PSA: a lightly bombed civilian 8.3 is a great repower for an old 5 ton

[Trango]

I am between tasks right now, and I figured I'd jump over here and give a brief report on the first real road report of my repower project.

I drove the truck from Boulder down to Golden and up and over Lookout Mountain on Sunday morning, covering maybe 50 miles in total. The trip consisted of city traffic, highway, and also a steep climb: the top of Lookout is accessed via a steep, winding road popular with cyclists and sightseers. The road climbs across the valley from the famed Coors plant, and gains around 1800 feet in a few miles of driving. In short, this was like a triathlon of driving: maneuvering (traffic), sprinting (highway), and climbing (mountain road).

It's perhaps interesting to note that this was the first time I've had the truck up to highway speed.

I think the report should really start and stop with with mention of the Cummins 6cta 8.3 - this engine is nothing short of fantastic. Its heart is the Bosch P-pump, into which I've installed a fairly mild #10 throttle plate, to increase the fuelling. Yes, my truck is a bit slimmer than your standard 5 ton, but I can't say that even 5000 more pounds would really strain this engine, as fast and as hard as it pulls.

Bottom line: the truck drives amazingly. It's nimble, fast, and basically everything I set out to build when I started gathering parts more than 2 years ago. I'm so overjoyed that I'm back to looking for excuses to go drive the thing. Seriously, that drive was yesterday morning, and I still have a permagrin.

Back to the task at hand,
Bob

 

[southdave]

Wholely crap, where have you been.... I remember the duece with cat build. you going show us pics??

 

[m816]

We need pictures!

 

[Trango]

One quick pic from the drive. Not sure if I have others handy right now.

Bodywork is still on the to-do, as things like lights, brakes and steering have taken precedence.

It's an amalgam, for sure, but the truck is a screamer with that engine, the tranny, the brakes, and the steering (poor experience with my last truck saw me stick the steering even ahead of the fender on this truck!).

 

[gringeltaube]

Not another Franken-deuce, or...??? OK, we'll wait and see......

YES, the 6CT's are very popular in this part of the world, too. Factory equipped in trucks intended to pull 45 tons GCWR (i.e.: Ford Cargo 4532e)

You flipped both (5ton)axles left to right. Was there a reason NOT to swap the knuckles, in order to keep the tierod behind the axle housing?
Or is it that you invented some kind of cross-over steering system because of the lift?

More pics please!

G.

 

[Trango]

Yep, it's M35 sheetmetal. I have more in common with the 5 ton crew so I think this fits better here.

And, interesting that the 6CT is spec'd to pull 45 tons!!!! My truck is all of 7 tons, so I'm very very fast.

I flipped both 5 ton axles to accomodate the outputs on the transfer case. I can't honestly remember if I needed to flip the rear, or if I just made more sense like that. I intend, once I have free time, to disassemble the front and then flip the knuckles around and protect the tie rod, but that is way down on the priority.

I'll put together some more pics ..... once I get it a little more dialled. I really would like to finish the grille, but that might take a little while. I guess what I'm saying is that, compared to some of the ... aestheticians here, this build might be a long time in looking pretty. That caveat now written, I'll get some pics for you soon.

Best,
Bob

 

[nk14zp]

For more power take the fuel plate out.