Picked up a 1983 Dodge TD today

Today I bought a 1983 Dodge Power Ram D-50. The truck has some rust, has high miles, (has either 231k miles or 331k miles lol) It also needs a new radiator and head gasket. Now for the positive side, it's been lowered, has tinted windows, has a carbon fiber stack in the bed, has pillar gauges for the boost, can easily hit 22 psi, and it has a new 4D56 head. Can't wait to get it fixed and drive it! :wrench: It's definitely a head turner and conversation starter. It's a 2 owner vehicle that was owned by a man from 1983- early 2015. Still has the original stereo, jack, owners manual, and all kinds of receipts dating back to 1983... Then he sold it to a guy who owns a custom vehicle shop and today it was sold to me.

Hi Drake TD, welcome to mightyram. Out of all the 'interesting' trim and body colour combos, this is a really nice looking stock Ram. The pics make the interior look burgundy - is that the actual colour or is it brown? Most of the paint looks solid other than the hood and that patch on the door. Annoys me that you guys got one piece door glass and Oz ended up with quarter glass (they look fugly :shakehead:)

the interior is a reddish/burgandy for now. soon to be black hopefully! most of the trim is in good enough shape to dye it black, carpet won't be too much, and I've got my eye on some 1999-2003 Dodge Durango leather seats (charcoal with dodge emblem on then) that look like they'd fit well. The hood was sanded down to give it a hot rod look by previous owner but it will be getting painted flat black for a temporary fix until I paint the whole thing (if i do) I was curious so i lifted up the carpet and there is also rust in the floor pan front corners where the body mounts are.

Rust in those corners especially in that area below the door hinges is common - must be a blocked drain hole thing. I like the burgundy myself - way nicer than Mitsubishi poo brown or herringbone stitched tan and beige(ish). Some fresh black carpet would make it look great.

Great looking truck and what a find! That rust around the mounts can also come from a bad windshield gasket that is letting water in at the corners and it runs down the a pillars. Welcome to the forum!

Thanks I'll have to check those out. I've got the interior gutted out and I'll be getting the new seats and carpet soon and dying all the interior pieces black. I've also got the head out and ordered an all new gasket kit for the engine and a radiator and I got all new fluids for it. Getting the head machined today too.

Fun little truck. Way to post pictures right away. Keeps the veterans on this site happy! Keep us in the loop on your progress. Post some build threads of what you do and keep the pictures coming. There's a small diesel following but they are still out there. Welcome!

Stripped out the interior today. Anything in the one pic could possibly be for sale. The dash is a real b**** to remove, but I finally got it out. I dyed all the interior pieces black with Krylon Fusion black satin spray paint, so hopefully it holds up well. I will be making door panels with either carpet or vinyl at the top, then black diamond plating at the bottom. Need to weld in new metal in 3 of the 4 cab mounts first so there are no holes in the floor. After that I'll get a new Hurst shift knob and a new shift boot. 'll be putting in seats from a 1999-2003 Durango. Should be fairly easy, I'll use the stock seat rails, remove the frame rails from the Durango seats, and then weld them together. They are leather with manual reclining and lumbar, but have power front and back and up/down. $50 for both and they are in great shape! Then I'll get black carpet and eventually a stereo after I figure out how to get the doors to lock lol. Or maybe I'll just get a decent stereo with a removeable face plate or get a full system when I fix the door locks. Anyways the interior will be very nice and I want to keep the exterior looking as original as possible. I may just get new tires for it and get a bed mat and some brighter headlights. But first I need to save up for a 4d56 head and whatever else I may need to get it running again.

The previous owner is also giving me an extra clutch and flywheel, and also a matching camper top for the bed. The all new gasket kit came today and my new radiator will be here soon. I got new coolant, oil, oil filter, coolant, power steering fluid, wiper fluid, and rear diff fluid waiting to go in it too. If there is anything else you think I should definitely replace let me know.

Whoops I accidently said coolant twice... Or maybe it was on purpose because of how easy these things overheat haha. But I'll probably have more parts for sale eventually too. Hopefully this thread interests some people or they at least think the finished product will be cool... or somebody can learn something from me or get an idea for a mod for their truck.

There's a thread here somewhere about the basics on getting your boat seaworthy. Check the other things like brake fluid condition, the pads and brakes in general, filters (oil,fuel and air), if it has a centre tailshaft carrier bearing make sure it's still solid along with the uni joints (they get really noisy and make a small Mitsubishi truck sound like a T-55 tank from the inside - and it will wreck the output shaft bearing in the gearbox). Seeming you're not going for a resto on the Ram what look are going for in the cab? Might I suggest a retro style 3 spoke dished steering wheel and a nice billet machined gear knob for a starting point? Door cards are easy enough to make and there are a number of threads here that will inspire you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geezer101

There's a thread here somewhere about the basics on getting your boat seaworthy. .

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http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin...and-do-it-ASAP

And keep in mind we have a gallery, where you can create a photo album!

Well I didn't get too much done today. I dumped out the brake fluid that was in the reservoir and put new brake fluid in, and I also topped off the clutch fluid with the brake fluid. Then I removed the spare tire because it was rusty and I couldn't reach the rear end to change the fluid with it in the way. I'll probably just keep it off to shave some weight and so it doesn't fall off later. I changed out the rear diff fluid and it seemed to be in decent shape. The oil was pretty dirty but there was hardly any metal shavings sticking to the magnetic drain plug. That's about it but I'm picking up a new passenger seat tomorrow.

Things seem to be looking pretty good for the project now. I got most of the interior plastics put back in, the gauge cluster, and the stereo back in. I ordered new black carpet today and also a black carbon fiber steering wheel cover. I also got a great deal on a brand new 4D56 head on Ebay today, I ended up paying $460 and that's shipped to my house. It's complete with the cam and rockers and valves so all I need is my glow plugs and injectors from the old head. I also caught a break on the old head because the previous owner did swap in a 4D56 head so the injectors will bolt into the new one. I still need to find a nice drivers seat, make a headliner, make door panels, install the passenger seat, order seatbelts, fix the rust by the cab bolts, and a few other things but I can finally see the end.

New seat compared to the old.

Whoops, here it is.

Your original seats are in really good shape. Wish mine were like that :shakehead:

I thought you said that it had a new head on it? Why would it already be needing replacement?

The previous owner had swapped in a 4D56 head awhile ago and then the head gasket blew. I bought it with a blown head gasket and he told me the head was fine, however when I took the head off and to the machine shop, I found out the head was warped past repair. So I just bought a new 4D56 head to save myself some troubles.

Oh, that would explain your cooling concerns too. Well glad you were able to resolve it so easily. Keep the pictures coming.

The new head came in 4 days early. I stayed up all night tonight getting it in and I'm almost done besides a few misc. nuts and bolts that I need to finish up and then I'll need to change the oil and put coolant in and I'll see how she runs. The carpet will be here sometime next week, and I also ordered a new led dome light and a rubber pad for the clutch pedal. I also found a drivers seat in great condition that matches my other one for $50, so I'm going tomorrow to pick that up. After I get that, I will have everything for the interior besides a headliner, sun visors, door panels, and seat belts.

shiny brand new head. old vs new and the new one after I put the threads, glow plugs, and injectors in it.

That's a great looking first gen, probably my favorite color and decal pattern I've seen. And loving the mods already, that will be one badass truck. Definitely makes me want to get a first gen with a diesel!

The new head is completely in and it's turning over but not starting. It definitely turns over better than with the old head and it sounds like it really wants to start. I want to say the truck isn't getting fuel right now. the fuel lines off the injectors are empty so I'm going to look into it and hopefully get it running soon. If anybody has any other suggestions of what it could be please let me know. I've tried starting fluid.

Are the lines meant to be primed before connecting it up? I'm not up to speed on diesel 101 - might need a container to catch fuel and try turning it over until you get fuel flow before hooking it up. Just a suggestion.

check your timing, you may be 180 off. This is a common problem with head repairs. Missing the cam gear timing by one tooth is another very common problem to happen.
Prime your injectors also, possibly you have a vapor bubble locked up in the line.
The head looks fantastic, luv to see new parts like those.

I'm with droppedmitsu on the color. Not sure about decals, but the color is nice. If you ever get a chance to make a video, I would luv to hear what that pipe sounds like with it coming out of the bed that way.

Well I finally got fuel into the fuel lines but it's still not starting. Tomorrow my brother's friend's dad who is a diesel mechanic is coming over to look at it. Besides being frustrated with the engine, I did get some interior pieces put back in and I went and picked up a matching drivers seat in great condition for $50.

Sorry geezer and brad I didn't see your comments since I didn't realize there was a page 2 already. I loosened up the fuel lines and turned it over until fuel came out. I put them back on and kept trying and the lines seem to be close to full now. When I took the timing belt off for the head repair I marked on the belt where it should line up with the tooth, but it's always a possibility. This is the first vehicle i've had with a timing belt (and first diesel) so what could I do to make sure the timing is correct?

Found some old rolling shots of my truck that the previous owner took. Figured you guys might like them. I followed these guys on Instagram way before the truck was for sale and always thought it was the coolest little truck. So yes I was pretty excited when I saw it on Craigslist so I had to buy it lol. If you guys have an Instagram, check that account out. The shop builds some pretty sweet trucks.

And thanks for the comments droppedmitsu and brad, As far as I know the truck came from the factory with the decals. Besides the lowering kit, rims, exhaust stack, window tint, decal on the windshield and back window, hood painted black, and possibly the grill and front bumper being painted black it's stock. The rear bumper is also removed. The guy I bought it from also has a camper top and spare clutch and flywheel that he said I could get sometime.

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Not much interaction going on and I don't like feeling like I'm talking to myself :( But anyways started on the new black carpet. Pretty dirty since I had to lay the old carpet over it to make the holes and trim it to size. It's ACC carpet and supposedly "Custom fit" but it was over a foot too long and wide and doesn't have pre-cut holes for seats, shifter, etc. I guess you could say it's a royal PITA but hopefully the finished product looks good

95% finished with the carpet. There's a few spots under the pedals that don't want to lay flat and it's not letting the gas pedal go all the way to the floor (which I'll be doing a lot) However it does look pretty good cleaned up. After I used the old carpet as a stencil for the new one, I layed it back down in the truck and installed the new carpet over it, as I figured it'd help insulate the truck, keep down road noise, and make the floor feel softer. I also got the entire interior back together which isn't pictured. Still need to get stuff to do the door panels and headliner then I'll almost have everything I need. I also put the sun faded door sills back in to hold the carpet in place. I'd eventually like to find a new set as one of mine is missing 2 inches or so on one side and the other one has a few big chips of the plastic missing. I may just paint them black for now but when I get the new ones I'll probably get them hydro dipped in carbon fiber print. Also, I ran a fused wire to the battery for the power seats and ran another power wire off that for the passenger side, and then made a ground wire on each side. I also spliced the wires on the two seats and put connectors on them (similar to what you slide onto the stereo prongs) and put the prong style ones on the wires I ran in the truck. After I get the seats installed it will be as easy as plugging in 2 ground and 2 power wires to make them work.

A little trick I did with my carpet was use a heat gun to warm up the backside then pressed it flat. As for underlay look at Cool It sound mat it's a hell of a lot cheaper then Dynomat. http://www.summitracing.com/int/part...4720/overview/

That is a normal feeling you get on long builds. I know. I have like 5 pages of build thread over 4 years. I would pre wright things in word then paste to the site. Then add in the pictures. All it took was 1 time loosing what I typed because the system thought I had left the page open. I think it's set up for like 90 minutes of posting time before it dumps the data from the page. But people are fallowing. Just look at the view counter every day. Mine is way up there. It just takes patients.

Thanks Fordubishi I'll have to try the heat gun tomorrow. I don't know if it makes a difference but it's right under where the vinyl foot pad is and it's also the area with the insulated backing. And also ty camoit, I'm pretty new to the site and didn't realize there was a view counter. Was going to ask where but I found it :thumbup:

That's how ACC carpets come, they are custom "molded"(meaning made to he shape of the floor pan) not custom fit. I find it much better to be that big so you can custom fit it to your vehicle, as not all vehicles are created equal and not all are "stock". Some, had buckets, some had benches, also etc.


Looks good though, a new carpet can make the truck look brand new inside again.

you can also use a hand steamer to reshape the carpet to fit. Part of the reason the carpet is not fitting around the pedals is they allowed for the differences in the tranny tunnels between the automatic and the manual trannys - the auto tunnels are wider - which causes the carpet to lump under the gas pedal in a manual tranny truck

The new carpet looks awesome :thumbup: I'm yet to find any aftermarket vehicle carpet manufacturer that makes a 'true to fit' replacement carpet. Some of the carpets I've seen were just - terrible. This is another one of those jobs on my to do list. Can't wait to see how the new seats will look!

You can also do a relief cut with a sharp utility knife then use self sticking carpet tape on the back to pull the edges back together. I Had to do that to mine in the passengers side under the heater area.

So I'm about 99% sure my timing is off 180*. Talked on the phone with a diesel mechanic and he said that's about the only thing it could be. Which makes sense because when the new head arrived 4 of the valves were sticking out and 4 were flush with the bottom of the head. If anybody can help me out or give me some helpful tips on what I'm looking for and how to fix it it'd be greatly appreciated. Plus the quicker it's running the quicker I'll post a running video:thumbup:

Sorry I haven't been on in forever but unfortunately I haven't made any progress engine wise. I've got the interior almost finished up and removed the plasti-dip from the front bumper so it's a nice chrome now but if anything I've went backwards on the engine progress. It would turn over forever but not start. I put all the timing marks where they should be and still no luck. It seemed like it jumped time and it made what sounded like a grinding sound. I took the valve cover off and there was a U shaped piece of metal broke in 2 just laying on the top of the head. I think it came off something connected to the cam... Looks like I'll either have to pay high dollar for a rebuild or have to take it to a shop to fix it because I'm done messing with the engine myself. I was excited to start driving it after winter passed but I guess it had other plans.

Been very busy with school and haven't had much spare cash to work on the truck. I've been buying and selling cars and atv's these past few months and just bought a motorcycle so I haven't had much money at the same time and I have no clue what it's going to cost to fix so I've been putting it off. The interior is basically finished besides a headliner, sun visors, and the seats need bolted down. Put a makeshift shift boot in since the original was ripped but will get a black leather one sometime. Also just ordered a black dash mat. But for now the interior looks pretty good to me. Still can't figure out the engine problem, put it in time, bled the lines, and double checked everything and it's still not firing. I'm starting to lean towards the engine having low compression and needing rings or something else that could have went bad or overheated when the head gasket blew. I'm starting to just lean towards forking over 3k to get the whole thing rebuilt since it's starting to look pretty cool and I wouldn't mind keeping it awhile

That cabin is lookin' seeeexxy Drake. Shifter boots are cheap - you'll find one that will tie in nicely with the interior theme you're building. Maybe a billet shifter knob too. The black dash board and door trims always look like they mean business (as apposed to Mitsubishi's lovely poo brown :rolleyes:)
p.s. those Ram seats are killer! :grin:

Thanks. I must say the seats look pretty good for what I paid for them. $25 for the passenger seat and $50 for the drivers seat! I've already got the power wires ran for them also. They are extremely comfortable also.

Good to have an update Drake! I had almost forgotten about that little truck. Sorry to hear about your engine struggles. I hope it can be resolved easily and for less money than 3k.

This has been a great narrative of what you're up to with this truck. The interior looks incredible (I'll send you a pic of the D50 4x4 TD i just bought from Reno that is trashed and covered in a fine film of desert dust and you'll feel much better).

Sorry if the following is stuff you already know and have checked, just for the sake of redundancy, better to say too much than too little.

As for the engine, it seems like worst case scenario you can get away with another $460 and slap on a new head. Best case scenario, you can scavange parts from the head that was warped beyond repair. You can steal all of the camshaft supports and rocker assembly.

Maybe the timing belt broke or slipped and you jammed the valve up and damaged the camshaft supports. Have you checked the timing by removing the plastic timing cover and looking for the pointer on the cam (at 3 o'clock) and checking the indicator on the crank shaft (should be 0 degrees TDC, and the indicator is at about 1 o'clock). Another easy way is to take the valve cover off and wiggle the rocker arms. with #1 at TDC on the compression stroke, neither of the rockers should wiggle, but both rockers on #4 should wiggle.

There is a similar timing indicator for the IP thats at about 11 or 12 o'clock.


What is really weird about your situation is that it turned over just fine at first, then started to make a grinding sound, and now broke something in the head. Seems like the timing belt must be toast, or your camshaft sprocket is slipping on the shaft (is there a keyway visible?).

Sorry for the rambling post.

I hope you get re-inspired to get it going, it looks like such a cool truck. I'm happy to help with troubleshooting, send me a message. (I'm a mechanic on tug boats, so most of the engines I work on are huge 2000 HP locomotive engines, but diesels nonetheless).

I have been very preoccupied, but I got lucky and found a 1983 4x4 Ram 50 diesel on CL and purchased it last night. Only 84,000 miles and the engine runs great. Frame is a little rusty and the transmission is not the greatest but the engine was what I wanted. I figured I could swap the engines then sell the truck and not have too much into it.

Here it is. 1983 Ram 50 TD, 3" lift, brand new 30" tires, rust free bed, very nice interior, 85k original miles. Engine will be swapped info mine and this will be sold as a project or parted out. Hope to have the swap done in a few weeks. I will take pics of the process.

if the frame is good, I am interested - PM me.

Here are some pre-swap pictures of the 2 diesels parked beside each other, pretty big difference if you ask me! 5 inches shorter than stock and 4 inches taller than stock. I decided to not paint the hood factory color since it would look too "new" compared to the rest of the faded paint so I removed the temporary black paint and am going to leave the patina look. I will be clear coating it after it rusts a little more. More than likely I will get 4 clear headlights with red square halos to put into the little Ram after I swap the engines and call it a day. I also got a Hurst shifter out of the big one, and the fabric on the underside of the hood.

Looks like fun man! Wish I was closer and I'd offer my services!

So much "fun"... I don't think Dodge and Mitsubishi designed these engines to come out with the body on. 2 more engine/Trans bolts, exhaust manifold and turbo, and a few misc wires and the engine will be ready to pull out of the little truck. I've been spending most of my time working on my K10 pickup that caught fire last week, nothing like having 3 projects at once. Ready to get the little Ram running so I can sell the big one and continue with my K10.

I have been making some progress. Engine from the little Ram is sitting in the engine bay ready to pull out. Everything is completely disconnected, just need to put the trans in neutral and engine will be free from the trans. I think on the other truck I am going to take a different approach and remove the engine/trans as 1 to save time. I'm using basically everything from the new truck, such as the starter, alternator, whole engine, and turbo. I'm using my power steering pump, cold air intake, battery, and new radiator. I'll also probably swap out the valve covers. I will also need to trade the oil pans on the trucks, as the 4x4 and rwd have different shaped pans and also different power steering pumps and lines. I pulled the head off to look at the engine, and the valves looked good and so did everything else. I'm confused about that engine. I also discovered the turbo was fully caked in oil.

Engine is completely out of the grey Ram and the engine in the Power Ram is ready to pull out. I'm free tomorrow-Sunday so I'll see if I can't get it running by then! I stopped by the store and got new coolant and diesel fuel cleaner, and I am going to order a new pan gasket from Rock Auto tomorrow morning. Not sure if I am going to keep the engine out and put the pan gasket on then or get the engine set it and hooked up and install the pan afterwards. Depending on when the gasket comes it may not be done until next week. I am going to order the halo headlights also, bolt the leather seats down, and clear coat the hood.

Good engine is out. Power steering pump was switched over. Oil pans looked very similar so I didn't mess with swapping them. I also switched out the oil cooler and lines. Tried for 30 minutes to get the imput shaft into the engine with no luck. I don't think it's an easy task to begin with but after 7 hours today I was very tired. Hopefully it can be completed tomorrow or at least this weekend. Just need oil, filter, power steering fluid, and I'm going to swap the valve cover since my old one had new gaskets. Then I will empty the fuel tank to be on the safe side.

Finished with truck. New engine is in with new fluids and it runs and drives.

I took the truck on a 2.5 hour one way trip today (around 5 hours total) Truck got around 30 mpg and I wasn't very easy on it and I also had 600 lbs of 37" rims and tires in the back of the bed. I did have a few issues.

1. Truck rides terrible... to be expected from a 30 year old lowered truck. It needs an alignment. Front crossmember bottomed out many times.
2. Starter took a crap when I got to my destination. It got stuck and I had to disconnect the battery terminal. Bump started it to get it home. That shouldn't be a huge deal.
3. This is pretty serious... truck spit a TON of oil in the engine bay. When I got there it had probably spit out a quart at the minimum. It was literally everywhere. Left side of engine bay, right side of engine bay, both sides of the radiator, out the valve cover, oil pan, was on the bottom of the hood, bottom of the skid plate and there was a huge puddle on the ground after I let it sit. The guy I was meeting knew a good bit about diesel trucks and thought I was driving the truck too fast on the interstate and my RPM's were too high. (80-85 mph with the weight in the bed) Thought the rear end ratio may need adjusted after the engine swap. On the way home I kept it at 55 mph and drove it like a grandpa. Just got home and under the hood looks the exact same. Not sure what this could be, the truck seemed to run good. Could I have possibly put too much oil in it?

I put 6.3 quarts because that's what it recommended for the 4x4 when changing filter (mine came from a 4x4 and still has 4x4 oil pan, 2wd recommended 5.8 quarts) I put in 6.5 quarts because I also put the oil cooler from the 4x4 in and it was empty. I figured that would be about right. I did have to install the oil cooler differently than the old one was, could I have possibly hooked up the 2 lines that go to the oil cooler backwards and that's what is causing the issue?

Hi, Drake...sounds like the oil cap was OFF, and if it wasn't, I'd first check the gasket on the oil cap. Please keep in mind, I drive a 2nd generation, so the caps are likely different. This is just a suggestion. Since I'm not familiar with diesel OR 1st generations, I'm keeping my suggestions minimal.

A good report, despite the Exxon Valdeez experience.

If it's leaking that bad, it should be easy to find. Clean all of the oil off everything. Refill the engine with oil. Pop the hood and let it run for a while, watch for leaks. If there are none, try revving it a little and watching it. Eventually you will find the leak.

The new starter is in and it's working. I tried starting the truck up and it would only turn over, it never sounded like it wanted to start. On the way home the pillar gauge never showed the exhaust temp going over 800. I drained the radiator and there was no oil or anything in it. I am going to get degreaser and clean the engine out before I do anything. Any suggestions on what I should look at or check?

I'd wager the oil is shorting out ignition wires. If the wires have oil saturated on them, and/or the distributor cap is oily, I'd start there. As I understand, the 1st generations also have some sort of ceramic block related to the coil in the enginie compartment. Oil shorting that out?

Royster - his truck is a diesel - no ignition wires at all - or did you respond to the wrong post?

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Originally Posted by Lsguy

If it's leaking that bad, it should be easy to find. Clean all of the oil off everything. Refill the engine with oil. Pop the hood and let it run for a while, watch for leaks. If there are none, try revving it a little and watching it. Eventually you will find the leak.

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I'd check all the normal stuff first.

Oil cap
Oil filter
Oil plug
Oil pan gasket
Head gasket
Valve cover gasket
Vale cover air inlet (If applicable)
Any small hoses or fittings that have oil running through or past them
Oil sending units.

Those off the top of my head. But what you are talking about isn't a drip, that's a big leak. From the sound of it, it's either something pressurized or something that would drop onto the accessory belt and get slung everywhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pennyman1

Royster - his truck is a diesel - no ignition wires at all - or did you respond to the wrong post?

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I really gotta quit smoking crack.

Both starters are good, but both solenoids were shot. Bump started it and it ran fine. Haven't pinpointed the oil issue yet. Had some fun with it though. It's definitely not a gasser lol.

After a long delay from the auto parts store the new starter is in. Put it in and it sounded like it was trying to start a lot more powerfully. However it still didn't start. Battery is very large,I think 1000 cca. It was about 70 degrees outside. Didn't check the charge on the battery but I even hooked up a battery that was larger than that one with jumper cables and it still wouldn't start. Then I rolled it down my driveway and it bump started just fine. Any ideas? Found out why oil was everywhere, oil line that went to the cooler was tightened in crooked and it just flew everywhere. No more leaking oil. Also when the truck is off the diesel indicators stay on, and also stay on when driving. What exactly are the 3 indicators used to represent? I know the left is the glow plug one.

They are fuel sensors. Let you know if you have bad fuel or hot fuel or sticky fuel or wrong fuel. They're just an accessory at this point.

I am going to rent a compression tester and see what it reads. If it's good I'll tinker with it but if not I believe I am going to sell it as is. Very frustrating to put all this work and money into this and not have something I can reliably drive.