Biodiesel Piggie #2 Buildup (was Sad Sad day...) (1 Viewer)

[dieselcruiserhead]

but some bad news... I had heard from a bunch of different people about a "integral" bellhousing on the NV5600. I bought this one cheap ($1850 for the trans, with a warantee) because it was in a wreck and has a broken bellhousing... So I looked at it and saw it has an aluminum bellhousing so I thought "they must be wrong." Checked into it. Turns out the bellhousing is sort of the 'core' of the trans, in that everything is built off of it. Bummer... The trans will require a **complete teardown** to replace the bellhousing... So I am pretty upset about his... But I guess its better to be rebuilt than not. I have a good shop to do it (same people who rebuilt my NV4500, and I get a 2 year warantee out of it). But I have a feeling it will be at least $1G to get it rebuilt

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

adapter plate was also broken from the wreck so I had to get a new one. Got this used in SLC for about $100, this will bolt right to the back of the 4BT to give me a dodge pattern to allow the NV5600 to bolt up...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I ended up with everything (trans mount, clutch, slave and master, flywheel, adapter plate (broken), starter) and even some weird things I didn't need like the PEDAL MECHANISM (why would they throw that in?) and even the boot / center console for $2000 out the door. So pretty good deal. If there wasn't any damage it would have been a heck of a deal...

To get an idea of overall length of the trans...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

and finally, I take off first thing in the morning to go pickup the FJ55 in Portland.

Borrowed a Ford from a friend for the weekend. Should be a good trip and I am pyscehd. Never been the PNW and Carrie will be meeting me on Satyurday. We'll be staying in a funky hotel there called the Jupiter, 70's retro style and full of young people supposely... Come back Monday...

Couldn't find a trailer to borrow and Carrie already had plane tickets so ended up having to buy one as well. Pretty funny trailer, a car hauler that was converted to be a lawncare and equipment hauler. I saw it used, a guy bought it from this company to haul his Jeep around on and never cut off the storage box. Good payload though, but the 55 will probably just barely fit on it (16ft bumper to bumper and the trailer is 14' long). Luckily there is no motor etc in it so I shouldn't have too much tongue weight if I were to load it in frontwards. Not sure if I'll sell it afterwards or just keep it and maybe sell my military trailer instead. Probably keep it and use it for the rest of the project, though I'll need the money for other parts of the project...

I already hacked the box off and other things this afternoon, I'll post a photo later... And the Ferd is hauling my military trailer which I also use for hauling things around, it is a M416A2 if I remember correctly. I have more info about it posted somewhere in "outfitting" if anyone wants to search...

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Absolutely fantastic start.

I can't believe that the NV5600 is still worth almost $2000 when it requires a complete teardown to be used. I bet that it is amazingly advanced as compared to the NV5600 though, at least I hope so.

Do you have an engine already? Where did you get it from?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

What is the width between fenders on the trailer?

Looks like a nice trailer. I would add some steel underneath with that sweet welder ... The tongue should truly go at least to the front of the spring hangers. There are some pics of a trailer like that on RME that the tongue busted off from hauling a heavy rig. Are you sure it has a 7k payload 2 3500 lb axles?) it looks more like a 5k trailer (2 2500 lb axles). Either will haul a carcass just fine, but a loaded complete rig can push 3 tons...

6 speed... bitchin!!!

 

[usmcruiser]

Hey my rear springs didnt happen to reapper in the back of that 80 did they?

:hopeing: :hopeing: :hopeing:

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Greetings from Portland... 13 hours striaght, but a hell of a trip and just gorgous especially the whole columbia river! USM sorry no sign of the springs... kurt, I checked it out pretty carefully and it is definely pretty heavy duty, for what its worth.. the axles look like 3500 to me but I might be wrong, and the PO hauled around a bobcat with it and claimed they were 5000 lb each, but I don't know if I believe that.. But that said it is a little small, 14' long... but it is 7' feet wide... It will do the trick. Also the frame, tongue etc on it are all super, defeinetely car hauler material FWIW.. So, it shouldn't need much. But that said I still don't know if I'll keep it, I might just sell it to someone with a Heep

 

[Wayneraintree]

this is a really cool project! keep the updates coming...

 

[Waggoner5]

Way to go Andre. Looking forward to the build.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Absolutely fantastic start.

I can't believe that the NV5600 is still worth almost $2000 when it requires a complete teardown to be used. I bet that it is amazingly advanced as compared to the NV5600 though, at least I hope so.

Do you have an engine already? Where did you get it from?

sorry glth forgot to reply here.. I sortof already have the engine. I went in with buddies in our biodiesel coop on a 4BT powered breadvan that we bought out of Denver.. One of them works for Delta so I flew into Denver for next to nothing about a month ago and drove it back, runs like a top and problemless trip home, although long (10 hours) governed at 60-65 mph... I was going to do it again to get an engine for this build but the other guys decided the breadvan probably isn't stout enough to really haul around the level of grease we are looking for (each barrel weighs close to 500 lbs) like we need.. So I am going to buy it, but hey, fine with me Plan is to pull the engine out, and probably recycle the aluminum for $1000-$1500 or so if I am lucky..... Also, even though this is a 4BT and not a 4BTA like my last one, it still feels super balsy and tons of power for even the breadvan, and decent acceleration suprizing acceleration as well. I am probably going to air-air intercool it again though and basically 'make it' a 4BTA...

Also I'm glad I picked it up because all the good deals on breadvans with 4BTs seem to have evaporated, Frito Lay dumped about 300 or so in the last 3 months but again most are gone. There were two big auctions but the second one was almost all on the east coast so I am glad we acted on it when we did...

 

[ridgerunner]

Andre- good luck with the build guy. I'm VERY interested to see how it goes together.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Greetings from Portland again! Yes I am pumped, picked up the truck last night, it looks great and the body is in pretty good shape, I am totally psyched.. I think I am going to rip apart the 80 first and basically cut up the body to take to the scapper...

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Coooool, that 55 looks familar?

Cruisers from southern Oregon area are just plain nice (most of the time).

Looking forward to the build as mentioned by everyone else(more so cause its diesel).



Rob

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Well made it home finally. I have a few good pics.. I have to say after poking around the pig it is not as clean as I thought it would be. Again it is going to be a lot of work. I am either going to get it hot dipped, sand blasted, media blasted, or maybe a combo of both. Regardless it is pretty clean but not that clean. Kind of bums me out out 1600 in miles but that is life... Anyway, hoping to tear down the 80 this week sometime and get the body off the 55 frame shortly. Anywhoo...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Here is a neat article I found about a chemical bath versus some of the other options. I am also thinking of media blast but the pig has some nooks and crannies that will be a bitch to get rust out of IMO.. Somehow I'll need to remove residue from the bath but other than that it looks pretty good IMO. http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/tech/paint_body/paint/0603ch_blast/ For something as complicated as a pig body IMO probably the best option, I think i can probably find it reasonably enough around here... If I remember correctly complete galvinizing was only $300 or so for a frame with hot dip, but that was 4-5 years ago...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

So got back from the trip last night and had a blast.. Left thurs afternoon and didn't take a hole lot of pics but did take a few.. I actually did the whole thing in one shot (13 hours), hund out Saturday, then Carrie flew in Saturday and we left Sunday evening getting back last night (monday, Memorial day)... I was definetely stuck by the awe of the trip and particularly how drop dead gorgous Oregon is for the most part, even the east part where the desert is, just literally gorgous...

Random part of Idaho (first pic).

Second pic is the ColumbiaRiver (which I also couldn't believe how big it was ). even way far east in the desert parts of Eastern Oregon... I caught it just as the sun was setting, it was literally a completely unbelievable drive, I thought I may have possibly died and gone to heaven somewhere on the trip

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Here is the piggie getting loaded. Also the tow rig was awesome, a Ford '89 diesel F250 with a ATS turbo kit. Great truck, pretty good power and ran like a top the whole way. Did about 65-75 most of the way for the most part.. But did guzzle (10-12 mpg - ouch ). Trailer was the one I picked up earlier (seen in photos before)...

Photos:

1) At Brian Ligenfelter's getting loaded up on Friday evening. Of course with plenty of Oregon rain... Brian is a true FJ55 guy and stored it for a few days between him and the guy I bought it from (notaJp here on mud aka Jim Kramer, nice guy on the phone).

2) His awesome bone stock beatuful original FJ55 with OEM paint and everything... I met Brian at CM05 if I remember correctly when he had his awesome also green and white SOA piggie that now resides in LA. Brian and his wife and three kids were awesome and super hospitable and I had a blast hanging out with them two nights in Portland and at their house... One of their kids is named Trey after Trey Anastasio, pretty cool

3) Photo is of him infront of the new pig... You can see the pig barely fit on the short trailer. But trailer towed it home fine, no problems home at all...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

more photos, all loaded up at Brians, then a nice rear view pic on the way home. We did have a blast in Portland but again didn't really take too many pictures for some reason. Great city though and I really had a blast there. Also dug all the cool old Volvos and diesel Benzes among many other very cool old cars all over the place there...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Then when I got home, one of my best friends (also a cruiserhead) also arrived home from his epic trip.. He flew to Louisville Kentucky and bought a '84 BJ42 from a friend and happened to be getting home within 20 minutes of us getting home. It was pretty cool, both of us arriving with our new cruisers and also Carrie had just bought a camper that Damon hadn't checked out yet so all three of us had our new toys..