Jump to content

1951 Fargo 400cid on Dakota chassis


f_armer

Recommended Posts

I haven't done much on the truck. 

Got my wheels,  And the dd to 3/4 round u joint for my steering.  I haven't made a mount for the heim joint yet. No pics of that yet,  but have some of the wheels. 

Sits low with the 185 60r15 tires on the front.  I'll prob go with a little bigger tire maybe a 205 60r15?

 

20190115_140954-1612x907.jpg

20190115_130755-1612x907.jpg

20190115_130646-1612x907.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if those rears tires are gonna bottom out on the fenders.....maybe check the rebound numbers on the shocks, and check the height of the rubber stops.

Otherwise the static stance is good. Bigger tires in the front might balance the ride, but I'd wait and see how it looks and feels.

 

48D  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/18/2019 at 7:35 AM, 48Dodger said:

I wonder if those rears tires are gonna bottom out on the fenders.....maybe check the rebound numbers on the shocks, and check the height of the rubber stops.

Otherwise the static stance is good. Bigger tires in the front might balance the ride, but I'd wait and see how it looks and feels.

 

48D  

I, with the help of a friend, did a very scientific calculation of jumping up and down in the bed, there was no rubbing, i think it'll be fine. Unless i do a dukes of hazzard jump, but i have no plans for that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I finally tackled my fuel filler. I was hoping to plumb it into original fuel fill in the corner of cab, but was impossible due to cross members in the box being in the way. 

This is what I ended up doing,  I'm not totally happy with the look,  but it's functional. 

20190119_174427-1134x2016.jpg

20190119_143120-1134x2016.jpg

20190119_145427-2016x1134.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buy a crapped out harley tank they have lots of choices for vented or non vented caps that screw in clockwise or ccw. You can get bling crap or tasteful knurled billet there is a ton out there and the stock chrome caps are nice with a little dome- probably look stock on your rig.  Pretty easy to graft in the female bung off a tank and if a tank is dented or road rashed you can get it for pennies on ebay or at a local swapmeet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work on the profiled filler bulge side plates by the way! I just bought one of those edge template things at home depot where it has a row of pins that you press onto a shape and they make a perfect template like for trim or whatever. Makes the job faster than trying to keep a caliper dead perpendicular to scribe along a shape or the old ‘guess and cut’ paper with scissors until it fits. 

 

Another trick I learned that I use a lot for connecting things and making complicated parts fit is painter’s tape. I made a motorcycle seat last year and my first two tries cutting out the semi complicated panels they just didn’t fit the foam like I wanted. I ended up wrapping the seat gently with seran wrap, then covering that with blue painters tape. Then I drew the lines of how I wanted the seams and when I took it off the seat and cut it up I had PERFECT patterns for cutting the vinyl. 

 

I used the same trick on my column bracket to make the filler piece that sits at very complicated angles- taped it up, razor bladed out my template. I’m planning on doing some of that to finish my stupid complicated firewall too. 

 

Sorry for the hijack- just wanted to share some fabrication shortcuts and compare notes with ya- you do very nice clean work maybe you have improvements or other smooth ways to get stuff done?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha, I must be losing my mind. 

I have an old chopper i built from a honda cb750. Did it years ago, but you got me thinking,  it has Harley fat bob tanks on it, with a left hand and right hand caps on the tanks, well to my surprise the threads are the same!!

Good advice on making patterns also

Thanks!

20190120_103259-1134x2016.jpg

20190120_104353-1134x2016.jpg

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Radarsonwheels said:

Nice work on the profiled filler bulge side plates by the way! I just bought one of those edge template things at home depot where it has a row of pins that you press onto a shape and they make a perfect template like for trim or whatever. Makes the job faster than trying to keep a caliper dead perpendicular to scribe along a shape or the old ‘guess and cut’ paper with scissors until it fits. 

 

Another trick I learned that I use a lot for connecting things and making complicated parts fit is painter’s tape. I made a motorcycle seat last year and my first two tries cutting out the semi complicated panels they just didn’t fit the foam like I wanted. I ended up wrapping the seat gently with seran wrap, then covering that with blue painters tape. Then I drew the lines of how I wanted the seams and when I took it off the seat and cut it up I had PERFECT patterns for cutting the vinyl. 

 

I used the same trick on my column bracket to make the filler piece that sits at very complicated angles- taped it up, razor bladed out my template. I’m planning on doing some of that to finish my stupid complicated firewall too. 

 

Sorry for the hijack- just wanted to share some fabrication shortcuts and compare notes with ya- you do very nice clean work maybe you have improvements or other smooth ways to get stuff done?

Most of the stuff I've done is lots of measurements then draw in cad.

The fuel fill I just cut the hole so the "bulge" fit inside the hole, then I didn't have to worry about the profile. 

The inside was hidden by the angle piece inside the box,  which I profiled with the angle grinder. I don't worry too much about gaps, that's what mig wire is for. (Within reason)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha! That’s more like sewing! Just let the seam allowances protrude inside the garment where nobody can see! Looks great.

 

My sister does super detailed cut paper ‘paintings’- usually just two colors. She’s a gallery artist. One time I asked her how she gets all the paper so clean of pencil marks- I knew she drew the images first in pencil before taking out the xacto. It would be impossible not to crinkle the fine details trying to erase the pencil.

 

She looked at me funny like ‘really?’ and told me the pencil marks are on the back she draws it backwards hahaha

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update.  I pulled engine back out to go over it.  I put a little bigger cam in it,  new timing set,  all new gaskets. 

Built new alternator and ps pump brackets. 

Steering works. 

Plumbed in the fuel regulator.

Now I'm sorting out the dakota wiring harness, getting rid of everything not needed. 

I think it'd been easier starting from scratch on the wiring.

 

20190201_141813-1134x2016.jpg

20190201_141416-2016x1134.jpg

20190131_164352-2016x1134.jpg

20190130_145029-1134x2016.jpg

20190130_145021-1134x2016.jpg

20190130_145015-1134x2016.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you only have two universals and they don't bind do you need the spherical bearing for the middle? I saved all my dakota wiring too but ended up using none of it- too crusty. Is that the stock Dak fuel pump? That alternator bracket came out really nice! The lights and whole back view is awesome too

 

What cam did you go with? It's still a low compression motor right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Radarsonwheels said:

If you only have two universals and they don't bind do you need the spherical bearing for the middle? I saved all my dakota wiring too but ended up using none of it- too crusty. Is that the stock Dak fuel pump? That alternator bracket came out really nice! The lights and whole back view is awesome too

 

What cam did you go with? It's still a low compression motor right?

There's a rag joint on the end of the column so I need the heim joint to stabilize the shaft. 

My dakota wiring is in good shape there's just too much of it haha!

I'm using the stock pump(in the tank)

Stock fuel filter also,  I just added the fuel regulator that will give me 6.5 lbs for a carb (it's adjustable but preset at 6.5) it has a return back to tank (I used the factory return line).

I had a 1968 440 hp spec cam on the shelf that I used.

It was one I swapped for a bigger one in my 440 in my 1971 satellite. 

I'm thinking it will be an improvement but yes it's still a low comp engine. 

What's your thoughts?

The alternator bracket turned out good,  but it was after I was done I realized I used a ford style alternator! Oh well a bit sacreligious.

I had to mount ps pump high because of those dang elephant ears, they blocked the fitting on the back of the pump. And if I went lower, the oil filter and rad hose were in the way of the belt. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just my two cents!

 

Get rid of the rag joint!!! They do Not like running a almost any angle and will fail, sometimes deadly, even with the center support bearing. They were only used to take some of the mild shocks of the steer column and make the steer wheel cushy

 

Years ago I drove a friends  37 Ply. that was just set up with an adapter front R&P with a rag joint (with some angle in it) in the steer column and drove it over some rough driveway  rather slowly when it when the rag joint failed. Almost crashed his project into a barn!

Boy was he mad! Then I pointed out what just happened may have saved his life later on if left as is! All was OK then!

 

Others opinions on this??

 

DJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the detailed response Farmer. I see that rag joint- I thought they were pretty solid and were more for vibration than angle.  I used a small diameter dual diaphram booster on mine- I'm surprised you can fit the big dakota booster. I am planning on finishing my inner fenders a little to keep mud out and also for additional mounting surface for MSD & relays and such- my firewall is already getting cluttered and full.  That OEM fuel pump should kick butt for a long time even though my 89 truck ran but had no fuel pressure- bad pump- the v6 would crank up if you spilled a little gas down the throat. The plastic Dak tank is really nice I thought about using mine but gave it away instead when I was still planning on using a round tank in the bed. I am happy with my boat filler in the rear fender though.

 

About the cam- I think a little bigger would be fun without killing the street manners but you should have 400lbs of torque and 300hp right? For normal driving and an occasional rip or smokeshow I think that motor will do the job. I had a 408 smallblock with edelbrock heads, 10:1cr and a hydraulic flat tappet in the 230s @.050. That motor made 350hp/400 tq to the wheels but it was a stick shift- if it was an auto it would have needed a high stall converter to smooth out the crappy off idle performance and the jerk when the cam came on at 2200. I am not any kind of expert but I enjoy swapping cams and messing around with motors to see how the personality changes.

 

A healthy 400 cid motor will be fun and all that torque will make use of your big tires for sure. I don't remember what gear you are running in the rear but I suspect that your fun will be from 2500-4000 rpm and there will be no hard pull in the upper revs- time to shift to get back into the power. Hopefully you have 3.73 or 3.55 even better. I have always gone with 4.10 rears but this time I think my big block will pull 3.21 juuust fine.

 

I'm angling for a similar street type motor but I couldn't help making it a little more hotrodded since I was replacing everything but the block anyway. I have the forged bottom end to safely rev but I suspect my stealth heads won't keep feeding 512 inches much past 5k rpm. I went with a cam just over a 1/2" of lift so I could keep the stock (cheap) rockers and in the 240s duration so it would still have some power to rip above 3000. The big displacement will tame the duration some. First time I drove a stock chevy 454 (legendary!) I was disappointed it felt like a well geared modern 4 cylinder- nice hard bump to get moving but no hard pull unless you shifted gears down to 1800rpm.

 

It's always good to make all the parts work together so with a low CR cast crank motor you are absolutely right to keep the cam mild. It will sound good and drive smooth for sure!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'll be interesting to see how it performs. 

It has 3.55 gears, so it should be about right. 

I'll put a better intake and carb on later if I find a deal on something better. 

These engines respond to more air and fuel if you can get it through them. 

You'll maybe find this dyno test interesting,  I sure did 

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/dyno-testing-a-stock-1972-440.249866/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, f_armer said:

It'll be interesting to see how it performs. 

It has 3.55 gears, so it should be about right. 

I'll put a better intake and carb on later if I find a deal on something better. 

These engines respond to more air and fuel if you can get it through them. 

You'll maybe find this dyno test interesting,  I sure did 

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/dyno-testing-a-stock-1972-440.249866/

Nice!

I've read that 440 article before- amazing what can be squeezed out of a smog motor. I know our 400 low decks have the strongest block and biggest bore of any stock big block mopar ever made, but that they also had really low hp and torque ratings like 300 ft/lbs 220hp or something? Hopefully yours gets a nice wake up with the '68 cam! I'm sure it will sound good and move you along nicely.

 

Plus you don't seem afraid to tear into it so if you get bored with the power you can always throw some pistons and heads on it to get closer to 1hp/cid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, DJ194950 said:

Just my two cents!

 

Get rid of the rag joint!!! They do Not like running a almost any angle and will fail, sometimes deadly, even with the center support bearing. They were only used to take some of the mild shocks of the steer column and make the steer wheel cushy

 

Years ago I drove a friends  37 Ply. that was just set up with an adapter front R&P with a rag joint (with some angle in it) in the steer column and drove it over some rough driveway  rather slowly when it when the rag joint failed. Almost crashed his project into a barn!

Boy was he mad! Then I pointed out what just happened may have saved his life later on if left as is! All was OK then!

 

Others opinions on this??

 

DJ

The rag joint is running straight, i was thinking of getting rid of it, but figured it might be good to leave it? I was thinking it would take some road noise out of the steering wheel, but i don't know, i havent driven it yet!

I'll maybe revisit the steering after a road test.

I dont see in any way at the moment that it would be unsafe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Farmer- with that engine mounted solid you might want to keep some chewing gum around to keep your teeth from rattling and buy stock in loctite. I had solid mounts on my 72 demon for about a week after getting tired of ripping stock anchor brand mounts in half all the time with a healthy smallblock. The solid mounts felt great under power but at idle it was like being in a paint shaker. I had some fuses in my ashtray- it sounded like a maraca. I went to a thru bolted ‘mag mount’ in a hurry.

 

Maybe the rag joint will make the wheel have a smoother feel? The mild engine might help too. 

 

I’m not trying to be negative- it’s a hotrod after all and a little shakin’ will be part of it’s badass personality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use