Project: Doitall Dodge

BjarniThor

New member
Well, get your point towards "full restoration".
However, It is should be worthwhile to take care of and get those beasts running as long as possible.

In terms of all necessary major parts those should generally be easy to get?
As they use so many universal common parts.
Anyway, at least I have always enjoyed following and reading through your thread.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Well, get your point towards "full restoration".
However, It is should be worthwhile to take care of and get those beasts running as long as possible.

In terms of all necessary major parts those should generally be easy to get?
As they use so many universal common parts.
Anyway, at least I have always enjoyed following and reading through your thread.

At some point it just isn't worth dumping THAT much money into the project.

The major parts are easy to find, but the small stuff is what is annoying when it fails.....cruise control switches, interior parts, Air conditioning, etc.

The truck is still running around every day just fine, it gets used a lot. I can't really take it out of service to restore it. My daily duties for it include things I can't do with a normal car.

I am happy you have enjoyed the project. I will be doing a few little things to the truck in the future but nothing along the lines of a full restoration. Maybe a future owner would be more interested in that. I like the truck, but I don't like it THAT much :) It has its limitations just like everything else....
 

Tacoclaw

New member
Updates?

Aspiring/plagiarizing minds want to know. :)
A61FD57F-E3D8-4B58-8F6F-7505AA76223C_zpssysdevxp.jpg
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Nothing much new....



I did have to replace the seals in the vacuum pump a few weeks ago.....so exciting.

I just keep driving it....it keeps running.

There are lots of little things that I could fix, a few that I should fix, but it December!
 

Tacoclaw

New member
I've gone hydroboost on both of mine, the vacuum pump would be plugged on both if I didn't need it to move the HVAC...

I picked up an industrial compressor setup for the RC that replaces the vacuum pump so I'll probably look into an electric setup on it. I've never liked that the pumps dumped into the crank case, seems like a terrible idea that completely bypasses any filtration while dumping stuff into your crankcase/oil.


Love the truck, this is my go-to thread to read through when I find myself with time to burn.

Sure would be nice to read about how awesome an HE351 drives. :p
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
I've gone hydroboost on both of mine, the vacuum pump would be plugged on both if I didn't need it to move the HVAC...

I picked up an industrial compressor setup for the RC that replaces the vacuum pump so I'll probably look into an electric setup on it. I've never liked that the pumps dumped into the crank case, seems like a terrible idea that completely bypasses any filtration while dumping stuff into your crankcase/oil.


Love the truck, this is my go-to thread to read through when I find myself with time to burn.

Sure would be nice to read about how awesome an HE351 drives. :p

Thanks. Lots of things I could do....but it's winter....and it's my daily driver still.

Maybe someday I will give it another good once over.
 

Bojak

Adventurer
Did you get much time around the tug truck on ua? Any truck specific inspiration from it or are you pretty much all about the willy's these days?
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Did you get much time around the tug truck on ua? Any truck specific inspiration from it or are you pretty much all about the willy's these days?

I missed this one over the holidays.

Basically my truck really isn't even worth as much as the front axle in the Tug Truck :sombrero: It's in an entirely different class......

-I liked the Tug's power steering pump conversion. If I could find a simple way to drive my vacuum HVAC stuff I would go that route. He used a monster ZF pump from a F600? Ford medium duty truck.
-It was nice to see another truck with big tires for a gearing comparison. He is running 40s with 4.56 gears. It seemed to work pretty well, maybe a little short geared
-The basically indestructible bed was nice on tight trails. You didn't have to worry about it much.
-The rocker guards helped with the long wheelbase.

The Tug's kryptonite was the exposure of the rear driveline. One rear driveline prezeled and the other got a decent dent. With the wheelbase and height the rear driveline was left pretty exposed. Its a pretty common issue on LWB trucks really.
 

underdrive

jackwagon
-I liked the Tug's power steering pump conversion. If I could find a simple way to drive my vacuum HVAC stuff I would go that route. He used a monster ZF pump from a F600? Ford medium duty truck.

Is there a build thread on this truck somewhere? Would like to see said ZF pump conversion, as what I've commonly seen on medium-duty trucks is the Saginaw 145-series (IIRC) pumps - those look very much like the pumps found in light-duty GM and Dodge trucks but much larger and with higher pressures and flow rate. Thing is though, the factory light-duty hydroboost units can only flow so much, and having a monster pump pushing lots of fluid thru one can possibly lead to some undesired behavior. Another thing to consider is whether the steering box can handle the extra pressure the MDT pump is capable of. That said, they work wonders with hydraulic-assist steering, or I'd imagine full-hydro as well.

An easy way to run vacuum HVAC is to use an electric pump off a '99-up Powerstroke truck, thing is electric and only runs when it's needed. Some '80s GM cars had e-pumps as well, Cadillac 8-6-4 comes to mind here, but there was another one that is way more common, possibly the 4100 engine (also commonly found in Cadillacs).
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Is there a build thread on this truck somewhere? Would like to see said ZF pump conversion, as what I've commonly seen on medium-duty trucks is the Saginaw 145-series (IIRC) pumps - those look very much like the pumps found in light-duty GM and Dodge trucks but much larger and with higher pressures and flow rate. Thing is though, the factory light-duty hydroboost units can only flow so much, and having a monster pump pushing lots of fluid thru one can possibly lead to some undesired behavior. Another thing to consider is whether the steering box can handle the extra pressure the MDT pump is capable of. That said, they work wonders with hydraulic-assist steering, or I'd imagine full-hydro as well.

An easy way to run vacuum HVAC is to use an electric pump off a '99-up Powerstroke truck, thing is electric and only runs when it's needed. Some '80s GM cars had e-pumps as well, Cadillac 8-6-4 comes to mind here, but there was another one that is way more common, possibly the 4100 engine (also commonly found in Cadillacs).

Some details here...

http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/1412-1990-dodge-truck-ultimate-tug-part-6/

I wonder if there is an older cable drive heater unit that would fit under the 92ish dash? I hate to add an electric vacuum pump just for the heater box....
 

underdrive

jackwagon
Thanks for the link. Also, does your truck have factory A/C? IIRC the dash in that cab got somewhat redesigned in '88 or '89, the older style for sure uses only cables for non-A/C trucks, never thought of looking under to see what the A/C ones got though...
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Thanks for the link. Also, does your truck have factory A/C? IIRC the dash in that cab got somewhat redesigned in '88 or '89, the older style for sure uses only cables for non-A/C trucks, never thought of looking under to see what the A/C ones got though...

It does have A/C, but it isn't functioning. I would suspect that the lines need to be replaced and the system charged.

I'm not against going to a heater only unit...
 

underdrive

jackwagon
I'm not against going to a heater only unit...
Actually you might be, and just don't know it yet :D How often do you use your dash vents? For example, do you like having the heat come out of them and blow on your hands while driving in winter? If yes, then you'll be unhappy with the older non-A/C setup - it only gives you defrost, floor, or mix, there are no dash vents. So you may have to pull the whole dash apart to exchange the HVAC plumbing, doubt it will be a fun job.
 

kayak15

Observer
Just wanted to say that you have inspired me fully......and you have one awesome old Dodge!!

Picking this up tomorrow at 10 AM.....

01.jpg

Thread to follow once I get it home.

Kevin
 

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