Too funny! Time for a new movie "Overland Vacation". :elkgrin:
Project BigB... a 1977 Dodge Van 6x4!
- Thread starter Keyblazer
- Start date
Too funny! Time for a new movie "Overland Vacation". :elkgrin:
Keyblazer
Adventurer
A Buddy of mine, who in fact is the reason I was looking at Vans in the first place just messaged me with these little Gems....
He says it reminds him of this...
Oh, its coming to me now....
Paint it flat black or satin army green.. or Camo...
Lift it 6" and put 38's on...
Scary!
He says it reminds him of this...
Oh, its coming to me now....
Paint it flat black or satin army green.. or Camo...
Lift it 6" and put 38's on...
Scary!
Last edited:
dsw4x4
Adventurer
Just because I enjoy making projects bigger than they already are. You could pop up the current roof or you could add another roof in front of the existing roof and let that be the poptop so you have standing room for the shower. As far as making it 6x6 pop that blank cap off of the rear of the t-case bolt a yoke in place of it and run a second drive shaft to the second axle via 1 or 2 carrier bearings. You may need to get a second t-case to raid the parts or you may need to have a shaft made. Either way whatever you do that will be a really fun build having so much room to work with. Have fun!!
Derek
Derek
Last edited:
Keyblazer
Adventurer
A few final pics from the album, and the start of the planning, fixes and learning!
Fridge is a Domestic RM 2310...
PO says its dual fuel... I think he said 12v and propane, but I cant find any info about it...
Looks clean..
Here is the control unit below it...
Oh, on the Roof is the A/C Unit..which the PO says was replaced about 6 years ago.
Fridge is a Domestic RM 2310...
PO says its dual fuel... I think he said 12v and propane, but I cant find any info about it...
Looks clean..
Here is the control unit below it...
Oh, on the Roof is the A/C Unit..which the PO says was replaced about 6 years ago.
Michael Slade
Untitled
Quote of the day! :victory:
Keyblazer
Adventurer
History time!
This Van started life as a 1977 Dodge Tradesman B300....
Then, the 1st Owner Put a Pathfinder 4x4 conversion on her...
The second Owner, who was an Disabled Aerospace Engineer, bought it for about $6K... look here...
Here is where the Paper trail gets really fun...
He then dropped it off at a Joytech International.
They Specialize in Limo and Disabled conversions, and they are still in Business!
They cut off the rear, and added the Rear from another Van...
Here is the receipt... Yes, that reads $16K for the work they did!
I have seen a ton of other receipts... there is a whole file...
The Engineer, then drove it all over the USA, Towing a Buggy and putting 100k plus miles on it.
Then, in about 1990 he sold it to the last Owner, who I bought it from.
This Van started life as a 1977 Dodge Tradesman B300....
Then, the 1st Owner Put a Pathfinder 4x4 conversion on her...
The second Owner, who was an Disabled Aerospace Engineer, bought it for about $6K... look here...
Here is where the Paper trail gets really fun...
He then dropped it off at a Joytech International.
They Specialize in Limo and Disabled conversions, and they are still in Business!
They cut off the rear, and added the Rear from another Van...
Here is the receipt... Yes, that reads $16K for the work they did!
I have seen a ton of other receipts... there is a whole file...
The Engineer, then drove it all over the USA, Towing a Buggy and putting 100k plus miles on it.
Then, in about 1990 he sold it to the last Owner, who I bought it from.
Last edited:
wanderer-rrorc
Explorer
apparently usa6x6 made gearbox assemblys..
ok...this is neat...its a NP200 from bigrigs...but apparently wont handle high speeds or prolonged driving without overheating...but neat anyway..
NP200s are typically found in Dodge M37s and Kaiser -Jeep M715 military trucks as well as many mid-60s and older civilian 4WD trucks
"NP-200 was ordered from Chucks Trucks in our area (Orlando, FL). These cases are just like a 205 (physical size and strength) but came from old Dodge vehicles such as the Power Wagon and M-37 Military trucks. The NP-200 has 3 outputs; the one on top rear is for a fixed mounted drum parking brake which is normally cut off and thrown away. The one on the bottom goes to the rear driveshaft- thus lowering the rear and front angles dramatically"
FOUND IT!!! a 205 double rear output!!
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34892
ok...this is neat...its a NP200 from bigrigs...but apparently wont handle high speeds or prolonged driving without overheating...but neat anyway..
NP200s are typically found in Dodge M37s and Kaiser -Jeep M715 military trucks as well as many mid-60s and older civilian 4WD trucks
"NP-200 was ordered from Chucks Trucks in our area (Orlando, FL). These cases are just like a 205 (physical size and strength) but came from old Dodge vehicles such as the Power Wagon and M-37 Military trucks. The NP-200 has 3 outputs; the one on top rear is for a fixed mounted drum parking brake which is normally cut off and thrown away. The one on the bottom goes to the rear driveshaft- thus lowering the rear and front angles dramatically"
FOUND IT!!! a 205 double rear output!!
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34892
Keyblazer
Adventurer
OMG!
So, if I read this right...
By some trickery, I could get a NP205, juggle some parts, and end up with being able to run...
4x4H Rear axles only
4x4L Rear Axles only
6x6H
6x6L
As my rear axle inputs are inline, I assume I would need to move one or both.
Thats sounds wonderful, somewhere down to road!
So, if I read this right...
By some trickery, I could get a NP205, juggle some parts, and end up with being able to run...
4x4H Rear axles only
4x4L Rear Axles only
6x6H
6x6L
As my rear axle inputs are inline, I assume I would need to move one or both.
Thats sounds wonderful, somewhere down to road!
wanderer-rrorc
Explorer
and 2wd on one rear only...
i think once you shift into what would be 4x4 it locks the second rear axle to the front axle..but IF you have lockouts you can unlock them and be 4x4 REAR all...
and if you do the twinstick modd (easy) to the 205 you can do just the front (in this case one front one rear...)
Twinstick allows you to shift the front output (in this case the front side that is mated to the one rear output on the offset side of the case) sepperate from the rear...grinding the shifting pin a little..it WILL NOT let you put the front or rear into diffrent ranges (no low/high..only low/neutral or high/neutral or low/low high/high)
so like this...
rear one high (not in 4wd)
rear one low (twinstick mod for low only rear)
rear both high (front lockouts unlocked)
rear both low (front lockouts unlocked)
front and one rear high (twinstick standard rear in neutral standard front in gear)
front and one rear low (twinstick standard rear in neutral standard front in gear)
ALL in high
ALL in low
Keyblazer
Adventurer
OMG, you are a Genius!
So for the Rear of the 2 rear axles, the shaft would go straight and into a support, then drop down?
I have been reading up on the NP 203 that is in it now... not a good choice, and I have a 205 in my Pickup truck, and love the flexibility!
Keep me learning how to do this!
6x6.. OMG!
Here are my interior plans...
1/ Rip out the interior... everything... to the driving area.
2/ Clean the floor, and bedliner it for protection and sound deadening.
3/ Floor: A layer of insulation, then Wood Laminate right to the walls, front to rear.
4/ Kitchen: Move the Galley to the drivers side, and put in a L shaped work top, that covers the fridge which will sit on the floor and face the rear. The configuration will depend on heights here, as the window level is only 30" off the floor and the fridge is 31' tall....
5/ Add wals and door to enclose the Shower/Toilet combo like this one..
This would be about where the fridge is mounted now, so I will add a window or vent where the Fridge vent is on the drivers side. There is an issue with the forward edge of the wheelarch intruding I need to resolve with a contoured shower pan.
5/ Dinette/bed in the rear. The idea is to be able to eat with the rear doors open to nature!
As I said I have a plan sketched out...
Here is the rough draft..
I have issues to resolve with the Generator intruding thru the rear floor
where I want the Master Bed/Dinette, so I will either have to put up with it or drop the generator lower.
So for the Rear of the 2 rear axles, the shaft would go straight and into a support, then drop down?
I have been reading up on the NP 203 that is in it now... not a good choice, and I have a 205 in my Pickup truck, and love the flexibility!
Keep me learning how to do this!
6x6.. OMG!
Here are my interior plans...
1/ Rip out the interior... everything... to the driving area.
2/ Clean the floor, and bedliner it for protection and sound deadening.
3/ Floor: A layer of insulation, then Wood Laminate right to the walls, front to rear.
4/ Kitchen: Move the Galley to the drivers side, and put in a L shaped work top, that covers the fridge which will sit on the floor and face the rear. The configuration will depend on heights here, as the window level is only 30" off the floor and the fridge is 31' tall....
5/ Add wals and door to enclose the Shower/Toilet combo like this one..
This would be about where the fridge is mounted now, so I will add a window or vent where the Fridge vent is on the drivers side. There is an issue with the forward edge of the wheelarch intruding I need to resolve with a contoured shower pan.
5/ Dinette/bed in the rear. The idea is to be able to eat with the rear doors open to nature!
As I said I have a plan sketched out...
Here is the rough draft..
I have issues to resolve with the Generator intruding thru the rear floor
where I want the Master Bed/Dinette, so I will either have to put up with it or drop the generator lower.
Last edited:
Keyblazer
Adventurer
FYI,
Here is the info I found on the Pathfinder Conversions about the transmission and T-Case mods..
"Transfer Case
Full-time 4wd Vanchargers used a New Process 203 transfer case that had a left hand offset. The input gear may be either 21 or 31 spline. The transfer case mounts to a custom extension housing that was designed to fit the stock Dodge 2wd 727 transmission. The extension housing has a foot cast into it. The foot attached to a large U shaped cross member via two half inch diameter bolts with four split bushings. The cross member is suspended from the underside of the van.
The 203 transfer case also had a torque mount attached to the left side of the transfer case. The inner bracket was bolted to the transfer case. The outer bracket was welded to the underside of the van. The brackets were connected via two bushings. One large male bushing and one small female bushing. The torque brackets are lightly built and usually found cracked or completely broken.
The shifter is a complicated collection of links and hiem joints and allen head shoulder bolts. All hand a machined aluminum "T" shaped shifter handle.
The speedometer cable has a extension cable approx. 24 inches long. The upper cable is stock 2wd.
There are several different driven gears. They can be identified by color and tooth count.
Transmission
Full-time Dodge Vanchargers had Chrysler 727 automatic transmission.
The original main shaft was removed, and replaced with a custom shaft.. There were a few different lengths used and well as spline counts. The most common spline counts are 23 or 31 spline."
Here is the info I found on the Pathfinder Conversions about the transmission and T-Case mods..
"Transfer Case
Full-time 4wd Vanchargers used a New Process 203 transfer case that had a left hand offset. The input gear may be either 21 or 31 spline. The transfer case mounts to a custom extension housing that was designed to fit the stock Dodge 2wd 727 transmission. The extension housing has a foot cast into it. The foot attached to a large U shaped cross member via two half inch diameter bolts with four split bushings. The cross member is suspended from the underside of the van.
The 203 transfer case also had a torque mount attached to the left side of the transfer case. The inner bracket was bolted to the transfer case. The outer bracket was welded to the underside of the van. The brackets were connected via two bushings. One large male bushing and one small female bushing. The torque brackets are lightly built and usually found cracked or completely broken.
The shifter is a complicated collection of links and hiem joints and allen head shoulder bolts. All hand a machined aluminum "T" shaped shifter handle.
The speedometer cable has a extension cable approx. 24 inches long. The upper cable is stock 2wd.
There are several different driven gears. They can be identified by color and tooth count.
Transmission
Full-time Dodge Vanchargers had Chrysler 727 automatic transmission.
The original main shaft was removed, and replaced with a custom shaft.. There were a few different lengths used and well as spline counts. The most common spline counts are 23 or 31 spline."
Last edited: