I think the motor skipped timing on my V6, and it's been sitting for a few months as I searched for a new motor.



Yesterday I picked up a V8 auto truck for the motor. It's mostly rotted out and it has 185k miles on it, but it still runs, drives, shifts, and 4x4 works great. It's an SLT so it comes with power mirrors, windows, locks, cruise control, an Infinity sound system, and working A/C! In fact, every electrical thing on the truck works! Also has a limited slip rear and a ladder rack in very good shape. I think I want to swap all of this good stuff over to my 5-speed truck.





If anyone in the CT area needs a good tranny, first come first serve, I'll let ya know when I have it out. It shifts into all gears perfect including over drive (based on my 40 mile drive home). Transfer case is also good. Otherwise the truck is going to scrap once I pull everything I want out of it.

Busy painting a house and finishing the Chevy so I'll probably get to this next week.

 

I wish you were closer to IL as there are a few things I'd be interested in from it... I thought you said it was "all rusted out".... it don't look bad at all.

 

Ha yeah from that angle it looks okay. But frames rotted and already been patched. Holes in crossmembers. Rear wheelarches rotted enough to drop a baseball through. Tailgate axle things rotted off so it's only held by the latch. Fender flares hiding a buttload of rust.

It's sad

im using quite a bit of the truck but I you want anything thats ship-able I can do for the cost of shipping.

 

Hey Tbugden,

Congratulations on the donor truck!! I want a V8 bad..... Just got to get around to it!!
FWIW I believe a complete donor is the way to go and then scrap the rest. Dodges can be had pretty cheap.... and then you will have all the little misc. parts needed for the swap.

There are 2 parts I would like to buy from you, if you dont use them.
1. The fuse and relay panel under the hood... with as much of the wiring you could spare.....
2. The fuel tank with pump..... This however would be hard to ship....

For either of these parts I would gladly purchase.

Thanks

 

Hey ragtop, I'll try and get back to you next week about that stuff. Not sure what I'll want on wiring but I'm sure I can part with some. Currently I have two extra tanks including the one in the parts truck and both have returnless style pumps. I will be retaining the returnless as otherwise I would have to swap fuel rails--a testament to having a complete donor truck, as you said!

Anyways pretty much whatever you want I'll throw to you for the cost of shipping...if you wanna drop some extra for my beer fund, I won't complain, but I'm not looking to make any money. I might put the tranny on CL for $50 or something just for ****s, but if anyone here wants it like I said...come take it.

 

Im in no hurry. And thanks!!!

 

So what should I do for headers? For now I'm gonna run the '94 smaller outlet headers with my big '93 y pipe just because I need the truck running with as little money into it as possible. Maybe I'll end up with an exhaust leak but honestly it seems like the headers and y pipe might fit tight enough to seal okay. But down the road I want to maybe go with some stainless headers just because. Anyone know of good headers that'll mate well with the 2.5" y pipe?

Shortly I'm going to let this thread die and start a new one on the engine swap in particular. I will try to be very detailed in my descriptions and take lots of pictures.

 

oh that's how I did that... rolled the screen down too far and put a post I intened for this thread into a totally unrelated one from 4 years ago...
Anyways I have that with my own 96, just replaced driver door and fender last weekend, have pass side yet to go but that one will take me longer since I need to do some rocker repair while door and fender are off that side.
pass side seems worse rusted than driver side. Had to replace driver door because the bottom hinge busted out... and the door was really not bad at all, certainly not as bad as pass side one. I have seen MUCH worse Dakota doors with intact hinges.
Wish my kid would finish his Ramcharger so I could use my lift again... a 2 post lift that I can't get to does me absolutely no good..... but I don't do ground level work as well as I used to any more, I gotta get the truck up where I can work on that rocker at eye level....

I pulled my wheel flares and all that black plastic molding off, because my replacement fender and door came without them... and I like how trucks without this look better anyways. The driver side of bed is still in great shape, pass side will need a wheel arch patch panel. For now I duct taped an inch above the rot and sandblasted the rot, then slathered it with POR 15 to hopefully slow down the deterioration.... and put the wheel flares bacon just on the bed. Youre right... they hide a lot. but also can trap a lot of moisture to aggravate the rust issue even more.

 

I really wish I had the ability to deal with body rust. I mean technically I sorta kinda fixed my wheel arch rust .. but it's a one hundred footer. Not too upset as eventually I'll find a rot free bed from a southern truck or just do a flatbed.

Today I only had a few hours; the parts truck ran for the last time; next time it moves it'll be winched on to a flatbed a half ton or so lighter. Pulled the ladder rack and got everything unbolted to slide the bed to access the fuel pump... Remember I gotta convert my '93 to a returnless system.

 

Actually, no, you don't.

https://www.summitracing.com/search/...r-style/return

The one at https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tnk-afpr1/overview/ is not only fairly inexpensive (down about what the regulator alone costs for my 1988 to fit into the TBI unit!) but includes a FP gauge, to a) adjust it out and b) let you troubleshoot easier.

Put it in the engine bay, plumb the feed and return lines to it, and run its output to your fuel rail.

Compare those against the conversion costs *grins*

RwP