My 1952 M135 Build

[LMRmopar]

Successfully attended every car show of 2023, no awards/trophies won however seeing the reaction of kids as I let them sit inside was good enough. Nothing is better than making a kid smile. A few dump runs were also done in this unit and seeing the faces in the scale office as I roll onto the residential scale was certainly hilarious , definitely not something they see every day. In September the distributor went out, took it apart to diagnose and decided I would just buy a NOS distributor instead because everything looked so worn out, was probably the original distributor but I could be wrong. Also set the valve lash and set timing, truck was definitely down on at least 20 ish horsepower, I picked up a lot of speed going up hills haha.

 

[Bulldogger]

Been too long since i've posted here, and a lot of progress has happened since the last time. We'll start with the interior overhaul, got rid of the flaky old paint as much as I could and re upholstered the seats myself which didn't turn out too bad i'd say. Overall it's a big improvement from what it was however there is still so much to be done. Had to add the Hula girl as well . I will be uploading as many photos as I can since the last update on this post. This truck will also be 100% Cummins swapped in the spring/next couple months and I will document everything to answer a lot of questions on the process and to make it easier for the next person looking to re power their unit.

Well done! The Cummins swap will be of interest to many. Do you plan a 4BT, 6BT, or something else? New transmission too I assume?
BDGR

 

[LMRmopar]

Well done! The Cummins swap will be of interest to many. Do you plan a 4BT, 6BT, or something else? New transmission too I assume?
BDGR

The plan will be to buy a 1994-1998 Donor 12 valve ram with an NV4500. Turbo will be replaced most likely and fueling upgraded. It will sound beautiful through a 5 inch stack. Both engine and trans will be gone through to rebuild but buying a donor truck is the easiest way because then I know it runs and the trans will go through all 5 gears, or if there is a problem I can fix it while I have it all out before I put it in.

 

[m1010plowboy]

It's so interesting to take these to car shows. You never know what movie scenes a person can re-create. Even just showing the civilians what our youngsters had for military gear back in the 50's surprises a lot of people. Keep the photos coming. We scrounged another pile of take-outs if you need engine parts to keep running while you work on the swap.

 

[LMRmopar]

Bought some new mirrors and fabricated up some brackets with 1/8" steel, doesn't look too bad at all i'd say. Definitely a lot better than what it was before, I feel like I can actually back into a spot now . Also performed another oil change and checked over the driveline to see if any issues presented themselves, luckily no major leaks or cause for concern.

 

[LMRmopar]

Been too long since an update here but here I am to give one now. I picked up a 1997 Ram 3500 C&C 2 weeks ago to use as a donor to swap into the M135, the ram is equipped with a 5.9 12 Valve and a NV4500, both of which I will be building/upgrading before I put it in. I expect to commence the swap as early as June 18th and I will have my camera handy and I will provide details along with pictures the whole way along the swap. This Cummins swap into the deuce has been done before of course but not many have documented it well so I will do the best I can. I have already pulled the trans/engine combo today and will begin tearing it down soon.

I do have the Father's day car show coming up soon so it's that time of year where I will be detailing the truck, as soon as the car show is over that OE GMC 302 & Hydra-matic power pack will be pulled, I will sell it most likely, engine runs okay could use quite a few seals, intake & exhaust manifold gasket, and plug wires, however she'll do 90 km/h no problem and all the gears high and low work good. I am located in northern Alberta in Fort McMurray if anyone on here is interested do not hesitate to shoot me a message, I'd rather the power unit go into another truck to get it back on the road

I also ordered 395/85R20s which should arrive later this week and of course I will post pictures as they are to go on before the car show hopefully

 

[m1010plowboy]

Sassy.......a Cummins Deuce is comin' closer. I have a donation truck that wants a new power pack. Maybe the day you lift out the engine, I park a truck under it then take it to the carwash. Got a buddy up there that's a fire-fighter and another with a pile of green iron in Wandering River. It's a good excuse to take a drive and visit. We'll chat. I know a guy that started a Cummins project. He had trouble with that upper torque rod but we haven't chatted in a while so not sure if he solved it . The duramax deuce just ate a pinion seal after 10,000+ K. We should be on the look-out for more pinion seals for you big horse fellas.

Good to see that Cummins out.

 

[LMRmopar]

Sassy.......a Cummins Deuce is comin' closer. I have a donation truck that wants a new power pack. Maybe the day you lift out the engine, I park a truck under it then take it to the carwash. Got a buddy up there that's a fire-fighter and another with a pile of green iron in Wandering River. It's a good excuse to take a drive and visit. We'll chat. I know a guy that started a Cummins project. He had trouble with that upper torque rod but we haven't chatted in a while so not sure if he solved it . The duramax deuce just ate a pinion seal after 10,000+ K. We should be on the look-out for more pinion seals for you big horse fellas.

Good to see that Cummins out.

I believe I might've met him already at the car show a couple years back when I first got it because he had mentioned he had a few MLVWs. If it's the same feller I'm thinking of then he would be the one with the property near the highway on 63 by wandering river, I always look at the MLVW/M35s he has there as I pass by.

On another note once the power pack is pulled I'll have it on a pallet for you waiting lol. I expect this whole swap should be completed by the end of this month running and driving under it's new combo. I've sized it up and taken many measurements with everything so there will be some slight modification to the fire wall most likely, however everything should go relatively smoothly.

My next update will probably be Friday/Saturday as the Cummins will undergo replacement of ALL the seals & gaskets, and then receive a nice paintjob before she goes in the truck

 

[m1010plowboy]

Wasn't sure I grabbed a picture but I found one. Moving the rad support forward has been an option on two builds. Firewall mods wouldn't be a bad option because there is a lot of room in the cab for a trans hump or Cummins bulge. This duramax bulge is out the front to keep the TC from having to go back further than it did.



The wandering River boys have a campsite I haven't seen yet so looking forward to a trip up there. We'll hook you up.
Keep me posted on a schedule that works for you for loading and I'll be there, 5.5 hours from here.


There's another fella up there with armour. I wonder if Jack is still active? A tank ride arrangement would be a bonus. http://www.armourcrossalberta.com/index.htm