"The Great Pumpkin"- 45 Crew Cab buildup

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

hey bud.
fwiw, keep the name. we all know you as that so why not stick with it?! not like i still own my orange LV..........

bummer about your mechanic. there has to be somebody in your area who knows about conversions. it does'nt take major fab skills to remove a set of old mounts and weld in new ones. what mounts ( steel brackets ) do you need? i have a 40 series donor if that helps. i'll be happy to chop the original mounts out of it and send them to you.


chin up! :cheers:
 
I appreciate the good words. I have a 40 completely stripped down with the motor and mounts still in it sitting next to my 45. I was thinking he would just cut off the mounts and weld them in to the 45 in the same spot. I have all the parts to do it. I think he thought it was going to be a quick unbolt then bolt back in scenario. I tried telling him it wasn't going to be that easy.

He's a good guy but ******* I'm aggravated right now.
 
Awl_TEQ said:
jsaltlick

what's the deal with that front bumper on the pumpkin? I've seen it on a half dozen other trucks - all 45's. Is it a vintage aftermarket piece or something more recent? If you scroll through the sticky "owners post here" in the 45 owners group section you will find five or six exactly the same.

just curious - it looks quite stout - a real Roo-catcher:confused:
Click to expand...

I think it's actually an old school ARB. Here is a link with other pics. Not too many in US recognize it since it is so different from ARBs current offering.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/240511-old-arb-bull-bumper-re-call.html

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/187407-brush-guard-who.html
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the link HJ-45Crewcab:cheers:

I like that bumper - not sure I actually want one - but i like it:)

I think it looks right on the Pumpkin:D
 
I had to do something to it to salvage the day so I painted the interior. Got 75% of it done but didn't take the dash apart so that's still yellow. Doors too are still yellow. Wanna take my time on those parts and I'm waiting for some pieces before I paint. Floors need fixing too in the front so I left the mats over the yellow. Should be easy to finish up the interior.

Bought fiberglass patch kit for the roof. Hole about the size of your fist in the dead center of it filled with some silicone crud. Didn't do that today but looks pretty easy.

Affixed the billet old-school hood ornament with much wrestling. Looks very good.

Put on soundproofing/heat shield underneath the hood.

Got the bezel back on so it looks pretty complete. Painted the bezel black.

Still pissed off and feel like I wasted the day. I plan on destroying that engine/ 3 speed quickly so I can get this swap finally moving. Going to another place isn't much of an option since I don't want to pay for towing again and don't really know where to take it. My mechanic is 1 mile away so I could always work on it at his place even if he isn't.
 
G'day Salty,

Why don't you try putting that engine in yourself? When I put the Vortec in Patches, I had never done an engine transplant before- but it worked out really well. If you are careful (measure twice, cut once), it will turn out fine. I am sure you could recruit someone to weld the mounts. The transplant is pretty straight-forward.

Cheers,

Josh
 
The transplant should be easy but the welding makes me nervous. I was going to do the swap this winter but lack of garage space has pushed things up sooner. Rather do it right the first time. I'm going to work with my mechanic as he does it so I can learn as I go. Welding is really the main part needed since the trans and the engine will all come out as one unit. I have zero welding skills so wanna leave it up to the experts. Might switch mechanics for this one though
 
PScottBx said:
Sweet ride bud.

Bx
Click to expand...

Thanks!

My sweet ride shizzed the bed today about 1 hour after it was officially registered. The Fall gathering in NH is next weekend and its my only real wheeling weekend all year. It's looking bleak for the crew cab to make it up there. The alternator is dead and it drained my Optima yellow top on the ride home. Also the fuel line is clogged or the fuel pump is junk. Not buying stuff from AU to fix anything and the spare alternator I have won't fit.

This engine should have been at the scrap yard last week after a motor swap that never happened.:bang:

Not sinking any $$$ into the aussie motor so I might not be bringing the crew cab to the event. I'm sure my 328i will do just as well if I can weld sliders onto it this weekend.
 
The Pumpkin is officially dead.......no spark to the engine and alternator is toast. I used a bypass machine to get it home and it's currently living in my wife's side of the garage...can't wait for her to get home tonight.
 
G'day Salty,

I don't think you are endearing the Pumpkin to the wife, but then what can ya do?

Does that Aussie alternator have an external regulator? Many vehicles down here seem to. It may be that that is all it needs, and any ole Napa regulator ought to do the trick. As for the fuel- maybe a new filter?

Congrats on the registration, by the way. You should do a build thread on the 328i's transformation to a wheelin' machine :)(talk about a way to get the wife on side...). When I was a kid, a neighbour in Boulder made an AMC Gremlin into a 4 wheel drive using an old Bronco chassis. You could be responsible for bring that lost art back.:bounce:

Good luck amigo.

Josh
 
there may be hope......stay tuned....
 
This is quite the rig! I've never seen one before, but I love it. Good luck getting the drive train in working order!
 
The pumpkin is now at Poor Wally's Land Cruiser Emporium in VT. I called him last week all bummed out that the truck was dead and wanted to get a price for the motor swap sometime in the future. To my surprise he said if I could get it to him this past Friday or Saturday there was a good shot I could have it to drive at the Fall Gathering.

The FG is my one weekend away per year (not a rule but just seems to work out that way cuz of my kid) so I'm excited and hopeful. Wally is a helluva hard worker and can fix anything so I have my fingers crossed.
 
Great news Salty- can't wait to see the photos. What else are you having done to it? I bet you can't wait to turn that Aussie engine into a boat anchor! Does the engine have power steering?

Cheers
 
Things happen for a reason and sometimes they just work out in the end. Great news, we're pullin for ya:bounce::clap::bounce2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom