That'll do! Nice work man!!
CK5
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Berthas Cummins Build: Update 8/9/11 Drivetrain Assembly
- Thread starter badriver19
- Start date
Looks beyond solid, should handle a beating quite well. 
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2004
- Posts
- 2,647
- Reaction score
- 1,043
Looks beyond solid, should handle a beating quite well.
I'll 2nd that.
My wife saw that quote and said when she was single that was what she was looking for in a husband.
I'll 2nd that.
My wife saw that quote and said when she was single that was what she was looking for in a husband.
badriver19
Registered Member
The drivetrain is finally in for good. I need to shorten the stock first gen dodge drive shafts but other than that the drive train is in there for good now. I still have to pull the kingpin cap/steering arm and tie rod and drag link to clean weld and paint for the front end to be finished.
Once those things are complete, I will pull the cab from the frame it is currently on, put some new body mounts under it and get it on the rolling chassis. Once the cab makes it's way to it's new home, the engine compartment will be pieced together with all of the accessories, the fuel system will be installed and the truck will be wired up from front to back with an American auto wire upgrade wiring harness.
I still need to order up my hydro boost lines and fittings as well as an xj steering shaft.
It's coming along really nicely and this stage was a huge mile stone that I have been looking forward to it for a long time.
These are all shots of the progress from the last couple of months since my last post:
Once those things are complete, I will pull the cab from the frame it is currently on, put some new body mounts under it and get it on the rolling chassis. Once the cab makes it's way to it's new home, the engine compartment will be pieced together with all of the accessories, the fuel system will be installed and the truck will be wired up from front to back with an American auto wire upgrade wiring harness.
I still need to order up my hydro boost lines and fittings as well as an xj steering shaft.
It's coming along really nicely and this stage was a huge mile stone that I have been looking forward to it for a long time.
These are all shots of the progress from the last couple of months since my last post:
badriver19
Registered Member
I replaced both front and rear main seals as well as adding wear sleeves to the scored crank surfaces. The problem with doing this was that I did not have the $200 a piece tools to press on the wear sleeves. For the rear, I found a local kenworth dealer that had this tool which is universal for both B and C series cummins. The tool pressed both the wear sleeve and the seal onto the crank with the housing installed loosely.
I got the front install tool from the dealer as well but it was specific to a C series and was about an inch too big for my little B series. I called a local shop to see if they had the tool to do it and they suggested just heating the wear sleeve(since it was separated from the sleeve unlike the rear) under a halogen lamp for a while and then sliding it on. The halogen lamp didn't quite work but I did put the wear sleeve in the oven at about 450 degrees for about 20 or 30 minutes, ran it out to the barn, and put it on the end of the crank and smacked it with a 2x4 Anne a hammer far enough to get the balancer bolts to thread over the balancer and just used the balancer to press it on until the balance bottomed out. The wear sleeve and seal kit didn't come with an installed for the seal so I had to come up with another he brew solution. I started a search in the barn for a piece of material that would match the mid diameter of the sleeve to get it started and found that a piece of inter cooler tube works perfectly.
So after about 3 weeks of trying to track down the tools to do these wear sleeves, I was able to start assembly of the rest of the drive train.
I got the front install tool from the dealer as well but it was specific to a C series and was about an inch too big for my little B series. I called a local shop to see if they had the tool to do it and they suggested just heating the wear sleeve(since it was separated from the sleeve unlike the rear) under a halogen lamp for a while and then sliding it on. The halogen lamp didn't quite work but I did put the wear sleeve in the oven at about 450 degrees for about 20 or 30 minutes, ran it out to the barn, and put it on the end of the crank and smacked it with a 2x4 Anne a hammer far enough to get the balancer bolts to thread over the balancer and just used the balancer to press it on until the balance bottomed out. The wear sleeve and seal kit didn't come with an installed for the seal so I had to come up with another he brew solution. I started a search in the barn for a piece of material that would match the mid diameter of the sleeve to get it started and found that a piece of inter cooler tube works perfectly.
So after about 3 weeks of trying to track down the tools to do these wear sleeves, I was able to start assembly of the rest of the drive train.
badriver19
Registered Member
Alright, heres the money shots from last night:
looks awesome!
Great work man, a lot of attention to the frame and fab work. Keep it up.
Sweet Jebus that cummins is a monster!!!! Looking good, you should be cruising on the build now.
badriver19
Registered Member
Thanks guys, still lots left to do but it should move faster when im working on it.
badriver19
Registered Member
Alright, time for another update.
I finished up my home made crossover steering and got it installed for good.
I finished up my home made crossover steering and got it installed for good.
badriver19
Registered Member
Took my modified core support and valve covers to the sandblaster and got them back. I had to modify the core support further for the intercooler. Once i did all the trial fitting for that i primered and painted the core support black and the valve covers chevy orange. The valve covers really stand out. They will be one of the only things on the truck that is not silver or black.
The core support is finished with its modifications. i am not too happy with the angles of the intercooler boots on the passenger side but i will run them while the engine is in stock form for now and rework the pipes when i upgrade the turbo(s) or other power mods.
Some other things that are in some of the pictures that i did not take specific pictures of are the extra cutting and welding of the frame to make about 1/8" of an inch of extra clearance for the starter as well as having the front driveshaft lengthened and the rear shortened and making about 5 trips to the driveline shop to dig up the correct ubolts and straps for the u joints.
I also installed and plumbed the airdog to the injection pump as well as to the tank. i got the holes cut and grommeted in the bed and ran the lines but have not hooked them up in case i have to take the bed off again.
One thing that i am uncertain of is a vent in the tank. it had one with a 1/4" barb fitting with a check ball in it but i replaced that with a fitting with a 1/2" barb fitting for the return for the airdog. will i need to replace this fitting or will i be ok without the vent valve?
The core support is finished with its modifications. i am not too happy with the angles of the intercooler boots on the passenger side but i will run them while the engine is in stock form for now and rework the pipes when i upgrade the turbo(s) or other power mods.
Some other things that are in some of the pictures that i did not take specific pictures of are the extra cutting and welding of the frame to make about 1/8" of an inch of extra clearance for the starter as well as having the front driveshaft lengthened and the rear shortened and making about 5 trips to the driveline shop to dig up the correct ubolts and straps for the u joints.
I also installed and plumbed the airdog to the injection pump as well as to the tank. i got the holes cut and grommeted in the bed and ran the lines but have not hooked them up in case i have to take the bed off again.
One thing that i am uncertain of is a vent in the tank. it had one with a 1/4" barb fitting with a check ball in it but i replaced that with a fitting with a 1/2" barb fitting for the return for the airdog. will i need to replace this fitting or will i be ok without the vent valve?
badriver19
Registered Member
Here is the finished product.
One major thing that i finished up that i did not take pictures of was the brake lines. They were not hard at all but very tedious and time consuming to do them right. I used rubber protected hard line clamps to hold them in place on the frame and made some brackets to attach to the frame where the hard and soft lines meet both front and rear. I am very happy with the results of them. I will try to get some pics of them for next update.
I also cleaned up and sealed up the diff covers and put my golden fluid in the trans. i plan to top off all of my fluids very soon so that i can finally hear this monster run in this frame!!!
My next plans are to clean up the firewall and figure out my clutch master and hydroboost pushrods to pedals and the clutch master mounting. Once those are figured out, the cab will go on the frame and i will start the wiring on this beast.
One thing i am stuck on and cannot find or locate is the guts for the speedometer on my np205. if anyone can point me in any direction to locate one, i would appreciate it.
One major thing that i finished up that i did not take pictures of was the brake lines. They were not hard at all but very tedious and time consuming to do them right. I used rubber protected hard line clamps to hold them in place on the frame and made some brackets to attach to the frame where the hard and soft lines meet both front and rear. I am very happy with the results of them. I will try to get some pics of them for next update.
I also cleaned up and sealed up the diff covers and put my golden fluid in the trans. i plan to top off all of my fluids very soon so that i can finally hear this monster run in this frame!!!
My next plans are to clean up the firewall and figure out my clutch master and hydroboost pushrods to pedals and the clutch master mounting. Once those are figured out, the cab will go on the frame and i will start the wiring on this beast.
One thing i am stuck on and cannot find or locate is the guts for the speedometer on my np205. if anyone can point me in any direction to locate one, i would appreciate it.
badriver19
Registered Member
Process has been made the past year or so, just not as much as hoped......
Battery trays
Transfer case shifter bracket
After getting measurements from the mock up piece, i cut a much better looking bracket on the waterjet
Mock up:
Waterjet part
Both
Tranny tunnel
Got my buddy buckets thrown in
Battery trays
Transfer case shifter bracket
After getting measurements from the mock up piece, i cut a much better looking bracket on the waterjet
Mock up:
Waterjet part
Both
Tranny tunnel
Got my buddy buckets thrown in
Last edited:
badriver19
Registered Member
Downpipe
Modified 1st gen exhaust
at xcase
after xcase and over axle
behind the tire
I loaded her up and took her to work where i will pull the cab, take it to the sandblaster, and bring it back home to the garage and repair the cab supports and possibly redo the cab corners and rockers that the previous owner put in(just not work to my standards). i need to install my cab lights, shave the firewall hvac holes and the fuel filler hole, add holes for headliner trim, primer and paint the interior, and trim the rest of the cab to put it on for the final time.
i am going to set my birthday (June 24) as my deadline to get this drivable...... well see how many obstacles jump out to try to prevent this......
ill have updates as i make more progress......
Modified 1st gen exhaust
at xcase
after xcase and over axle
behind the tire
I loaded her up and took her to work where i will pull the cab, take it to the sandblaster, and bring it back home to the garage and repair the cab supports and possibly redo the cab corners and rockers that the previous owner put in(just not work to my standards). i need to install my cab lights, shave the firewall hvac holes and the fuel filler hole, add holes for headliner trim, primer and paint the interior, and trim the rest of the cab to put it on for the final time.
i am going to set my birthday (June 24) as my deadline to get this drivable...... well see how many obstacles jump out to try to prevent this......
ill have updates as i make more progress......
Fantastic work!!!
glad to see the progress. lets see updates a little more often. 
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Great fab work!
CUCV2
5/4 ton fun
You have done wonders with this thing so far. Any updates now that it is warm again?
