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Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 2:01 pm
by rwjohnstone
Are you still with us Resbum?

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:25 pm
by Resbum
Hi RW and everyone else. I didn't work on the truck last winter. No money. The winter before last it was costing $200/month trying to keep the shop I'm renting warm and dry enough to do the bodywork with barely marginal equipment. Then this spring came around and just when I thought I might start on it again I found out I'm losing my shop space 1st of Oct.

That was the final push I needed to get the heck out of western Washington. I've spent 3 winters here I didn't want to. I'm in the process of moving to my off-the-grid property in eastern Oregon. I just got back from punching in the driveway, leveling the pad for my 5th wheel, and clearing the spot for a 20X24 shop. First of Aug my 5th wheel is going down and over the next two months I'll be shuttling loads of stuff down and building the shop. I want to be permanently in place by the 1st of Oct.

20X24 is about the same usable space I had in the shop up here. Plus, the shop up here didn't have running water or 220V. So, with my 8Kw generator I'll literally have the same shop facilities down there that I had up here. And it will free up about $700/month I've been spending to live up here.

About the only thing that will be for the worse is that I won't be able to just jump in the car and run to the store if I realize I need something.

Anyways, that's what's going on. Thanks for checking on me. I still plan on finishing the truck. :-bd Life just got in the way for the last year.

Resbum

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 4:01 pm
by Stuka
Good to hear from you, was curious myself.

You going to be off HWY 97 some place then? Lot of nice areas in eastern Oregon.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:58 pm
by Resbum
Hi Stuka. Yep, about 60 miles south east of Bend, as a bird flies.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:41 am
by ross80truck
Hey Resbum, glad to hear from you as well. I understand the whole life thing. For me it has been more kids and business growing. My Wagoneer sits in a storage unit behind my shop patiently waiting for me.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:08 am
by srobertsfsj
Good to hear you are still around. Beautiful work so far. I hope you can keep it going!

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:23 am
by Resbum
Hi Ross.
srobertsfsj wrote:.... I hope you can keep it going!
Oh, it will most definitely get finished!!! :-bd A lot of blood, sweat, and tears invested in it so far.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 6:55 pm
by scotnetwor5
The engine is in a good shape so I suspect a faulty component or setting at the hydraulic circuit is the problem.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2014 8:29 am
by wesley howell
I can tell you how your getting the fish eye when you paint you spray down , it reacts with the oil you have on the floor!!! Painted professionally on and off all my life.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 9:05 am
by CherokeeJim
Holy Cow! Nice!!

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 7:03 am
by Resbum
GLADI8R getting ready for its move to Oregon. Temporarily installed various pieces of sheet metal and the $50 craigslist mobile self-storage canopy. The shop in Oregon isn’t finished, so now the truck can sit outside until the shop is done without me worrying about things getting damaged.
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The goal was to keep all the pieces of the truck project with the truck and pack everything else from the shop into the U-haul. All the glass is sitting in the cab, on the bench seat, and everything else filled the bed to the brim.
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GLADI8R all packed up and ready for a roadtrip. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to use the tow bar mounted on the front or get a tow dolly from U-haul. The plus side of the tow dolly is they have surge brakes, and this thing is heavy.
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Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 7:07 am
by Resbum
To me this is a cool picture. The wheels and tires go right the edge of the wheel wells, right to where I was shooting for. I couldn’t be happier with their location.
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Now, for the big unveiling. I was going to wait until the truck was finished, but now seems like a good time. Three years ago Washington went over to 7-digit license plated. One day, several months after that, I realized you could spell gladiator, GLADI8R, 7-digits. I immediately checked availability of that license plate. When I found it available I had my application and check in the mail almost instantly. I’ve been paying for personalized plates the last three years for a truck not even on the road yet. But, I think its well worth it.
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Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 12:12 pm
by Booth755
how much has this build cost so far if you dont mind
imtryign to get a ball park number so i can start saving during deployment?

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:42 am
by SJTD
If it isn't too painful, can tell us what happened to the cab behind the door?

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:46 am
by Resbum
Booth755 wrote:how much has this build cost so far if you dont mind
imtryign to get a ball park number so i can start saving during deployment?
Hi Booth. For various reasons I'm not going to publicly mention how much I have into this build.

However, if I were to start from scratch again here are some numbers I'd take into account.
These are used/craigslist prices. Cummins 6BT's seem to go for around $2,000 here in the western WA area. Then you have the cost of the trans, which varies widely by type (check craigslist). Next, Dana 60's seem to go for $200-$500, depending. T-cases can be up to $800. As a minimum, plan $1,000 for nuts, bolts, hoses, and other nickle and dime things.

That gets you the basic major components to start the build. Start the build, by no means get close to finishing it.

Next, research the drivetrain, suspension, steering, braking, electrical, fuel system, interior, and bodywork components you want and keep a running list of the costs of the parts.

Then, consider how much of the work you will do yourself or farm out to others. For all the work you farm out double the costs of the components the mechanic, electrician, body guy will install. Labor generally doubles the cost of parts.

Finally, you have to decide on how deep you want to go. Is this going to be a basic swap or are you going to take it down to a media blasted frame and replace every nut and bolt on the truck, like I did.

There is one other consideration and it will cause the cost of the project to go through the roof. If a person's ego dictates they must have all brand new, name brand, top of the line parts it will be crazy expensive very fast. There are certain parts that should be high quality (brakes, shocks, etc.), but most parts can be used, recycled, or re-purposed parts.

Using the guidelines above come up with a cost, then double it. No joke. I would say if you were to set aside $10,000 during deployment you would be well on your way to having a nice conversion. By being frugal and smart there are a lot of guys that have done it for less by doing the work themselves.

Good luck and stay safe on deployment. Resbum

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:53 am
by Resbum
SJTD wrote:If it isn't too painful, can tell us what happened to the cab behind the door?
I'm not quite sure what you mean. The cab on the truck is the one I rebuilt earlier in the build thread.

Resbum

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 8:30 am
by SJTD
Looked damaged between the door opening and the bed.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:58 pm
by Resbum
OK, now I understand. I haven't taken the pillars down to bare metal yet. I'm going to do them when the rest of the bodywork sheet metal is back on and ready. Then paint the whole outside of the truck at the same time for uniformity of the paint job.

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:27 am
by Stuka
Hey Resbum,

Have not heard from you for a while. But saw this posted on Craigslist which made me quite sad :(

https://billings.craigslist.org/vnn/4868214511.html

Re: 1970 Gladiator 1 Ton 6BT 12V Cummins Build

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:45 am
by Resbum
Hi Stuka. Thanks. I was holding off posting anything with the hopes it would show up. Resbum