1957 Chevy 3100, meet 1994 Dodge Ram 1500

[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

[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]

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

[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.

[lower50's]

Very cool!! I love how you are thinking about his project.

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Very cool!! I love how you are thinking about his project.

You know, I spend a lot of my spare time considering how to resolve the problems I encounter with this, since I'm pretty well on my own for this build. I enjoy the challenge, which is probably my second favorite thing about this build, the first being the truck itself.

-Joe

[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
Posted via Mobile Device

[Purcell69]

Now the latest update. I encountered a major snag this week while exploring the Big Yellow Book of Knowledge for clues as to the wiring. It seems that Chrysler would frequently issue peel-n-stick corrections, to be applied to erroneous pages as the errors became apparent. Of course, this was seldom done as intended with the end result being what I own now, a book that only has the 84-way plug pin-out for the Cummins diesel powered truck. Four complete pages that do not apply to what I am doing.

The long fix to this would be to go to each electrical component for the 5.9 gas motor, in the book, and then trace the wire code back to the pins on the plug and map the location of each circuit in the plug. It can be done, though would require quite a few hours to accomplish. We'll call this "the right way".

Plan B is to connect the bulkhead fitting as is, then sort through the items in the cab side of the harness that will not be used, tag them and thin them out after the truck is running, to ensure I don't kill a needed circuit inadvertently. This will also be time consuming and isn't the preferred method for doing such things, but it has been known to work effectively as well. This also rules out any additional missing peel-n-stick corrections biting me in the ass.

Of course, doing all of this translates to "I've gotta use the Dodge steering column instead of the Oldsmobile column that is installed now, since I can't be 100% certain of the correct circuits". I was reluctant to ise the Dodge column since I don't really like to big "Dodge" in the middle of the airbag, which is useless to me in this truck, but the leather wheel itself is in decent shape and using the Dodge column has the benefit of correcting the issue with the transmission shift linkage at the same time. It just means I need to spend $60 on a new u-joint to connect the steering shaft to the column.








Tuesday, I pulled out the GM column and installed the Dodge unit. It actually fits better than the Olds column and only required a slight modification to my drop bracket. Once in, the shift linkage was adjusted, again, slightly, and the whole linkage problem went away. I began to embrace the idea of the Dodge column. This also translates to the multi-function switch for the wipers, headlamp dimmer and turn signals, not to mention cruise control. I just need a replacement airbag, since mine was pre-deployed and a new ignition switch assembly to complete the column. I also ordered the steering u-joint, which should arrive next week.

Next on my list was the starter. My donor truck did not have a starter installed when I brought it home, and the leads to the starter had been cut off. Since I was close to one of the pull your part salvage yards in OKC yesterday, I stopped in and found one in a 1995 model Ram 1500. $30 bucks and the needed cables along with a bunch of sweat and almost an hour to get it out, but it was worth it.



After considering mounting locations for the Power Distribution Center and where to cut the hole for the 84-way connector, I committed to using one of the factory firewall holes to be a starting place for the connector, just left of the brake booster, with the PDC mounted below and left, hugging the inner fender.







And of course, yesterday I came to the realization that my battery box is currently installed on the wrong side of the truck, unless I want to use roughly 12' feet of battery cables. It's an easy move though. One I won't mind making in light of how this is all beginning to come together.

-Joe

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Purcell69

One I won't mind making in light of how this is all beginning to come together.

-Joe

it always amazes me when guys do body swaps and say "I dont want to mess with the wiring" and proceed to buy a brand new wiring harness to adapt to all their swap parts! thats like a thousand times more messing than was needed, all the swap parts plug together already and sure there will be stuff you dont need but, it all plugs together! I tell them, the wiring harness doesnt care what truck its in, donor or recipient, as long as everything is plugged in, it will start!

looking great, keep it up!