"B.u.d" - '74 M-950 Diesel Power Wagon

[Mad Max]

booyah - Bud...is 'back'

What's 'Bud'? - it's a 1974 Dodge M-950 Diesel Power Wagon crew cab convertible, with an early 5.9 Cummins, 47RH 2wd trans, divorced Ford 203/205 ORD doubler, on rockwells and 46's, at a 144" wheelbase. It's a big silly toy I planned/built 10 years ago, sold in '17, and just got back. It's a long story but a good story, and the origin post is here - '78 M-950 Power Wagon build

...it's all my oldest kids' fault really - she's grown up watching the video's of the 'big blue monster truck' that mom n dad drive around...and...well about a month ago we just decided to try to bring the big beastie back into the family. The truck has been for sale a few times since we let it go in April '17, and it has made its way from Cheyenne, to Richmond Virgina, to where I just picked it up from in Jacksonville, Florida. About a month ago Tracy n me were talking...and we've always loved watching the video's n such, and it was just such a hella-fun 'toy', and we just decided to get it back from wherever it was. I still had the (now previous) owners' contact info, and we made a good deal, and I just completed a 3500-mile round trip to pick up the big beastie.

Big Mack (our '07 3500 5.9 Cummins/6-speed mega4xdually tow truck) was a rock star throughout the whole trip - never missed a beat save for one single instance when the cruise control cancelled itself - I must have hit the button or nudged the brake pedal 'cause it never did it again - other than that the trip was literally flawless, which considering the size and weight of everything is saying something.

What about our Dakota, you ask? It ain't going anywhere - it remains our nice, 'quiet(ish)', off-road machine, and Tracy's '94 Grand Cherokee will still be built up on 33s. We just wanted our giant family 'toy' back in the stable for those times we wanna git jiggy wit it and have some primal off-road fun - not the go-destroy-stuff kind of fun, just the big silly kind like we've enjoyed all along when we had it before. And yes - I will be addressing ways to make it a bit 'nicer' to be in, mostly involving making it quieter, including another muffler or two, cab insulation, and noise-cancelling insulation specifically made for the 6BT Cummins - all of which should really help tame down the raw noise. I'm also going to work on things like door panels, seals, and, heat - always nice to have. I'll get the chance to 'finish' it, and improve some things along the way. Should be fun .

The truck could use some TLC - it's only got about 150 miles put on it since we sold it - otherwise it's just 'sat', much of the time on blocks (thankfully), occasionally being started up and/or driven around, but otherwise very little has happened to it - it's a bit of a time capsule really, but despite needing a jump it fired up instantly when I hit the button, which was the #1 thing I was hoping for, and it was the best kind of music to my ears .

SO - there it is. Lots more shenanigans to come.

here he was - sitting sopping wet in Florida - any major issues will likely be related to 'rust'...

Loaded and ready for the 1700-mile return trip -

...and back 'home' -

booyah 👍

 

[lagunaMS]

That’s sick. I like seeing more trucks like this on here

 

[Mad Max]

here's a couple pics of the beastie from before - couple of good shots from Moab -

here's the basic chassis (not the actual existing setup - been some edits since these pics, but it's close enough as a 'frame' of reference) - fully boxed frame with 3/16 plate, custom mounts, etc...

 

[IowaOffRoad]

Can I like this more than once?

 

[Bmxbry9]

Stoked to see this thing back

 

[rattle_snake]

Super cool rig

 

[IowaOffRoad]

OP that start out as an Air Force base truck? I’ve got one of those. Not going to build a wheeler out of it, but a tow rig/family truckster.

 

[Mad Max]

thanks all. No it wasn't a USAF truck but I was USAF for 20 years as was my Dad, and I painted the truck USAF Strata Blue. This truck was/now is again my attempt to have a military-themed toy I can hammer on with (not so) reckless glee, while leaving our '52 M-38 'alone' to be the parade machine. Our Dakota was intended to 'replace' Bud, but now it is going to be it's trail partner, and my wife and I will take turns driving one or the other. There's lots of 'military' in this rig; M-38 steering wheel, M35A3/HMMWV seats, M101 bed, and the big M35 'Deuce axles, along with the canvas top it sure 'feels and smells' like a military rig, which is totally awesome and 100% intentional and wanted.

- Sam

 

[Kriptonite]

Seems like I remember this rig from the other place.

Nice build man, glad you got it back and looking forward to updates.

 

[Mad Max]

yah when I was building the truck Pirate4x4 was/is the go-to resource for a large portion of the vetted tech info I needed, particularly with rockwell tech 👍

 

[Mad Max]

alright - Bud's first day out since his near-literal hibernation was a success, tho not without some issues. We went to Chinaman Trail out near Buena Vista - always a great trail, and always a bit 'bigger' than the previous time. Bud did just fine, tho about a quarter of the way into the trail I started noticing a burning smell, which upon inspection I noticed the r-rear rotors was 'dripping'. Yeah apparently the corrosion from being out east and not moving for several years took its toll on the rear calipers and the pistons weren't retracting, and the rear brakes were dragging, enough so to liquify the grease in the hub, which was dripping out the bottom of the slotted rotor - literally smoking hot. Also noticed the left rear was almost as bad - not smoking but too hot to touch. Our solution was to unbolt/pry off both calipers, wedge a small tree branch between the pads, and duck tape them to the top of the leaf springs. Worked great, and since were in lo-lo most of the trail I really didn't 'need' brakes most of the time, and the front F550 brakes are so strong I didn't hardly notice not having the rears. Also interesting is the grease apparently cooled off enough to become 'grease' again and never dripped the rest of the trail.

The rest of the trail was uneventful - the truck seemed to 'remember' why it was built and performed just like it always has - it was like spending quality time with an old friend :) . Ok - pics n vids -

alongside Homers Jeep -

 

[Mad Max]

so one of the things on the short list is a simple, H.D. parking brake - H.D. enough to hold this heavy ass truck back on a decent incline without worrying about grenading the parking sprag. I'm looking at a setup from High Angle Driveline (pics below), but the info I got back was this setup is not intended for vehicles heavier than 7k lbs. So, as always, I'm looking for other ideas on how to achieve a 'good' mechanical parking brake that does not involve the wheel ends.

I'm pretty sure this setup will bolt up right to the back of my Ford 205, but I'm not sure it'll hold the trucks' weight on a decent hillside, but if I could find a 'bigger' version of this I'd dig deeper into it. I also do not think I can run two of these calipers in series either. I'll still try to get the OE D80 e-brakes to work as intended, but in the event that proves unreliable I'm just looking for other options...

 

[wvracer821]

what about the typical pinion brake setups you see on mud trucks with rockwells? maybe spice it up with one of the electric park style calipers like come on newer cars.

Edit: found this after a quick google search.

Tesla Brembo electric parking brake controller

Electric parking brake controller is designed to operate Tesla Brembo and Tesla Model 3 parking brake calipers. Push button or hand brake lever operation, especially for electric cars and EV

www.pantera-electronics.com

Rockwell Pinion Brake Kit (Uses Toyota Caliper ONLY)

This item is a 2.5-ton rockwell pinion brake kit we came up with to address some of the short-comings we found in other kits. After running other setups I found I wanted more versatility in caliper mounting and the largest rotor I could squeeze in there for more braking power and slower heat...

patparts.com

 

[Mad Max]

not sure - that looks to be a hydraulic caliper, and I'm needing a mechanical one. Still tho good to see other posibilities so thanks for the links and info 👍

- Sam

 

[aczlan]

not sure - that looks to be a hydraulic caliper, and I'm needing a mechanical one. Still tho good to see other posibilities so thanks for the links and info 👍

- Sam

What if you use the pinion kit, but without the Toyota caliper and use the Tesla caliper kit in its place (or get that outer rotor and cut a center disc and mounting bracket to match what the Tesla caliper needs).

Aaron Z

 

[wvracer821]

I was thinking the same lines as Aczlan

 

[Grendel]

I'd do a drum based parking e-brake, like you find on MDT trucks.

I put one on my truck.

 

[Mad Max]

...so the last trail we did was the most 'abusive' to the truck in the whole time I've wheeled it, and among the carnage was a bent tie rod - bent it about 10-15* - not terrible but it needed to be repaired. We're taking the truck to the big regional Mopar show in a couple weeks up in Denver at Bandimere Speedway, and I needed it to steer correctly. To try to straighten it out I found the perfect use for the Harbor Freight 'tubing bender'...and that is for un-bending a bent rockwell tie rod - the HF bender worked perfectly...especially since 'precision' is not not the #1 priority - this just needed to be eyeball close enough 🤓

I've kind of been waiting for this moment (a bent tie rod) before going through the motions to do something 'better', and soon as I have a couple free days I'm going to fab a much bigger tie rod, and I'll make it with 1-1/4 x 1 heims and the uber strong tubing I already have (DOM tubing is ridiculous right now), and it'll bolt up above the knuckle vs its current position, below. Anyway, these are the heims for the new tie rod - should be beefy enough eh? 😈

 

[rattle_snake]

I like your design for improved HF tubing kinker sliders/rollers. I just pinch a slice of pipe in there but like the captive design. If you have any further improvements feel free to make yourself a new set and send me the old complete set thanks.

 

[Mad Max]

yah the old ones were really only good for jacking things up, but with decent outriggers the bender does actually 'bend' things vs 'kinking' them...

 

[Mad Max]

...alright - I've decided that instead of replacing the tie rod with an uber version I'm going to go ahead and upgrade to full hydro. For this truck, the pro's far outweigh the cons, and the performance advantage will far outshine the...well all things considered there really aren't any legit disadvantages. Likely going with a 2.5x10x1.5 ram, and I'm reviewing load-reactive orbitals now that will yield ~3 turns lock-to-lock. In the process I'll sell my existing Dodge/Rockwell ram-assist setup consisting of a perfect PSC gearbox ported for ram-assist, and the 2x10 ram. Collecting the mad money now, and I'll post pics when I start fabbin'.

Now I go to the Legos to try to figure out just how/where to mount the ram. I've been surfing 'full hydro for idiots' looking for tutorials or 'math' on how to account for Ackerman and toe n everything but I haven't really found something solid. I said "Ackerman" and "Toe" - don't I sound all smart n shit!.... Found the spec sheets from PSC and Howe which have been helpful but leave out a few things... - I'll eventually figure it out, but if someone has something or has a couple good links for 'full hydro ram placement for a truck that will see occasional street time and doesn't want to grind down the tires' I'm all eyes/ears.

Meanwhile, just waiting for a replacement set of front leafs, and this Sunday we're taking the big beastie to the regional Mopar car show at Bandimere Speedway in Denver - should be fun

- Sam

 

[Mad Max]

ok, so I think I basically know 'where/how' to mount a double-ended ram to enable an axle set up for full-hydro to have semi-proper street manners, and by that I mean it'll steer 'predictably' without grinding the tires off way prematurely, and I've done up a couple pics in an attempt to try to convey what I'm intending to do. These pics should show the three main areas of consideration regarding placement of the ram in relation to the axle: driving straight from the top view, from the rear view, and at full clock.

Of course no full-hydro setup is 'perfect' for street driving - I get that - I'm just looking for 'as good of handling as possible' given the setup.

I welcome any/all feedback.

 

[Mad Max]

so while I've nearly decided to do full hydro, like always (and for those that don't 'know' me and my Mad wayz please just bear with me on this)...what I am trying to get a read on is 'how' a truck equipped with full hydro will 'handle'. Now, yes - there are tons of variables and I know it is all a matter of conjecture, but I'm just trying to manage my own expectations before breaking out the death wheel and chopping off all of my ram-assist hardware.

So, all things considered this truck actually handles 'good' - I'd say above average for something with a custom cut front axle and 46" bias ply tires, not to mention a 144" wheel base doesn't hurt. And despite a slight pull to the left I can go 65 mph right down the highway with complete confidence and predictability (I've never had it 'aligned' but I might actually take it to my local shop and have them play with it a bit, and for sure get a good laugh). The truck has ~6* of positive caster and...considering how big the ram is has decent RTC (return-to-center). The truck does have a bit of bump steer, which I will be very happy to eliminate with F.H.

My question really is this - when humming down the highway...if I go to pass someone and give the truck a bit of left-steer input...with F.H. and 6* of caster will it 'stay' left or will it 'try' to RTC? My guess is 'no or not really', and that'll be fine. Naturally the more the wheel is turned the more 'resistance' to the turn the caster will induce and the more it will try to RTC, and I'm expecting to have the most RTC in parking lots, slow-speed corners, etc. And...even if the reality is that the truck will not really want to RTC I'm still in for doing F.H. - the pros far outweigh the cons...but like I said above I'm just trying to manage expectations.

And as far as liability goes, the truck has plenty of voodoo in it already that going F.H. won't make much difference. Plus, IMPO there is as much or greater risk to snapping a sector shaft or pitman arm as-is that makes F.H. that much 'safer' - hell compared to having no steering with broken hardware I'll still have some with F.H. - granted it'll be 'full manual' but that is more than none with broken hardware - plenty enough to get docked alongside the road in an emergency. I'm not worried about blowing lines either - when does that ever happen anyway - I've never ever seen anyone blow a hydraulic line, and all of my lines are the 'good stuff' with real hose and swedged fittings. Plus, it's way easier to replace a blown hydraulic line on the trail than a sector shaft or pitman arm, and I plan to have identical-length lines from the orbital to the ram so I can carry a single new spare.

I'm looking at system from several places, including Red Barn Customs, PSC, and Howe.

 

[Mad Max]

just a quick update - In October I'm taking Bud to a big event in New Mexico called Chili Challenge - just about everyone in my 4x4 club (Bighorn 4x4s of Colorado Springs) is going, and along with making repairs from the last trail ride I'm also making a couple improvements too.

Front end is sitting on stands while the front leafs get some love -

...and my little helper keeping me company in the early hours of the days while I wrench before going to work :) -

Front leaf springs. The replacement set of Pro Comp 13511 4" front leafs I have under the truck are on planet-wide backorder, but fortunately 4WP rocks and set me up with a pair of the 6" versions (13611) - I was permitted to take the top two new leafs from the 13611's and swap those into my damaged 4" packs, thus 'rebuilding' my front leafs and getting me back on the trails, and all under full warranty (net cost of exactly $0.00) - big kudo's to 4WP for that awesomeness 👍 .

Exhaust. One of the things I wish Bud was, is quieter, and to that end I am trying to cram a decent muffler under the floor without hitting the belly cradle. To do that I cut two access panels out of the floor, and once the muffler arrives (today) I'll find a way to get it in the available space, and then reconnect the plumbing. I was looking for a baffled and chambered 4" in/out diesel muffler, and the only one I could find was from Mike at Heartthrob exhaust - pn 7081Q

http://www.heartthrobexhaust.com/4and5dieselkits.htm

Should make the truck way less 'basey' - bassy?...less boomy - boomey? ... :rolleyes: :LOL:

Floor surgery - showing where the straight-thru 4" exhaust was - the muffler will go 'here'...somehow...I hope...

Doubler seals. I discovered both the 203 input and 205 output yokes are leaking, so those are both getting fresh seals.

Tie rod. I'm saving up to go full hydro, and in the meantime I'm going to sleeve the existing tie rod to finish out this season, and hell maybe next season too who knows.

Rust. I've been applying liberal amounts of both Rustoleum and Locktite rust reformer, with an oil-based top coat. So far so good.

Air Cleaner. I decided to install inner fenders, and an original 1st Gen Cummins air cleaner assembly - this will have several benefits. The current air cleaner works but isn't ideal - any splash off the tires can (and has) choke the air cleaner, and the engine; pic -

I'll be installing a set of OE inner fenders, on the passenger's side of which I'll be bolting up an OE Cummins air cleaner assembly. This will essentially eliminate the water 'splash' problem, and it will quiet down the turbo, another plus in the 'quieter' column (y) .

Rear Axle Hub Seal. I ordered a rockwell-specific custom hub seal installation tool from Neil at Western Canadian Rockwell, which should cure my r-rear inner hub leakage problem.

Lights / Wiring. In any leftover time between now and 11 Oct I'll also be trying to go through Bud's dash and outside lighting, wipers, power ports, etc., to make sure all of that works too. I think I'ma need to call in some cavalry...

- Sam

 

[Mad Max]

so I'm doing several things to the truck, among them is a faster way to air up/down my big 46" Mickeys. Holding an air chuck on the little valve stems takes a long time and usually cramps my hands, so I wanted a hands-free and faster way to get air in/out of my tires, and to that end I replaced my standard valve stems with large bore versions, and built a handy dandy hands-free tool using hi-flow air fittings, and it works awesome.

Chuck on the tool, open the valve, and deflate, close the valve and check pressure, repeat until at desired psi. Then to inflate, chuck on the tool, connect air hose, open valve, and watch the tires inflate. Fun fact - using my shop air compressor it took 1 minute to inflate these 46s from 0 to 30 psi, and my 13 cfm Bendix TF750 OBA system is not much slower, so boyahh. With the core removed I think the tires would deflate from 30 to 0 in about 30 seconds. Compared to the small stem stuff I've been running that's a huge improvement, and it cost me about $90 bucks 👍

This is my hands-free large bore tire inflator/deflator tool -

First, large bore valve stem vs standard stem -
I got the "large bore tank valves" (valve stems) from Borg Equipment, P.O. Box 190 Tujunga, CA 91043 Borg Equipment & Supply Co. Phone: 800-300-2674. These are for BIG equipment - loaders, graders, agricultural - things with BIG tires...

• HAH47 / TR#J-671, Large Bore tank valve (valve stem), $5.37 each
• HAA145 / TR-C2, LB valve core

note - I did open the base up to 1/4" with a drill bit for just a bit more flow -

LB core vs sb core - HUGE improvement in flow -

Hi-Flow air fittings (available at Harbor Freight, but I found the same kit via Amazon for a bit less and no travel time to the store) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H23DB7H?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

standard air tool fitting compared to the hi-flow fitting - HUGE improvement - perfect for my (or any) application -

Large bore air chuck - Amazon.com: Hromee Lock On Air Chuck for Large Bore Valve, Heavy Duty Closed Flow Tire Chuck, 1/4" FNPT for Tire Inflator and 12V1 Stem Quick Connector : Automotive

3-way T-fitting (AGS PTF73B) - https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ick-street-tee/ags0/ptf73b?q=ags+ptf73b&pos=0

ball valve - https://www.amazon.com/Valve-Compressor-Brass-Female-Small/dp/B0823QBKFV/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=1/4+npt+ball+valve&qid=1662655206&s=industrial&sr=1-3&th=1

I needed an air pressure gauge that would 1) handle my on-board air tank pressure, and 2) read accurately into the single digit range, and this Measureman 200 psi digital gauge does the job nicely - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084ZTWXK9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

here's the old standard (tiny) valve stems I was using -

and the wheel with the new LB stems - AFAIK these are the same 'monster valve' (large bore) stems in the off-road world now, but without the adjustable collar. I didn't really want the adjustable hardware because, well it happens so fast there's not much need for it.

 

[arse_sidewards]

For high flow air I just buy "3/8" quick connects like cheapo power washers use.

 

[Boons]

Single Cab second gen 12valve , After Dynamat the whole interior, 48" donaldson 4" muffler followed by a 12" resonator Learned that the engine itself is the culprit of noise not the exhaust itself.

 

[Mad Max]

true, tho the drone was a bit much on the street, so the muffler I just installed will help with that. 'Muffling' the engine will indeed be more difficult, but I have some good ideas for that and those'll probably be done over the winter.

 

[rattle_snake]

I made a similar inflator tool long ago. Now I'm a fan of the ARB deflator that pulls the core.

Awesome truck glad you are giving it some TLC and taking to next level.

 

[Mad Max]

...time for an update:

All 4 leaf springs are replaced, and a correction - ProComp leafs are not covered under a lifetime warranty, but 4WP did hook me up and honored their original stance. While I had it all apart I replaced the bump stops with ones much better suited for this truck. The first try were simply 'big' Jeep bumps that really just checked the box but did not really work that great. Plus the rust has eroded the 'capture' between the rubber and steel base. I found these big 4-bolt uber bump stops from Energy Suspension, pn 90.6006G for a medium duty truck. To make things as simple as possible I ditched the 3/8" u-bolt plates and made my own from 1/2" plate. Then I fabbed up 16 thick DOM spacers, and after hogging out the polyurethane everything bolted up nice and clean, and these will actually 'work'.

bottle of my favorite beer for reference -

old slightly warped 3/8" plates and new home-brewed 1/2" plates -

a fresh wood rotary rasp does a fantastic job of 'shaping polyurethane -

DOM insert/spacer/inserts in place -

3/16 steel strap capture both the DOM spacers and bump stops nicely -
Fronts -

Rears (ran out of room for the extra washer, and I'll correct for this with new u-bolts when I get a chance... -

The leaf springs look good -

I also sleeved my tie rod to help prevent it from kinking again -

...and I while not listed for 2.5-ton rockwells, the polyurethane 13015G tie rod boots from Energy Suspension work perfectly (y) -

Fits perfect -

With that all done all repairs from the last trail ride are finally complete...just in time for our trip to New Mexico in a couple weeks for Chili Challenge 👍