My Dodge Truck Project (Cummins Inside)

[joesregalproject]

No. It

slides up over the output shaft on the steering box then you put the pitman arm on and tighten the nut.

Well sorta. The the nut for the pitman arm gets replaced by the piece in the lower right of the second picture, and the bearing slips over that.

Ahh nice. My GMT400 has cracked the frame at the steering box on one side and down at the cross member on the other side. There's a sort of V that ties the frame rails to the lower cross member and on the driver's side it ties right next to the steering box. This looks beefier than that brace, seems I could use the same thing if it were a thing.

My old F150 frame cracked at the steering box and after getting it welded I made a brace that connected the frame rails just forward of the engine cross member. I used some really thick 1/4 angle iron doubled up. Before I had that you could see the frame binding when you turned the wheels at a stop. Afterward it was much less.

 

[Supercharged111]

Well sorta. The the nut for the pitman arm gets replaced by the piece in the lower right of the second picture, and the bearing slips over that.



My old F150 frame cracked at the steering box and after getting it welded I made a brace that connected the frame rails just forward of the engine cross member. I used some really thick 1/4 angle iron doubled up. Before I had that you could see the frame binding when you turned the wheels at a stop. Afterward it was much less.

My initial though was stronger braces from the frame to the cross member, but that member is far away so it's no wonder the dinky factory bits break. Maybe something closer like what you did is the ticket.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Permatex 27828. Orange can with a blue cap. It works fine but you have to let it tack up for 15-20 minutes before you stick the fabric to the board. I missed that part when I did the headliner in my old 3 Series and it was sagging 2 days later..

I let this Permatex, set up like above on the 88 and it still sagged. Hopefully it lasts🙏

 

[ck80]

Time to use that 12 valve, haul this heap home, and stuff your leftover parts into it

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1432720213596701/permalink/2047852718750111/

 

[joesregalproject]

Time to use that 12 valve, haul this heap home, and stuff your leftover parts into it

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1432720213596701/permalink/2047852718750111/

I still gots a motor and a turbo hood lying around here.

 

[joesregalproject]

Hard to believe I've had this thing for a year already. It's definitely a far cry from what it was when I bought it.

 

[Supercharged111]

Hard to believe I've had this thing for a year already. It's definitely a far cry from what it was when I bought it.

That's because you spend all your would be G body time on it. Kinda like I do on all my non G body stuff.

 

[ck80]

I still gots a motor and a turbo hood lying around here.

And winter is coming.... I bet that $500 could easily turn to $300

 

[Mighty]

Awesome thread OP! I joined the forum a week or two ago and caught this thread and slowly read through it over a couple days. I’ve got a 97 I bought back in 09 or so with 170k miles from an old man I baled straw for that kept it immaculate. Today it sits with 289k miles bone stock but I’m not far from you in Ohio and the rust has gotten to it. The body isn’t horrible for a second gen around here but I had it up on a rack a year ago and found a rust hole in the frame about the size of a quarter and had some braces welded over it. It was back towards the rear passenger wheel. Back when I got it I pulled the bed off and replaced the brake lines (which weren’t terribly rusty) and power washed and painted the frame. Should’ve paid more attention to it I guess. Breaks my heart because I paid $5k for the truck and never put a single penny into the drivetrain other than the fuel shut off solenoid for $40. New front end, power steering pump and gear box, replaced rear spring shackles, and normal maintenance. Original trans even at 289k but I only towed a handful of cars with it as my lbz duramax does all the work. Tabbed the KDP and had a hard time at first with crank seal getting it to seat properly. My dash has some cracks now but no gaping holes yet lol. Shampooed the carpet a couple
Months ago and it looks night and day better but mine is a regular cab so it wasn’t very time consuming. I’ve always liked GM trucks but I bought the dodge for the motor and honestly other than the rust, it really grew on me. All the electronics inside still work after 25 years except for 2 lights on the radio, can’t say the same for my GM trucks. So I got kind of down because of the frame rust but that all changed last week when I bought another 97. Guy has a garage not far from my brothers shop and they’re good friends. His truck has one rust hole in the drivers front fender but the frame is spotless. Oh and it’s got 149k miles on it so I gladly handed him $3500 cash he said he’d take for it. It needs a lot of work though. The interior is out currently but the floor is freshly sanded and painted and he bought new carpet for it. It’s a dually but I’m converting it to single wheel. He has a new dash top for it as the current dash top is non existent. The major down fall is he painted the entire body with some kind of bed liner looking stuff so it looks like it’s been in a fire or something. Looks awful. But I figured I’ll slowly put this truck all back together until my current 97 is completely unsafe to drive and I’ll use it as a parts truck for the new project truck. I bought a 07 duramax about four years ago with 99k miles on it and have gotten it oil sprayed every fall to try my best to prevent rust. They drilled holes in the body and filled up the inside. Rockers, doors, tail gate and it seems to be working pretty well. I’ll probably not drive the new dodge in the winter at all to try to make it last as long as possible. Learned my lesson from the first one. Once I get it situated at my brothers shop to tinker with I might be sending you some messages if I run into any trouble putting the entire interior back together. Very cool thread and your truck looks great after all of your hard work! I’ll probably be digging back through this one quite a bit.

 

[joesregalproject]

Awesome thread OP! I joined the forum a week or two ago and caught this thread and slowly read through it over a couple days. I’ve got a 97 I bought back in 09 or so with 170k miles from an old man I baled straw for that kept it immaculate. Today it sits with 289k miles bone stock but I’m not far from you in Ohio and the rust has gotten to it. The body isn’t horrible for a second gen around here but I had it up on a rack a year ago and found a rust hole in the frame about the size of a quarter and had some braces welded over it. It was back towards the rear passenger wheel. Back when I got it I pulled the bed off and replaced the brake lines (which weren’t terribly rusty) and power washed and painted the frame. Should’ve paid more attention to it I guess. Breaks my heart because I paid $5k for the truck and never put a single penny into the drivetrain other than the fuel shut off solenoid for $40. New front end, power steering pump and gear box, replaced rear spring shackles, and normal maintenance. Original trans even at 289k but I only towed a handful of cars with it as my lbz duramax does all the work. Tabbed the KDP and had a hard time at first with crank seal getting it to seat properly. My dash has some cracks now but no gaping holes yet lol. Shampooed the carpet a couple
Months ago and it looks night and day better but mine is a regular cab so it wasn’t very time consuming. I’ve always liked GM trucks but I bought the dodge for the motor and honestly other than the rust, it really grew on me. All the electronics inside still work after 25 years except for 2 lights on the radio, can’t say the same for my GM trucks. So I got kind of down because of the frame rust but that all changed last week when I bought another 97. Guy has a garage not far from my brothers shop and they’re good friends. His truck has one rust hole in the drivers front fender but the frame is spotless. Oh and it’s got 149k miles on it so I gladly handed him $3500 cash he said he’d take for it. It needs a lot of work though. The interior is out currently but the floor is freshly sanded and painted and he bought new carpet for it. It’s a dually but I’m converting it to single wheel. He has a new dash top for it as the current dash top is non existent. The major down fall is he painted the entire body with some kind of bed liner looking stuff so it looks like it’s been in a fire or something. Looks awful. But I figured I’ll slowly put this truck all back together until my current 97 is completely unsafe to drive and I’ll use it as a parts truck for the new project truck. I bought a 07 duramax about four years ago with 99k miles on it and have gotten it oil sprayed every fall to try my best to prevent rust. They drilled holes in the body and filled up the inside. Rockers, doors, tail gate and it seems to be working pretty well. I’ll probably not drive the new dodge in the winter at all to try to make it last as long as possible. Learned my lesson from the first one. Once I get it situated at my brothers shop to tinker with I might be sending you some messages if I run into any trouble putting the entire interior back together. Very cool thread and your truck looks great after all of your hard work! I’ll probably be digging back through this one quite a bit.

Glad you enjoyed reading through the thread. Rust is undoubtedly the Achilles heel of these trucks especially up here in the northeast. I never thought of myself as Dodge guy or a Mopar person, and like you I bought the truck for the engine. But as you said with your truck, it has grown on me a lot. It doesn't ride quite like my 2015 F150, but it's comfortable for a 3/4 ton, especially when you consider the age and mileage. Post some pictures of yours if you get the chance.