Hey'all,
I am restoring a Ramcharger... unfortunately I am on the fence about whether the body is even worth restoring... but that's another issue.
My question is with regards to the rear quarters...
I have a really solid short box from a truck project, and I was thinking about cutting it up to make some patch panels on the R/C. On the truck box, behind the wheel wells the quarter panel bends around and then there is a support to stabilize it. On the R/C, there seems to be a full inner panel that seals off the inside of the quarter panel; basically one long continuation of the inner rocker panels. Due to some of the hackjob repairs on this truck, I was wondering if that inner panel is supposed to be there? It seems to be just a dirt/mouse nest collection area. So is there any harm in leaving it wide open then? My only thought was that it was sealed up for noise control or something.
Thanks guys.

 

I'm not familiar with RC bodys but i did look at one years ago. It had more rust than steel and the whole rear quarter you could pull out. I think the lower section is a support for the body panel sort of like trunk extensions on a car. There still is a good amount of sheet metal you can get for them if you decide not to cut up the pickup bed.
https://autobodyspecialt.com/ramchar...eatured&page=1

 

Thanks for the link... that's a good source for steel. Unfortunately being up in Canada, I have not found a source for a lot of the smaller pieces, especially the cab mounts... between exchange and shipping, those parts become pretty dear coming up from the US.

 

these guys are cheaper than most for some things. floor pans will need to be modded to fit almost anyware you order them from. if you are good with metal you could possibly bend up your own cab supports. i ordered 70's ones and modded them to fit but they were a lot cheaper when i ordered them. i think i paid $300Cad all in delivered to my door without taxes/duty. if they still ship with fedex fedex will try to nail you for that after. ups or canada post are smart enough to want that money up front lol.
https://www.c2cfabrication.com/search?q=ramcharger

 

Thanks, I will check them out!
I already bought 4 rocker panels, plan to cut them up to make them long enough. I also bought one full size rear arch. However I also require front cab mounts, floor pans, cab supports, inner rockers, new 'box supports' for the back, heavy corrosion above the windshield, and also some patching in the c pillar... did I miss anything?
I just dont know when to stop and look for something better. I have a mig welder, a plasma cutter, and a 4x10 sheet of 16 gauge steel... I just know that once I start I am committed.

 

really sounds like you should look for another ramcharger if it needs that much work. really sounds yours may only be good for its drive train. if you want something cool just stick a truck cab and a flat deck and call it done.

 

The frame is mint... I am rebuilding it currently. I am dropping a 360 onto it that I pulled out of my '82 crew cab project which got the Cummins.

10 years ago I might have considered making it a pickup... but with 2 kids we need the back seat. The crew cab goes away for the winter, and then I am down a truck for half the year.

I have been looking around for another R/C, but they tend to be overpriced for their condition. Would be nice to bring up a body from the states... do you think that would be considered "essential travel' ??

 

hahaha. i get you , it seem like you either pay more for a decent vehicle or you spend a bunch of money and a crap load of time rebuilding a body. sometimes you just have to wait or look for a decent body. maybe even make a post on facebook or kijiji looking for one. may be surprised what shows up. someone may have one sitting in a barn or behind a garage or somewhere that is in better shape. i think my 89 was off the road for 5+years before i bought it and it showed but underneath was solid compared to anything else i have looked at. overall it was solid but since it needed a fuel pump and 1 brake line i wasn't able to test drive it and find out that there was no 2nd gear. it also need a universal joint, ball joints and axle seal on the passenger side but considering what i got it for it didn't seem too bad.

 

Very nice, good to seem them on the road still. I think I knew what I was getting into, but someone did a very professional bondo job on the truck, so some panels looked perfect on the surface, but very poor steel work was done underneath. I bought literally every part for the frame, so didnt so much care what the parts looked like. Every seal, bushing, spring, fuel line, brake line, etc will be new. So that's why I dont want to put a hacked together body on top of it.

Pretty from afar... but far from pretty... hard to believe what was under that paint job...


This is my summer runner.... '82 1-ton with Cummins swap...

 

So tell me, do you let him drive? He looks to be a year or two younger than my son was when I taught him. And yes, it was on a manual trans truck.