new to me gen 1 swb 4d55 swapped

[Dolomiti]

I am the happy owner of a formerly badged 1988 Dodge Raider bought from a forum member here (sneakyninja). It has a long Arizona history and has recently been 4d55 swapped, along with front and rear axles and diffs and transmission. My son and I flew out last Friday to Phoenix to pick it up and drive it back and planned some dirt/gravel on the way back.

We got to meet Adam as well as swing downtown to meet a few of my BMW friends. Friday night we headed out on 17 north to Camp Verde and spent the night before heading out at a little before 5am. We headed on 260 east and then caught FS 300 east to near Show Low. From there we took 273/249 to Alpine and crossed over to New Mexico and got immersed in Gila National Forest until well after dark. We even got a flat about 30-40 miles from pavement, making the rest of the dirt travel a bit nerve-racking. After about a 2 hour nap in Las Cruces, I continued on to Houston (which was a horrible way to spend a Sunday).

I've got some relatively big plans for it, and it is a great little truck.



Alpina!


my son got son wheel time too

 

[plh]

Congrats! I waffled too long on this truck.

 

[Toasty]

Great pics! Glad you're liking it. Went to a good home. :wavey:

How was that front LSD and did you get a chance to try out the Aussie gears?

 

[Dolomiti]

Great pics! Glad you're liking it. Went to a good home. :wavey:

How was that front LSD and did you get a chance to try out the Aussie gears?

I didn't put it in 4wd or lock the rear. Rear end gets excited on gravel. It think its due to the torqueness. Doing 40-45 on loose gravel requires 110% concentration.

 

[Dolomiti]

In the last few weeks I have painted the Pajero in the garage, updated the turn signals front and rear, added the turbo wagon decal, and got some 33x10.5.

Now I need to fix the a/c (get the compressor rebuilt) and put in an exhaust and ill think she'll be on her way. Adam did all the hard work already.

 

[yugo308guy]

Can you tell us more about your paint job? It looks great!

 

[Dolomiti]

Can you tell us more about your paint job? It looks great!

Thanks. It looks better in photos than in person. I just did a couple of coats, applied by roller, of behr semi-gloss.

 

[Jay Ayala]

Looks awesome.

 

[Dolomiti]

Looks awesome.

Thanks.

It's got a Montero Sport rear axle and leaf springs, but I think the springs need to be swapped for some OME. It's a little saggy.

 

[Jibs]

I was going to buy this one but you beat me to it! It was a steal of a deal. I ended up with an 88 raider which is doing me well. Congrats on the rig its good to see what you're doing with it.

 

[Dolomiti]

I was going to buy this one but you beat me to it! It was a steal of a deal. I ended up with an 88 raider which is doing me well. Congrats on the rig its good to see what you're doing with it.

Thanks and yep, it's $100 worth of fun for only $20.

Took it out driving today.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Looking good, man.

 

[Dolomiti]

Looking good, man.

Thanks.

 

[DetroitDiesel]

Is this Dolomiti from Mye28 and other such places? Wow small world. So this is what you do to change it up. Im looking to get off the beaten path myself. I have an 84 745 I'm getting right this winter but I need to see the great outdoors. I started looking at TLC then started looking at Jeep wj,xj type vehicles. Now someone said I should check out a Montero and first thread I see is you lol. You and the Texas e23 boys do have something else on the plates! Is this just going to be a ******** and giggles truck or something or an expo rig? Looks like some cold war battle wagon just tonka truck everything, and thats a compliment! Hope all is well.

 

[Dolomiti]

Is this Dolomiti from Mye28 and other such places? Wow small world. So this is what you do to change it up. Im looking to get off the beaten path myself. I have an 84 745 I'm getting right this winter but I need to see the great outdoors. I started looking at TLC then started looking at Jeep wj,xj type vehicles. Now someone said I should check out a Montero and first thread I see is you lol. You and the Texas e23 boys do have something else on the plates! Is this just going to be a ******** and giggles truck or something or an expo rig? Looks like some cold war battle wagon just tonka truck everything, and thats a compliment! Hope all is well.

It is.

This is a serious truck. I've owned 5 Monteros (2 gen 1 LWB and another Gen 2.5). They are great vehicles, particularly for the money.

I've been a little less bullish on the BMWs as of late (we still have 8 of them), but I've always been pretty big on 4x4s. We recently imported a 110 (which is going to be a dormobile/TAT vehicle) and picked up this little guy.

Send me a PM if you have any questions.