1986 Power Ram Sport

I looked forever for a 4x4 pickup that could get better than 25mpg. I tend to prefer imports like Toyota, but I just don't want to pay $5 grand for a Toyota with 300k miles!..and nobody seems to get better than 20mpg with them anyway.

This dirty little Dodgy pickup hung around Craigslist for months until I finally started researching them...built by Mitsubishi, you say? OLD Mitsubishi?? Some of the Mitsubishis they sent to the US were junk, but this one seems to be just like the L200 pickups I used to see all over the 3rd world. (My last 4x4 rig was a 2005 Toyota Land Cruiser Troopie Model 70- not available in the US! What a beast!)

This has 180k miles on the clock, all the factory stuff A/C, smog, is still there...somebody took good care of this little guy. Only rust is on the driver door, only dent is to the front left corner. Lookit all those gauges! Cool mudflaps! Awesome cargo bar tie downs!?! The bed has zero rust because it had this funky collapsible canvas top and rubber bed liner.

I already ordered a bonafide Weber from Triangle Auto Parts online, plus a small handful of jets for 8000' above sea level (mountains of Colorado) PLUS a snorkel kit to mount on the Weber because a 4x4 has got to cross some rivers!

Hi and welcome to mightyram. The early trucks look and handle more like cars and although they're not exactly the most plush ride you'll ever own, they are tough as and can handle stuff that other 4x4's would baulk at. The A/C is nice bonus though. Some of the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen parts are interchangeable so if you finally manage to break something, you can upgrade your truck or at least be able to source parts for it.

Thanks geezer. I'm looking forward to getting it running better and seeing what sort of gas mileage I can get...and accessing the boonies for camping trips etc...

I have its twin here in the 'burgh, but I wish it was in as good of shape as yours. Salt destroyed some of the body, and half a$$ed repairs did most of the rest of the body in. Luckily, I have another 86 with a good body to swap with it to make one good truck

Welcome aboard!

Thanks guys! You've built a great community here.

Just finished the Weber carb swap today! Redline talked me into the 38 outlaw rather than the 34/36. I hope the larger carb still gives optimum gas mileage- I'd love to get 28 mpg.

Depending on your elevation, you may need to rejet the carb for high altitude. Regardless, it is highly unlikely you can achieve 28 mpg with a gas 2.6 in a 4x4 - the diesel 4x4s have a tough time getting that kind of economy. The window sticker says 18 / 23 for fuel economy. If you do achieve it, we all want to know how you did it!

I'm sure you're right, Pennyman...I guess I'll just have to enjoy my big horsepower! And I'll bet the Weber will get better mpgs than the Mipuni.

Got any pics yet? The 38/38 is becoming more popular and any insight or info on gluing it to your engine will invariably help someone else out.
Show us yer carbs dude! :thumbup:

Geezer, NOW you ask for pictures??? Just kidding, I wish I had taken pictures as I went along, but I assumed I was the Newbie and all you guys had been through this countless times. I assumed the 38/38 was close enough to the same thing as the 32/34 that I wasn't doing anything "share worthy" or "picture worthy."

I can take a couple pics of my more or less finished conversion, but it isn't very neat or tidy, I'm just a shade-tree mechanic; a hack. I don't think anyone should learn anything from my techniques??? They work ok for me but I'm no pro and nobody is going to put my pictures in a car magazine!!
Bill

You're using a carb in a non standard application so anything goes. Except a throttle return spring stretched over a foot long and attached to the wiring harness (there's do it yourself VS destroy it yourself). If we all had access to resources we'd either be fabricating mechanical works of art in our own fully equipped workshops or handing cash over to someone else so they can do it for us, but this is the real world. And you work with what ya got and have the satisfaction of knowing you did it. Very few of us here are either fully trained or qualified as mechanics but you really don't need to be. Never know, you might revisit your work and improve on it over time... that's how your skills evolve.