John-T-53 Posted February 7, 2014 Report Posted February 7, 2014 Don't forget to drive up to Clements for the BBQ April 5th.....Your ride will be well recieved! My truck is a 2006 and has the MDS...which was why I was asking. Its a seamless transfer of power, never even notice it. But absolutely nothing wrong with the '05 version, I just wanted to say we had the same motor..lol. 48D Mopar's version of multi-displacement must be a lot better than the early 80's Cadillac V-8-6-4, which was a flop! Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 8, 2014 Author Report Posted February 8, 2014 The front suspension and steering is getting close to being done and I will upload some pictures to the makeover album, but here is a quick look: Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Posted February 12, 2014 Because we had to place the cross member below the frame to get the stock ride height, we are adding gussets for additional strength. Here are a couple of pictures. One looks inward and one looks outward. 1 Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 13, 2014 Report Posted February 13, 2014 Your spacer the lower control arm goes through appears to leave a gap in it that would let the control arm move forward or back. it also normally gusseted to the cross member. There's a lot of force applied to bolt and spacer so it needs to be supported well. Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Posted February 13, 2014 Dave, Thanks for your input. The frontend fabrication is not 100% complete so this may already be accounted for in the plan, but we will certainly check it out. You know what they say, "measure twice, cut once". Thanks again. Charles Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Posted February 15, 2014 The saga continues. Here's a couple more pictures from yesterday. Shown in one of the pictures is the sleeve/gusset that will provide the horizontal strengthening for the cross-member that was referenced a couple of posts back. They just haven't been welded in place yet. Quote
48Dodger Posted February 17, 2014 Report Posted February 17, 2014 What guage for the boxing plates and how far back are you going? Looks good so far Charles! 48D Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 17, 2014 Report Posted February 17, 2014 I think I added a vertical gusset to mine as well. My sleeve for the control arm bolt ran all the way through the crossmember and was welded on the inside as well so it won't collapse the cross member. Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Posted February 17, 2014 We are using 1/8th inch plate steel for boxing the frame. Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 Here are some more pictures I took on 2/21/14. Motor and transmission are now mounted in the truck. Master cylinder is going in. Steering column and shift lever are going in and steering linkage is fitted to the rack and pinion unit. Gas pedal is mounted. Vintage Air unit is installed. We we able to save the cowell vent which will remain totally operational and we saved the fresh air vent which feed air from the intake at the radiator thru a hose into the firewall.. It's amazing how much room there is in these trucks. The firewall will stay untouched and we were able to use the stock floor panels without any problem. We did have to redo the cross-member to support the transmission. Looks like I can only attach 3 pictures here so I'll post a couple more messages with the rest. Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 Here's a few more pictures from 2/21/14 Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 And here's the last of the bunch from 2/21/14 1 Quote
HanksB3B Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 Wow, my fears are gone now. Good Workmanship ! Hank Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 A very neat and clean installation. I like what I'm seeing. If you haven't planned for it yet, I'd consider making the trans mount removable. Quote
Jeff Balazs Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 Charles; That really looks top cabin. You will have the envy of all. Jeff Quote
tom'sB2B Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Do you think you will make it up to Woodies on the Warf in Santa Cruz this year? I would love to see the woodie again (you too of course ) Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Posted February 25, 2014 Tom, Unless something unforseen happens, my wife and I plan to drive the woodie to Santa Cruz. I look forward to seeing you. Quote
HanksB3B Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 When does that actually happen ? Thanks, Hank Quote
TodFitch Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 When does that actually happen ? Thanks, Hank http://www.santacruzwoodies.com/woodies-on-the-wharf/ Quote
Charles Furman Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Posted February 25, 2014 Hank, As noted in the link TodFitch posted, Woodies on the Wharf in Santa Cruz is on June 21st, but there is also a large woodie meet coming up closer to you in Dana Point on April 12th. Doheny Wood is held at Doheny State Beach. I am pretty sure there will be two or three Pilothouse woodies there. Since my red Dodge will probably not be ready by then, I may drive my 4x4 Dodge B1B Woodie up there. Charles Quote
HanksB3B Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Charles, Thank you. What a legacy. Hank Quote
Charles Furman Posted March 1, 2014 Author Report Posted March 1, 2014 Updates for today (2/28), Modern headlight switch is in. I still have to do some work to get the stock knob and bezel to fit, but it will work out. The wiring is coming along. We pulled the wheels today to take to the wheel shop, I am going to keep the stock 16" centers and have new 7" or 8" hoops put on the 4 wheels that will be on the ground. I don't want the rims any wider than I really need, so I am open for your thoughts on that. I am going to keep one wheel stock, so it will fit in the woodie under the third seat. The new fuse panel is in. The new radiator is mounted. We were able to fabricate the mounting brackets to accommodate a new stock Dodge Charger radiator. It should work fine. I am going place the new gas tank between the frame rails behind the rear axle where the spare used to be. The way it looks now, I think we can do a real clean installation of a 22-24 gallon tank. Here's a couple of pictures of the fuse panel and the radiator.. Quote
Charles Furman Posted March 3, 2014 Author Report Posted March 3, 2014 Here's a little more info: Engine - Chrysler 5.7L Hemi engine as was used in 2006-2009 1500 Ram truck (new) Transmission - Chrysler 545RFE 5 speed automatic overdrive (new) Wheels - 16x7 (new hoops with stock centers) Tires - 245/70R16 (not sure what brand yet) Radiator - Dodge Charger (new) When this project is completed, I plan to post a list of all the parts used and their sources. Quote
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