1990 dodge D350 Cummins Build

[ryland]

Here is my 1990 Dodge D350 Cummins SRW 3spd auto, the grandpa truck or Burgundy Beast depending who you ask.



Its configured just how it was when I bought it back in may. I am the third owner, first owner was an old man who had a cabover camper in the utility bed, thus the reason for the rear step/bench thing.
it has just over 80k on the the clock and has been very well taken care of. I purchased it from a friend of mine 2500 dollars a rusted out 79 toyota pickup with a bad tranny and a rolled 2wd tacoma.
I am a Carpenter so it is first and foremost a work truck but I am an avid outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman so i plan to make it a dual purpose work/expedition rig, traveling in it at least 1 month out of the year

Short List of projects

Dual battery system
lumber racks with integrated lighting and solar panels
insulating the camper shell and putting a slider window between cab and shell
building a sleeping platform with slide out kitchen
inverter, lighting and heating in shell


long list
nv4500 swap
14 bolt rear axle swap with disc brakes and ARB locker
4x4 conversion
bumpers
hydraulic winch
bio/vegi fuel system
bumpers
upgraded seats
upgraged stereo system
VE pump modifications
turbo swap
yada yada yada the list could go on for ever


Let me know what y'all think, I am excited to be part of this community filled with so many knowledgeable, cool people

 

[gtbensley]

Thats going to be awesome.

 

[chet6.7]

Sounds like a nice build.
The NV 4500 series is not without problems.
I had a 4500HD in my Gen 2 Ram,I did not have the 5th gear problems some had,but,I made sure to never use that gear at lower RPMs.There is a lot of info on the net,and there seems to be better solutions than there were back in the day.
I would get the special trans lube at my Chevy dealer because my Dodge dealer liked to bend customers over at every opportunity.
Good luck with your project.

 

[OverlandRockwell]

Your 727 can built very stout, though wanting an O/D or more gears with a diesel is understandable. If you are set on doing a trans swap and need to do a 4x4 conversion get a medium duty fuller 5,6 or even 8 speed and be done with it. Nice to see a 1st gen Cummins in any case and with only 80k on the clock that engine is barely broken in. Unlike gasser engines, they have an actual rating from Cummins for the mileage you should expect from them( basically 50% of engines produced should reach either 300k or 350k miles without needing rebuild).

You might try looking for complete axle sets take outs from military CUCV's (Blazer/Pickups). They had 14bolts in rear and Dana 60s in front.