Full Size Jeep Network

Thanks guys,

I welded up one of the intake tubes, one to go.


It took two days to bleed the brakes (bad old parts, leaks...) but its working, except for the vacuum booster. I finally got to drive the truck around the block, it was great! Probably drove it about a mile and let it idle well I took these pictures below. The transmission seems to shift smoother then before the rebuild, and I have a reverse synchro now. We took the bed off for priming and paint



Current issues that need to be resolved are that the coolant system is vapor locking-the engine was reading 190, but the radiator and upper hose were cool to the touch. I also still need to wire the speedo and resolve the tach. the serpentine belt is also walking off of the tensioner (tensioner seems to be the issue).

Great! I can't wait to see it Jummin around Lakeland

Freakin' fantastic! Running and driving! Can't wait to see that bed with that great fender work. Also wondering if this will be a daily driver for you or weekend machine?

Loving this truck so far!

Like the truck but LOVE the car!!!!

WOW, just awesome....

Thanks guys for the compliments! This will be my daily driver, it will be a lot cushier than my demon; it'll be well insulated and air conditioned once it checks out as being road worthy.

Man, I just caught up on your last three months of progress and I'm super stoked for you. Congrats.

Resbum

Thanks Resbum! Sorry to hear that you've run into some obstacles on your build, ill still be keeping an eye out though, good luck!

My dad sent me his progress, we've both been busy over the past few weeks, but im planning on heading down Friday to fix the cooling issue (adding a higher fill point) and connecting some loose electrical ends.

I have the truck registered and insured so im hoping to drive it around as much as I can this weekend. I also sent out my 'Year or Manufacture' plate to (hopefully) get approved by the state. If all goes well, in 1-3 weeks this should be my plate, the G/K was the symbol for a 5000lb commercial vehicle.

Neat old plate. Are you keeping the wheels that came with the Dodge or going old school? How are the ideas for the front bumper coming along?

Thanks, I just have to pray the state accepts it and nobody else has registered a different year plate with this number...
I haven't thought of anything for the front yet, I do however plan on welding a removable aluminum superstructure up (like a ladder rack) to fit in the bed stakes so I can throw a couple kayaks up for fishing.
For wheels: I want cheap tires, so I bought a set of 16.5 wheels (stupidly sold the 'bullet hole' set that originally, originally came on the ram). I'll be using these for a set of Humvee 37's.

It was a fun weekend for sure, I drove the truck around for about 30 minutes each day now that it is street legal. Towards the end of today though I was messing around crawling in 1st gear in 4LO and seemed to begin to overheat, (220degrees) otherwise all day long it ran at 190 degrees. If I let it sit and idle indefinitely the engine cools to 180, the radiator is cool enough to keep your hand on it; inlet to outlet hoses are 30+ degrees difference (using thermal gun).

I finished plumbing the pressure side of the intake pipes (no coolant to the intercooler yet).


Sunday I lost my oil pressure, temp, and voltage gauges (temp, oil are pegged, volt reads 9V). The boost and EGT gauges worked great all weekend long though; im reading 18psi peak boost rite now. Below is a short video going 2nd-5th today

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS9uFaOGUrw[/youtube]

I also finished mounting the seat, the center isn't mounted but really doesn't need to be modified any to work.

what are those seats out of?

94-98 Dodge ram-I think the dimensions are the same in newer models and 1/2-1 tons, but im not sure. This set came from the donor, I had to shave about an inch of foam off the inside of the two seats, then cut and welded new mounting 'risers' onto the tracks. The passanger side had a bit more finesse needed to the tracks because of the floors shape

Awesome video

The truck sounds great!

Thanks guys!

My dad got some painting done, were hoping to have the bed raptor'd underneath and herculined inside by sunday.


tailgate made from scratch:


All im hoping to do this weekend is to get all of my gauges working. Im in the process of looking for vent windows, ours are shot. This and the windshield wipers are the last of the things on the list to make it 'streetable'.

Why raptor the bottom and herculine the top? Just curious

Ive Herculined a couple different vehicles, and like the texture and almost 'rubbery' feel of it. I also know that the Herculiner holds up pretty well against wear and tear. I wanted a lighter color for the inside bed of the truck (I know that Raptor can come in other colors, or tintable) and have 1 gallon of grey Herculiner left over from my last project.
I wanted the Raptor underneath (cab, bed, and fender wells) because it has a smooth finish that should clean easily. I know the Raptor is tough, but I don't know how tough it is (abrasion and chipping), I have no experience with it, and couldnt find anything to sway me away from the herculiner for the inside of the bed.

Got the painting done in half the time of what we thought, so I spent all day driving the truck around. My dad got the raptor sprayed on Friday, the Herculiner took about an hour and a half






I rewired the fan so it has high-low-off settings. I drove around for 30-40 miles and had the fan off for all but 10 mins of those trips, itll get up to 185 at lights, but cools down to 170's when moving. I didn't get on it hard for an extended period of time, so im not sure how the cooling system will handle load.

I still don't have a speedometer or tach, have to diagnose that more. the idler puller is also causing the serp belt to walk, but everything else is great. The rear bumper and stack are the last big fabricating projects.