more than I wanted to spend!
I also at that time joined the TDR and started reading about the huge amount of Chevy/Cummins conversions that were going on!
BINGO!!!! it all started! thought I would save a bunch (boy was I wrong :bang )...maybe I should have just bought that new truck! but thats beside the point!!!
I went back to the local wrecker/rebuilder looking for parts (engine/transmission)....at that time I was just going to keep it a 2wd! and he said not a problem and sold me the engine. It was a 1996 12valve 215HP Cummins! It would take a few weeks for them to get a Dodge 5-speed ready for me and said they would swap my GM version for it seeing it had little miles on it since I bought it from them!
At the time I was also building a Super Stock gas Pull truck (tilt body..the whole 9 yards) and money was tight so I thought that if I were to sell it I would have enough for maybe a 4x4 conversion.
I got looking at my 2wd frame and met a guy close buy that gave me a junk Dodge60 to use as a mock up. To my amazement it started to look like I could keep the coil springs instead of going the leaf spring route that many 4x4 conversions do!
I then called up the local shop I was getting the trany from and told them to put it on hold! I relized that if I had the 4x4 I could just pull with that (diesel pulls were just starting here at that time) so I was deffinatly going to make it as beefy as I could.
I figured that a 6-speed NV5600 was in order (wish now I would have just done the 5-speed after seeing what they are being put thru and weight almost 200lbs less!) so they actually had one rebuilt in stock and I went and picked it up with my engine and a few days later picked up NP241 DLD transfer case (they used the DLD because they could adapt a GM style speedo onto it seeing the GM's also used that 241 style case)
I then relized that my Dually Dana70 rear was to week for what I wanted and seeing I wanted 3:73's I just decieded to junk it. The shop were I was getting all the drivetrain from had a brand spankin new Chevy 11.5AAM dually rear loaded with 3:73's and a posi (looking into it I found out that the GM posi in the AAM's was better than the units Dodge was getting with there AAM 11.5's) so I picked up that axle as well as the Dodge 60front with the 3:73's. and brought it home and started to look at what I had and where I wanted to go!!!!