ATTENTION: (To avoid any confusion - this post is copied from my "new to the board" thread. That is why there is a bit in the begining saying thanks for the welcome and talking about another project. Just keep reading, it gets to my Duramax that I am building now."



Thanks for the warm welcome guys. That project is gonna be fun for sure. Minutes ago there was a dodge with a cummins rattling away outside the window of my room and it was like music to my ears, .

Anyway, remember how I said I would keep my current rig mainly stock, I guess I lied, . After doing some checking the past few days, I don't have the room or the fundedge $$$$ to start on my new project yet. The main problem is I don't have a place to store it while I get it worked on, and I don't have the money to keep it at a storage unit while I tinker around with the build piece by piece. So I have decided to stay on the look-out for a likely van suspect to turn into my Frankenstein, while all along tricking out my current rig.

Lets face it, I knew it would come to this all along, . Why have only a supped up Cummins Van, when you can have a supped up Duramax truck as well. To get things started, I would like to take care of my drivetrain and transmission issues first. Get the rig ready for some serious power, before I unleash it and cause a whole lot of trouble that will make things even more expensive.

I want to swap out the IFS for a Ford style dana 60, and go with the ORU front solid axle kit. I would also like to go with a 2.5 Ton Rockwell in the rear. I saw this done on a dodge recently and it did not look that radical from the outside at all. Is this something that could be done pretty easy?

Once I have the new axles, leaf springs, steering components, and traction bars installed, I plan to tackle the transmission. I want to go with a Suncoast tranny for sure. From there I will start in on the engine mods, I figure I should be good to go with whatever I want to do from this point on out in terms of strength.

How does that sound for a starting plan? I am new to this type of extreme build, but it is something I have been doing alot of research on, and it is something that I have a great amount of passion for. Please step in here with advice and constructive criticism where needed guys. I know anything is possible with enough money, I have seen some really crazy stuff and I know that what I am talking about is doable. I simply ask for your help in giving me advice on how I might go about approaching a project like this. Any and all input will be much appreciated.

I look forward to tackling this project right here on the board and posting lots of pics along the way. Should be good practice for my total van build up that I plan to do after I complete this Durmax Truck build. Let me know what you guys think about the steps I have laid out for my trucks drivetrain, especially the plan to install a 2.5 Ton Rockwell in the rear.

 

is this going to be a dedicated puller? what class

you wouldn't need to gut the ifs , it is pretty strong is its built right.

what kind of power r u planning on making.

sure sounds like a wicked project for sure, keep us updated.