Spring has sprung here in Minnesota, so in a few weeks I'll be able to haul my '94 to the shed to get working on it.  I posted WAY back when I first found this forum on my build plans.  I'll start here again to bring everyone back up to speed.   

 

First off, is this the right part of the forum to post a "build" thread?  If not please direct me to the correct location.  thanks

 

I restored a '51 Pilothouse B3D truck that was my great grandfathers truck.  I seem to have a disease now, lots of old truck parts in my house, garage and at friend's sheds.  I decided a few years back I was going to take a modern powertrain and graft on a Pilothouse cab/front clip as a daily driver.  This truck will be a stretched 3 door cab flat bed stake side hauler style truck.  I've got all the old Pilothouse cabs and doors to cut apart and re-weld up to the stretched cab.  As well as all the doors I could need to make the 3rd door and fill the space behind the passenger side door.

 

The '94 has a fresh rebuilt tranny and about 150K on the engine.  I've been thinking that since it will all be available to work on, going thru the engine and rear end would be a good idea right now.  Before I start to tear things off, any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Plans include air ride, saddle fuel tanks, rear duals and a tip up front end like a semi for engine work.  

 

thanks, I look forward to keeping this thread moving over the course of the spring/summer while things start under way.

Edited March 12, 201411 yr by PilotHouse2500

I believe they flip the manifold when adding twins 

20 hours ago, Royal Squire said:

I believe they flip the manifold when adding twins 

 

Good to hear confirmation, I also asked coworkers down at the Indiana mothership and they thought it would work (no one left there from the 12V-6bt development team). 

Well, removing the turbo is quite the job...the back two nuts are SOOO easy to pop free....HA!   

 

 

Edited February 23, 20232 yr by PilotHouse2500

Passenger side door lower cancer repaired.   And of course my air compressor pressure switch took a dump again...another switch on order to see if the motor is driving the over amp on the switch causing the wire melt.

 

 

tip linkage parts all in....now for fab...

 

 

passenger door gaps built out

 

 

horn mounted

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 13, 20232 yr by PilotHouse2500

Flipping the manifold took less time than I had imagined.  The hardest part were the two bolts tucked in the firewall (bottom of course the worse of the 2).

 

 

I think the oil filter looks a wee bit old, Just a little!

1 hour ago, JAG1 said:

I think the oil filter looks a wee bit old, Just a little!

nah, it's fine...I'll run with it  

 

Well, seems I need a wee bit of a spacer.   Spinning the cold side it hits the manifold.  One step forward $100 back!

Story of my life...  I always say there is no progress without delay. Mistakes made often reveal underlying problems and solutions.

 

What I can never understand are those individuals who cannot understand this and would be bent on blaming me or my services while doing highly customized work. I get done and never go back is what happens.

Dialing in the rear door windows with glass in hand.   A few minor adjustments needed.

 

 

driver side

 

 

Driver side is giving me a few isues getting it all lined up happy with the passenger side.   Even a vaunted template failed me and I'm down to itterative pivot placement.  I'm close, but not quite yet.

 

 

Wow. This is a long project with lots of home-crafted solutions. I'm still patiently waiting to see the end when it rolls.

3 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Wow. This is a long project with lots of home-crafted solutions. I'm still patiently waiting to see the end when it rolls.

 

Me too!  Basically about 1 year out from paint and then 1 year after should be on the road....Sadly shop kitty Puma from the video likley won't make it that long, at 18 or 19 yo she's definetly in her golden years.

Driver side now w/in 1/2° on angle for open and closed position.  Tonight I fully weld the pivot point in place.

 

 

Tip linkage pivots all welded in.  I do have some heat deflection at the front pivot to deal with, but not that big of a deal.  Also dropped the turbo back on with the new spacer for clearance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 20232 yr by PilotHouse2500

Finally back at the linkages....hopefully some exciting stuff this weekend!

 

 

Well, the weekend was busy!  Running on 18V instead of 12V (wheeler battery had a bad cell) so its a bit FAST, and I need to figure out how to stiffen the whole thing so the bounce stops.  But I'm happy!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 20231 yr by PilotHouse2500