New member with two first gen trucks

[ShadowGriever]

Hello everyone,

Long time lurker on the site but have wanted to formally join for a long time. I will try to keep it brief but I apologize if this is a book for a first post. About me: North Carolina born and raised, gear head my whole life. I'm definitely one of those "Jack of all trades, master of none" types; I've worked on just about everything at least one time in my life. I am an industrial electrician/ automation equipment designer and programmer by trade but I also do a lot of computer support and car work on the side. Well that's enough about me, I would like to introduce my two projects:

Both of these trucks have very interesting stories but I will save those for another time. The first is a 1985 Power Ram 50 that had been sitting in a garage completely disassembled since 1992. I have went through just about all of the truck and rebuilt, replaced or custom made most of the truck since receiving it a little over a year ago. Need to finish rebuilding the motor and fix some cancer in the rear of the frame and it will be ready to roll.
The second is a 1980 Plymouth Arrow that had been sitting since 93 and I purchased it originally as a parts truck as the overall condition was unknown (craigslist posting) and it had no drivetrain. After pulling it out of the earth, found it to be a really solid truck. Drivers side rocker, passenger door and the bottom of both fenders were rotted but the frame and the rest of the body is clean. Previous owner had started modifying the truck for a v8 so that will be it's eventual path. I have a 318 and transmission I will be putting in eventually.
I will add pictures of the trucks and give more of the stories on the two trucks at a later time. I just wanted to say hello and I look forward to being part of the community.

[xboxrox]

Hello & Welcome Jack, my nickname is Jack too :thumbup: I'm definitely one of those "Jack of all trades, master of none" types but my specialty was Stopping Jobs until they could be made perfect on paper to exactly match the real job site...

[B-Line]

Welcome to the club!

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. 2 survivor Gen 1 trucks - nice save :thumbup:Good Gen 1's are still around but aren't as common. It'll be the minor body and trim parts that will catch guys out when trying to restore them. It is rare that a truck is laid up that long and not end up being junked for parts. Post up pics and info on what you've done with the '85, and get a build thread going when you commence work on the Arrow (a little sad that it was destined for a drivetrain swap but it's way better than going through a crusher...) Thanks!

[ShadowGriever]

Thanks for the welcome everyone! I am not having any luck adding pictures to either my post or as an album in my profile. The image uploads always fail. Image files may be too large. Once I figure it out I will put some up. I've got the vast majority of the trim and original pieces for the Power Ram, I will probably add a thread for all the work I have done on that truck since it has been quite the journey (including an emergency room visit :lmao:). The truck was originally gold, but is currently flat black. I have been calling the truck "Ramlet" since I had a 2014 Ram 1500 and then went to this truck (everyone at work made fun of the poor little thing). I also call it Dullahan which ties into my journey with rebuilding it.

As for the arrow (truck is not named yet), the interior is basically complete and the truck has the rally trim with floor console and has the color matched rims. Truck was originally yellow, but someone repainted blue and was an A/C equipped 2.6 automatic truck (snagged the compressor for the Power Ram). Unfortunately the rims are no good from sitting out through 23 Carolina mountain winters. I look forward to the power train swap since it will keep a very cool part of automotive history from being turned into a sardine can. The gentleman I bought it from was getting close to just hauling the old girl off for salvage value. Truck came with a family of snakes too, so yeah.... Good times had by all

[85Ram50]

Reduce the pixels to 800x600.

[ShadowGriever]

Thanks for the assist 85Ram50, I have added two albums in my profile with pictures of the two trucks. Nothing too amazing, early shots on the Power Ram 50 and current shots of the Arrow which is crying out for a good pressure washing.

[ShadowGriever]

I'm sure it's a little late to add more to my introduction thread but I didn't see the need to start a new one just for an update. To any that are interested I have added a new album with a few shots of the Power Ram 50 build. I have countless more pictures of the build, probably a bad habit. Thanks again everyone

[geezer101]

LOL you should see the album on my truck and it doesn't even run. Pictures are good - they tell the story you can't see. And they're a reference source when you've taken something apart or restored something and others want the intel. Especially with repairing or modding the stuff that isn't readily available or is overlooked. Got a library on an online storage site?

[ShadowGriever]

I've had a really long journey with the Power Ram 50 over the past year and a half or so. Countless repairs and upgrades as well as countless issues and failures. But that is the enjoyment of working on a classic(ish) vehicle. I've done minor to major repairs on countless vehicles over the years but the ole Ramlet has been very unique. At some point I am going to start organizing the timeline of what I have done so far but it may take me a bit. I don't have a library online right now, once I fire the build back up full steam I will look into setting one up.
Random side note: I'm really enjoying the user rating system on this site. I haven't been a freshman anywhere for quite some time and seeing as how you have a doctorates, I guess that makes you Dr. Geezer101 (awesome! :grin:)

[geezer101]

Oh god no lol. You put a 'Dr' in front of my user name and I'll have a congo line of lawsuits waiting. These little Mitsubishi trucks are something else. You hear about Toyotas legendary box channel frame and reliability but not how 'ugh' they are to drive and Nissan has their fan base but Mitsubishi is the quiet achiever. A little mod here and there, swap a part with a big brother they'll fight all day every day and are literally unkillable until you force them to cough up a handful of metal from never maintaining them. And for a an 80's tin crate workhorse, they drive like a car and don't feel jittery.