Here is the saga of my Ramcharger build so far...

Started out with me selling my '91 Jeep cherokee



and buying a '90 Ramcharger from a tow yard in Sacramento. $800

Rust free piece from Montana with a 360/A518/4x4, factory tow package, and a few other interesting options... Had an Ign pickup issue (shut off with no warning), but we drove it the 100 miles home with no issue. 12mpg.. ug

(crummy cell phone pic)


Found this holding up the window in the driver's side door when inspecting why the window wouldn't go down:




Then the search for a doner... Far and wide... Found one in Centrailia Washington.. '90 W350 5-spd rust free farm truck... 670 miles from home according to Mapquest.. So we (good friend Will, girlfriend Erika, and I) drove up on the Wednesday before last (February 2nd).

Went to purchase the truck Thursday morning, Will and I did a few hours of work on the truck to make it road worthy.




We then drove to Portland to stay the night. Headed for home late Friday morning and arrived 10-ish that evening without any issue whatsoever. I love 1-st gens

Will drove the truck the entire way back (he's 6'-4", not very easy in a single-cab) no radio, and moldy Washington stink for 670 miles. Will is THE MAN


Erika and I brought down the Ramcharger to Will's house on Thursday of this week (February 10, 2011).

Will's house is late model Mopar Central ('87 Shelby CSX, '89 Shelby CSX, '90 Plymouth Turbo Van in the 14's, my doner '90 W350, my '92 W250, and my '90 Ramcharger):

 

So we started the swap Friday evening (February 11, 2011). We got the front axle assy. out of the Ramcharger;




Saturday afternoon we began the removal of the engines...

VERY easy with the core support removed;




Ramcharger bay:



W350 bay:



Some of Friday and Saturday's parts:



Ubiquitous "I'm in my engine bay" shot:



Also got the front axle out of the W350, replacing it with the Ramcharger axle. Ever see a 1-ton Dodge pickup with a 1/2 ton front axle?.. Very rare factory option package, intended as a factory lightweight for sled pulling.. kinda like a 1965 Cornet W051

 

We went at it again yesterday (Sunday, February 13, 2011):



Had to pull the 350 forward a bit to make room for removing the CTD



The "Cail rake" from the 1/2 ton axle makes it even easier to pull out. Will grins in accomplishment.





Time to assist the exhaust in releasing it's grip on the truck;





Removing the brake master and booster assy to swap out with the 1-ton unit, already took out the bay wiring harnesses out of each vehicle;



Ramcharger with the rare heavy duty front axle option;



That's all for now.. Weather looks to be crummy today and the old lady is complaining about attention because of some stupid Saint Valentino or some cluck like that, so progress will be minimal today.

 

So I'm thinking about getting around the sending unit issue.. I was thinking I could use the stock unit with the throttle body EFI fuel pump with a regulator as a lift pump.

Will suggested I find a sending unit from an earlier carbed RC as we don't know what the flow specs are for the efi pump in relation to the needed CDT flow specs.

ANY THOUGHTS

 

i think your tires will rub with the dually front.

 

Turned the wheels lock-to-lock with no fitment problems.

We'll see once the weight is in. Don't think so though, everything is the same underneath the RC as it was under the w350 save for the sway bar. Using the w350 front springs, perches, etc. I will effectively be "lifting" the RC with the diesel front springs and RC rear springs with diesel blocks.

Eventually I will be taking the 1-ton hubs and overload springs, putting them on my W250, OR selling the 1-ton hubs and purchasing regular 3/4-ton deals.

The sway bar will probably need spacers as it is different from a diesel sway bar in that it is straight across rather than a "notched" section for the CTD oil pan.

Didn't get anything done today. Went to the Carson Pick'n'pull this afternoon for the carb'd, and truck efi sending units, as well as an auto column, and truck driveshaft (making the w350 in to a gasser 1/2 ton with the RC running gear and selling it), but didn't have any time. Daggone worthless culls close at 1700 rather than 1730.

Wes

 

subscribed

 

Storm is coming in tonight, supposed to get about 4-feet between tonight and tomorrow.

Busy getting groceries, snowblower fuel, and such... No progress today other than pressure washing the engine bays..

And people say it doesn't snow in California

 

Nice work.
A Cummins 4x4 5 speed ramcharger will be a sweet ride.
Oliver

 

Haven't done anything lately, been a bit busy:

 

Keep the 1 Ton Hubs on the front! The Rear will be OK too and run the 7" backspaced surplus HMMVW double BEADLOCKS!!!!

Or is this going to be a highway cruiser?

 

Well, it's going to be highway/offroad

Some updates:

I decided to trade the Getrag 5-spd for a built A518 automatic to the old lady can drive it and to keep myself out of trouble (5-spd was much too much fun)

So Erika and I drove to Orland the week before last to trade the tranny. It was -4degrees in the morning so I was having a little fuel gelling issue (running B20).. Warmed up a bit and was okay.

Getting out of Sacramento I started to have water in fuel issues, stopped at a shady fuel station north of Sac called JJ's Or J&J's and pumped 10 gallons of "diesel" to thin out the water issue.. It was more like 9.5 gallons of water and .5 of diesel. :evil:

Barely made it to Orland, traded tranny and t-cases, then drove back towards home. Took 4-hours to get to Sacramento (normally 1.5 max). Luckily my sister lives in Sac, so we stopped there, and I began working on the truck.

With my limited tools (didn't bring tool box.. stupid) I managed to pop the fuel sending unit up just enough to snake one of the tranny cooler hoses' down into the tank and siphon out the "fuel".. Ingested quite a bit of ATF and diesel... not fun

Buttoned it back up, put more fuel in, fired it up and damnit I didn't get all of the water out couldn't get the hose in all of the way.

So I called up Will the next morning, and he drove down with more tools and his expertise. We ended up having to empty the bed of tranny, t-case, a couple engine blocks and some other crap, unbolted one side of the bed and loosened the other, jacked the bed up, pulled the sending unit, pumped out ALL of the "fuel" put it back together, changed the filter, bled the lines, and voila problem solved.









As much as I like steam power and diesel power, I think a steam/diesel hybrid is not a viable option. :lol:

 

Last week,


Cleaned up the engine and gave it a quick Cummins-esque re-spray



Swapped over rear axles.. Had to cut off the U-bolts on the Ramcharger.











Keeping the ramcharger springs in the RC and the 1-ton springs under the W350 (W150 now), so the RC isn't so bouncy. Had to have new U-bolts made. Taking the W350's overload springs for my W250.

Now a W150:



And a Ramcharger with a 1-ton drivetrain:



Looks funky with the dually wheels.. I will be trying to find a set of 3/4-ton hubs and go with some regular offset wheels.. Or stick with the 1-ton hubs and run surplus HMMWV wheels as PapeCAT suggested.

 

Nice project! I also like your choice of beverage! Nothing bettern than PBR

 

Thanks. PBR is fine, just don't mistake me for a Hipster.


Since my last post...

We installed the Cummins into the Ramcharger, and the 360 into the flatbed. Tranny crossmembers worked fine, just had to loosen the big bolts to slide the "upside-down tripod" around for proper alignment.







We dropped the fuel tanks of both vehicles and were pleased to find that for all effects and purposes the sending units were the same pieces, just the diesel one did not have an electric fuel pump. Benefit of having the same year doner vehicle. No pictures unfortunately.

Measured for the new rear driveshaft on the RC (31", just a baby, shorter than the front one), and took the 1-ton's shaft to Precision Driveline in Carson City for shortening. They do good work for great prices.

Got the front core support installed. We used the Diesel support from the 1-ton as they're slightly different and installing an intercooler in the future will be a bit easier.



We ended up installing a second tranny cooler in front of the AC condenser to supplement the small stock one.



We plugged the diesel engine wiring harness to the body plug and associated gas Ramcharger dash harness, primed the lift and injection pumps, turned the key and...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XQEDOhJOd8

The RC's dash harness works fine, but the Cummins "info center" on the dash uses different plugs and a couple more wires, so the "wait to start" light does not work as well as the anti-lock, water in fuel, parking brake, and low fuel lights. The grid heater does activate when it is cold out. She runs and drives just fine with the stock harness so we're debating whether or not we should bother with swapping the dash harnesses.

Blacked out grille:





She doesn't flex much with the 1-ton springs in front. You can tell the stock RC springs in the rear want to flex. The ride is MUCH smoother than my '92 W250, despite the short wheelbase and hard as steel tyres.





So far we've driven her about 150 miles and have had zero issues.

I registered 'er yesterday in the state of California without much issue. She told me I needed to get it smogged, and I told her that it was a pre-'98 diesel. She said her computer still said it needed smog, so her supervisor came over and had her write an affidavit stating that it was exempt due to the diesel engine. That was that.

Will whipped out more of his skills yesterday in fabbing an exhaust; just a simple 3" all the way out the back, sans muffler. Can actually listen to music or carry on a conversation now. Seems quieter than my '92 W250 with the downpipe to 4" muffler to 6" all the way out the back.

I took her to some scales yesterday as well.. With the heavy dually wheels and tyres, and 3/4 tank of fuel (Ramcharger tank holds 34 gallons :shock: ) she weighed in at 6,020 lbs. She should weigh a few hundred less when I swap the hubs and wheels from my w250 onto her (and vise versa).




I could not have done it without the help and motivation of Will Hoffman(turboaddict). His many years of experience and his ability are second-to-none. He is a very rare type of friend.

Thanks Will


~Wes