Picked up this one family owned 72 Powerwagon Saturday. Needs some attention here and there but its basic stuff, brakes, tires, etc but overall its pretty solid. It's been sitting since 02, had to drain the rotten gas, put a battery in it and it started right up and ran fine. Engine is a 360 with a "granny" 4 speed, 3.55 gears. I have lots of questions about the uniqueness of the 72 since it was a year one style, the plastic dash is toast, going to need a new one, rear is an 8 3/4, front looks like a small Dana? Only rust is in the rear down legs of both fenders. So step in 72 powerwagon experts...what have I got here? Any tips of stuff I should look out for?

Here's what's left of the underhood tag...

I love it! My 2nd favorite grille alltime for the Dodge trucks. My fave is the '79 vertical stacked quad headlights.

It seems oddly optioned, manual steering, no air, 4 speed am radio...and power brakes? I don't see wheel covers on the underhood sticker does that mean it didn't come with them?

Nice one!!!! My favorite grille. 72 and 73 very similar; same grille, same interior, etc. 74 has same interior also, (edit) including dash, but change in grille (74-76 same grille). 74 is last of the 205 TC and part time 4WD, until 1980, in trucks.

Not that oddly optioned, it was ordered to be worked. My Father ordered one exactly like that in '72 except it was dark blue/white combo. with med. blue interior w/318. I think the power brakes were std. And no they did not come with wheel covers std. , even on the Adventurer. His came with off white steel wheels.

Congrats on the Truck.

back when trucks were just that....a truck to be worked. Great find.

Thanks for the comments guys, my plans for the weekend are to flush the gas tank and radiator, change the oil/filter, new fuel filters and try to run it long enough to quiet one REALLY noisy lifter then get it moved from the driveway into the shop where the next deal will be to get the locking lug nuts off all four wheels (yep, owner lost the key)...once I get the wheels off then it looks like it will be a complete overhaul of the brakes...currently the brake pedal sticks on the floor On a side note...what's the feasibility of converting the front drums to disc?

Awesome find, first year of anything is a crap shoot, but Dodge got it right on the trucks! I have nothing else to add, but have fun with it!

If the lug nuts are the round bulged out in the middle kind, pound a too small socket over them and take them off with a breaker bar. When that won't work, I have broken the stud off and then replaced one on each wheel.

My 74 crew was converted to discs using the pieces off I believe a mid 70's to mid 80's Chevy truck. Everything from the knuckles out, maybe even the stub axles and I'm not sure if you really need the knuckles. So much of that basic Dana 44 stuff is the same between the two.

The only problem is this is a 1/2 ton. The Chevy will have 6 lugs.

Got a little more done today, toasted dash pad is removed, greased every zerk I could find, changed oil and filter, fuel filters, master cylinder and alternator had to come out of Dallas so didn't get those until late, should have it almost ready for a test drive if I can get those blasted locking lug nuts off, bought a tool at Orielly's that was supposed to work but the nuts were to large in diameter for the tool to fit. Tomorrow I'll weld a lug nut on to the lock nut and see if that works, so far air chisel and small pipe wrench have both failed. Sure wish someone would pipe in with a disc brake swap grand plan...lol

I have been told that front discs were a little known option in '74 which would be the same axle as the '72.

I've been googling my tail off from every direction I can think of and Ford stuff keeps popping up

The only 74 4 wheel drive Dodge with discs was the Ramcharger, which used a different version of the Dana 44 (75-79 truck version). You'll have to find an 80-84 1/2 ton to get the same bolt pattern with discs and lockouts, or 85-93 with a center axle disconnect. I do not know if the parts will swap over to your axle, but I recall hearing they do.

Well...got the alternator installed and limped out of the driveway and into the shop, welded old lug nuts onto the locking lugs and poof...they came right off. Got the 4wd checked out on jack stands everything seems good. Got the rear brake drums off...shoes are bad, wheel cylinders are bad and possibly drums. Front drums are kicking my........they won't budge so far...

Is it normal for both front and rear diffs to be single track?

Yes. Limited slip aka anti-spin was available as an option on the rear only.

Got a little more done yesterday, finally got the front drums off, shoes and drums were grooved into each other, what a whipping. The good news is O'Reilly's had all but a couple of the parts local so with any luck I'll have it ready for a test drive today. On a side note...so far I've put a battery, alternator and voltage regulator on and it's still showing discharge on the alt gauge and at the battery the volt tester is only picking up 12.7 volts...any suggestions?

just for piece of mind have the parts tested. Just because they are new doesn't mean they are good.

Good idea, after I finish the brakes I'll do one last check for bad grounds and broken wires then get the parts validated

Does my heart good to see another old Dodge truck getting some love!!

Thanks!!!

Nice!
On your charging problem- did you check the bulkhead connector? Seems I remember them being a problem on trucks also.
Missed a chance on a '75 locally. Called about it yesterday right after ad came up and the first guy that showed up bought it.
Story of my life- day late and a dollar short.



Tim

Definitely clean up the bulkhead. On mine '79 Power Wagon, they looked really bad. I got a finger nail file (aka emory board I believe) and cut it down in width to fit inside everywhere I needed and cleaned all the points. It definitely helped with headlights dimming at idle.

Thanks for the input guys, didn't get a chance to chase electrical issues today the brakes kicked my you no what...jeez...adjusters frozen, springs broken, cables broken...what a mess...good news though, got three of four wheels done...one to go...

It can be bad when a wheel cylinder leaks out and then everything sits! I had a set of rear drums on an old police car that were like that! I really thought I was going to have to cut one of them off. I finally got it off and did a reverse somersault in the process.

I haven't done the front brakes on one of these old 4WDs in awhile...i forgot how much disassembly was required...sheesh...

Get a disc brake front end from the spindles out for a 3/4 ton mid 70s Chevy truck, You have to get the correct axel u joint and use the chevy end, and it will all bolt right together.

Probably have to add in a proportioning valve too. with all drum brakes My 72 did not have one....

Well, had to stop on the truck for a week, spent the last week in Philly sitting in a training class... . Oh well, got back 2am Friday morning and was in the shop by 9am, gave up on the disc brakes for now and completely overhauled the power drum system, shoes, hydraulics, hardware, new drums, new master cylinder, brakes are now bled and it's got an excellent pedal. Changed a leaky freeze plug and and cleaned all the bulkhead connecters and grounds, won't know if the charging issue is fixed until I fill it back up with anti freeze and fire it back up today. Also found out yesterday...the hard way...that a 72 W100 DOES NOT...have 4.5 inch bolt pattern wheels, had a set of nice wheels and tires stacked in the corner that I would use for test driving until I figured out what I wanted to put on the truck permanently...since the truck came with 4 flats...free of charge of course...image my surprise sitting on my backside rotating a wheel endlessly trying to get it on...then grabbing a tape measure and going...oh "S".... Still some tinkering to try and get done today...see if I can find a tire shop open, adjust the emergency brake cable, clean the interior...some more...anybody got any leads on a new rubber floor mat...this ones like crunchy as a potato chip....

www.lmc.com

Probably others also but just remember them from my last truck. Hopefully, I'll have use for them again soon.



Tim

LMC

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/dc/full.aspx?Page=27

Bingo! Thanks! Although, scrolling through that catalog may be hazardous to my wallet.

The 69-74 W100 had a 5 on 5.5" bolt circle. The 80-93 W100/150 also had a 5 on 5.5" bolt circle. The 75-79 trucks were the odd ones with the small 5 on 4.5" bolt circle.

Good info, thanks. Got a little more done today, still showing no charge at the battery so I took the bulkhead connectors apart...again...pulled the instrument panel, cleaned everything, put it all back together, still no charge...ugh...adjusted the emergency brake...that was fun...not. Oh well...back at it tomorrow...

Sorry it didn't fix things for you, but cleaning the bulkhead will serve you well anyhow!

...driving me nuts, going to backtrack everything in the morning...really don't want to start unwrapping harnesses, that'll be last ditch...

did you have the alternator and regulator testred?

Well...kinda...the alternator tested good and I talked them into trading out the voltage regulator figuring with the alternator testing good it HAD to be the voltage regulator...nope.

I'd still have it checked. I worked nine years in an IH parts department. Just because it's a new part, doesn't mean it's good. I've told this one before...we handled Delco Remy starters and alternators. On several occasions we would go thru stacks of each trying to find a good one, and that was 20 years ago. With all the off shore made parts, it happens more often than not. HAve you cleaned your grounds? IIRC you had your dash apart....how did the alternator gauge look? Wonder if a bad gauge could be the cause?

Well, I found a voltage regulator test procedure on the old internet and tested the new one per the procedure and it checks good, the alternator gauge looked ok and it appears to be functioning properly...it moves to discharge when you turn anything that demands power on...lights, blinkers etc. Currently I'm pulling the bulkhead connectors again and recleaning just to make sure it didn't miss one...as far as grounds go, I checked but if the cleaning of the bulkhead connectors doesn't work...again...I'll go back over the grounds...

Ok...so after bouncing around the internet for awhile I decided to run a test wire from the hot wire on the back of the alternator to the + post on the battery and wala...14.7 volts....what the heck did I just discover???. Prior to doing this I had checked grounds all the way to the instrument panel and had continutity everywhere it should be. Does this mean the main wire is bad or disconnected somewhere that I can't see?
As a side note, prior to installing the test wire I checked the voltage at the back of the alternator and had 40 volts...at the back of the alternator gauge I had 36 volts.
Update: the above made me decide to trace the alternator feed wire all the way to the bulkhead disconnect, everything ok to the engine compartment side...under the dash I go again...tugged on the alternator feed wire...and it fell out...cleaned it, tightened up the crimp and fed it back into its lock and bingo were charging 14.7 at the battery, Yee haw...new alternator, new voltage regulator, clean bulkhead connectors...and it turns out to be a disconnected wire inside the bulkhead connector...isn't this fun...lol

Finally got a test drive in...runs, drives and stops well, manual steering on this beast is easier than my GTX, lol. Still need to fix wipers, tail lights and heater hot water shut off and a few other nit noids...but other than that it gets a

glad you figured it out! don't know what ur getting into with the wipers, but now's the time to replace the nylon bushings on the arms.

Yeah, amen to that, currently when I turn the wiper switch on I get nothing...nada...and the fuse is not blown...so I guess it on to the next troubleshooting adventure...

one of mine did that. ran an extra ground from one of the mounting bolts to the firewall and was back in business.

One thing you might consider is the MAD Electrical ammeter bypass. IIRC, it's pretty simple to add a voltmeter to the cluster in the ammeter's position. When I did the bypass on the Charger I had already added a mechanical oil pressure and voltmeter to the car.

http://madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml

And here is a thread on FBBO about doing the "fleet bypass" so that the ammeter remains functional. Not entirely sure about this one as I think the general consensus is that the gauge itself is a weak point also.

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/ammeter-bypass.65337/



Tim

Update: couple of days of trouble shooting and wire chasing and got all of the lights working, required cleaning grounds, repairing damaged wires, new brake light switch, new turn signal switch and still have the wiper motor fix left to do. Pulled the interior out of the cab, seat, rubber floor mat and all and discovered dirt...lots of it...but no rust and the driver's side of the seat has a hole in it covered by a piece of carpet and a nasty old seat cover, going to run over to Summit today and get a new shifter boot and a new seat cover...may have it ready for tags and inspection by next weekend....

wow, never see a floor like that around here....

Geez that floor looks great!!!!

As far as the wipers go, I decided to remove mine as I do my best to keep it out of rain. I carry RainX in case I get caught in rain. I plugged the holes for looks, and I really like looking out the clear windshield with no obstruction.

Your floor is as good as mine. You don't see many as original and clean as ours!

Well...changed the wiper motor and bushings...works like new Ran over to Summit and grabbed a Hurst shifter boot and a seat cover, got those installed, installed new tail light lenses, door seals...couple things still on my list...change out the 4 bladed direct drive fan with a 5 bladed clutch fan I have sitting on the shelf and replace the frozen hot water shut off to the heater, almost ready for a long distance test drive

Sweet.



Tim

Previous owner was scared someone would steal the Powerwagon and Dodge emblems off the hood so he popped them off and saved them...what is a good recommendation for adhesive for reinstallation?