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

 

[LMRmopar]

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

I'll have it on the pallet soon, it is currently pulled now and ready for pickup almost.

 

[LMRmopar]

Not even sure where to begin this but here we go.

The annual Father's Day Car Show was not as good as the last few years but still enjoyed it nonetheless, my 395/85R20s had came in however one of the tires was questionable and I will have to wait for another one to come in so I didn't get to mount them all before the show unfortunately


I will post pictures once I do have all of them mounted though don't worry! lol
In the morning of the car show during the setup I had parked the truck and went and got my other car for the show and when I came back I had a little willys jeep friend parked next to me by surprise


After the car show I had wasted no time into replacing every single gasket and seal on the Cummins and preparing it for the swap. I'll leave most of the details out because there's a million videos on how to do just about everything on a Cummins This engine ran and drove fine beforehand so I wasn't too worried about finding anything abnormal, that is until I took the timing cover off to find out the Killer Dowel Pin had struck another 12 valve down. I guess the farmer that had it before had already attempted to repair it with JB weld and such, it never leaked from there so I let it be as I was on a timeline to get this engine in and I didn't really feel like waiting 2 weeks for a timing case.

Left the engine stock for the most part as I could do all the fueling/intake/cam, etc.. upgrades in the truck and it'd be easier for me to know what to start with once I see how it performs in the M135. The setup is 1996 12 Valve 215 P-Pump mated to a 2WD NV4500 with an upgraded Input Shaft (1-3/8"), Clutch/Flywheel is a 13 inch Southbend Clutch P/N: 1947-OFEK.

A freshly re sealed engine and paint job and she's ready to go in.



After all of that had been taken care of, I had then pulled in the deuce for it's last drive with the old 302...

 

[LMRmopar]

Had a 16 hour day at the shop with the progress because there's nothing I dislike more than having a project that is sitting undriveable lol.

Pulled the front fenders and rad which was my first time and couldn't believe how easy it was, then wasted no time to pulling the engine.


During the removal of the shift tower to pull the engine and trans out together I had a little surprise which I had thought I found them all but apparently not, in the shift tower I had found a .50 BMG Bullet which had been there for quite some time.

After the interesting find I was able to pull the engine/trans combo out from the truck, I then bathed the whole area in cleaner/degreaser and prepared the Cummins to go in.

After some wrestling with the engine and some skilled maneuvering in the skid steer I was able to support it with wooden blocks in the optimal positioning ready to fabricate the motor mounts and transmission mount first thing in the morning. The shift is not super ideal but shifters can always be modified. Besides that it clears the Torque Rod for the front differential and other surrounding parts.
The Driveline is set at 5 degrees to match up with the original Transfer case and is roughly 10 inches yoke to flange.

 

[LMRmopar]

After checking over final alignments and clearances all I could do was just stand back and admire it knowing i'm now at the halfway point.

The clearance to the firewall is about 2.5 inches. The motor mounts are in pretty good positions (see pictures) and other than that I see no issues if I have to replace any parts in terms of interference. YES I will paint the engine bay afterwards before you ask lol.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Sure was a worthwhile 11 hour adventure to see the cummins implant first hand. It's got a shift lever. I did not expect a standard transmission. Very cool swap.



Mopar man loaded the 302 and trans so I could bring it South for a bath. A big thanks to the Northern man who threw down to keep another deuce rolling! I hear he might know where some spare transmissions are. Got some tags to look at tomorrow. Before and after a quick bath.



Real smokey trip up to Fort Mac but got to see some cool sights. Didn't know they tunneled for oil sands so learned something new.

 

[LMRmopar]

Another update 10 years later lol. Been busy with everything as usual so I don't get much time to be able to get on here as often as i'd like.

We'll start with the wheels and tires, finally I was able to mount the 395/85R20s Michelin XMLs on all 6 wheels without any issues. Was definitely skeptical at first but after doing one side all my concerns quickly disappeared as there was no rub anywhere even with the steering at full lock.

There was nothing wrong with the tread on the old 11.00R20 Michelin XZLs but those tires were from 2002 and showing heavy signs of weather cracking which I didn't feel comfortable with on the highway so I figured it'd be best to replace all of them.

 

[LMRmopar]

The swap is still not fully completed as I have to hook up 5 more gauges (RPM, Oil Pres. , Pyro, Boost, Fuel) But I have been driving it around quite a bit already and it does move out a lot quicker than it used to... There was a steep hill I always have to climb from downtown area and before the swap I could only do MAYBE 45km/h all the way up, now I can finally say i'm able to do the speed limit or more up the hill which is 70 km/h which is a bonus because this enables me to drive it more.

I have attached a few of the photos of the swap, again, nothing is finalized so yes I know the wiring is a mess and it doesn't look very pretty but it's still a work in progress lol the main thing is it runs and drives extremely well as it is so far. I'm attempting to make it look factory but i'm sure that'll be a couple months away still as life gets in the way.

As for the downpipe off the turbo it's sorta against the cab but actually fits nicely between the fender and cab on the passenger side.

There's no way for me to fit an intercooler to this unless I get creative but I don't believe it's the worst thing in the world for the time being, the piping does look a little funky but until I get a custom 1 piece tube made it'll have to do.

The air intake for the turbo is temporary as i'll be putting a snorkel on this so it can benefit from cold air and not the extreme engine bay temps.

The Jackshaft between the Transmission and Tcase is just a yoke with 3.5 inches of engagement to a flange mated to the stock jackshaft, 3-2-429 is the flange to mate a 1410 series flange to the stock 1550 series flange.

The lower coolant hose was a bit of a challenge because the Cummins outlet is 2-1/4" and the stock rad is 1-1/2" and they're tight together, I was however able to find a coolant hose large enough with a 180 degree bend and essentially adapt it down and make it work.

The clutch pedal for the time being is still the stock one out of the ram with the stock hydraulics but I will change that eventually for better pedal position and feel.

The transmission crossmember was a bit of a pain but I was pretty burnt out at this point, I provided a picture but definitely isn't the prettiest lol.

One thing to note is there is still enough room to drop the transmission without removing the engine or tcase which is a bonus.

I will get a video put together edited and all eventually so you guys can see it in action and how it sounds.

 

[m1010plowboy]

The Jackshaft between the Transmission and Tcase is just a yoke with 3.5 inches of engagement to a flange mated to the stock jackshaft, 3-2-429 is the flange to mate a 1410 series flange to the stock 1550 series flange.

That right there is some valuable data for the next cummins creation. I've seen the videos. It just sounds right.


I'm getting things cleaned up before snow so I can get the engine under a hood. It's almost back to original / rebuilt colors.

 

[rustystud]

That right there is some valuable data for the next cummins creation. I've seen the videos. It just sounds right.


I'm getting things cleaned up before snow so I can get the engine under a hood. It's almost back to original / rebuilt colors.

View attachment 930388

When do you expect snow to appear ?

 

[m1010plowboy]

When do you expect snow to appear ?

LMRmopar is seeing temps drop to 43F 6C by Saturday night then it's going to get hot again so no drifting for the cummins deuce yet......but we know it's coming. Removing the front drive shaft can be a lot of fun.

We found the plug wire that was causing the miss that night in the dark. A person does not need to worry about that with a cummins!

It could be hot until the new year or snow on Sept 9. Got a bumper that needs to go to Fort Mac. Sure hope winter picks New Years.