1982 Dodge W150 4x4

[enafzige]

Well, I've been wanting to get a thread started, more to document what I've done for myself as much as anything else.  Hopefully I'll gain some helpful suggestions and insight along the way as well.

To bring everyone up to speed, about 7 years ago, I traded a 1985 2wd dodge and my dirtbike for a 1982 W250.  Soon after I got it, I realized there was no air breather on the engine, and the tired 318 with 2xx,xxx miles was very weak.  I put a new air cleaner on it and drove it around about 4 months before deciding to tear into it.

Here's the only picture I have of it before the rebuild started...



I have no garage to work in, so I started tearing the truck down in the gravel picnic area beside our house.  My intent was to drop in a crate motor, and be back on the road.  Well, I kept finding so many things that needed done to the truck, that I just got carried away.

This is right after I pulled the 318 2bbl...





Being the curious type person, I found myself carried away, taking everything apart to see how it worked, and to rebuild it in the process.  I'll let the pictures tell the next part of the story...truly shade tree mechanic'ing at its best!  







to be continued...

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

So, I began cleaning everything up, and assessing what was salvageable and what needed upgraded or rebuilt.

I spent hours on the frame, transmission, transfercase, and cab cleaning and repainting.  I bought Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, and installed a 6" Superlift all spring lift.







The stock drivetrain included the NP435 4-speed transmission, and the 208 transfer case.







...to be continued.

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

Well, I bought an engine from Precision engines.  Partial specs are:

-- 360 c.i. Dodge bored .030 over
--  block bored, honed, decked and align honed
--  Camshaft: 222/232 @ 0.050, .501" lift, 114 lobe center
--  Resized rods with ARP rod bolts
--  Reground 3.578" stroke
--  9:1 compression ratio with Molly rings
--  High volume oil pump and new timing set
--  1.94/1.60 steel valves
--  110 lb springs
--  3 angle seats
--  bronze guides
--  Positive seals

The crate motor is spec'd to be 365 hp and 370 tq, so it should feel like a good kick in the pants compared to the worn out 318.



I put an Edelbrock performer intake and Holley Truck Avenger 670 4 bbl on it, along with some headers and a performance Mopar ignition.  I also splurged and got some Mopar performance valve covers and air cleaner cover.  I installed a new 4-core radiator for a 1-ton with the towing package as well.



I stripped down the interior, and then repainted, and used some Mar-Hyde rubberized undercoating on the entire floor.



I found a better seat, and had it recovered in black leather and grey suede, and put a rubber/vinyl floor in it.



The truck had a 3" body lift on it when I got it.  I ditched the body lift when I installed the 6" spring lift.  Here's a few pics with the body back on it.  I also got a black diamond plate tool box, and bought some new 35x12.50 Pro Comp X-terrains for her.



I found a sliding rear window at a junk yard, and installed it as well.  The truck doesn't have air conditioning, and doesn't even have the vents in the dash, so this was a great find for me!





I also bought the newer style mirrors at a junk yard.



to be continued...

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

I got the truck running, and drove it to the muffler shop.  They installed dual 2.5" aluminized exhaust with flowmaster single chamber mufflers.

On the way home, I decided to put the truck in 4wd in an empty construction lot.  Well, as soon as I started going up a small incline, I heard a major rucus.  I jumped out, and part of my rear driveshaft was laying on the ground!  The rear shaft twisted completely in half.  It had a small ding in it, and I guess the new 35" rubbers put too much stress on the drivetrain, with the stock 3.20 gears  

Due to this misfortune, I decided to upgrade the running gear.

This started the big search for parts.

I found a 1985 W350 single rear wheel crew cab in Long Island, NY that I bought off ebay for $420.  When I picked it up, I found out the motor was locked up, and the frame was broken, but it had a good Dana 60 front and rear, so I didn't really care.  




I parted the truck out, sold the crew cab body, and kept the front axle.

I located a Dana 70 B out of a '70s model Ford 200 camper special that I bought around Chattanooga, TN.

Since the front axle had 4.10 gears in it, I bought some matching 4.10s for the rear axle.  I also bought ARB air lockers for the front and rear.

On the front axle, I bought chevrolet drive flanges, so I could run the internal locking hubs.  I also upgraded to 35 spline chromoly outer axle shafts, and all new spicer u-joints.

I decided to use the big cast iron, gear-to-gear NP205 transfer case from the crew cab as well.  I installed this in place of the 208, and it mated right up to the NP435 trans.

I ran across some 1410 series yokes, and installed one in the rear Dana 70, and one on the NP205 transfer case.

I also found a 35 gallon fuel tank off of another truck and installed.

I bought new calipers and brakes for the Dana 60 front, and all new brake lines.

I custom bent some 3/8" stainless steel tubing and ran all new fuel line, supply, return, and vent.

I bought a new Borgeson steering shaft and installed as well.

I installed all new weatherstripping in the doors and window channels.

I began a disc brake conversion for rear Dana 70 using 3/4 chevrolet rotors and calipers.

Since I could no longer use my wheels/tires with the 8-lug axles, I sold them, and bought some 37" x 13.50" Procomps instead.  In order for them to fit, I had to cut some sheet metal, so I covered things up a bit with the Bushwacker cut out fender flares.



I had to install new studs on the 70 rear, because the one side had reverse thread studs in it.



to be continued...

--Eric

[enafzige]

As part of another side project, I found another crew cab 1985 truck in Texas, and decided to buy it as well.  As usual, I didn't quite know what I was buying, as it this was off ebay again.

When I got there, I discovered this truck had a homemade lift on it...part being suspension, and part body.  However, it was a very clever/stout/odd/robust/difficult design.  The step bars were made into part of the body lift where they attached to the frame.







The Cummins conversion I planned to do with this truck fell through due to lack of funds and time, so I pulled the bumpers off of it, and sold the trock to a guy in Colorado.

I decided to use these bumpers on my truck...



Things were starting to look a little out of hand, so I hauled in some fresh gravel, and cleaned things up a little bit.










The build up to this point covered a period of about 4 years.  I then became preoccupied with other more pressing projects, as it's all too easy to do...especially when you start to lose heart because the project you're working on hasn't been driveable in sooooo long!!!


to be continued...

--Eric

[enafzige]

The next events unfolded last November.  I don't even have words to describe how I felt.  I came home one day after work to find the following:



















For the next 3 or 4 months I got a knot in my stomach every time I walked outside.

I was no longer carrying vehicle insurance on this truck, as it hadn't beed on the road in 7 years.  Home owner's insurance said they wouldn't cover anything...not even the tree cleanup.

I finally got all the trees cut up, hauled off, and the stumps removed around February of this year.

to be continued...

--Eric

[EarlKann]

WOW,  just WOW!  Devastating!   

I don't know if I could continue after that.   

[hilton8r]

I don't even have the words...

I really enjoyed the progress pics and certainly didn't expect to see Mother Nature intervene! I know it will be difficult to continue, but I'm sure you'll pick up again after some time has passed.

Which State do you call home?

I've seen two beatiful Mopars resurected after roll-overs...
http://www.offroadexchange.com/modforums/index.php?topic=1121.20

I couldn't find a link to Mike T's Trail Duster that rolled. He had his build posted on his own site.

Anyhow, I've seen some part trucks for pretty cheap lately.

John

[enafzige]

WOW,  just WOW!  Devastating!   

I don't know if I could continue after that.   

I didn't either.  I seriously considered parting it out, and trying to forget everything.  However, I added up roughly what I had already spent on the project, and it convinced me to keep on going, as there was no way I could even recoup half of what I had invested.

--Eric

[enafzige]

I really enjoyed the progress pics and certainly didn't expect to see Mother Nature intervene! I know it will be difficult to continue, but I'm sure you'll pick up again after some time has passed.

Which State do you call home?

Thanks John.  I haven't had the time to post the latest yet, but I have begun the rebuild of the rebuild!

Home is in east Tennessee...so the weather is pretty nice right now, with the exception of some heavy rain.  In fact, I plan on taking a week's worth of vacation days during the next month to try to make some progress on this project!

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

So, after getting the trees cleaned up, I started looking through boxes of parts and pieces I had previously bought for this project...and I started getting some excitement back again.  I began diligently searching for a 1981 - 1993 Dodge with a manual transmission.  I was mainly after a good, clean, straight, rust free body.

I found a great candidate only about 3 hours away.  I called the guy on Wednesday, and told him I'd be there Saturday to pick it up.  It's a good think I called before leaving, because it turns out he sold the truck out from under me!

I finally located another one...even better than the first.  It was a shiny black 1986 W150 with a 4 speed manual in immaculate condition!  The only problem was it was advertised 6 months prior to me finding it.  I finally made contact with the owner, just to learn it had been sold just the week before...

Well, another month of searching, and I found a 1992 model in Pittsburgh, PA.  It was a two tone blue with a manual trans.  I drove up to get it with cash in hand.  Unfortunately when I got there, it was no where near the truck that had been described to me!  The pictures they sent me must have been from years before.  The truck had significant dents all over, had a major oil leak and antifreeze leak, and had golf ball size rust holes through the bed.  The floor pan was completely rusted, and a significant portion of the interior was missing.  I offered the guy $500, instead of the $2,500 he was asking.  He turned it down, so I made the long trip back home to Knoxville.

Needless to say, at this point, I was pretty disappointed.  The next month brought about several ups and downs with people who wouldn't call back, trucks that had just been sold, or were way out of my price range.

Finally, around May 15 of this year, I ran across the ONE.  A very nice gentleman from Warren, Rhode Island had restored a 1987 W150 Dodge about 4 - 5 years ago, and just had never driven it very much.  Finances forced him to sell.  I spent hours on the phone with him, and he sent a plethora of pictures.  He had done alot of work to the truck, and had put alot of money in it as well.  I quickly fell in love with it, and decided to make the drive to Rhode Island!

Here was love at first sight! ...well, almost!



I wasn't quite sure about the color until I saw it in person.  He had it professionally painted "legend lime", or "lime gold", the color of the old mustangs that was reintroduced briefly in 2005 and 2006.  In reality, it is much less "lime" than the pictures I had seen, and I quickly grew to like the color!

We got it loaded on the trailer, along with an extra set of wheels and tires, and 2 truck beds full of extra parts!





The truck had a rebuilt 1969 318, 727 trans, 208 xfer case, and a dana 44/9.25 axle set.  The body was beautifully done, but was starting to show just a few minor spots.  It came with an air system, air horns, dual red top optimas, heavy bumpers, Superwinch Epi9.0 winch, Hella lights, new 32" super swampers, and extra set of 33" BFG A/Ts, and many more parts!





I made it home, tired after 53 hours on the road, but with a good solid truck.  Pulling in the driveway, my mom, dad, and sister were standing outside to welcome me home with the new find!  They all dressed for the big occasion!



to be continued...

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

I decided to drive the truck around for a couple weeks before tearing into it.  My girlfriend and I took it out to the woods for a little romping around, and just to try everything out before parting it out.



We decided to call the truck "Warren", in honor of his home town    I think Warren is going to be a natural in the woods!







to be continued...

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

While the truck looked really good from the outside, there were some significant rust issues beginning to develop with the frame, etc.  I decided the first step was to remove the body from the smashed truck, and go from there.

One of the big problems now, was I had no way of transferring bodies, lifting heaving components, etc.  Prior to the devastation, I ran a large pole between trees on either side of the truck and used a chain fall to do the lifting.  Now, without the conveniece of the trees, dad and I decided to make a beam lift.







All we had to make the beam out of were two 12' pieces of old 6" I beam.  Dad decided to turn the 6" I beam into an 8" beam by cutting the pattern, separating, scooting a few inches, and rewelding.  Then, he welded the two 12' sections together to give a 24' span.  He worked heavily on the beam rework while I continued to dismantle the smashed truck.





Other than pine needles everywhere, and a few broken parts, the main drivetrain looked remarkably good once the body was removed.



...to be continued.

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

The beam raising is a whole story in itself...however, I'll spare the details here.  I don't have many pictures of it being raised, because everyone available was far to busy to take pictures.

Here Iris is drilling some holes prior to raising it.  The long term (mom friendly) plan for the beam is to make a huge play structure with swings, slides, etc.  The holes Iris are drilling here will accomodate some 1" pillow block roller bearings for the swings later on...



Here are a few pictures of various stages of the raising, and immediately afterward.



Sorry for the poor cell phone pictures...







Leveling the vertical posts...



Using ratchet straps to secure one end...



Mom nervously pacing back and forth, ready to dial "911" at any moment!  





...to be continued.

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

The red drivetrain scheme I had going with the black truck was just not going to work with the green body.  I cleaned everything up, and repainted with high heat ceramic industrial cast iron instead.  I cleaned up the old Rancho 9000s and painted them to match the new body.

I also found out that the bumpers from the old Texas truck had been custom made to accomodate a 3" body lift...in other words, bumper height would only match up with a truck with a body lift.  This was partial motivation to install a 3" body lift on top of the existing 6" all spring lift.







I began taking the best of the parts from both trucks for the rebuild.  The engine is coming together...



I think I'm really going to like this new color combination!  It's definately different...





...to be continued.

--Eric

[enafzige]

...continued

My 360 I had bought had stamped steel rockers.



The 318 that came in the green truck had been built with some Crane cam gold roller tip rockers.



Both engines had hydraulic lifters, so I decided to swap the rockers and pushrods.  Iris was kind enough to rotate the engine for me while I adjusted the valve lash after re-installing them on the 360.





I'm really liking how things are coming together this time!  I pulled the 200 amp alternator off and swapped to this engine, and put on an aluminum high flow racing water pump as well.  I installed a new thermostat, various gaskets, and belts as well.

My faithful helper lifted the body off of the green truck while I rested up and took some pictures  She's a real trooper!







...to be continued.

--Eric

[Jedrattle]

WOW!! I don't know if I would have continued after the tree problem! That is going to be a nice truck when you are finished! Your girl is a keeper!   Not too many women will get into automotive projects like that!   Keep the pics coming and good luck!!

[hilton8r]

You'd think it was St. Patty's Day!



I'm sure you realize how lucky you are to have found a girlfriend that not only tolerates the Dodge Disease, but also helps make it happen!

I'll be somewhere near Highpointe North Carlolina the first week of December. I'll have to find a map of NC to see if it's anywhere near East TN. I live in California, and not overly familiar with the East Coast.

The drive train color turned out great!

I assume you aren't going to cut into the fenders for the time being.
 
Awesome build thread. It certainly puts mine to shame. I think you've got me motivated to get out and do something this weekend! Thanks for sharing your project!

Johh

[Bill Cooke]

Wow is not even the right word for it. I feel like I got kicking in the marbels, I can't imagine how you felt. Good for you for going on. I like the new truck and I really like the color. It's different and different is good!

Keep us posted on the progress.

Bill Cooke

[enafzige]

I'll be somewhere near Highpointe North Carlolina the first week of December. I'll have to find a map of NC to see if it's anywhere near East TN. I live in California, and not overly familiar with the East Coast.

Hey John!

Are you going to be driving out?  High Point, NC is about 4 - 5 hours east of Knoxville, but it's a straight shot on Interstate 40 between the two.  If you're driving from CA, you'll likely be bringing 40 the majority of the way.  You've got an open invitation to drop in if it works out!

--Eric