87 Ram 50 4x4 "junkyard" rescue,

[geezer101]

...yeah, "accidentally"

[WarStryker13]

I honestly wasn't actively trying to spin the tires, but I will admit that I'm still learning how to drive a standard and sometimes I make little mistakes here and there... I'm getting much better the more I drive, and I've gotten the clutch and brake adjusted nearly perfectly. Or at least to the point that the truck drives exceptionally smooth according to two of my coworkers that can drive a standard.

I did manage to borrow a timing light last night, and after I run a few errands today I'm going to see what the timing is at on the truck. I don't know what the range is that these engines will run at, but I have a feeling it's a pretty wide range. I'm hoping so at least, because this truck feels a bit sluggish at higher speeds and it's taking quite a bit of effort to get it started once it's warmed up. It does start easier when it's cold, but part of me is wanting to convert it to manual choke so I can start it easier when it's hot.

I'm going to set the timing at about 8° BTDC at idle, then bring the RPMS up and see what it ends up at. From my understanding, most engines will want about 30° to 35° total timing, I'm hoping I can get this thing somewhere in that general vicinity.

On another note, now that the extra wiring is out of the way I found out why the A/C kept popping fuses... The two wires that go to the A/C compressor clutch and the low pressure switch have melted insulation and copper showing, right where they come out of the harness, next to the fusible links. I'm going to have to peel back the vinyl tape wrapped around everything and pull those wires out of the harness. I'm going to try and just replace those wires with new copper, if I can separate them from the rest of the harness and just put the entire circuit on it's own fuse in the fuse block I would be plenty pleased. Right now the stock location has it pulling power from the reverse lamp fuse, which is not a circuit I want constantly popping fuses. I'm wanting to try and add an extra circuit to the stock fuse box, but I think I'm going to need a second fuse box to pull apart and harvest the wire terminals... Another part to look for at the junkyard.

Has anyone else has had issues with getting new 74 bulbs to fit and work in the sockets, or is it the brand of bulbs I bought that are just barely too big to fit? If there's a specific brand that people have had luck with, I'm all ears.