thanks pat,
I am a big fan of the old J series. Funny thing is those were the only "real" pictures of the color on a truck.

 

Me too. I think it will work, hopefully I will find a birdbath hood by the time I get to the paint.

 

Mknittle,

I read your post where you commented that you did a D250 to W250 swap. You mentioned the front D250 2wd assembly was easy to remove. It looks like you need to pull off the front crossmember and remove all the rivets. Then snake the whole front wheel assembly out the front of the frame. Is that correct?

When you mounted the 4x4 motor crossmember, how did you know where to mount it? Did you work off of a drawing or frame blueprint?

I'm attempting to do the same thing.

Thanks for your help!

 

Bear in mind I did it the hard way. with the engine in and the fenders on.
I did the transmission cross member first. with the engine still mounted up front. in post 509 you can see that 4 bolts lined up perfectly. I marked the other two at this point and drilled them.
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...314771/page34/
once that was done I took out the 2WD engine mount cross member. It was bolted in but after dodge bolted the pieces in they welded them together. so everything that will unbolt came off. then there will have to be some cuts made to get it to drop free.
Post615 here.
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...314771/page41/

And post619 here.https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...314771/page42/

On the installation of the engine crossmember. First I checked the frame for level just behind the transmission crossmember then on the valve covers I wrote the angle of the valve covers on the front valve with a silver sharpe for quick reference. Then I bolted up the engine crossmember to the engine with new motor mounts.( mine was easy because I made it in 3 pieces.
With this assembled it is easy to use a jack to position the engine up and down. When I had the engine where I wanted it I was able to verify by checking the frame and engine positions. (just in case something changed when moving the engine around).. Then I marked and drilled 1/8"pilot holes from the inside and continued drilling to size in the outside.

Hope this makes sense. Let me know if I an add more confusion

 

Great info thank you. I have a w250 motor crossmember already and was hoping to line up a few factory holes/bolts and drill out the rest. I have a trans crossmember coming but dont have my hands on it as of yet.

This will be a slow build for me as I will be doing a frame up restoration and will be spending extra time to rust proof the frame and undercarriage before the build up. I have a running 88 Ramcharger and will be driving it as well as working on the interior before swapping tubs.

I have all the new HD suspension parts (Front Hanger, Rear Shackle Flip) needed for the 3/4 ton drivetrain.

I'm hoping to take the front nose crossmember out that stablizes the 2wd assembly and that the whose front wheel assembly rolls out the front C channel of the frame without any extra cutting. Those bottom and inside rivets will probably be a pain. I'm trying not to cut or grind on the frame and will probably drill out the rivets to avoid busting a nut on hammering. :-)

Thanks again for your info. Much appreciated.

 

Brian (thrashingcows) did the swap on his crewcab I think One bolt on each side lines up on the factory engine crossmember. He started the teadown here. https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...305923/page12/

Drilling the rivets is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. It's faster quieter and easier on the body.

 

Thanks again Mark. I sent Brian a PM to confirm the placement of the motor crossmember. Great Posts... packed with build details!

I need to start a new build thread. I hang out on RCC as well, but started on DTR years ago as my son and I did a cab swap on his first truck (92 w250). I then picked up a 03 CTD Quad.

James

 

I think this is the best first gen board as far as the number of knowledgeable people. I really like RCC but I find myself wanting to build a Ramcharger.

 

Todays shenanigans While disassembling the front of the engine compartment the do the KDP I found that the fan shroud had a couple cracked mounting tabs. So today I did a little to fix the problem. I trimmed up one cide of a pair of 3" X.125" aluminum angles. drilled a sone mounting holes( May need to be filed into slots) and cut a couple clearance holes for the radiator bolts. Later when I am sure it will work I will drill the long sides of the angle and make backers to go on the inside of the shroud. and JB Weld and pop rivet it together.

 

Today I got the flanges for my fan shroud trimmed up and got the back up plates cut and fitted. Now to drill the rest of the holes and pop rivet it all together. Nothing too exciting. Oh the slots fit around the ribs in the back of the shroud.

 

Done with that!

 

Nice clean looking job Mark.

 

Thanks Oliver.

 

I agree....very well done. I like the internal bracing as well.

 

Thanks Brian. I figure there is less chance of problems later on this way as it spreads the load over a wider area.