Restore/mod... Hehe.. more like "restoring it the way it should have been"
I've always thought they should have made a Shelby+Convertible Combo. While the 3.9 is bullet proof, the v8 makes a lot more sense.

As to the photos being real time now... Lol. My own project is going on 4 years of "scope creep".
You are working a lot faster.

 

This is awesome! I especially love what you've done to the interior. The door panels look fantastic. That is definitely how they should have come from the factory. Pretty cool what you're doing with the custom cooling system too.

 

tbugden, inspiration for the black & silver interior came from the sixties mopars I used to see as a kid. I'm especially glad to hear you say it looks like something the factory might have (or should have) done; that was definitely the idea.

I've been pulled away from the project for a while, but I'll be back before long.

 

Well hurry back!! I have been coming on here every day looking for post about your truck.

 

OK Ragtop, so you're not in suspense too long, here's an update:

Now that the truck starts reliably and has a nearly complete cooling system, my next goal is to get it rolling (and stopping) under its own power.

This weekend I picked up a large socket to fit the front output yoke on the transfer case, and a pair of "duckbill" style retainer ring pliers for removing the lock rings inside the NP231 case. I'm pretty sure my t-case has some serious bearing wear - it sounds rough when you spin the output yoke on the front. In comparison, the 2000 year model t-case I have sounds much quieter when turning the yoke.

It's also possible that the chain is worn as well, so I'm splitting the case to have a look-see. I'll share a couple pictures once I've got it opened up.

 

I'm still working on my transfer case and I've begun removing the worn bearings - all the bearings, seals, and the chain, actually. I wanted to show one or two things, but I'm not going to post an entire rebuild sequence for the NP231 as there are many already, mostly on the Jeep sites.

There are two bearings that support the front output yoke, and the rear one of these is located in a bore in the rear half of the case. Since the bore is closed in the back, you have to "reach in" with some type of puller and pull it out by grabbing the bearing race lip - either the lower one or the upper one. To do this you have to first knock out the needle bearings which I did by positioning a small chisel between the bearings and the race and giving it a good smack.

I used parts from two different wheel pullers to then pull the race out of the bore. I placed a an old disc rotor flat on the mating surface of the case allowing the threaded ahaft of the puller to come up thru one of the holes in the rotor. With a nut on the shaft I was then able to smoothly pull the race out. This is definitely the most difficult bearing to remove in the case.

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The front bearing. This one comes out much easier.

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I received my bearing/seal kit and new chain. I was relieved to see Japanese manufactured bearings/seals were there, as advertised.

Unfortunately, life and responsibilities are continuing to crash my dreams. I am employed again (a good thing), but the job is 200 miles away from my hobby (a sucky thing). So, I will continue to slog along and make occasional weekend and holiday visits to home and, when I can, I'll grab a few minutes here and there to keep this project alive.

Last trip home I pulled the plugs and filter, shot some fogging oil into the engine, put everything back, and turned it over a few times. Looks like a cold winter ahead.

 

Looking really good.

 

Thanks Thomas, but I'll be glad when I can actually drive the thing. My obsessiveness over some things, and the limited time I have to work on it, result in a project that is taking forever.

To update a bit, I've cleaned up the transfer case and was about to put the bearings in, but ran into an issue. The rear main-shaft output bearing and the front drive shaft output bearing that I received in the rebuild kit, are sealed bearings. Those same two bearings in the t-case are not sealed, rather they are open, which allows lubricating fluid (ATF) to flow thru the bearings and into the adjacent areas. In the case of the rear main-shaft bearing especially, this is important because it provides ATF to the tail housing and lubricates the drive-shaft splines.

I contacted the supplier and their response was that they don't believe the sealed bearings are a problem as they've sold many of these kits without anyone reporting this as a problem. I explained to the guy that this is for an '89 Dakota and that there is no other way for the drive-shaft splines to receive lubrication other than thru the bearing, so he said he would contact their source for more information. He called back the next day with the same story. They obviously sell a lot of NP231 rebuild kits to Jeep owners and apparently most Jeep t-cases are using something other than a sliding splined drive-shaft off the rear output. I could have pressed the point further, but it seemed like I wasn't going to win, so I searched and found the same open style bearing at NAPA. It cost a few more dollars but I'll have the correct bearings tomorrow.

 

Hey ragged....Awesome build thread and progress. It's inspiring me to get off my a$$ and back onto my build. You may remember we 'chatted' a bit a year or more ago about my own '90 vert build. Shortly thereafter, however, work took me out of state for 9 months, and alas my truck still sits in storage partially disassembled. But, I just finished building a 3-car detach with a Lift, so I have no excuse to get started again

To refresh, I'm going with a carb'd 360 magnum build. I've decided to keep the A500 tranny, just rebuild it with Kolene steels, Ray's clutches, sonnex servos, transgo shift kit and some other beefier parts. I'm doing that in part because of the lighter spinning mass, but also because I'm hoping that eliminates drive shaft and cross member changes, and gives me the better gear ratio and OD. To that end, can you illuminate me on a few things:

1) Is the bolt patterns between the 3.9L and the 5.2 magnum (I think 5.8 is the same even though externally balanced) the same for the A500?

2) I bought a 2006 crate magnum 360/380hp...the guy I bought it from however sold the tranny to someone else and unfortunately lost the flex plate. Since the 5.9L is externally balanced were all the flexplates the same, or were they weighted/drilled differently at the factory? In otherwords, can I just order another one from Summit like this?: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bm...iew/make/dodge and be good to go? Any other weird considerations for mating to the A500?

3) In regarding the motor mounts and motor positioning. Will the V6 motor mounts work on the 5.9L magnum? You said you re-used yours on the 5.2L, but in other threads I didn't think this worked, or you had to flip them around or something? If they do work, does the tranny position end up the same on the cross member, or did you have to do some metal work for a new mount?

Keep up the great work. That black/silver interior looks incredible.