84 Crewcab...AKA..Patches

[thrashingcows]

Well last week I decided that Saturday I would get up early and drive down to Portland OR to pick up my "new to me" long box. Crossed the Canada/US border at 5:45am and was in Portland by 12pm. Visited with 69 and Fishy for a few hours, got to go up and see "The 40" and all the cool projects and stuff.....when we got back we loaded up the box and I got on my way. Left Oregon at 3:30pm and crossed the border into Canada at 10pm.

I had thought through the whole loading the box in the back of my truck and eventually came up with this...

Cut up some 2x2's to fit in the bed stake pockets....then we would flip the box upside down and onto the stakes.

Then a couple of clamps on the inside.

And then 2 ratchet straps over the front, and back.

Truck performed well. Drove 750+ miles and burned about 27 Gallons of fuel...that's about 28 mpg!!

 

[thrashingcows]

And a couple more pics that I like...

And Thanks again 69 and Fishy for your help....really appreciate it. Was a good visit and I hope Fishy likes that Dodge ram head I brought down for him....wink wink....

 

[Fishy]

Yeah, I'm diggin the Ram head! Still can't believe how cherry that thing is! In one of those pics, it looks like the "new to you" bed has a tail light lit up.

 

[Stretch]

Good guy that fisshy! 69.5...... Well you know LOL!


They both are super cool!

 

[Dr.Jass]

Great guys, both of 'em.
:bravo:

 

[v8440]

Gotta love the mileage of those 1st gens. I think the inline pump 12v's are just as efficient, but the trucks they came in are heavier. My buddy's regular cab 2wd automatic '92 with a cummins only weighs about 5700 lbs. That's a solid 1000+ lbs lighter than my '98 2wd quadcab manual trans dually. I know it has the little bit of extra cab length and the dual rear wheels, but geez...

 

[thrashingcows]

Think my crew weighs in at around 6200lbs....if I remember correctly from when I scaled it out a while back. But yeah the mileage is almost ridiculous....not that I'm complaining. Heck I only burned 18 Gallons to go get my friends 63 Impala...and that was pulling a flat deck, and a box full of tools, up over high mountain passes, loading the car and coming back down the same way.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

That's smart thinking....

 

[Dr.Jass]

Yeah, that setup was pretty impressive. Absolute overkill but definitely better than finding the fuse in the setup and destroying it and potentially hurting someone.

 

[69.5CUDA]

best redneck cannopy EVER!!!...i should mention we joked about hooking up the tail lights as the harness for them was there..all that was missing was a latchable tail gate for it

LOL

good to seee ya again cow...keep an eye on the westcoast list..we will pick anything up if we can LOL

oo and that reminds me...i have a pic or 2 i need to post LOL.....as i wave from across the pond

 

[69.5CUDA]

http://www.moparnuts.com/forums/showthread.php?8079-tiny-aka-1958-lloyd/page39

he fits!

 

[thrashingcows]

Well again done a few things and not updated....

I installed my new hood...old bathtub hood from pre 1980 dodge ram. Sanded it down and primed it for now. Will throw some color on it soon.

And you have to have the matching cowl cover too...

 

[thrashingcows]

Also found that the hood latch system was totally different on the pre-80 hoods...more like you tradition mopar car set-up. So had to move the 90's style hood latch over and forward. Hood is still a bit loose...not tight against the fender stops. Will have to cut down the hood latch bar to bring it down a bit more.

I

Then had to also dimple the hood a little to clear the latch, and run a slightly shorter hood spring so the hood would close easier, and not pop up with so much force it nearly torn the latch from the rad support. Good thing I have saved most of the hood springs form all the mopars I've parted out of over the years.

 

[thrashingcows]

I also stripped off the stainless trim on the drip rail...going to sand the inside and out to clean off all the old flaking caulking. The reseal and repaint. COnsidering not reinstallign the stainless trim...it holds a lot of moisture. Might put some cheap wheel openign adhesive trim on the outside of the drip rail to add a littel bright work.

Used two old bottle cap openers...the old metal ones you used to use as a kid. Rounded end on one side, sharp point on the other. These worked great to slowly peal the drip rails loose.

 

[thrashingcows]

And today I decided to finally strip off the original box and get it ready for the one 69 and Fishy picked up for me....Thanks again guys!!

I had worked on the box bolts from under neath for a few hours the other night. Got 6 of the eight loose after much loosening, then tightening...more PB Blaster, and repeat. The other 2..the ones by the fuel tank were welded to the frame...:dooh:

Took me about 2 hours to strip the box down, all trim and stuff removed. Also to cut through the booger welds holding the last 2 box mounting points to the frame.

Ready to come off...

 

[thrashingcows]

Now you can see all the brackets that were welded to the frame...5th wheel brackets, goose neck bar etc. Now I have to cut these off and clean up the frame...tomorrows job.

 

[Fishy]

Man, you weren't kidding about all that bracing under the bed!

 

[Diplomat_Wagon]

That goose-neck bar is frightening.

 

[71ChargerRT]

That goose-neck bar is frightening.

That's pretty similar to the one that was on my Ford.

 

[Mark Nixon]

On your early hood conversion, be glad you didn't use an Intercooled set-up.
When I converted the carhauler, the radiator cap and the 2 top shroud mounts hit the front bar above the radiator.
I ended up cutting holes in that support so the cap's neck and those 2 shroud mounts could poke through it.

Putting a Ram's head on that early hood isn't as easy as it might seem, either.

Mark.