vikingminer49er

Oh! Oh! I made a mistake. Before I can send the parts to be chrome platted, they need to be disassembled. The handbrake handle needed the button, rod, and bottom link removed from the handle. Obviously, even with the bottom link removed, it didn't look like the pre-bent rod could be pulled through the handle. Thinking the top button must screw onto a threaded end on the rod, tried to unscrew the top button. Wrong! A very small pin at the base of the button, which I did not see, held the top button onto the rod. The heavy hands of ignorance managed to twist the button until the rotational-shear force broke the rod at the pin hole. Pinhead! Will need to fabricate a new rod, hopefully, with the same pre-bent shape, to release the handbrake when it is reassembled. Needed heat to remove the windshield-crank-handle clip and pin keeping the assembly together. Parts will ship out to North Star Plating in Brainerd Minnesota on Monday.

Truck 59 is a 1995 Dodge W2500 Pickup, with the Cummins 6BT, 12-valve, diesel engine and 5-speed transmission, purchased from the coal mine in Somerset Colorado, after the mine, where I worked for 20 years, closed. Believe it, or not, this was the best remaining truck at the mine. Typically, used trucks were purchased, before they were used in the mine, so of the 116,000 miles on the odometer, it is unknown how many miles were used at the mine. Be certain though, they were the toughest miles the truck was used. There is not any sheet metal on the truck that hasn't been damaged, including where the top of the truck hit the roof of the mine. While the truck is still operational, the suspension will need to be replaced, before the truck is road worthy. Underground is the roughest off-roading imaginable. My plans for the truck are to build a rock-crawler drill rig. We will rebuild the factory suspension with a lifted, multi-link, four-wheel, independent suspension. Will replace the bed with the 1984 Mobile, B-31 Drill currently on the 1974 W200 Drill Truck. Just for fun, we will replace the cab and front sheet metal with one of my older 1.5-ton cabs and extended-fender, front-end sheet metal. This project is next in line, after the 1938 Dodge RC Pickup build.

Of course, the 2006 Titan Trailer has trailer brakes. Without them, the speed on the run-away-truck ramp would have been faster, and the collision would have been worse. Trailer brakes helped slow the truck and loaded trailer, and generate lots of smoke when applied too much, on too steep a grade. U.S. Highway 550, the "Million-Dollar-Highway", coming from Red Mountain Pass to the south, drops along the Uncompaghre River, at the base of Mt. Abrams. The box canyon, with the town of Ouray, can be seen in the distance in the first photo, below Mt. Abrams in the far center. The view from the Ouray Overlook shows the switchbacks at the south end of Ouray, in the fore-ground of the second photo. The third photo, from high above the west side of Ouray, shows the switchbacks to the right side of the photo, below the Amphitheater in the distance. Continue to use the 1994 Dodge W3500 Dual-Rear-Wheel, V10 Pickup with the 2006 Titan Trailer, primarily as my long-distance hauler.

After a couple short hauls to test the truck, thought it was time to take the truck on a longer run. Hauled the 1965 Ford N500 down to Aztec New Mexico for the Antique Truck Historical Society Show. To get from home to there requires going over three passes in the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado. Probably the most famous is Red Mountain Pass between Ouray and Silverton. Headed down on Friday without any problems, and returned on Sunday, in beautiful, sunny, fall weather. As usual practice, like to stop after clearing the top of the pass, to cool down the engine, and check the brakes before heading down. Stopped at the remains of the Idarado Mine on the north side of Red Mountain Pass. All was well, until getting to the top of the switchbacks at the south end of Ouray, when the brake pedal went to the floor. Already in low gear, at about 25 mph, scrubbed some speed off going through the switchbacks. Landing at the grade break on the south end of Main Street, the truck and loaded trailer slowed to about 15 mph. Sunday morning, and not much traffic, proceeded on down Main Street, Ouray Colorado's version of a run-away-truck ramp. As I reached about 4th Street, saw a small car make a U-Turn a couple of blocks ahead. Following well behind the small car, kept my eyes on the street ahead. At the 8th-street, prairie-dog crossing, I spotted a few pedestrians venture out onto the run-away-truck ramp. I immediately hit the horn, as the small car braked for the pedestrians, now in the middle of the run-away-truck ramp. The prairie dogs scattered, as I saw the rear of the small car disappear under the front of my hood. Didn't notice what happened to the prairie dogs, as I was focused on the rear-seat passenger of the small car, who was turned around and looking at me. Pushed the small car into a luckily-vacant parking space across the intersection of 8th and Main, as I traveled on past, and down the grade. Finally stopped the truck and loaded trailer across from the Ouray Hot Springs Pool, at the bottom of Main Street, about a half mile from the scene of the collision. As I exited the truck, two vehicles stopped to let me know no one had been injured. The second vehicle gave me a ride back up the hill, to wait for the local police to arrive. It was quite some time before the local policeman arrived on Sunday morning to begin his investigation. The small car was hauled away, a total loss. The policeman finally gave me a ride back to my truck, parked along-side the road at the bottom of the grade. While the policeman inspected my truck and loaded trailer, I checked for damage to the front of the truck. Completing his investigation, he issued me a careless driving citation, and left. After pulling the small car's rear bumper from underneath my truck, I proceeded on home, taking a lesser-traveled bypass around Montrose Colorado. Made my appearance the following month at the Ouray County Courthouse, the same courthouse used by John Wayne during the filming of True Grit. The prosecutor said he couldn't establish careless driving, but based on the police report, and my accident statement, he could establish faulty equipment. Saved my breath, and paid the $58 fine on my first moving violation in 50 years. Already had the brakes rebuilt by the time of the court appearance, and before the insurance company had settled for the damage to the small car.

Truck 58 is a 1994 Dodge W3500 Dual-Rear-Wheel Pickup, with an 8.0-liter, V10, gasoline engine and automatic transmission, purchased locally in Paonia Colorado. After having hauled most of my trucks with the 1989 Dodge W250 Cummins Pickup, it was time to get a different truck to pull my trailer. When purchased, the 1994 needed considerable work before being road worthy. Since it wouldn't back up, the first item was to rebuild the transmission. Second item was six new tires, and the list went on from there. Intermittent-faulty, manifold-absolute-pressure sensor took some time to find. Re-core the radiator, rebuild the brakes, and other items to numerous to remember, to finally get to the Big 4: runs, drives, stops, and backs up. Once on the road, this truck is a beast. At approximately 320-horsepower, it has twice the power as the approximately 160-horsepower 1989 Cummins, with approximately the same torque. Of course, with twice the horsepower, it consumes twice the fuel. This truck is fast enough to pass everything, except the gas station. Probably why the V10 was not very popular, and had a relatively short production run. Once the computers took over the engine controls in 1994, it wasn't long before the "magnum", electronic-fuel-injection engines replaced the carburetors. The old 318-cubic-inch engine became the magnum 5.2-liter engine. The 360-cubic-inch engine became the magnum 5.9-liter engine. Two cylinders added to the 360-cubic-inch engine became the magnum 8.0-liter (488-cubic-inch) V10 engine.

Truck 57 is a 1993 Dodge D350 Dual-Rear-Wheel Pickup, with the Cummins 6BT, 12-valve, diesel engine and 5-speed transmission, purchased in Fruita Colorado. Pretty rough truck with just over 322,000 miles on the odometer, but runs and drives well. Drove it the 80 miles home with no issues. Currently repairing some minor issues, and will be replacing the broken grill. Fun part of the truck is the overall appearance, the front bumper guards, and the replacement hood ornament.

Still working on preparing parts for shipping for chrome plating. Hope to have all of them ready by the end of the week. Also, been working on plans for the super truck barn. Have decided the concrete walls, like the cattle/hay barn, are not necessary, and adds too much to the cost. Will use a pre-engineered steel building with siding, roofing, windows, and doors similar to the cattle/hay barn. Attached the preliminary drawing for review nd comments. Thank you. FLOOR PLAN 16' eave-2-5-20 Model.pdf

Update photos from Joe Jarvis with the grill shell mounted, and the engine and transmission repositioned. Looks like the fit is coming along nicely. Right now the engine is all the way back to the firewall, and any further back will require cutting the firewall. Will need to fabricate a drive shaft tunnel under the seat for clearance. Next steps will be to place the radiator inside the grill shell, and place the hood. Should have vertical clearance for the hood.

Truck 56 is a 1990 Dodge D350 Pickup, with the Cummins 6BT, 12-valve, diesel engine and 5-speed transmission, purchased near Montrose Colorado. Truck is a little rough, but is operational, and has just under 175,000 miles on the odometer. Bought the truck mainly for the Cummins engine and drive train. Most likely the truck will end up as a parts donor. Already have the front bumper on Truck 55, the 1990 Dodge D250 Cummins Pickup.

Went to Montrose Colorado yesterday to pick up the radiator for the 1938 Dodge RC Pickup, then on to Grand Junction Colorado to deliver the radiator, grill shell, hood, and supports to American Iron Hot Rod Shop. Good discussion with Joe Jarvis about the engine placement, and position of the radiator and grill shell. We can, and need to, move the engine back far enough to clear the radiator from the front of the engine. Still have tight clearance for the exhaust manifolds, and the alternator. Probably can't lower the engine, and depending on hood clearance, may be able to move the engine higher. Will be able to tell more when the radiator, grill shell, hood, and supports are in place. An exhaust builder will be over on Wednesday to look at the project. We have basically two choices for the exhaust routing: inside the frame rails and outside the frame rails: Inside the frame rails: Exhaust manifolds tight to the engine. Exhaust manifold outlets as far to the rear as possible. Exhaust runs down between the rails. Exhaust runs under the cab. More heat inside the cab. Both sides have to clear cross member for the transmission support. Both sides have to clear cross member below the seat. Driver's side has to clear the fuel tank. Both sides have to clear cross members to the rear of the fuel tank. Both sides have to clear the multi-link rear suspension. Both sides have to clear the rear axle. Both sides have to clear the added transmission oil cooler. More heat for the added transmission oil cooler. Exhaust exits the vehicle to the rear. Outside the frame rails: Exhaust manifolds out through the side splash covers. Exhaust manifold outlets towards the center of the engine. Exhaust runs down outside the rails. Driver's side has to clear the steering linkage. Passenger's side has to clear the spare tire well. Exhaust runs under the front fenders and running boards. Less heat inside the cab. Exhaust exits the vehicle to the sides behind the cab. "And she purrs like a kitten 'til the lake pipes roar." Just some thoughts. Didn't take many photos while there, since I wanted to start taking some video of the project. Spent today creating a photo slide slow summarizing the tear down, and uploading the photo slide show and first video of the build onto youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXvLPSdxIKA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9wV2QCq1uU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZeK1lZ90AQ Did take a few photos. Found the fasteners for the radiator supports quickly from the box of fasteners, by looking at the photos from the tear down, noting the dates the parts were removed, and looking in the box for the fasteners filed by date. Also, took a few photos of the lower shock mounts, as requested by someone looking for the parts. Have sold the original shocks and shock mounts. Original axles, springs, and steering are still available.

Truck 55 is a 1990 Dodge D250 Pickup, with a Cummins 6BT, diesel engine and automatic transmission, purchased near Delta Colorado. The truck was purchased new by an older gentleman, who drove it for 20 years before he passed on. His daughter inherited the truck, but did not drive it. When she passed on, the truck was inherited by his granddaughter, who also did not drive it. I bought the truck from her. After sitting for many years, the truck needed tires, but started right away, and operates well. Fixed a few minor items, but generally haven't done much to the truck, other than give it a newer front bumper. The exterior suffers from the EPA-mandated paint, with a couple small dents. The interior, and the bed of the truck are nearly flawless. The dash has a cover, and the bed has probably had the camper shell since new. Odometer has just over 126,000 miles.

Got a really good buy on a 1994 Dodge W3500, Dual-Rear-Wheel Pickup, and started to pull my trailer with it. This past year, we decided to re-finish the 1989 Dodge W250 Cummins Pickup. Photos from the paint and body shop. Also, spent the last year re-finishing the trim and molding. Never volunteer for this job. It has taken years to straighten, sand, and polish these pieces to a mirror-like finish. Promised to have them done by Christmas, and delivered them to the paint and body shop on December 20, 2019. Since then, the paint and body shop has been busy with the normal amount of deer, elk, and slippery-road damage for the fall and winter seasons. The shop is storing the truck until spring weather. It's finished, but Judy won't take it out of storage, or let me take photos of it, until it comes home. We plan on building a new super truck barn, for storing our finished trucks, as soon as the weather allows. I expect Judy's new 1989 truck will be the first one through the door.

More photos of the 1989 Dodge W250 Cummins Pickup at work. Then one day, got into a tight spot, and damaged the rear bumper and bed corners. The chrome started to peel off the front bumper guard. Even though it was too soon for another re-paint, hated to see one of my prized trucks showing the wear and tear of the road. The truck had hauled from Pennsylvania to Nevada, and many places in between.

Truck 54 is a 1989 Dodge W250 Pickup, with the first-year, Cummins 6BT, 12-valve Cummins diesel engine and Getrag G360, 5-speed transmission, purchased special-order, built-for-me, brand-new, before they were readily available, in Loveland Colorado. Like Truck 43, my 1974 Dodge W100 Pickup, I knew what I wanted, and what I was going to pay, before I walked into the smaller-town dealership. Once the order was placed, just had to wait for Dodge to build and ship the truck. Was working at a gold mine in Nowhere Nevada at the time, and had to return to Loveland Colorado, to take delivery. It sure seamed like everywhere we went with the truck the first year, someone would ask about the truck. "Hey! How you like the Dodge" was heard often. One guy even pulled up alongside in Fallon Nevada, while we were going down the road, to shout that he wanted us to pull over, so he could ask questions. Have about 285,000 miles on the 1989, so it hasn't been over-used. Have heard of much higher miles on many Cummins-diesel trucks. Right now, I have two other Cummins trucks with over 300,00 miles. Also, I have two other Cummins trucks with just over 100,000 miles. These 12-valve, Cummins-powered trucks were produced from 1989 to 1997, with some also made in 1998. With the introduction of the 24-valve Cummins, "Infamous-53-Block", made in Bazile from 1998 to 2003, Dodge, or should I say Ram, trucks were past their zenith. Don't have any digital photos from the early days of this truck. Repainted the truck for the first time when it was probably in it's first ten years. EPA-450/3-88-009, Reduction of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Automobile Refinishing. October 1988, is the reason automotive paint on the 1989, and most cars and light trucks into the 1990's, lost the clear coat, and then the paint on surfaces exposed to ultra-violet (UV) sunlight, generally horizontal surfaces, like the hood and roof. Thanks for nothing. Repainted the truck again in 2014, and have photos from the body and paint shop. That was about the same time the U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), "helped" close the coal mine where I worked. President Barack Hussein Obama II was waging the War on Coal, in the name of "Climate Change," resulting in extremely poor market conditions for all energy producers. At 64-years of age, without steady employment, I kicked my truck collecting into high gear. I was supposed to have re-finished the trim and molding for the 2014 painting, but I was too busy collecting trucks to get it done. Drove the truck without the trim for a while.

Truck 53 is a 1989 Dodge D250 Parts Truck, that used to have a Cummins 6BT, 12-valve engine and 5-speed, Getrag transmission, purchased in Colorado Springs Colorado. The truck was originally from Wisconsin, with just the right amount of rust to become a donor truck. Truck did the Big 4, before I took it apart. Transplanted the engine and transmission into my 1974 Dodge D600 Hauler. Still has some parts available.

Received an update from Joe Jarvis today. He likes where he has the engine and transmission setting right now. Definitely will use electric cooling fans. He's configuring for an engine-driven, power-steering pump. Still haven't decided on exhaust routing. If we go any lower, it will require a different oil pan with a rear sump. He's not too worried about the steering linkage, since there are options available. It is time to start looking at steering columns. While Joe has been working on the 1938, I've been playing with some of my other trucks. Hauled the 1965 Ford N500 Trailer Toter over to Kwiki Tire II in Hotchkiss Colorado, to put on some better tires. Tried putting 9.00x20 tires, that were in my stockpile, on the Ford widow-maker wheels, but the tires wouldn't fit on the narrow wheels. Unknown to the guys on the Ford Truck Enthusiast Forum, 6-hole, 20-inch Dodge Wheels will fit on the Ford hubs. Replaced the tires and wheels on the Ford with a set I've been running on the 1967 Dodge D500. The split-ring Dodge wheels are better than the window-maker Ford wheels. The tread on the tires is better, but the side-wall, weather-checking is only marginally better. Did you know that every farmer has to have at least one Ford? When everything else is done on the farm, and the farmer has nothing left to do, he can always work on the Ford. Judy says I can't waste any more money on the Ford. She wants it sold this year. After over thirty years of marriage (first 20 years are known as the probationary period), I've learned at least a couple of lessons. Be like your trailer, and always go where you're towed. The cheapest thing you can do is pay attention. It doesn't cost much, and provides excellent benefits. Have spent enough on the Ford to claim mechanical restoration complete. Told the owner of my local NAPA store that my Ford F500 changed into a Ford N500 when it had more NAPA parts than Ford parts. Still needs new tires and wheels, seat recovered, new radio knobs, and paint. Of course, as soon as I paint it, someone will want a different color. Only needs to be finished by the next proud, happy owner; however, that only counts until tomorrow. Fixed Or Repaired Daily. Found On Road Dead. Fast Only Running Downhill. Fat Old Rusted Dog. Could go on forever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8QT2e4r-H8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sXkHpaa7q4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAHCFV2ccvw