ive always liked those old dodge trucks
1985 Ramcharger Royal SE Prospector Project with pics....
11
Well, this was given to me for Christmas in 2010. It was basically a shell since the engine/transmission have been removed. It's been sitting at my Grandfather's and I've been trying to get a chance to work on it. Well, I've finally pulled the trigger and trailered it up to my College so I can get it trail worthy for now.
Stock configuration.
318, 727 transmission, NP208 transfer case, 9-1/4" rear end (locked...but I haven't checked to see if factory or aftermarket). Dana 44 front with CAD. 32" tires currently on 15" rims. It was picked up mainly for the parts inside of it as it was used as storage and the owner tried to swap a built 383 into it, but failed with the build and didn't know what he was doing.
This is what it looked like basically when I got it.
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No engine as you can see
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I no longer have that front bumper, my cousin wanted it for his older Power wagon and got it. Not too big of a deal for me though since down the road I want a winch and that one wouldn't work for a winch.
So it's been at my Grandfathers.
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But I decided I wanted to mess with it finally. 250 miles later. I have it at college.
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Unloaded at my current residence.
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Cleaned out the parts that were in it. Np203, NP208, 727 trans, drive shafts, transmission supports, and a few other items. The air tanks are mine previously that I had thrown in there for transport.
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I swapped out the front seats with ones from an 82, so lower back and are red.
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I'll swap out the rear seat this weekend for the matching back. Also, someone had installed a roll bar, it's a factory roll bar I believe, but it has been welded together, OEM are only bolted.
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Now you're wondering what my plans are....well, I have a parts truck that was also given to me. 1977 D200, so a 3/4 ton dodge with a 400 big Block, 727 auto, NP203 (full time 4x4). It's sitting on 8-lug Dana 60 rear and Dana 44HD front. They are open axles though. The cab was swapped to a newer style 80+ and was never wired up. They probably couldn't figure out the differences in wiring to be honest.
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The engine, it could use a little cleaning up, but it runs and was rebuilt not too long before the cab swap. The carb and stuff is sitting in my grandfathers garage. I have everything I need to make it run.
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For right now, I need to trailer the parts truck up to Flint as well, which I'll be doing this weekend. First off, I just want to swap the motor into it and get it running, nothing fancy and no money involved hopefully. I have spare parts to sell off and the 77 to scrap once I get everything I need from it. I'm going to keep the axles from it for now, but I may or may not swap them out. I've got a lot of things to factor in, like tires, gearing, lockers, etc......
Currently I do not have any good offroad tires, except a set of 31's that'd be decent, but small for my tastes. Right now it has crappy 32's on 15" rims and I have a set of 16" rims for it as well. The 77 has 16.5" rims, so 8-lug won't help me out either right now unless I get used military tires. But, that's for later on after I get it up and running.
I'll try to keep this updated, but for now, I just want a good offroad toy and have some fun while I'm in college.
Thanks for reading, I know it was long. At least this is already a SFA from factory.
Stock configuration.
318, 727 transmission, NP208 transfer case, 9-1/4" rear end (locked...but I haven't checked to see if factory or aftermarket). Dana 44 front with CAD. 32" tires currently on 15" rims. It was picked up mainly for the parts inside of it as it was used as storage and the owner tried to swap a built 383 into it, but failed with the build and didn't know what he was doing.
This is what it looked like basically when I got it.
No engine as you can see
I no longer have that front bumper, my cousin wanted it for his older Power wagon and got it. Not too big of a deal for me though since down the road I want a winch and that one wouldn't work for a winch.
So it's been at my Grandfathers.
But I decided I wanted to mess with it finally. 250 miles later. I have it at college.
Unloaded at my current residence.
Cleaned out the parts that were in it. Np203, NP208, 727 trans, drive shafts, transmission supports, and a few other items. The air tanks are mine previously that I had thrown in there for transport.
I swapped out the front seats with ones from an 82, so lower back and are red.
I'll swap out the rear seat this weekend for the matching back. Also, someone had installed a roll bar, it's a factory roll bar I believe, but it has been welded together, OEM are only bolted.
Now you're wondering what my plans are....well, I have a parts truck that was also given to me. 1977 D200, so a 3/4 ton dodge with a 400 big Block, 727 auto, NP203 (full time 4x4). It's sitting on 8-lug Dana 60 rear and Dana 44HD front. They are open axles though. The cab was swapped to a newer style 80+ and was never wired up. They probably couldn't figure out the differences in wiring to be honest.
The engine, it could use a little cleaning up, but it runs and was rebuilt not too long before the cab swap. The carb and stuff is sitting in my grandfathers garage. I have everything I need to make it run.
For right now, I need to trailer the parts truck up to Flint as well, which I'll be doing this weekend. First off, I just want to swap the motor into it and get it running, nothing fancy and no money involved hopefully. I have spare parts to sell off and the 77 to scrap once I get everything I need from it. I'm going to keep the axles from it for now, but I may or may not swap them out. I've got a lot of things to factor in, like tires, gearing, lockers, etc......
Currently I do not have any good offroad tires, except a set of 31's that'd be decent, but small for my tastes. Right now it has crappy 32's on 15" rims and I have a set of 16" rims for it as well. The 77 has 16.5" rims, so 8-lug won't help me out either right now unless I get used military tires. But, that's for later on after I get it up and running.
I'll try to keep this updated, but for now, I just want a good offroad toy and have some fun while I'm in college.
Thanks for reading, I know it was long. At least this is already a SFA from factory.
1 - 20 of 102 Posts
4
This past weekend I brought the parts truck up as well.
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And a few pics of my RC versus my Silverado.
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Bill, let me know, there's not a whole lot left on the parts truck though. My grandfather is a big mopar guy, I don't think he's owned anything that wasn't Mopar to be honest.
And a few pics of my RC versus my Silverado.
Bill, let me know, there's not a whole lot left on the parts truck though. My grandfather is a big mopar guy, I don't think he's owned anything that wasn't Mopar to be honest.
9
Well, I removed the motor from the parts truck, right now it's on my garage floor, well a cart and I plan on installing it later this week when I get some time. I didn't have enough time before I had to get to work. Here's some pics though.
Door panel back on....but power windows are inop.....so maybe bad switches. I'll play with it more after the motor swap.
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removed the trim around the doors, it was cracked anyways.....now it looks better IMO.
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roll bar.
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Lifted the cab back on the parts truck for engine access.
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like a gentleman.
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So basically I only undid 4 bolts hold the motor and trans in.....one bolt per motor mount and two for the transfer case......makes it an easy setup though.
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Found this on the passenger frame rail, I think it's for dual gas tanks...not sure though.
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That's all for now though. I have the truck cab back on the frame again and the engine removed. Now I need to just get the axles off and scrap it.
Door panel back on....but power windows are inop.....so maybe bad switches. I'll play with it more after the motor swap.
removed the trim around the doors, it was cracked anyways.....now it looks better IMO.
roll bar.
Lifted the cab back on the parts truck for engine access.
like a gentleman.
So basically I only undid 4 bolts hold the motor and trans in.....one bolt per motor mount and two for the transfer case......makes it an easy setup though.
Found this on the passenger frame rail, I think it's for dual gas tanks...not sure though.
That's all for now though. I have the truck cab back on the frame again and the engine removed. Now I need to just get the axles off and scrap it.
looking forward to seeing this thing done
makes me miss my k5 blazer
i like the build though! keep the pics coming.
i like the build though! keep the pics coming.
9
Well, I've had a busy weekend. The engine is in now though, now I get to wire it and plumb everything else to it. Also, I still need an exhaust and I have to figure out the rear driveshaft since the old one is too long.
Getting the motor in.
Driver side bracket
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Passenger side bracket, which you'll notice the metal part is located incorrectly here compared to the later pic.
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Motor is in.
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Sits better with it in now.
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Had to move the metal motor mount in front of the engine tabs since the previous owner had put them behind...which gave me about an extra hour of work since I didn't know how it was supposed to be until I couldn't get it to line up correctly.
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passenger side in.
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overall, it's a mess but in due time.
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NP203 T-case shifter.
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Well, I'm at work now and probably won't mess with it now until later this week. I'm researching all of the wiring and anything else I need to do to get it running. I'm glad the motor is in place now at least. Maybe Tuesday I can go to a junkyard and look for engine accessories that I need and their brackets. I might keep the front off until I get move of it finished just to give me access, but I'd like to get it back on soon so I can start wiring up the battery.
Getting the motor in.
Driver side bracket
Passenger side bracket, which you'll notice the metal part is located incorrectly here compared to the later pic.
Motor is in.
Sits better with it in now.
Had to move the metal motor mount in front of the engine tabs since the previous owner had put them behind...which gave me about an extra hour of work since I didn't know how it was supposed to be until I couldn't get it to line up correctly.
passenger side in.
overall, it's a mess but in due time.
NP203 T-case shifter.
Well, I'm at work now and probably won't mess with it now until later this week. I'm researching all of the wiring and anything else I need to do to get it running. I'm glad the motor is in place now at least. Maybe Tuesday I can go to a junkyard and look for engine accessories that I need and their brackets. I might keep the front off until I get move of it finished just to give me access, but I'd like to get it back on soon so I can start wiring up the battery.
1 - 20 of 102 Posts
