2000 Mexico RamCharger

[rjtx667]

hmm might do the pitman arm and a steering stabilizer first to see how that does.

Those high performance gear boxes are a lot more $$ than I thought they would be 

[SixGun]

I thought pitman arms were a non-wear item. 

[murfman]

If its too loud you can do this:






I was surprised that there was absolutely no insulation on the roof at all.  I used AC vent insulation from Lowes on the roof and Hush mat on the floors, wheelwells, quarters, firewall, and doors.  Cant say yet how much it helped as the engine compartment looks like this:

[rjtx667]

you have done a lot of work on yours, looks promising.

I have the sound mat under all the front, on the roof and most sides. I need a little more under the rear cargo area. It did not help at all.

But also realize that I have 2.5" pipes with high flow cats (read almost see through) with Hooker aero chamber mufflers (read are see through). So its not straight exhaust, but its about as straight exhaust as one can have and still be legal 

I have thought about swapping out the mufflers to something quieter, but not sure yet.

Where are you located at murfman?

[ProjectPW]

Yep that stuff works wonders.... I see another RC in  your pics with some cool old slot wheels. 

[murfman]

you have done a lot of work on yours, looks promising.

I have the sound mat under all the front, on the roof and most sides. I need a little more under the rear cargo area. It did not help at all.

But also realize that I have 2.5" pipes with high flow cats (read almost see through) with Hooker aero chamber mufflers (read are see through). So its not straight exhaust, but its about as straight exhaust as one can have and still be legal 

I have thought about swapping out the mufflers to something quieter, but not sure yet.

Where are you located at murfman?

45 miles SW of Chicago

[murfman]

Some progress:



I did the headliner and all the interior trim in Dark Agate, I hate the light colored headliners Dodge used in that era. I also re dyed the carpet with SEM Dark agaite as it was the lighter grey and stained.

[ProjectM880]

Nice 

Murfman you start your own thread on this project with all the details. I read about some of it on pirate.

great project, Welcome to Ramcharger .net 

[rjtx667]

Ernest was up here picking up some parts.

I finally got the new black chrome wheels for it, but they are not going to go on until after this last tow trip in April. The tires are not as good as what I have now, and they are slightly taller which I have to make sure that will be ok

I will get a pic tomorrow

[rjtx667]

hmm I forgot to upload a pic of the wheels 

the last one shows what was on there.

[rjtx667]

Last time I drove it, the A/C was less than desirable 


Finally had time today to fix some stuff on the dash and hook up some gauges. Low side high, high side low... either a stuck txv or a bad compressor.

Compressor is 15 years old.. so I don't think I am going to risk it. I will get a new compressor, new condenser, new txv, new dryer. And while I am at it, I will get the lines fixed so that I can plumb in the rear a/c. I have all of the line parts, just not all of the vent parts. Will have to see what I can do.

I got a feeling its not going to be a cheap project, so I might not be driving it a lot till fall. Granted I have not been driving it a lot now just because with my folks living  here and 3 cars in the driveway, its not exactly easy to get it out of the garage.

[crazzywolfie]

when it comes to fixing or modifying a/c it is never cheap. plus i think in order to even qualify for a warranty on most of the a/c parts you pretty much need to replace the entire a/c system.

[murfman]

Last time I drove it, the A/C was less than desirable 


Finally had time today to fix some stuff on the dash and hook up some gauges. Low side high, high side low... either a stuck txv or a bad compressor.

Compressor is 15 years old.. so I don't think I am going to risk it. I will get a new compressor, new condenser, new txv, new dryer. And while I am at it, I will get the lines fixed so that I can plumb in the rear a/c. I have all of the line parts, just not all of the vent parts. Will have to see what I can do.

I got a feeling its not going to be a cheap project, so I might not be driving it a lot till fall. Granted I have not been driving it a lot now just because with my folks living  here and 3 cars in the driveway, its not exactly easy to get it out of the garage.

Is your cowl sticker still legible showing the factory fill amount for freon?  Mine was unreadable, I'd just like to know, as that is my next project.

[rjtx667]

I believe so, I will check tomorrow and let you know as I am probably about to order parts for this.

[rjtx667]

went out to the NHRDA event in Ennis TX with Ernest today. It was fun and got to see a lot of interesting stuff.

They had a mobile dyno out there... I could not resist 

I probably should have, given that I have not updated the tune on it in a while and it was still running a winter blend tune, but I gave it  ago.


Did 291HP and 397 torque to the rear wheels. Factor is the parasitic loss for the drivetrain and thats about 364HP and 498 Ft Lbs of torque at the crank !!!

thats some numbers I can be proud of.