WARR-WAGON/ tow rig

[warrpath4x4]

in the proces of buying this from an old co-worker. him and his dad were on the title together and his dad died a while back and now he cant find the title. he sent off for a new title with a copy of his das death certificate and DMV lost his paperwork. so im not doing a whole lot to it till the new title is in my hands.

SPECS:

1980 dodge powerwagon
HD 3/4 ton
360/4 speed/ np 205
still not sure on the axles, been told they might be hybrid axles
warn 8274 winch
134,000 original miles

BACK STORY:
the truck started off as a department of transportation truck. it was a spool truck hense the 2 pipes on the front bumper. the PO and his dad bought it back in 91 at a state auction and used it to haul firewood, pull the boat, and hunting. when it was a DOT truck they added a intermittent wiper switch so its all high tech now lol.

the PO also told me he coated a rust issue in the floor boards and fiber glassed it. when i pulled the floor mats up he used shower wall plastic and screwed it down to the floor boards lol. so when i get my welder back from the shop i will be cutting out the weak spots and weld in some new metal.

onto the pics

when i picked her up





some body damage but nothing bad




cleaned all he trash out of it






pulled the wood racks and plywood



drivetrain







crappy cell pics of the floor board fix



why the extra guages didnt work


fitting the 35's


the 35's wouldnt fit on the front axle because the rims i have hit the brake calipers. they are 15" rims and 17" rims are what i took off. i have another set of 15" rims with less back spacing that will work just fine and i plan on dismounting the tires anyways to install my inner air locks. also while im at it, im adding 3" lift springs to the front to level the truck out. ordered new ubolts from ruff stuff. going to build a new headache rack and rear bumper to hold the rear winch. planning on getting a fuel tank to go in the bed with a tool box on top of it (making 3 tanks holding roughly 161 gallons at realisticly 10 mpg is 1,610 miles to the fill up.)

also while im building stuff for it, im going to build off the front bumper and make a brushguard, and then build side steps/rocker protection, rear tire carrier, and adding an airtank for the air compressor to air up tires on the trail.

pretty much this thing is going to be the recovery rig and tow rig for my jeep when its done.

well enough blah blah. i could go on about all the little things i plan on doing but not right now lol.

[Sandflicker]

Wow - you've got some work to do.  Good bones, and what's the rating on that winch - about a million pounds? LOL.
I was specially drawn to the yellow jacket interior!
Good luck, and keep us posted.

[duraraptor]

I didnt see any pictures.  Have you lost your mind again Flicker
Posted on: December 13, 2008, 05:21:33 AMOh OK I see them now.  I can barely remember when I had great ideas of rebuilding things.  My wife......squashes every idea I get now.  I sure do love her. LOL

[Sandflicker]

I didnt see any pictures.  Have you lost your mind again Flicker
Posted on: December 13, 2008, 05:21:33 AMOh OK I see them now.  I can barely remember when I had great ideas of rebuilding things.  My wife......squashes every idea I get now.  I sure do love her. LOL

Ya, I have thoughts about starting projects all the time.  Then I start figuring out how much time and money I'll have into it.  I go to the Chief who explains we're out of money, but could I please finish the 7 projects on the house I started 10 years ago before I start a new one.  Well by the time I talk her into thinking we never started that conversation, we've both forgot I was thinking about starting something new, and are considering how I can have her bring me something from the frig.

[warrpath4x4]

i have a couple days worth of updates

so i fixed it the other night





the seat belts were broke so i threw in some spares till i get the new seat



i thought about putting a set of these in since i have them but they arent the easiest to ride in all the way to the coast.


id like to put something like this in, 40/20/40 with flip down center console and built in seat belts.

Posted on: January 18, 2009, 05:59:22 PMyesterday i started on the rear bumper, but i have a cold so i only worked for like 10 minutes.




my rats nest of a wiring mess to straighten out.


and now everyone is caught up to where i am right now, i know im forgetting stuff but ill probably remember later. right now im off to town to pick up some steel for a rear winch mount.
Posted on: January 18, 2009, 06:01:34 PMok got the truck into the shop this afternoon. pulled the hood, grill, and pipes off the bumper and my camera batteries died. then i painted the grill, pulled the radiator reservoir, fan shroud and drained the radiator. when i pulled the pipes off the bumper there was rust and crap behind them, luckily only surface rust.




ok its up to date now. lol
Posted on: January 18, 2009, 06:04:26 PMdid some more work on the truck today, pulled the radiator, winch, fenders. my damn camera runs through batteries like crazy so i ended up using my camera phone.




apparently they used this spot for storage lol


Posted on: January 19, 2009, 09:33:12 PMtomorrow and help but now im going to walla walla to drop off some truck parts. got the wiring labeled out and took pics of where things are connected, unbolted the exhaust manifolds and its a good thing i am getting a crate motor cause when i broke loose the manifold water poured out of the no 7 cylinder. finished pulling the inner fender on the drivers side and just getting things ready.

the grill painted (needs another coat)







Posted on: January 20, 2009, 06:46:46 PMwell yesterday was an expensive day, i ordered ALOT for the powerwagon.

crate motor
6AL MSD ignition
headers
edelbrock intake
edlebrock carb
3 core radiator
power steering pump
upper/lower rad hoses
thermostat
100 amp alt
white face gauges (speedo, volt, water, oil pressure, 5" tach)
spark plugs
new starter
water pump
motor mounts
dist cap
rotor
plug wires

which all ran me $3268 with about $300 in core deposits.

[Sandflicker]

Wow!! your doing a great job.  Keep up the good work !!   

[SANDDEMON]

Hemi? 

[warrpath4x4]

lol no just a replacement crate motor.
Posted on: January 29, 2009, 06:52:27 PMnew engine still wrapped up till i get the sheetmetal all cleaned up and ready to put on.


here you can see how flat the old springs were

and with the helper spring


not sure why all these holes were drilled in the frame but i am going to weld them up

[Sandflicker]

Thanks for keeping us up to date on your project.

 

[warrpath4x4]

im planning o having this thing on the dunes n april for the wheelers for the wounded run.

yesterday i got my BFG's mounted on a different set of wheels with less back spacing, mounted them on the truck and without the engine in its almost level on the bed.








got the old heater core out, didnt come out as simple as i had planned, im going to weld in a piece of sheetmetal to fill the hole. then i have a summit brand mojeve heater to mount inside.


it sits at 23 3/4" t the pinch seam.

today i got a start on putting the new engine together. oil pump pickup, oil pump, oil pan, timing chain cover, water pump.
Posted on: March 03, 2009, 07:03:17 PMinstalled the front diff cover today




found the diff tag on the rear when i pulled the diff cover. the fluid in the front axle wasnt too bad but the rear diff must have been the red headed stepchild, 3.54 gears (not what id hoped for but oh well)


and the first coat of semi gloss on the hood

Posted on: March 16, 2009, 05:04:07 PMkinda splurged a little this morning. i tried to clean up the valve cover but there is so much crap baked onto the inside and i couldnt get it all out of there and i didnt want to chance any of it getting into the new motor so here we go

Fabricated Small Block Mopar Aluminum Valve Covers



These are a fully TIG welded aluminum cover. Thick 1/4" billet rail. 1 1/4" baffled breather holes. 3.5" tall. Includes bolts.
Posted on: March 17, 2009, 09:24:59 AMin between the coats of herculiner i put on the floor boards of my XJ i painted the engine with high heat 500 degree paint. i prefer the color of grey just because it is easier to see any leaks that arise.





Posted on: March 17, 2009, 04:33:54 PMso after we put the interior back into the XJ, i cut out my first piece with my plasma cutter



but i didnt make some of my corners right and i cought my hose on my clamp and took a bigger slice out of one spot, plus i decided i wanted the diamond tread on the inside of the engine bay so i cut a ew piece. it turned out alot better, here it is fitting in place.



half way welded in and with the two holes drilled in it for the hose fittings for the new heater



fully welded, then after this picture i finished welding the old mounting holes but dont have a pic of that yet.


Posted on: March 18, 2009, 05:44:54 PMinstead of using a rubber grommet and just pushing the heater hose through the firewall i came up with this. just a coupler and two barbed fittings that will smash the firewall between the big washers.



i think i found an orange that closely matches



and here is the piece i am going to use for my new dash (rough cut of course)



other than that it was a day to clean the shop after i got off work.
Posted on: March 19, 2009, 06:21:19 PMdid lots of little things today, or atleast it felt like little things. bolted on the flywheel, clutch, harmonic balancer, mouts for the motor mounts and the motor mounts, then dropped the motor in but we had to clearence the bellhousing. you could see where the flywheel made marks inside the bellhousing when we took it out and it would not fit back in.  then i we put the valve covers on but only sealed the passenger side since i still ned to mess with TDC on the drivers side, and put in the thermostat and housing.







we pulled the tub off of my dads jeep yesterday so he brought it out today so i can cut out the rust and weld in new metal.