Hello,
I am new to this section but not to this forum. I had a 2009 1500 and got rid of it because I hated paying for it! I have also owned a 2003 and 2005 Ram and they all had Hemi's. I also had a '98 Dakota 5.2l, a SRT-4 Neon, and last but not least, a slant six turned 318 '71 Dart which I still own. I now have a Nissan Sentra, go ahead and laugh, but it gets 30+ mpg.

Anyway, my grandfather has a 1985 D150 that he bought new. He used it as his plumbing work truck, but it is good shape overall. I am going to talk him into giving it to me so I can have a toy. It is a 318 automatic. It is in New Jersey and I am in Florida. I am moving to Virginia in the next few weeks; I am in the Navy. After I get to Virginia I would go get the truck.

The truck has been sitting for a few years. If I go get it, I am going to put in a new battery, every fluid, possibly tires, possibly brakes, possibly rubber hoses, and anything else it needs. I am wondering if you, the 1st Gen guru's, know of any issues that I should address other then the obvious. Example, do the '85 318's have a plastic timing gear that becomes brittle? Does anything else need to be replaced that would not be obvious? By obvious I mean, something inside a cover that I would not look for?

Thanks in advance!

 

Okay, what about throwing a 4 bbl Holley on? Anybody know if there is a kickdown adapter? Throttle adapter? A/C, alternator, or accessory clearance issues?

 

Are you headed for Oceana or ***? I hope it is Oceana for your sake traffic wise. Anyway I hope you enjoy your tour.

Sounds to me like you are going to do everything you need to in order to get it back on the road properly. Internally the engine and tranny are pretty much bullet proof and I personally believe "if it ain't broke don't fix it". As far as a 4 barrel there are a lot of them out there and I have never heard of anyone having a problem with changing over.

 

I am leaving Milton, Fl and headed to Oceana for VFA-11. In fact, they are going to sea rather soon so I may wait to take on this project until after I get home.

I saw your profile, when did you retire? I used to drink with one of the few team guys when I was in BOOST/NSI in Road Island.

As to the truck, I may even have my cousin go look at it for me so I know what I am in for. He builds rock crawlers for a living and has a pretty good knowledge about vehicles as well. I was going to get the truck running for now and later on add some goodies like 4bbl, headers, exhaust, cam, Magnum heads, limited slip, and wheels. But wait, VA has emission testing right?

 

No emissions tests here in VA. Annual inspection includes a look to see that all equipment is still there and hooked up but no testing, yet. I retired after 20 in Sept. 1990.

 

In Virginia, can I use headers if I run an AIR tube into them like the stock manifolds? The emissions equipment would still be there. How strict are they for the inspection?

Otherwise, is it possible to live in VA but have the truck registered out of state since I am in the military? I know I had a truck registered in NJ for 5 years while stationed in FL.

 

How strict they are depends on where you go. But you have an 85 and as of Jan 1 2010 your truck is exempt from emissions testing because it is 25 years or older. If you want the exact laws I really don't know about all the specifics but this site might help. If you need more info the State Police are pretty good about questions.

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/ci.../emissions.asp

You can register your vehicle in your home of record as long as you keep that states drivers license unless something has changed that I don't know about.

 

I like the 25 year rule. In that case, I will register it in VA. That leaves me open to the mods that I want to do.

Thanks. My name is Luke by the way.

 

Check the brake and fuel lines. 100% replace the tires if it's been sitting a couple years. Check for rot on the frame, rocker panels, floors. Replace fluids and put some dry gas in the tank along with some fresh gas. Long as the carb isn't gummed up it should fire.

A 4 barrel is going to be on the edge of over-carbureting this motor. Nothing larger than 600cfm. Check to see if it has a 2 barrel on there as you might need to replace the manifold too if you want that 4bbl.

 

I have a dual plane 4 bbl manifold sitting on my Dart that I can steal. I was also thinking of throwing headers on it while we had it in the shop. We can weld up a crossover with some cats and mufflers too.

As far as I know, there is no rust. I was going to try and drain the gas tank, but that may not be possible if it was full.

I just found out it had around 150K on it, so I am wondering if it is going to need a transmission rebuild. I originally thought it was under 100K miles.