Wallace II... Gas to Diesel Swap

[Uncle Spence]

Well holy buckets! I wasn't planning on starting this build thread until May but the planets have aligned and I am starting sooner than planned. How often does that happen?! I am headed to go and get my donor truck this morning (leaving from Nebraska and headed to Utah). Then headed back the following morning with the truck in tow.
Here's the background. I bought Wallace on October 13, 2011 and it has been a great truck. I've really only had two issues with the truck and they always turned out to be simpler than what I had expected. Since owning it I've driven about 40,000 miles all over the west and midwestern states. Since moving to Nebraska, where it is a little more humid than Idaho, Wallace's body has shown some pretty serious rust issues, and just in the past year I have had some new air cooling at my feet! So a year ago I went on the hunt for a new truck. I found this black truck in Boise, Idaho last March and bought it off the guy for $1600. It has over 200k but it has been very well maintained. When I had it on a lift I couldn't find a single spot of rust. For the price and quality of truck, I really feel like I got a screaming deal.
So the plan now is to take the motor and drive chain from Wallace and swap it into the black pick-up. Sounds easy enough right!? Wallace has just been too fine of a truck to not keep alive, so I'm gonna try to keep it around for a good while longer. So this officially starts my build thread! I'm pretty excited and have committed to not cutting my hair until the swap is complete. I also would really like to have it done before my second child comes which is in June! :)

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I'll keep you all posted!

[geezer101]

Your new truck looks awesome. You've found a real gem for what I think is a really low price. :thumbup:

[mikewarme]

Holy crap thats nice. I loved those graphics

[DroppedMitsu]

Congrats one the find, looks to be a damn nice truck. Good luck on getting everything swapped over, keep us updated.

[Uncle Spence]

Well we made the great journey! It was a lot of driving and it pretty much rained the whole way back to Nebraska, but we arrived without any hiccups. Had some trailer lighting issues but those are more of a perk than a necessity! :thumbup:
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So the next plan is to get the black pick-up into the shop and start tearing into it and removing all the unnecessary components. Like motor and transmission and stuff. Good times ahead!
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Wallace meet your future organ recipient!

[Uncle Spence]

Holy crap thats nice. I loved those graphics

Mike, I'm still waiting on a phone call from you. Have some questions for ya!

[Uncle Spence]

Alright so the I got the truck in the shop and have started tearing into it. Before I did officially I took a video of the motor running and checked the compression on the gas motor. It will be available if there is someone who is looking for a good 2.0 to rebuild. I was wrong on one fact and the black truck actually has 248k and the motor has actually been well maintained. The cylinder compression was as follows 1- 150 psi 2- 140 psi 3- 115 psi and 4- 135 psi. So really they were quite good in my opinion except for that 3rd cylinder which was a little lower in pressure and the spark plug was pretty dark from oil burning. A rebuild kit and it'd be a ready for it's next truck!
Do you guys have any recommendations of how I can make this motor as easy as possible for the next guy? Part of me just wants to get it out but I don't want to spoil a good thing.
Tomorrow should be a big day and if I have an extra hand roped into turning a wrench with me I should be close to pulling the engine out. Here's a few pictures just to add to the thread.
16510The truck in the shop.

16512Here's a picture of the Mikuni carb that I know very little about but sure here a lot of complaints on this site about the poor thing. I had heard good things about the company until I came here.

16511This is just a sweet air tractor that I saw while I was down in Texas a few weeks back. Not sure how many people appreciate this sort of stuff but I thought it was pretty sweet.

[geezer101]

The carb looks pretty clean (but that doesn't mean there isn't trouble brewing in there). The Mikuni isn't garbage, just not a lot of fun to pull down and is restrictive due to all the tree huggers and the EPA... You might regain some compression with an engine flush and a fuel additive to clean up the rings and combustion chambers. Cylinder #3 is pretty low though. It is probably due for new valve stem seals thus the oil burn (if you get a cloud of smoke from stand still it's a dead give away).

...and anyone who flies in one of those 'dusters has got guts. No thanks :grinno:

[Uncle Spence]

Progress was made today! :))

It actually went much smoother than I had expected. For those who are afraid of removing an engine... fear not. It's getting the one you want back in that you have be weary of.


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[geezer101]

On older vehicles, pulling an engine is a piece of cake as long as you got an engine hoist and maybe a second pair of hands to stop your engine from swaying in the breeze like a drunk. Now you can get in there and go crazy scrubbing the engine bay.
I always have to look twice when I see LHD engine bays, everything looks out of place :lmao:

[Raikinx]

First off black looks awesome on that truck. I also love the picture of the airplanes. Always been fascinated with flying as a kid but I still find it interesting in present. And there isn't too much gutsy with flying that thing. If it cuts out while flying you just glide it to the ground.

[Uncle Spence]

Well this past weekend I did spend a few hours on the truck, which is better than no time at all.
I removed the transmission and the drive lines and got a good look at the rear end. I'm pretty darn sure, but haven't had it confirmed yet that the gearing ratio in the rear end will be different in the gas verses the diesel. I have never tore into a rear end before, but there are a lot of "I have never's" on this project. The bonus to swapping the rear end guts is that then the nice rust free axle will stay with the rust free truck.
I also ordered a few things that I couldn't round up in my local mechanic circle.
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The manual I have looked through and feel like it is a pretty solid resource. I just picked it up off of ebay for $24 and it would have been the same manual that a dealer shop would have had back in the 80's. It just so happened that this was the exact year of Wallace (not like there's a whole heap of variance) and had the diesel motor specks, which I need!
This weekend I have to leave town for a wedding (tis the season) so won't get the chance to tinker but I plan to do my cylinder compression tests on the diesel motor before I leave and then get a good idea of what parts I want to throw at it. Will try to keep updated.

Oh, and the transmission from the 2.0 was the cutest little thing I've ever seen. I've wrenched a lot on semi's and replacing clutches on those transmissions is much more difficult than it would be on this little guy! I could pick up the whole thing without even straining!

[Uncle Spence]

Haven't updated in nearly a month but things are going great/busy!
Did the compression test as intended and things were a little low on the 2nd and 3rd cylinders but still enough to have compression to run. Talked to Mike and he made his assessment and further digging will find the reason for the lower compression.
I did one final burnout and raced a Mitsubishi lancer the day before I put Wallace out to pasture. Got him in the garage, said a prayer over him, and pronounced his body dead on the scene. Luckily he died in an honorable manner and his organs will be harvested and donated to a much cleaner and rust free individual. Here's a few photos to add to the progress.
I started tearing down the motor this last Monday and should be able to get it down to a bare block within a couple of more hours. Hopefully Friday I will get to it if the wife is willing to let me. We are a week away from expecting our second little cub in the family so I can't be too distracted and can't turn her into a truck widow.


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[Uncle Spence]

Well I spent this past Monday and a good chunk of Saturday tearing down the motor and got everything organized and laid out all nice and "clean". This week I'll get the block run through the dishwasher, build myself a parts cleaning station, and then make some measurements and see what the block needs in way of new stuff.
In the mean time I will take out the transmission from Wallace along with the drivelines and then do some digging on the rear end ratios. As always here's a few photos to add to the good times.

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[rranger]

Well I spent this past Monday and a good chunk of Saturday tearing down the motor and got everything organized and laid out all nice and "clean". This week I'll get the block run through the dishwasher, build myself a parts cleaning station, and then make some measurements and see what the block needs in way of new stuff.
In the mean time I will take out the transmission from Wallace along with the drivelines and then do some digging on the rear end ratios. As always here's a few photos to add to the good times.

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Following you now.

[85Ram50]

I'm jealous. What would it cost to send me that gas motor to Lane county Oregon?

[Uncle Spence]

Good question. I'd have to do some digging. It is available to a new owner as soon as this whole project is completed. That includes the wiring harness and computer as well.

[85Ram50]

Something that nice I might have to find a better body to stick it in. :)

[Uncle Spence]

A few short hours was all I had to spend this weekend but it was still informative. The engine block is still at the cleaners, and so this Saturday I went and took out the wiring harness out of Wallace. It is nice that the gas truck has the wiring harness for the auxiliary functions and then a separate harness for the engine. The diesel model is a mess and it's all one big wiring harness and everything is all together, plus I have the added bonus of a previous owner making a rats nest of wires with the aftermarket radio and bypassing the timed relay for the glowplugs. I will be taking that apart one night (maybe more) and transferring over all the stuff that is pertinent. Hopefully that will go smoothly.
The second part I discovered will require a little bit of fabricating but it is easier to envision a solution than the electrical troubles. The hydraulic clutch on the diesel truck obviously is much different than the mechanical one on the gas pick-up. So I will have to cut a hole in the firewall, but will also have to fabricate a bracket to hold the clutch pedal in the proper place. Other than that, the only other thing I'll have to put more holes in the firewall for is for the fuel filter which shouldn't be too much of a problem with some rivnuts installed.
This week my wife will be 41 weeks pregnant with our second child so we'll see how much time I'm able to put in. With the out-laws in town helping out I might have a few nights after the kiddo is born to do some moonlight wrenching.

[Uncle Spence]

Well I have a new daughter! She was born last Friday and has been a welcome addition to the fam!
Yesterday I took advantage of my maternity leave and worked on the truck for about 4 hours. I have the diesel wiring harness completely removed and am figuring out what everything does. At this point I am intended to only swap the absolute necessities. Few more hours on that junk and I should be ready to get back to work on the motor

[geezer101]

Congrats on the arrival of your new family member. Prepare yourself for some hard core sleep deprivation! Meh, what's a few sleepless nights... This is the best time and it will feel like it it's flying by. :)

[Uncle Spence]

Not like anyone is really following this too closely, but figured it was good time for an update.
With the new youngin', having family come and go, plus some work trips and a triathlon I competed in, the truck had been sitting patiently for my loving touch again.
Spent a fair amount of time this past Saturday and swapped over the clutch pedal and its master cylinder, along with the oil cooler. Did some painting on the engine bay and just tinkered with a whole lot of little things. I drained all the gas and ran about 4 gallons of diesel through the lines. If you have any recommendations on how to get all the gasoline out I'd take them. The diesel I drain out still has a hint of old gas smell and I just don't want to risk running any gasoline through a newly rebuilt engine. I figure I'll fill the tank with 10 gallons of fresh diesel before I try firing it up to at least have a strong chance of diluting anything that is left.
I dropped off my crank to the machine shop today and he had the block all nice and clean and ready to have the cylinders bored this week. Really between the machinist taking his time and me waiting on some other engine parts I have been halted in my progress. Such is life though. Once the engine is all done with the machinist I will have some nice motivation to get back at it and put the whole thing all together again with the shiny new head. The end is in sight.

[geezer101]

Trust me Uncle Spence, we are watching. These things often take time and a few wrong turns and distractions from the task at hand are normal.

[Uncle Spence]

Things are looking up again!
I received some much awaited for parts in the mail and was able to getting my balance shaft bushing to the machinist who bored my cylinders. He pressed them in and the block is back in my shop now. I'm sort of in a pivotal part of my Master's degree right now, so I won't have much time to work on Wallace until mid-November, but I'll put time into it when I have it. I went on Saturday since it was nice and warm and taped off and painted the block while the kids ran around outside. Only took an hour but it looks nice now and I at least got to spend some time on it!

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[85Ram50]

Sweet.

[Uncle Spence]

Well the good man who has been letting me use his shop gave me a date this last week that he would like my truck gone. I told him that if I ever became a burden to let me know and I'd get out as quick as I could. He's been super nice to open his doors to me. He told me I needed to be out of there by November 5th, so I have little time indeed. He's been super patient with me and waiting on parts and the like. His timing honestly couldn't have been worse though since I am trying to finish my thesis and prepare to defend my research that I've been conducting. It made me sick when I got the message. I defend in 3 weeks. So this weekend I ran the wife and kids off to grandma's for the week and I will be working my day job/school from 6am-7pm and then work on the truck from 7pm-10pm (possibly later).
Then to add to all the madness we are planning to move in December (around Christmas time) to Texas where I will continue my education. I bought a bus two weeks ago to move with since renting a truck was way more money than I am willing to eat. I paid $3200 for the bus and even if I sell it for a thousand less than what I paid I'm still ahead of what I would have been with a rental truck. Now I just need to find a place to live in Texas.

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That's my son Hugh showing off his new bus. He's a pretty proud bus owner.

The plan is to work most of tomorrow on reassembling the engine. My goal is to get the motor assembled and the transmission bolted to it and have it all placed in the truck before I get the truck out of his shop. I'll work out the timing and adding the liquids and such once the storm has blown over. I really need to just get out of the way and it will be a lot easier if I don't have loose parts flying all around.
This morning I went and put in my crankshaft and pistons and got everything torqued down on the underside. Then I painted the oil pan so it will match the shiny block.

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Not the best picture but you get the idea. It's pretty exciting to get this thing going again. Just wish I wasn't so darn busy so I could take my time and enjoy the process a little more. Right now I just sigh and think... man I've got a lot to do still!:pray:

Thanks for following my build!

[85Ram50]

That bus deal is an awesome idea and what a score! Cute kid.
What part of Texas? Austin? Waco?

[Uncle Spence]

Looking more like an engine!

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We're headed to College Station, Texas. Continue my education at Texas A&M.

[Uncle Spence]

I met my deadline. Enough said. Plus I didn't lose any fingers.
Few things to clean up and do the final details before I can make my first attempt at turning over the newly rebuilt engine.
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Enjoy! I have!

[DroppedMitsu]

Good to hear you made the deadline, and the motor/truck looks great! Good luck with the move!

[Chyrio]

any chance i could buy the grille off your old truck?? pretty please!

[Chyrio]

truck looks freaking awesome btw very clean swap

[Uncle Spence]

I keep having this reoccurring dream where I get the motor all finalized and fire it up. I take it on a drive and am really satisfied with the way the motor feels. Plenty of torque and a nice clean burn. Then I look at the dash and the temperature gauge is buried on the hot side. It's only then that I realize I forgot to add oil and coolant!!!!

[rranger]

I have a 1985 Power Ram diesel 4x4 unfortunately the rust gods have eaten the frame and cab mounts beyond fixing. So I bought a gas 1985 and am hoping to do a swap like you have. But first I'm installing rocker panels, drivers side cab floor and new fenders. Then once I'm sure I'm going to be happy with the body I will look at swapping the drive train. It was very helpful to read of your work. Look forward to keeping up with your work.

[rranger]

Hey Uncle Spence you never did say the rear end ratio answer. Did you have to swap rear ends to install the diesel motor and tranny into the gas truck? Are the rear ends a different ratio?

[Uncle Spence]

Well I took it to the manual for my information and from what I could gather there is a rear end for the 2WD and a rear end for the 4WD versions. Both of my trucks were 2WD so I didn't have to change anything. The diesel transmission fit perfectly on the preexisting transmission cross member and the driveline bolted right up too. I actually decided to use the driveline from the gas truck since it was brand new and recently balanced and trued. I felt very blessed to have that be so simple.

[rranger]

Well heres hoping I can attach the Diesel set up to the gas rear end. Both 4 wheel drives, standard trannies and 1985's. Thanks for your response.

[DroppedMitsu]

Only thing I saw about the difference in rear ends in the manual(at least for 2nd gen, not sure if 1st is the same) was auto/long wheel base trucks had 3.54, and manual/regular wheel base trucks came with 3.909.

[pennyman1]

also spacecab / auto 2.6 trucks were 3.54

[DroppedMitsu]

also spacecab / auto 2.6 trucks were 3.54


Lol that's what I said

[pennyman1]

some people may not know the long bed standard cab and extended cab short bed are the same frame with different mounts.

[rranger]

Both my trucks are regular cab, so should
be good to go.

[Uncle Spence]

So this happened... (follow the video link)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmoeCPLG6XE
If you felt a disturbance in the force that day as if millions of voices were screaming and then all silenced at once, it was because of this. Sorry for the delayed update. We made the move to Texas official and I've had limited access to internet in general, and time to play on the forum.

[Uncle Spence]

But then this happened a few days later...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruF5uqA6Hv8

So ya my build is nearing its completion. I still have to put some of the inside back together like the dash and a few other perks but otherwise the truck really runs great. I am very pleased. I'll keep this post brief and go into more detail at a future time.

[mikewarme]

Wow nice !

[Uncle Spence]

So our move to Texas went pretty smoothly. I installed a nice hitch on the bus and made an attempt at wiring for trailer lights. We'll just say that buses weren't ever intended to be wired for trailer lights, and I didn't have time to do it the right way, plus it would have taken like 300 ft of wire to do it the right way. I had drive lights, brake lights, and all my indicators would flash when I'd signal, so people knew something was going to happen! It made the 1200 miles and that's all that matters. Named it Brut the bus.
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This weekend I took advantage of the extra day and did a little wiring and had some exhaust work done. With the new bored out cylinders and pistons and rings I think things are a little tighter than they were previously. The wiring that was on the 2.0 truck wasn't quite sufficient for my battery to my starter so I doubled the gauge almost and the starter was turning over much quicker after the new wiring. Made starting much easier. Then I took my old exhaust and had a small shop patch it up and put some nice hangers on for me.
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The truck is much quieter but still makes enough ruckus. After I had some lunch I went to hop in it and go tear into another project when the starter wouldn't give anything. I tried a few tricks and couldn't get it to turn over at all. I removed the starter and it would spin. I took it to a parts place and had them test it and it passed the test twice and failed once. I know that over the last few years every now and then it would act like it was bound up. If I put it in gear and rocked the truck a little, usually it would resolve the issue and then turn over. With the new engine I think it worked it and it finally gave up. After all my tests and seeing it work properly outside of a bell housing I put it back in and it's still a dud. It just must not have any guts left. I put one on order with a lifetime warranty and may run the old one to a rebuild guy this week to see what his thoughts are. It sort of deflated my spirits though since it had been running so nicely the past couple of days.

[Uncle Spence]

One other bit of drama with the truck. I bought the truck in 2015 and had it sort of just sitting around before the build. Now that I have it operating I went to transfer the title and get the truck registered in Texas. Well Texas penalizes you for not transferring the title over within 30 days. I knew that Idaho also had a fee associated with that of $20 but Texas is a little more intense. They keep adding money for each additional 30 days that you don't transfer the title. When I went to transfer the title they wanted to charge me $260 in fees plus a $90 fee to transfer it to a Texas title. They're crazy! I politely declined and am in the process of trying to determine a way around the $260 fee. The $90 I can't avoid.

I kept the VIN plates from the old blue truck and have considered registering it as the original vehicle since I have the title and the VIN. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. Have some research yet to do.

[rranger]

Hi I've asked you some questions and appreciate your help. Hopefully you can answer a couple more. I have three 1985 Dodge D50 trucks, 2 gas 2.6 and 1 Diesel plus a extra Diesel engine both 2.3's.
One of my gas bodies is the best one but might have a head gasket issue. So contemplating putting the other gas engine in. But I'm curious about installing the diesel setup. All the trucks are 4 wheel drive 5 speeds. So I could install the Diesel engine and tranny in one piece. My main question is how much connecting and adapting was there after the motor was in. Electrical, hydraulics, turbo cooler ect.?

[Uncle Spence]

I'll do my best to answer your questions RRanger.
You have a few options for wiring... The gas and diesel have very different wiring harnesses. The gas has a wiring harness for all the lights and bells and whistles, and then a wiring harness that runs from the ECM and tells the carb what to do and does all the emission stuff. The diesel truck has everything combined into one harness.
Your options...
1. Completely remove both wiring harnesses from the gas pickup and put the diesel one in its place. It will only be a pain, in my opinion, when you start going towards the rear of the truck towards the taillights. Not a bad option though.
2. Remove the ECM wiring harness from the gas truck, leave the main harness, and then rewire the necessities for the diesel to run properly.
I went with number 2 and here's why. A lot of what is coming from the computer in the diesel truck has to do with the fuel sensors. Attached to the fuel filter is a probe in the top and one in the bottom and there's another one somewhere in the fuel system. Those never worked in the past so I just didn't worry about them. My diesel harness had also been molested by previous owners and so there were a few rats nests along the way, plus a poor job of wiring for trailer lights. I wanted to keep it clean.
I swapped over my dash cluster thing so that I could keep track of the mileage but also have a tachometer since the gas truck didn't have one. So I had to wire the tach, fuel cut off switch, glow plug switch, and I did a few others that I wasn't totally sure what they did. Some day in the near future I'll try cutting those questionable wires while the truck is running and then turn it off and back on again to see if they are even necessary. The unknown wires were accounted for in the wiring diagram but I didn't know if they were necessary for the truck to start and I didn't want to take a chance. I just wanted the truck to start. I'm planning to eliminate as much as I can to keep it very simple.
I had to cut a whole in the firewall to get my fuel filter to bolt up to it. That was really only a pain because the place I wanted to mount it was also the same place that the cable came through for the previous mechanical clutch cable. I removed that with a air chisel and then welded a new piece for my fuel filter to bolt to. It wasn't too bad, and I only started a small fire in the process.
Lastly was the clutch pedal since the diesel transmission has a hydraulic clutch, and the gas has a mechanical clutch. It really wasn't too bad until I went to mount the actual clutch pedal. The little master cylinder wasn't too bad. I cut a big hole with a hole saw and made some measurements and got it mounted. The clutch pedal though has a bracket to support it so there isn't excessive pressure on the firewall... that was a pain in the neck.
If you decide on option 1 for the wiring harness, make sure to install that clutch pedal bracket while there is no wiring in the way. I got it done but it was probably my least favorite part of the whole project and I may go back to it again someday to make some modifications. Wish I had had a plasma cutter.
My truck didn't have an intercooler. I know that some of the 4D56T's came with them but mine doesn't and I had thought about putting one on at the beginning of my build but I already have a lot connected to the radiator support with the oil cooler, air conditioner, and radiator. I'm afraid I'd be loosing good flow with one more thing in the path. I'm fine with how it is for now.
Otherwise, I used the drive line and rear end from the gas truck.
I went to put the skid plate that came on the gas pickup and discovered the oil pan on the diesel is a tad bigger so I'll have to cut it some to get it to mount properly. Otherwise it really isn't very complicated. For the 2WD, the transmission cross member was the same so that made it easy. The mounts were the same too and the one from my diesel was really beat up so that was a win!
I did have some wiring for the starter, as the battery from my diesel was behind the cab. I just talked about that though a few posts ago on the thread.
I could probably ramble on, but I'll end it there. Let me know if you have anymore specific questions.

[rranger]

Thank you very much. I will do some looking and get back to you with any more questions.

[rranger]

I'll do my best to answer your questions RRanger.
You have a few options for wiring... The gas and diesel have very different wiring harnesses. The gas has a wiring harness for all the lights and bells and whistles, and then a wiring harness that runs from the ECM and tells the carb what to do and does all the emission stuff. The diesel truck has everything combined into one harness.
Your options...
1. Completely remove both wiring harnesses from the gas pickup and put the diesel one in its place. It will only be a pain, in my opinion, when you start going towards the rear of the truck towards the taillights. Not a bad option though.
2. Remove the ECM wiring harness from the gas truck, leave the main harness, and then rewire the necessities for the diesel to run properly.
I went with number 2 and here's why. A lot of what is coming from the computer in the diesel truck has to do with the fuel sensors. Attached to the fuel filter is a probe in the top and one in the bottom and there's another one somewhere in the fuel system. Those never worked in the past so I just didn't worry about them. My diesel harness had also been molested by previous owners and so there were a few rats nests along the way, plus a poor job of wiring for trailer lights. I wanted to keep it clean.
I swapped over my dash cluster thing so that I could keep track of the mileage but also have a tachometer since the gas truck didn't have one. So I had to wire the tach, fuel cut off switch, glow plug switch, and I did a few others that I wasn't totally sure what they did. Some day in the near future I'll try cutting those questionable wires while the truck is running and then turn it off and back on again to see if they are even necessary. The unknown wires were accounted for in the wiring diagram but I didn't know if they were necessary for the truck to start and I didn't want to take a chance. I just wanted the truck to start. I'm planning to eliminate as much as I can to keep it very simple.
I had to cut a whole in the firewall to get my fuel filter to bolt up to it. That was really only a pain because the place I wanted to mount it was also the same place that the cable came through for the previous mechanical clutch cable. I removed that with a air chisel and then welded a new piece for my fuel filter to bolt to. It wasn't too bad, and I only started a small fire in the process.
Lastly was the clutch pedal since the diesel transmission has a hydraulic clutch, and the gas has a mechanical clutch. It really wasn't too bad until I went to mount the actual clutch pedal. The little master cylinder wasn't too bad. I cut a big hole with a hole saw and made some measurements and got it mounted. The clutch pedal though has a bracket to support it so there isn't excessive pressure on the firewall... that was a pain in the neck.
If you decide on option 1 for the wiring harness, make sure to install that clutch pedal bracket while there is no wiring in the way. I got it done but it was probably my least favorite part of the whole project and I may go back to it again someday to make some modifications. Wish I had had a plasma cutter.
My truck didn't have an intercooler. I know that some of the 4D56T's came with them but mine doesn't and I had thought about putting one on at the beginning of my build but I already have a lot connected to the radiator support with the oil cooler, air conditioner, and radiator. I'm afraid I'd be loosing good flow with one more thing in the path. I'm fine with how it is for now.
Otherwise, I used the drive line and rear end from the gas truck.
I went to put the skid plate that came on the gas pickup and discovered the oil pan on the diesel is a tad bigger so I'll have to cut it some to get it to mount properly. Otherwise it really isn't very complicated. For the 2WD, the transmission cross member was the same so that made it easy. The mounts were the same too and the one from my diesel was really beat up so that was a win!
I did have some wiring for the starter, as the battery from my diesel was behind the cab. I just talked about that though a few posts ago on the thread.
I could probably ramble on, but I'll end it there. Let me know if you have anymore specific questions.




I'm lucky I have the diesel truck to sit beside the gas one as I change it over. Piece by piece. Its looking like from your post, the order would be
1)remove gas drive train
2)Install clutch pedal and hydraulics.
3)Wiring
4) drop in Motor and tranny.
5)hookup.

Going to run it on gas for a bit and then decide if its a plan to go diesel.

[Uncle Spence]

Haven't updated in a while. Truck is doing great in Texas. Haven't driven it a whole lot since the rebuild since I ride my bike to work everyday. A parking permit here costs like $500 for the year and I can ride my bike for free! Once I get through my first tank of diesel since the rebuild I'll change the oil and have something to update then.
On a lighter note, I took my man cub camping this past weekend and we slept in the back of Wallace. He thought it was pretty darn cool. It was nice to be somewhere with a slower pace, but holy crap... camping in Texas is so crappy because it's so hot and humid. I grew up in the Rocky Mountains where it cools down at night and a fire is to keep you warm. A fire here is only useful to stand next to to get really hot and then that way it actually feels sort of cool when you step away. All in all my boy had fun throwing rocks, playing in the dirt, collecting sticks, looking for alligators, and riding and sleeping in Wallace. That was the point.

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[Uncle Spence]

I just thought the truck looked good in the shade and thought I'd share.

In the past 80 miles or so the valve cover gasket has started to leak towards the front on the manifold side. I had an extra gasket so I cleaned it all up and put it on and it was even worse, so I will park it until I have the chance to mess with that debacle. Otherwise the truck is doing great!

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[pennyman1]

what is the brand of tonneau you are running?

[Uncle Spence]

It's custom built Pennyman. Relatively simple actually. I believe it started as a Ford ranger cover and they cut it and welded it to the proper dimensions. The frame is all aluminum. The hardest part would probably be getting all the buttons to align up nicely so the fabric sits flat. The fabric they took to an upholstery shop to have it cut and sewn to fit properly.

[Uncle Spence]

Haven't updated in a while. Truck is still around. I made a video for a contest for my jetta. It's largely focused on the truck though. Thought I'd share with the forum. Or at least those who are interested in this particular thread.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o82UCvmOIpk

[geezer101]

That was actually pretty good dude. Good drone use, editing was pretty good. The glamour shot of you on the truck bed cover was...disturbing lol

[tortron]

Must be tall eh, even my cut down bed is 6ft

[Uncle Spence]

That was actually pretty good dude. Good drone use, editing was pretty good. The glamour shot of you on the truck bed cover was...disturbing lol
Disturbing! Ha! I tried just leaning on the truck looking off into the distance, but that wasn't cheesy enough. So I went for the "glamour" shot as you like to call it.

Must be tall eh, even my cut down bed is 6ft
Tortron, the truck does look kind of small with me laying on the back like that. I'm 6'2" (1.8m for our metric friends) so not crazy tall. Gangly is probably a better definition for my build.

[royster]

It was a great video, Uncle Spence, and I love the paint job on the truck !! And it's always cool to see what our members look like.

[tortron]

would be great to get some drone shots of a few trucks driving together. A bit like the old TV ads with a line of them rolling over the desert

[Uncle Spence]

So I didn't win the video contest, but they did give me a shout out (honorable mention basically) when they announced the winners. They also gave me $10 dollars to spend on parts, which isn't the $100 I was hoping for, but that's okay.
If you haven't check out the video yet, you should. I'm sort of proud of it.

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[geezer101]

You got kudos Spence (and a $10 discount!) It's funny how the judges' pick ain't always the peoples choice. Your truck looks pretty sharp - Geezer approves :thumbup:

[Uncle Spence]

Haven't updated in a while. Truck is still running without error. Not a daily driver, I mostly bike commute, but gets driven weekly. Taken it to haul a small trailer to go kayaking with some buddies and other miscellaneous things. Kids love riding in Wallace.

Saw this cool Datsun recently with Mexico license plates. Front end reminded me a lot of the two headlight 1 generation Ram 50.

Harvesting corn with a mini combine. I like mini trucks so why not mini combines right?

Funny license plate I saw recently... If you're into Seinfeld.

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[geezer101]

Thanks for the update. You're getting the better use out of Wallace - the fun stuff. It's treated like a family friend. Gets to go camping and hang out with your buddies on the weekend. Nice ;)

[MightyDodge]

I live in Texas. That looks like a dead plane, can you tell me where it is?

[xboxrox]

That old Datsun is in great shape -- I once bought a brand new 1979 Datsun 210 2 dr sedan (not hatchback)1200cc 5 speed stick 41 to 47 mpg easily

[Uncle Spence]

I live in Texas. That looks like a dead plane, can you tell me where it is?

Not sure what you mean by dead plane, but most of those pictures were taken in or near College Station.

[85Ram50]

That old Datsun is in great shape -- I once bought a brand new 1979 Datsun 210 2 dr sedan (not hatchback)1200cc 5 speed stick 41 to 47 mpg easily

Best running car I ever owned a 78 B210.

[Uncle Spence]

Friendly update for those still following...

Truck was habitually not cranking over, or cranking too slowly, so I found myself either parking on a hill, or jumping myself off my own battery by bypassing the cables leading to the starter, and connecting the battery and starter with jumper cables. I knew it was the cables not connecting well, but needed to finish my dissertation and graduate. Got that done and started a new job that gave me a little more free time.
Put all new cables and one new battery terminal. I like the wingnut style terminals rather than the traditional ones and upgraded there as well. Bought the cables online and then built them to length. Really pleased with the outcome.
http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=25830&stc=1http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=25831&stc=1
The truck has such good compression, that now with adequate power going to the starter it fires right up on the first crank.

Also took the time to finally install my window stickers that I got for donating to the forum.
http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=25828&stc=1

I hope none of you are too discouraged with life. I know a lot have complained about 2020, but it's been a pretty good year for me and I feel pretty blessed overall. Have enough to meet my basic needs and my wife and kids are all in good health. Can't ask for much more... (hope you enjoy the message on the back of this septic truck as much as I did)
http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=25829&stc=1

All the best,
-Uncle Spencer