yeah, a manual is nice for towing but it's hard to beat an auto for outright speed/performance. especially on a diesel that hits the fuel governor by ~2500rpm (stock). even with a 3k gsk you don't have much of an rpm range between shifts.

you should be fine with the tc/vb upgrade if your trans is fairly solid as is and you're not planning wild power. the dodge autos aren't nearly as weak as most people think. the problem is usually owner neglect, not design flaws. they are VERY picky about the right fluid, regular maintenance, and they're affected by excessive heat even more so than most autos. there's also the people who think they've done a great thing getting it power flushed, etc. when it hasn't been touched otherwise in the past 75k miles or something. then they wonder why the thing burns up 3 days later. my favorite though has to be the idiots that whine about their transmission failing with just "mild" mods. totally ignoring the fact that their simple exhaust tuner (set on kill at all times of course) has increased power by 25%.

do your fluid/filter religiously, keep the bands adjusted, put on the largest cooler you can, and you'll be rewarded with a reliable unit if a previous owner hasn't already hurt it.

5/27/2008 11:48:05 AM

^saweet, and I agree.

The A/C is coming off within the next few months, so I might look for a better heat exchanger for the trans... I would love to mount the thing in some unconventional location (i.e. outside the engine bay area... maybe in the bed) just to be different, but twould necessitate a fan of some sort. probably a bad idea, but I like to try to think a little different.

also seriously considering going to an electric fan setup, i've seen a few kits around. to me it seems legitimate, and somewhat worthy for the lack of parasitic power loss. If that worked out I would only have the alternator running off the serpentine.

5/27/2008 12:04:04 PM

for your fuel cell, here's a little food for thought. i'm pretty convinced in my research and from working with both of them that the the dodge sending unit/module is retained by a ring that is the same as tj's and some other jeeps. this is interesting because there are companies that sell tank rings specifically for mounting a stock tj assembly into aftermarket or custom fab'd fuel cells. so, try it out and let us know for sure.

personally, i'm using a stock zj (grand cherokee) tank and assembly as a cheap alternative to a fuel cell in my gas ram. i paid $30 at the junkyard for a low mileage tank, pump/sending unit, and mounting straps. i don't know what your reasoning is for wanting one though, you might not have the option of running a factory style plastic tank. my only need is for packaging and ground clearance reasons.

5/27/2008 1:26:13 PM

need to mount the cell in the bed area, reasons being: shortened wheelbase, 4-link, maintaining spare tire.



- wait - when i was replacing flex lines and looking at my sending unit assy, it has one big cap threaded onto the tank. to remove the unit, iirc, is just a matter of unscrewing this cap and lifting it out. should be same for diesel/gas of that generation? Ivan?





[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 1:45 PM. Reason : -]

5/27/2008 1:33:10 PM

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=519732

courtesy of adam8778, definitely will be looking into this

5/27/2008 2:06:48 PM

ADAM8778:

Quote :

" I UNDERSTAND THAT I GUESS DRILLING DOESNT BOTHER ME IT IS SO MINOR IN TEH WHOLE SCHEME OF CUTTING YOUR FUCKING TRUCK IN HALF I MEAN IF YOU CNA FIND THE RIGHT RESISITNACE, THEN YEAH, THAT IS THE ROUTE TO GO "

5/27/2008 4:14:51 PM

yep, that's what i'm talking about. gas and diesels rams are exactly the same as far as the sending unit/module mounting and operation is concerned. obviously there are some differences otherwise, but that's of no real concern here. the tj's, zj's, and several other vehicles within the general chrysler family use the same style of ring mounting. even 2g dsm's are curiously similar (chrysler has had it's hand in mitsubishi). all of this i'm 100% positive about.

what i'm more like 90% positive about is that the rings are all the same diameter. i haven't had a chance to verify that between the jeep and dodge units by physically taking a caliper to them or swapping them between tanks. if they are different, it's not by much.

anyway, that's how you can retain your factory stuff with no issues. personally, i would prefer to use one like this so you can keep the factory screw on ring just for ease of removal/replacement should the need arise, but it doesn't really matter. http://www.genright.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=APR1000

in a worst case scenario that the diameter of the dodge is different than the jeep stuff, all you'd have to do is have some clamping/bolt together style rings made up out of plate stock like the ones in the pirate link. most any machine shop could do them easily.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 6:45 PM. Reason : see, who says you can't get good tech on tdub]

5/27/2008 6:43:47 PM

duuuuuude, that's hooked up.

homeboy here's just about to purchase all his suspension tonight. for a recap:
- belltech 3" drop coils + shocks up front
- QA1 coilovers, single adj. w/ 14" x 2.5", 300# (tentative) springs
- poly bushing assemblies
- control arm mounts (bluetorch fab/ballistic fab)


and some other misc. stuff that I wont think of until later

my dilemma now is do i want to just give my sending unit to adam (who bought an exact twin of my truck), and just go with the GM unit+autometer gauge.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 6:59 PM. Reason : yeah I definitely appreciate that, makes me proud to be a garagian]

5/27/2008 6:58:54 PM

if you decide to do the gm style sender/aftermarket guage, you always could take it one step further with a full on custom guage panel. then you've got quality guages to precisely monitor everything vs. the factory ones that are an educated guess at best.

the simple architecture of the stock 94-97 dash lends itself nicely to simple, cheap, yet tasteful looking arrangements.

5/27/2008 9:08:37 PM

the thought has crossed my mind... your post sounded like an advertisement, btw. my current budget will not allow for a new dash, but the future is bright. I'm about to complete my jegs order, and actually deciding whether or not to add a cell, gauge, and steering column pod. going with the 16 gallon size, regardless.

5/27/2008 9:16:27 PM

well yes, now that you mention it i do offer custom clusters for the low low one time payment price of $9999.99 or easily payable in daily installments of $1.99 for the rest of your life!

5/27/2008 9:35:49 PM

I'm getting spendy!!!


SOLD ON DA GAUGE CLUSTA

5/27/2008 9:44:01 PM

so i got my coilovers/gauges/fuel cell ordered last night. went with the GM sender and gauge setup, I figured who knows when I might do a gauge panel.

5/28/2008 12:33:23 PM

joey, your truck is an utter piece of shit.

Lets find a place to race so i can blow your doors off.

that is all.

5/28/2008 2:28:13 PM

HAHA FUCK YOU


IMA FRAY YOUR THROTTLE CABLE


OR TAKE A BFH TO YO UPPER LEFT CONTROL ARM





(ALLCAPS FOR WORK)

5/28/2008 2:57:24 PM

lol sauce

5/28/2008 9:59:05 PM

If you are going to keep an auto you might want to look into the Goerend triple-disc converter and high pressure valvebody. Made a world of difference in my truck. None of the hi-po capable trans are going to be cheap, just a matter of what you want to ultimately accomplish.

I think I looked at that truck recently but I really want a 12V QuadCab 4X4 if I am going to spend the $$$$.

6/2/2008 12:26:18 PM

yeah, i've been eyeing Goerend and Suncoast components, but I've got to finish the frame work before any of that. as of right now, the only parts I need to begin the back half are: Bed, rod ends, link mounts, and some misc. laser cut pieces.

6/2/2008 12:33:25 PM

bttt

seems like i remember someone saying "money pit"



big stuff in store soon. pics will come

6/6/2008 4:54:24 PM

attention whore bump


the build starts tonight

6/23/2008 1:11:22 PM

OK, due to Hurley's piece of junk honda, work on the 'LUNG was delayed a little. Finally made a little progress yesterday on the front end.

High tech bushing press



Poly Bushings
Squeak




Proposed ride height, what you think??



OK, so maybe not, but it is getting dropped 3 inches. Hopefully we cna get the front end put back together tonight. We said fuck it after we pulled the lower control arms late last night only to be confronted with tack welded in ball joints......


[Edited on June 27, 2008 at 12:29 PM. Reason : i fail at life]

6/27/2008 12:26:33 PM

opinions please:

I have been considering using welding lead as extended battery cables for my planned battery relocation to the bed. thoughts/tips/suggestions on where to get cheap (long) battery cables?

7/3/2008 9:56:29 AM

welding cable is perfect, but is just almost as pricey as buying it by the foot from somewhere. copper ain't cheap in any form these days.

demo derby special hint:

1. buy cheap jumper cables from walmart, etc.

2. cannibalize the wire for your needs. use two sets if you need to double up for draw.

3. keep alligator clamps as useful tools to hold things together like for welding.

4. ...

5. profit!

this will cost you all of $30-40 probably, even for two sets. likely half of what 0/1 by the foot or roll would cost you.

[Edited on July 3, 2008 at 11:07 AM. Reason : i'm giving away too many of my secrets in this thread...]

7/3/2008 11:06:46 AM

haha - I've noticed. Yeah I'm doing dual optimas mounted in the bed, going to get some semi-baller battery mounts/boxes, but the cable type is still up in the air. might ball out there too.

got the front finished:


[Edited on July 3, 2008 at 11:20 AM. Reason : haha damn, that pic sux for trying to show the 3" drop. oh well. ]

7/3/2008 11:19:32 AM

Damn, that shop looks finer than hell.

7/3/2008 12:35:46 PM

This thing is getting cut in half on thursday.




[Edited on July 9, 2008 at 10:14 AM. Reason : psi]

7/8/2008 9:46:19 PM

[i know you nigs have been watchin this WT movie



you cant help but love

[Edited on July 8, 2008 at 11:51 PM. Reason : Hurley ]

7/8/2008 11:51:27 PM

Ok, no responses mean that officially no one cares. Oh well. I'll keep posting





start of the frame, this will be the upper of the two hoops

7/14/2008 10:34:26 PM

bear in mind that the hoop will be ~20" shorter, and its not in position.

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 11:04 PM. Reason : damnit]

7/14/2008 10:36:36 PM

ah, yes... it's quite a lovely feeling to chop a perfectly good truck in half.

so what are the final specs for all the fabricated stuff as far as dimensions and materials? or are you just doing trial and error as you go? have you modeled the suspension into a calculator or anything?

7/14/2008 11:50:20 PM

Quote :

"yeah, a manual is nice for towing but it's hard to beat an auto for outright speed/performance. "

Quote :

"you were talking about setting this thing up to drag race pretty exclusively though, right? might want to go with a built auto. the nv4500/nv5600 are both like rowing a boat."

ha, yeah.

i've driven several NV4500s (including the one in my Ram), and even if you were willing to beat them mercilessly through the gears, they'd be a liability at best in a drag race. Not at all the right tool for the job.

7/15/2008 3:20:21 AM

Quote :

"so what are the final specs for all the fabricated stuff as far as dimensions and materials? or are you just doing trial and error as you go? have you modeled the suspension into a calculator or anything?"

I've a solidworks model that has been the basis of our hashing out, its more of a cartoon than anything, but I can depict proposed designs fairly easily with relation to some semi-critical dimensions. With our specific situation, some trial and error was inevitable due to our limited supply of tools/etc., and having only done a cage and bumpers with the bender before this project - learning to use this bender is pretty fun. We are also going to attempt a NHRA spec Rollbar to tie to the rear half for strength. 4-points in the cab, and 2 (maybe 4) points in the bed.

as far as the tube, its 1.75x.120 DOM, plain-jane.



I've not shown anything more, simply because this design is fairly dynamic, and there will always be differences between what I model and what gets bent.


... when it was all said and done last night, adam said "lets just fuckin' do it" - we did it with the old eyeballs and tape measure (and a great more skill on his end).


As for the suspension, I had played around with the 4-link calculator some early on, but I need to get serious and hack through some numbers very soon to keep our work steady.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 1:01 PM. Reason : -]

7/15/2008 1:00:39 PM

Looks good man. What did you use to bend the pipe?

7/15/2008 2:20:29 PM

it's a TubeTek bender, 6" radius, 240deg. die


(we've since redone the concrete and leveled it out... )


ALL MANUAL

7/15/2008 2:41:58 PM

Nice! Well done man

7/15/2008 2:44:30 PM

haha yeah, i wish we had a video of bending that first hoop, talking about something hard to manuever around!!!! - that hoop started as a ~23.5' stick

7/15/2008 2:46:27 PM

Yeah, messing around with a whole stick of tube in the bender, we could have benefited from another set of hands for sure. The way the bends worked out, we had to have the hoop hanging below the bender to go the right direction. The tube was dragging the ground, for a while i thought we might have to cut the hoop or raise the bender stand to make it work. Ended up forcing it, and it worked out.

Hopefully should really start looking like something tonight. Hope to get the bottom hoop bent, and get the 6 plates ready to go into the frame(you can spy them in the SW model), they may be mocked up by late tonight.

7/15/2008 2:56:45 PM

Daily update.

They arent totally parallel in the pic, they arent welded, just sitting there.

I also fucked up and made a bend 14" off, that basically ruined an entire stick of tube. GOD DAMNIT...

7/15/2008 11:16:25 PM

want to do a main hoop and possibly 2 rear bars for my duster?

7/15/2008 11:27:41 PM

How about this? If joey has any tube left over(so this would be up to him), I wouldn't mine bending you a little tube, i will even cut and notch it, but welding on strangers rides kinda wigs me out, you know?

You got any facilities for that?



Edit: Not to mention i don't wanna weld cause it is a giant pain in the ass inside a car. I just finished the cage in my tiny cramped up Comanche cockpit, kinda burned out on that.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 7:45 AM. Reason : fdgfdg]

7/16/2008 7:41:15 AM

7/19/2008 3:18:45 PM

That looks fuckin sweeeeeeet.

7/19/2008 3:32:17 PM

thanks, I'm proud of it

7/19/2008 3:38:46 PM

nice. this is shaping up to be one of the better garage threads in recent history, gg.

7/19/2008 4:21:24 PM

haha what what-

what really puts the icing on the cake is the fact that the original intent of the thread was to publicize my lust over some 13yr old hunk of iron...then it took a left turn sommers and here we have a slow attempt at making a 5000# street hauler.


I've been pondering these past few days about finding a cheap hx40+downpipe to throw on it for to help me make it through the winter (saving/paying bills). I've seen some for like $300-350...

7/19/2008 4:26:34 PM

man thats look good.. i really wasn't expecting it to look that good.. no offense.

agreed on what bbr said

7/19/2008 4:58:51 PM

seriously, if someone were to be judging based on our shopkeeping, workspace, and lack of tools, they would automatically assume nothing but shit could come from it.

7/19/2008 5:02:15 PM

it looka lika doo doo

just kidding, that thing is looking sweeeet!!

7/19/2008 5:22:02 PM

haha

anyone wanna take a stab at ID'ing the axle in the background?

7/19/2008 5:35:30 PM

dually dana 80? looks to be dually and is a full floater. that axle is large

7/19/2008 5:40:14 PM