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 Sgt. ROCK

All of a sudden in the lifted truck world, size began to matter. A few years ago, 4 to 6 inches of lift and 35" tall tires was a big truck. Now 8 to 10 inches of lift and 38 to 40 inch tall tires is becoming more common, and people wanted to know how to do this safely and legally (which don't always go together!) The purpose of the Sgt. Rock project was not only to show the planning and design work involved in building a big rig, but also to show what is legal, practical, and affordable for the guy wanting to do a project like this.

Of course the first step to any project is finding the right vehicle, and I knew exactly what that vehicle needed to be - a World War II, half-ton, WC Weapons Carrier. Or in more understandable terms, a military 1/2 ton Dodge 4x4 pickup truck. No other 4x4 truck ever made has a more rugged, in-your-face, testosterone inspired look and history than these old army trucks. And the fender openings are big enough for the huge tires that I planned on putting on. The problem was, these trucks were only made one year, 1941. Since this was the forerunner to the Power Wagon, any restorable trucks had already been swooped up by WWII buffs, and everything else had either been robbed of parts or shot full of holes in some field somewhere. So, over the years I kept an eye out for one of these trucks in decent condition.

My search ended abruptly one day when I located a '41 Dodge hidden in some trees about a mile from my parent's house in Belleview, Idaho. The old truck had been sitting abandoned for decades. The original bed was long gone, and a hacked together, hand-built bed sat in its place. The Dodge cab had been swapped for an almost identical International cab and spliced at the cowl, and an old snowplow was welded to the undercarriage in front. However, the good news was the cab, fenders, hood, grille, etc. were not only rust free, but they were extremely straight, and that was far more than I expected to find! So, a deal was struck and I dragged it home to the shop.

With a name like Sgt. Rock, there is an obvious military tie-in but it is more than what you think. I was able to connect the buildup of the truck to the restoration of the legendary Memphis Belle B-17 Bomber of WWII to not only pay tribute to the WWII vets, but to everyone who has ever donned an American uniform to fight for freedom. There will be more on that as the truck nears completion, but the direction of the buildup is basically to cross a 40's style Hot Rod with a big, lifted military truck.

As with any project the proper place to start is at the bottom, and since this is going to be a BIG truck it is going to sit on the biggest DOT approved tire out there. The interco IROK. This sucker stands right at 50 inches tall and 21 inches wide!!! Basically I designed the whole truck around these tires.

Now, enough yappin', let's take a look at how the Sgt. is going together.

 Specifications

VEHICLE: 1941 Military 1/2 ton Dodge 4x4 pickup truck

ENGINE: Indy Cylinder Heads - No Hemi or Diesel here (although I considered them). The grunt for Sgt. Rock comes from a big block wedge engine. But it ain't a 440 - it's a 605! That's right, Indy casts their own aluminum block and heads to build mega-cube engines that make huge horsepower on pump gas. How huge? This bad boy was dyno'ed at 850HP and 835ft/lbs of torque on pump gas!!!!! Yep, that is theoretically enough to pull those massive front tires off the ground - and don't think I won't try it!

TRANSMISSION: Bowler Transmissions Torque-flight 727 to back that motor and of course it is matched to one of their torque converters, and shifters.

TRANSFER CASE: Advance Adapters I'm using one of their 3.8 geared Atlas II Transfer cases and they are nice pieces. However, frankly the output of the engine is exceeding the proposed limits of the Atlas, but that engine is gonna exceed the limits of most any case and I've never seen an Atlas fail - so we'll see. If the guys at AA are willing to try it, so am I.

GAS TANK: Rick's Hot Rod Shop When it comes to custom stainless steel fuel tanks, these guys are the bomb. If you need a custom tank to fit whatever, they'll build it for you and set it up with whatever outlets, bungs, fuel pumps, etc that you need.

STEERING COLUMN: Borgeson Using the right steering column was imperative to give the interior the right look. This thin, polished roadster column with no turn signals or tilt looks like it came right out of a 40's hot rod. The polished, simple column drop will accent the column perfectly.

STEERING WHEEL: Grant This is Grant's new leather-wrapped, four-spoke vintage hot rod style wheel, and it matches the look and the feel of the truck perfectly with its riveted spokes.

GAUGES: AutoMeter These are vintage style hot rod gauges that look like they came out of and old airplane. These are perfect for this interior.

RADIATOR: C&R Racing This is a state-of-the-art four-row aluminum radiator that was custom built to fit where the original radiator went, but cool an 850hp big block. C&R has been building radiators for racecars for years and if you need a special radiator, these guys can do it.

HARDWARE & FASTENERS: Gardner Westcott All the bolts on this truck are polished stainless button-head fasteners. Grade 8 on the chassis components. The button head bolts will keep a rivet-style look going throughout the truck giving it a rugged, industrial look and matching the existing factory rivets in the fenders and hood.

DOUBLE 50 CAL MACHINE GUN MOUNT: This thing was hand-built by Mark Woodriff and Dave Marshall, two airplane mechanics that were involved with the restoration of the Memphis Belle. Cool guys and great work.

MACHINE GUN PEDESTAL: Saber Defense This is an actual machine gun mount that the military uses on Humvee's. Saber Defense builds 'em for the Military.

TIRES: Interco IROK - size 49 x 21.50 x 20

WHEELS: Marsh Racing Wheels, size 20 x 18 - These are steel wheels with real beadlocks for rough use

AXLES: Memphis Equipment 2 1/2 ton Rockwells. Both are steering axles for rear steer

AXLE PREP: USA 6x6 Installed hi-clearance pan and rebuilt axles with lockers, seals, etc

AXLE SHAFTS, LOCKERS & HUBS: Ouverson Engineering These are the axle shafts and lockers to use for extreme situations. If you are setting up a killer Rockwell axle, these shafts, lockers, and the locking hubs are money well spent.

BRAKES: Differential Engineering The drawback to using Rockwells has always been brakes. The stock drums are way too heavy, and a single pinion brake is just not enough. These guys have a bolt-on disc brake system that uses rotors from a big international truck and calipers from a Ford F-350 so they are heavy-duty enough to stop a big heavy rig with big tires.

STEERING: Nowack Industries Vince Nowack pretty much invented modern hydraulic steering for big trucks. If you've ever seen a monster truck run, you've seen Nowack hydraulic steering in action. If you want it strong and reliable, this is the way to go.

SUSPENSION: Memphis Equipment All the leaf springs, hangers, shackles, and hardware are NOS parts from Memphis Equipment. This was important because I wanted to retain the old-school look of a vintage military truck, but everything had to function properly too.

PAINT: PPG This is the third custom color that I've done with PPG for project vehicles, and instructor Ron Payton is the one responsible for helping me put together all three. This was one of the toughest because I told Ron I wanted a kind of charcoal gray metallic. Kind of like the inside of a battleship. Then, just when he thought he had it right, I told him I wanted just a hint of green in it for the truck's army roots. After a few test panels and experimenting, the right combination came together and Sgt. Rock Metallic was born.

PAINTING & BODYWORK: The Alton Company These guys did a fantastic job. Basically I designed a unique, one-off bed that featured removable panels, huge fenders, and functional exhaust stacks built right in. It also had to be stressed up enough to handle the impact of twin 50 caliber machine guns firing in the bed. (more on that later) They not only built the bed but they also smoothed out the rest of the body, recessed the firewall, and painted the whole thing. Fantastic work and a great bunch of guys too. Check 'em out.

SEATS: Mastercraft Seats Long known as making one of the best suspension-style racing seats on the market, I approached them about making some seats for the Sgt. The only problem was, they HAD to have the look and feel of a vintage bomber seat - NO exceptions! A modern off-road seat in a 40's style truck would just look stupid. So I sent them a drawing of what I had in mind and dang if they didn't put together some of the coolest bomber seats I've ever seen. Rolled and pleated in brown, distressed leather with a side pocket, like a flight jacket, it even has the Sgt. Patch in the center! But underneath it is still a state-of-the-art suspension seat. If you need a cool, functional seat, these are your guys.

Paint Code

Sgt. Rock Metallic

Credit:
Custom Color created by Stacey David and Ron Payton of PPG

Paint Source:
Paint and bodywork by Kevin Tetz

1 QUART FORUMLA