'92 RC restoration/trail rig build (New pics & VIDEOS 7/12/14)

[crazzywolfie]

now you need a new hood because your grill no longer says DODGE so you will have to get a hood that says DODGE. that is one of the biggest issues i have with the aftermarket grills. they don't have dodge written on them. 

[The War Wagon]

now you need a new hood because your grill no longer says DODGE so you will have to get a hood that says DODGE. that is one of the biggest issues i have with the aftermarket grills. they don't have dodge written on them.

I got the stick-on letters from Autozone.  Gotta put 'em on the grill yet.  Mine's gonna say, "F A R G O"   

I also saved the old grill - I plan on cleaning it up, fixing the cracks, and figuring how how to reinforce it, so I can make it last much longer.

[ProjectPW]

looks great  .... when are you coming to texas to wheel that bad boy? 

[The War Wagon]

looks great  .... when are you coming to texas to wheel that bad boy? 

I was THINKING about that while out playing with it yesterday - glad I didn't try for THIS weekend - I'da been stranded in WV!!! 

I'm THINKING... that I'm gonna fgo back to Pittsburgh Driveshaft, and have them build me a double-cardon yoke for the rear drive shaft into the transfer case.  It's the ONLY end of the drive train that is NOT a double cardon, and THAT'S where it failed.  It would SURELY buy me some time on busting all the shock towers loose, & getting that rear axle rotated!

[The War Wagon]

OK... I ordered the JB Conversion SYE today.  They'll sell you somehting faster tha you can say, "How much," but they don't answer phones OR e-mails these days!

I'm not real happy about their customer service at the moment... we'll see how good their gear is soon enough, I reckon.

[The War Wagon]

Honestly, I am gonna lose my mind, before this truck hits the road again!!!

JB's SYE's are made for '94 and up NP241's.  MY input spline is a 27 spline - '94 and up are 29 spline or more.   

So I went to Driveshaftsuperstore in AZ, & they CAN build me a cone/flange bolt-on dealy for my RC - they're making it this week, and it should ship Friday.  And my local driveshaft guy goes on vacation on Monday.  For 2 weeks.   

I think I'm starting to understand why Ford & Chevy guys laugh at us.  Right up until I appear in their rearview mirror, anyways...

[rjtx667]

Honestly, I am gonna lose my mind, before this truck hits the road again!!!

JB's SYE's are made for '94 and up NP241's.  MY input spline is a 27 spline - '94 and up are 29 spline or more.   

well you missed a golden opportunity there.... put in a  NP241 in the RC and swap out the front axle to a 94 and up driver drop.

Problem solved 

[The War Wagon]

    The RC is fixed again!

Dave came by tonight and finished up re-connecting the old driveshaft... for the time being...  I drove it around the parking lot - backing up a couple of times as well.  Then took it for a spin around the block - nothing strenuous.  It all held together for the time being!

I need to go put some gas in it - probably Monday (there's a little local-owned gas station/garage, and I like to get my gas there - plus it's fairly easy to get in and out of with the RC) - but I'll probably keep it close-to-home until the flange/eliminator and new driveshaft are installed. 

[The War Wagon]

Played with the RC today, as it's my day off.  ATTEMPTED to mate an old WJ 318 dual K&N filter intake to it... and Advance Auto ain't GOT enough Spectre elbows to make it fit JUST yet!     Trust me... I bought several... 


After giving up on that for the day, I grabbed a fistful of $20's, and decided to fill up!  Added 6oz. of Lucas Oil fuel treatment, since it was in the shop for 11mos.!  My barely functioning tank float refuses to read anything above a half-a-tank; to be safe, I figured it was getting 5mpg.  The needle had drifted down to 1/4 tank, and it had 116 miles on the trip odometer since the previous fillup, so I thought it a good time to fill up, treat what gas was left, clean the injectors, and see if another fillup would bust the float loose.


$72.50 later @ $3.79/gal., I calculate that it's actually getting a smidgeon over 6mpg - almost all city driving - so my guesswork on that was just about spot on!


After THAT, I went over to see a friend of mine from church.  John had a stroke when he was 47 (my age now) and is paralyzed on his left side.  He fights the good fight, and gets about pretty well now some 20+ years later.  Back in the day though, he was the crew chief for his best friend, who drove the NASCAR dirt circuit in western PA in the 1960's (Heidelberg, Pittsburgh Speedway, Lernerville, et.al.).  John went on to become a mechanical engineer; Dave (the driver) went on to become a bigwig in Chrysler/MOPAR's parts division in the northeast.  The three of us have gotten together a couple of times over the years, to go catch some Friday night races at Lernerville (late model modifieds - dirt track racing), whenever Dave is passing through between his summer home in ME, and winter home in FL.  They're both OLD-SCHOOL MOPAR guys.


At any rate, I stopped in to see John today, and with some modicum of effort, we got him INTO the RC, went out for a spin, and terrorized his neighbors!     As the truck has no stereo currently, we put the windows down, and just listened to the roar and crack of the glasspacks!     After that bit of fun, we managed to get him BACK out of the RC, without killing he, I, or the truck! 


Nothing special today really.  Would like to have washed the truck, but they're calling for rain tonight, so I fought that urge.  Just had a good time playing with it, like I've been WANTING to do for almost 8 years now, and took a good friend out to enjoy it too (he's really the only gearhead at our church, and the RC belonged to our church secretary's late husband, so he's been following with keen interest how the progress is coming).  After waiting almost 8 years just to GET it to this point, being able to enjoy the little things, is finally some great fun for ME!

[rjtx667]

 

we need pics of the attempt with the elbows 

[The War Wagon]

we need pics of the attempt with the elbows 

Ugggh... NO you don't... 

[The War Wagon]

SOMEONE was asking me once, about my slotted rotors, and where I got them.  Can't remember if it was here, or elsewhere, but REMARKABLY... while looking for something COMPLETELY different... I came across the very envelope file I'd saved, when I mailed them payment over 7 years ago!!!


It's R1 Concepts, Inc. out of Los Angeles, for reference!  And here's the link! 

[The War Wagon]

My flange yoke eliminator arrived Saturday!

[The War Wagon]

Tried to put the mud flaps  on today, but there's not enough room to wedge a screwdriver down there and install 'em!     I thought about hi-lifting it - to get the wheel to drop enough to let me do it, but storms are threatening, and discretion is the better part of valor.


I DID install the dashmat, though! 

[The War Wagon]

Got the first wash and WD40 of the year done - even put my new (old) video camera to good use too!  Enjoy!







(Click on each picture BELOW to get the video.  These are CONVERTED *.mod file to MP4 files, so they lose a little video quality in translation.)