how did u start building your frist pulling rig?

smokin24v

smokin24v

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Apr 11, 2009
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like to see how some of you started out building your pulling rigs... did ya drop the money at once and build a truck or did ya do it little by little over time...

i've pulled a couple time around the area and no words can discribe how much i enjoy it... really wanting to some day have a truck dedicated to pulling...

think with tax returns im goin to find me a 12v and put it on a engine stand and start building the motor slowly then eventually find a truck to put it in and build the truck and hopefully some day have my puller... the tricky part is goin to be doin it on a construction workers wages haha..

any advice on a year of 12v thats better than another would be great...also will a high milage(150,000-200,000) still be in good enough condition to hold the power or do i want to look for somethin lower milage(i know it would be better just lookin to save money)
 
I'm going in the morning to look at a 92 ext cab long bed 1 gen. My start to my building a puller. 5 speed ve 12v. Knowing people that's been around awhile in the sport helps. O'yeah 4k obo
 
Get a higher mileage junker. High miles means looser rings, bigger bearing clearances, and cheaper.

A nice wore out engine will love the high rpms.
 
you can do it on a construction workers wage. it'll come down to dedication. the spending can and will get out of hand real quick.
 
I'm going to build mine on operator's wages plus wife and kid. Plus I'm laid off for the winter. Little by little.
 
If you are doing a dodge I would look for a 2nd gen 12v high mileage 5spd (assuming you want a stick) . This will give you the drivetrain you need to build on.
The 1st gens are ok but the 5spd is not the best, they came with dana 70s, the ve will need swapped for a p-pump, etc.... It adds up fast when you have to buy big parts.
Buy used parts. There are plenty of people who detune, go bigger, etc. Many of their parts will work well.
If you are going to build a puller, build a puller. Don't expect to drive your puller to work everyday. My $.02
 
I'm also getting started in trying to build a truck. I pretty much know I want to get a 2nd gen 12v cummins, but when buying a motor what should i look for?
 
Stay away form the 53 casting Blocks. Some run them and have had no problems, but They are more prone to failure. Other than that everything else is about the same except for the injection pumps. I wouldn't worry too much about what pump it has on it though. Depending on how competitive the sport is in the area you pull in, someone with just a set of 435hp sticks, Delivery Valves, and a fuel plate could be the top truck in the area. Other area's would require you to have the pump sent off and be completely recalibrated, balance, flowed, and other mods to even be competitive. Even a 13mm is getting to be the pump of choice in the 2.6 class.

I wouldn't just stop at a 12V buildup though. A 24V build is more expensive, but a well built p-pump 24V will usually prevail over a 12V. I know of a few VP44 trucks that are some tough competitors aswell.

Another thing to consider is not just horsepower. A good working chassis setup also plays a big roll in how the truck performs.
 
I like the 1gen body style. That's why I'm going the route I'm going even though it will be more expensive in the long run. But who cares. If all we cared bout was the money nobody would be in this sport. It will eventully get Ppumped and all the other "good stuff" put on it. That's the glory of time.
 
Probablem with the first gens is they like to bounce! The front leaves just have issues.
 
I want to build a 3.0 truck using a 1st gen body...not sure whether ill use a 2nd gen frame or not, but it all depends on what i find when the cash is ready to buy parts. The moonlight diesel truck from Utah made me want a 1st gen puller ever since I first saw his videos.

My current truck was my DD, and i started adding parts, started pulling a little bit and got a couple of wins...the better I did, the more I wanted to build the truck. 3 years later its now a driveway ornament that doesnt get driven anymore because its set up for pulling and im too lazy to swap tires, or do the tuning on it all the time to keep it a DD.
 
My DD was a 96 2500 in high school and college. I bought a 03 CR when I got out of college and just did a little at a time on my 96.
 
Well come to find out the 1gen was a rust bucket. Damit I was all excited. Guess I'll continue with the search. I really want a sec gen 12v anyway.
 
I paid 3500 (Thanks Phil) for my 96 2500 4x4 auto with 225K miles on it in June of 2008...And I have spent about 9K on it and drove it 15 feet between then and now...Sucks working overseas only getting to work on it 30 days out of the year but it is coming together, I just need to get the Dana 80 rearend swapped under it and matching gears in it and it will be alot closer, I also went the route of putting a full EMS 35 Spline Free Spin Kit in the front axle...Not cheap but it will let me do just about anything I want with the truck later if i decide not to pull with it...

And I make 6100 a month tax free working over here and that isn't even enough to pay for this money pit...
 
I started out with my 01 dually had 30k miles on it bought a TST, injectors, DD clutch and a 66mm turbo. Ran it that way for a year then i wanted more but i still owed alot of money on the truck and couldnt justify tearing up the truck and still owe what i did on it. So i bought another 01 that was burnt for $3500 had a good trans and transfercase, rears and motor was burnt but block and head was still good just crispy and started from there. Rebuilt the truck to what you see in my avatar. I know every piece of the truck very well and think that is the best way to do it. From the ground up!
 
DISTURBED said:
I started out with my 01 dually had 30k miles on it bought a TST, injectors, DD clutch and a 66mm turbo. Ran it that way for a year then i wanted more but i still owed alot of money on the truck and couldnt justify tearing up the truck and still owe what i did on it. So i bought another 01 that was burnt for $3500 had a good trans and transfercase, rears and motor was burnt but block and head was still good just crispy and started from there. Rebuilt the truck to what you see in my avatar. I know every piece of the truck very well and think that is the best way to do it. From the ground up!
Click to expand...

I never wouldve guessed that was the story behind your truck.
 
cumminspuller said:
I never wouldve guessed that was the story behind your truck.
Click to expand...

Thats how it came to be. The reason it is a 96 is i had to have a title for it when i first put it together for the street class and the donor truck i got for the cab was a 96 but the frame is an 01. Alot of work but a cheap way to get a dedicated puller if you dont have the money to buy a running truck and have time to work on it. I bought it in the fall and worked on it all winter, when i rolled it in to the shop it was a bare frame and a D80 axle and nothing else.
 
I bought my truck in Feb. 07. Drove it for almost a year hauling my dads Gasser 2wd to the pulls and as a daily driver for work. December of 07 the stock turbo laid down on me and the transformation started. I started out with a Silver 62 turbo and an ATS 2pc manifold, but still never really planned on pulling the truck till about a week later. Then one morning I woke up and decided I was gonna pull it. The first 4 months of 08 I did nothing but work tons of overtime to buy parts. Starting out with the turbo, and manifold, then head studs, SBC 3850 12cb, and the Raptor 150 Fuel system. For electronics I used a Smarty and a TST R37. Made my own traction bars, adjustable hitch, suspension stops and weight bracket. Then came all the exterior upgrades. Wheels, tires, headlights, cab lights, grill, ect.... Mid season i got rid of the TST and installed a new reece hitch, roll pan, and a set of Hamilton 110 valve springs along with a Quadzilla Boost fooler. For 09 the upgrades were a floor it 2 pump, 120hp sticks, and rebuilt the clutch.
 
im in the process, but here's the truck:

026.jpg



i was gonna build the stock 12 valve motor but when i got tearing it apart i found that te block was cracked, so i picked up an 01 24 valve engine that had a dead cylinder, so i brought it home and tore into it, the motor was bored .040 over, head was sent off to be o ringed, ported, and polished, it was put together with ARP 12mm head studs, at this time i ordered a hamilton stage 2 cam, and a set of dragon flow injectors set to p-pump pressure, i also procured a 190 p-pump from a bus and sent it down to industrial to have 13mm plungers and barrels put in, it also has a 5k gsk, no fuel plate, and is set at 22.5* of timing, as it sits right now, the truck has all new body panels that need put on and painted, im building a custom front bumper with a fuel tank and weight rack, the motor is in the shop all put together except for the turbos (im using an HTT pro street 66 over an HT80 to start with) after the body work is done with the truck i will be putting in the high impact NV4500 with a southbend 4200 dual disc, after that will drop the engine in:evil:evil:bow: the rear dana 70 has been swapped with a dana 80 running a custom built spool and the front dana 60 has an ARB air locker. i'll get some pics of the bild uploaded as soon asi find my camera:bang
 
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