1957 Chevy 3100, meet 1994 Dodge Ram 1500

[Purcell69]

No, no fresh air from the cowl to the kick panel vents, but the cab is small and I can use the windows. It would just be a bit noisier.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

No pics today, but just a quick update. Even though the truck is sitting in winter storage, I've been working on sorting the wire harness out. With the help of the big yellow book, a spiral bound notebook, a roll of painter's tape and a Sharpie, I am getting all the needed circuits identified and tagged for location.

On a related note, it looks like a may end up going with the Dodge steering column after all. The 1980's GM (Cutlass) column I have now has very little in the way of features on it, basically a column shift, a turn signal that doubles as a wiper switch and tilt, along with the horn button. Also there is the very easily defeated ignition lock.

If I go with the Dodge column, I get the tilt and column shift, an ugly ass steering wheel, the multi-function switch (turn signal, wipers with delay, dimmer), steering wheel mounted cruise controls and horn button, and a hazard lights switch. The ignition lock is also a bit tougher to defeat.

Since I would like to keep the cruise control feature, it makes sense to reuse the Dodge column with the buttons at your finger tips. It won't look nearly as classy as a more vintage steering wheel, but it will make long drives on the highway a lot more pleasurable.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

I've been making progress the past month or so now that the weather is clearing. My emphasis this year is to get the truck moving again under its own power. I think I have a handle on the basics I need to have the wire harness and computer operational and even though there is more sheet metal work left to do, moving without towing will make the metal work easier to accomplish.

I got some unexpected funding this year, so I went through the engine as much as I could. There is now a new, albeit computer friendly, camshaft, along with a double roller timing set and a timing chain tensioner. The plenum gasket on the stock intake has been replaced, as have the front and rear seals and the oil pan gasket. Internally, the engine looked to be in good shape. The bearings and journals all looked healthy, but I did install a high volume oil pump, just to play it safe.

While getting the engine sorted, I found two broken intake manifold bolts, common to the Dodge Magnum V8 engine. I was able to weld nuts to the remaining bits of bolt and once cooled, then spun right out.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

The new cam required new valve springs. I swapped them without pulling the heads with a little help from about 4' of 550 cord fed through the spark plug hole to keep the valves from falling. The new springs are noticeably bigger than stock.

I had a $20 credit on my Autozone rewards card, so the valve spring tool was free. I just went through about 20 zipties making sure the spring tool didn't slip off.

-Joe

[Rickysnickers]

I wish I could have said this earlier, while you had your intake manifold off. There is a sheet metal plate on the bottom of it that bolts to the intake manifold. They have a notorious habit of leaking. Leak might actually be a bad term. They suck oil into the bottom of the intake manifold. There's a company that make an aluminum plate, to replace the sheet metal one. I did that to my old Dakota R/T. Once I did that, it never leaked again.

http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/p...p?partid=27091

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

I wish I could have said this earlier, while you had your intake manifold off. There is a sheet metal plate on the bottom of it that bolts to the intake manifold. They have a notorious habit of leaking. Leak might actually be a bad term. They suck oil into the bottom of the intake manifold. There's a company that make an aluminum plate, to replace the sheet metal one. I did that to my old Dakota R/T. Once I did that, it never leaked again.

http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/p...p?partid=27091

I'm right there with you. There is a lot of controversy about the best way to resolve the plenum gasket issue. The folks at Hughes feel the best resolution is their aluminum plenum plate, due to varying rates of expansion with dissimilar metals. The folks at Mopar blame the bolts used on the steel plenum plate being too long and have since changed the bolts supplied. I went with the Mopar gasket set and bolts and I don't think there will be any problems in the future. If there is, I know what will need to be addressed.

-Joe

[Rickysnickers]

Ok. I wasn't sure if you were aware of the issue and just wanted to bring it to your attention.

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Ok. I wasn't sure if you were aware of the issue and just wanted to bring it to your attention.

Believe me, I appreciate the insight. When I first started in to the project, I was going to use a Jeep 4.0L since I had a complete running XJ on hand as a donor and the Chevy originally came with an inline 6. My wife talked me in to using the 5.9L V8, since that is what the Dodge donor truck came with. I haven't owned anything with a Dodge V8 since my old Power Wagon, which was way before the EFI days, so I had to do a bit of research on the Magnum motors and what to watch out for.

I'm confident this will be a decent running motor, but I'm betting cylinder heads will be in my future, as apparently with the exception of some of the Mopar Performance/RT heads, they all crack eventually. New heads just aren't in my budget right now, even for the EQs.

-Joe

[Rickysnickers]

Yes, those heads are almost guaranteed to crack. Just like the intake manifold in the R/T went bad, the heads cracked as well. At the time, I had the money and bought a set of Edelbrock heads for it, as well as Harland Sharp rocker arms. That was a pretty nice set up. I never had any engine issues after that. As an aside, I wish I still had that truck. Anyway, carry on, and be safe brother in blue!

[Purcell69]

Ricky, I've got my fingers crossed on these heads, since it is supposed to be and appears to be a well taken care of, 90k motor. I don't expect they will last, I'd just like to know I've got this running this year, while I save up the money for a set of EQ heads. I know I will need them, it's just a matter of how soon.

I appreciate you watching out for me. Not everyone is aware of the shortcomings of these motors.

Stay safe brother. Head on a swivel.

-Joe

[Baldeagle SR]

Joe good to see you back working on the truck. Rich

[joedoh]

yay! this is one of my favorite trucks, thanks for updating

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by joedoh

yay! this is one of my favorite trucks, thanks for updating

I'm honored! Admittedly, I've been slacking on the updates, though not much happened with the project between January and April, between the weather and other non-project issues.

My MIL moved out here from AZ last July and was living with us until she could get a place of her own. She never found herself a home, so she ended up buying a refurbished mobile home that we let her set in the west pasture. The day it was delivered, a neighbor came by and pointed out an unmarked gas line that traversed the same area where her mobile had been set. The gas line was put in 40 years ago and there was no record of the location.

Of course, the gas line also happened to lay in the same area her plumbing was to be trenched in. In the long run, we moved the gas line and got her settled in, but all of that mess pretty much killed my days off and project time.

My plan this week is to move the truck back up front from "winter storage", disassemble the front clip and get the engine bolted in. I'm still a ways off from being able to fire it up, but installing it will be one more step in the right direction.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Baldeagle SR

Joe good to see you back working on the truck. Rich

Thanks Rich! It feels good to be making progress again. I am determined to have the truck running and able to move under its own power this year, before I have to start thinking about winter storage again. Sheet metal work be damned.

-Joe

[lower50's]

It definitely will be nice to have it moving again.

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by lower50's

It definitely will be nice to have it moving again.

Yes it will. Getting it from the driveway to winter storage and back is a pain on its own, not to mention those times I need the driveway slab to work on other vehicles. One of these days, I'll have a slab for my shop and it won't matter logistically, but until that time...

-Joe

[Purcell69]

All moved back up front from winter storage and getting ready to install the engine sometime in the next few days.

-Joe

[joedoh]

wow looks great!

Futurama: Fry's Woo - YouTube

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by joedoh

wow looks great!

Futurama: Fry's Woo - YouTube

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Well I managed to get the engine back in where it belongs. There is still a lot more work to do and a few more parts to acquire before it is running, but it is still progress.

The power steering lines are connected, I've got a pretty good sort on what I need for upper and lower radiator hoses now, and I extended the transmission cooler lines to accommodate moving the engine and transmission back 3". Nothing a few compression fittings can't handle.

I also began fabbing up an offset for the air cleaner stud, since the threaded hol for the stud is off set 3/4" and I don't have a zig zag style stud that was used on some models. 3/16" plate steel and a nut welded on will do the trick. I'm sure it will disrupt the air flow coming in to the throttle body, but since this isn't a race vehicle, I doubt my butt dyno will notice the difference.

[Purcell69]

When I was done getting the engine in, I was concerned we may get some unexpected weather overnight, so I put the core support and the hood latch back on to support and secure the hood while closed.

Later, I added the inner fenders to further keep unwanted weather out. Looking at it, with the inner fenders, for just a brief moment, the rat rod thing started to nibble on me, and though there is no way I would ever to it to this truck, I had an image in my mind of sectioning the front fenders to keep the grille and front lamps, then cut out the inner fenders and run out some fenderwell headers in to side pipes. Of course, the only way I could see that happening would be if there was an old school 426 Hemi sitting under the hood.



Pay no mind to the throttle body. It is a spare I was using to mock things up.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

After making the air cleaner adapter, I decided to clean up the 1994 throttle body, as it isn't interchangeable with the one on the 1999 motor, due to sensors. I stripped off the sensors and cable bracket and set it to soak in a bucket of PineSol for a couple of hours. After soaking for a bit, I hit it with an old tooth brush, followed by a rinse in hot water and then blow dry. The difference was amazing. To keep it looking clean, I coated the bare aluminum with a few coats of clear high temp engine paint.













While mucking around with the transmission linkage, I began to get the impression that I may have to use the steering column from the 1994 Dodge Ram. This is a bit of a problem because the steering wheel is trashed and I don't have the 3/4"DD-3/4" 36 spline u-joint to connect the steering shaft to the column. The problem exists because the Dodge steering column has the shifter arm on the frame side of the column, rotating down to Park, where as the GM column has the shift arm on the engine side of the column, rotating up to Park. I've determined I will fabricate some sort of simple linkage to reach around the column to work the Dodge linkage from the GM column.



I now have the engine wire harness somewhat installed. The EMC/PCM is mounted on the right inner fender and I just need to secure the harness to keep it out of harm's way. I'm still lacking the lead that runs from the Power Distribution Center to the alternator and the ends to connect to the starter, as someone cut those off the original 1994 harness before I bought the donor truck. While working on the wire harness install, I added a fitting to run a mechanical oil pressure gauge, as I'm not using the 1994 instrument cluster. Good gosh brass has become expensive. Three pieces that used to cost $4-$6 ended up being $16 for a 1/8" NPT nipple, a Tee and a 45* adapter. I will also add a mechanical water temp gauge before firing the motor off.





I'm still lacking a few pieces and a bit of custom wiring to get it running, such as the starter, the fuel pump module and a serpentine belt. I need to sort through the 84 pin body connector and select which circuits need to be retained for starting and engine management. The rest of the lighting and body electrical will be handled by the Ron Francis harness I bought nearly 20 years ago.

I also have my transmission cooler more or less mounted up. I still need to connect the plumbing, but since my reproduction radiator doesn't have the fittings for an automatic transmission, I'm running the oil to water cooler from a Dodge Cummins diesel, followed up by a oil to air cooler in front of the radiator. I ran this set-up on the GM engine and transmission I had before hand without issue, so it should work fine for this application as well, though I should probably include a temperature gauge to be certain.





-Joe

[Purcell69]

I sat down with the Big Yellow Book of Knowledge last night and went through the wiring for the 84 pin connector, breaking down the wire codes, sorting what is definitely needed for the truck to run, what may be needed for the truck to run, and what really doesn't matter in this configuration. Afterward, I pulled the in cab harness out of storage and began looking at what I want to keep vs. what wasn't going to be needed. I began to realize it may be easier to shorten (by about 6') the circuits I need, and use the factory harness, than trying to build my own connections from the pass-through at the firewall. If I had the starter, fan belt and fuel pump, and I used the ignition switch from my Jeep, it would turn over and fire up right now.

This thought began to take me down yet another option that I am beginning to embrace. As much as I still love our 5 speed Grand Cherokee, it requires far more put in to it to make it a dependable driver again than it would ever be worth. The collision damage from the uninsured motorist will never be fixed and there is a wealth of parts that I could use from it for this build, and the wheels and 1/2 used set of tires on it fit the XJ. I could take the steering column from it, which should be interchangeable more or less with the Dodge column. I've said it many times that I want the front seats from it for this truck, so there's that. I'm starting to warm to the idea of parting out the Grand Cherokee, then using the proceeds to fund additional needs for the truck. At this point, the ZJ will still run and drive, though once the steering column is gone, starting and driving won't happen. Still, I figure I can clear $500 for the good parts and sell the rest as scrap metal. When I dispose of the extra scrap I have laying around with it, I'm looking at another $200.

$700 would buy a new fuel pump module, a new starter, the miscellaneous electrical parts I need, steel for the bed floor and leave a little extra.

-Joe

** Edit...I forgot the shift linkage is at the bottom of the steering column, EXCEPT on a 5 speed M/T. I'll just steal the steering wheel and ignition switch.

[joedoh]

wiring is more fun when you have the diagrams for sure hahahahah

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by joedoh

wiring is more fun when you have the diagrams for sure hahahahah

Very true, or at least the RIGHT diagram. Lol.

I've got schematics for the 5.2/5.9 gas motor, as well as the diesel, V10, and 3.9, but there is only one diagram for the 84-way bulkhead connector and it's not the right one for the 5.9 motor.

-Joe
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