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General questions about Dodge W350 crewcabs

2K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Elwenil 
#1 ·
I'm taking delivery of a 92 Cummins Dodge W350 converted to a crew cab in 96. I have not seen it up close yet but decided to buy it as I have been hunting for one of these for quite awhile. It's a a long bed and titled under the 85 Vin from the crewcab donor. It appears visualy as a 92 with the dash, proper badges and front clip. I'm unsure yet which tranny or T-case is has but it is auto. Donor truck was a D350 according to the vin so I'm not sure if they extended the 92 frame or used the 85 D350 frame and added the 4x4 drive train from the 92. It does appear to have the 92 front hubs and a large full floater rear axle.

I'm new to the Dodge truck seen and looking for info on what differences there were between the 85 D350 crew and 93 W350.
 
#2 · (Edited)
If it's running a '85 VIN, most likely they just took a '85 D250 Crew Cab and converted it to 4WD, swapped in the Cummins engine and converted the dash and grille all from parts from a '92 model. There were not very many changes in Dodge trucks between '72 and '93 and even fewer in the '80s bodystyle run from '81-'93 so just about everything will swap. Any frame modifications would be obvious and would be the larger pain in the ass as far as the conversion goes. The Cummins and 4WD swap is easy for the most part and uses all factory parts. Look at your frame to see if it has any odd patches or welded spots, if not then look to see if the front crossmember and engine crossmember are bolted in. They should have been riveted from the factory, but are usually bolted in during a conversion. Also, any long bed Dodge W series Crew Cab is a conversion of some sort as all Dodge Crew Cabs were short bed if they were 4WD. Long beds were only available as a 2WD D series Crew Cab.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the info. I think your right on the frame. Are there any differences between cab floors in these trucks? The previous owns stripped the carpet out and lined it and I'm having a hard time finding carpet for an 85 crewcab. Found it for 80 and older though and think that should work.

Was also wondering about auto transmissions. I think it should have an A518 but the seller mentioned something about an Allson tranny? It was done by a shop in arizona in 96 so not sure what might have been done at the time. What kind of Alson tranny options might they have had in 96?

Thanks for the assistance. The seller is the wife of the second owner whom passed away a few years ago so doesn't have much info from what was done in 96.
 
#4 ·
The cab floors did change a bit from the '70s to the '80s, the transmission tunnel shape especially. There were not Allison transmissions available in a Dodge truck in that era. A '96 model would have a 46RE but that would be a more difficult swap due to the wiring involved with the computer, though it is possible. A much easier and more common in Cummins swaps is the 518/46RH. In '96 about the only transmission option would have been the NV4500 5 speed manual. Eitehr way, I'm more than a little sure that you are not looking at a '96 drivetrain and most likely a '92 model drivetrain. Not sure if the '96 was a typo or not so I's answer both ways. In '92, it would have used a 518/46RH with the only other possibility being a Getrag 5 speed manual. It would also have been possible to use a 3 speed 727 for the swap but it would be obvious and would most likely have the odd D61 front axle with 3.07 gears.
 
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