87 Ram 50 4x4 "junkyard" rescue,

[Salteen]

i love it! the engine color is pretty cool, cant wait to get my little 4 cly in the truck.

then yank it out and throw a 3 3 in there

[WarStryker13]

I'd say run the 4 cyl for as long as you can, the fuel economy will help you save up for the swap and give you plenty of time to find all the parts and little things you'll need.

I did not try starting the truck again yesterday, I was working by myself and I want to have an extra set of hands so I can adjust timing, idle mixture screws, and (if necessary) spray starting fluid into the carb while cranking. Wife is having a hell of a time with her allergies, so there was no way of getting her outside yesterday while the mowing company were out cutting the grass.

I have a few ideas I want to bounce off of the more experienced on here, as to why the truck did not want to start:

1. The battery had 12.67 volts, and it tested at 832 cranking amps, it's rated for 650 CCA. However, during cranking I watched the voltage drop down to 10 volts, and then 8 volts. I'm hoping that's the main reason it didn't start, but I have a few other suspicions.
2. I have a new fuel filter directly before the carb, but I haven't checked the filter next to the tank yet. There is fuel in the new filter, but it does not visibly look like it's flowing through the filter while the fuel pump is running. It could be because the float bowl is full and the needle and seat is doing it's job, but the accelerator pump doesn't seem to be squirting as much as I remember... It has been 6 months though. I went ahead and added another 5 gal of gas to the tank just to be sure.
3. I have the ignition coil and distributor wired correctly (as far as I can tell with the 15+ diagrams and reference pictures I still have), but I have not yet pulled out the spark plugs and tested for spark. I did have a few small sputters and burbles when I tried to start it the first time, but with the voltage dropping down to 8v I seriously doubt that the ignition pickup in the distributor was even activating.
4. I've double checked cam timing, distributor position, firing order, and I even put a 1/2" ratchet on the crank to make sure it did not take too much force to rotate the engine with the spark plugs in. I looked for any potential vacuum leaks, oil leaks, and water leaks. I checked the tightness of every fitting, bolt, nut, and clamp. I found and fixed a couple of tiny things, but not anything that would prevent the engine from starting.

I did find a noticeable oil leak at the fuel pump block off plate on the side of the head, which had ran down to the back of the block and was dripping off of the bellhousing. I pulled the plate back off, put it in the tiny little bench vice I have, and straightened it out. If that doesn't fix it I'm probably going to have to cut some new gaskets, or possibly cut the block-off plate so it'll actually fit properly.

While I was installing the flywheel inspection cover I found one of the oil pan bolts had snapped off (it happened after I installed the engine...somehow) and leaking as well, but it's not even dripping yet, so I'm going to procrastinate on deal ing with that until after the engine is running reliably.

I have the gauges almost completely wired up, the only thing that isn't connected is the power for the lighting, because I haven't figured out where exactly I want to tap into for that. I have the positive wire for the voltage gauge connected to the switched +12v powering the ignition system... I doubt it will draw enough to cause issues with the coil or distributor, plus it will tell me immediately if the ignition system loses voltage.

I still need to actually mount the gauges to the dash, I'm thinking some heavy duty velcro-type tape, the kind with the mushroom shaped heads that interlock. That's what is currently holding the tach to the dash, but I can't seem to find the rest of what I used before.

I finished "attaching" the seat cover, I'm not 100% satisfied with how it attaches to the bottom seat but it seems to be holding relatively well. It does look pretty damn good, though.

I decided to cut/remove what was left of the upper bump stops on the front suspension... The upper bump stops were already sitting on the frame brackets, they were crumbling and falling apart, and I (eventually) will be replacing the control arms anyways. At some point I should pull the torsion bars out, clock them and adjust the anchor arms properly... Both anchor arms are within 1/2" of each other, but the front end is kinda tilting sideways. The driver's side front is about 3/4"-1" lower than the passenger side, and the rear end is another inch higher than the passenger side front. I at least want it level side-to-side, later I can worry about getting Montero upper control arms and making the front level with the rear.

Oh, and I put the center caps on the rear wheels, installed the underseat cubby on the passenger side, and then sat in the driver's seat for a couple hours... I'm remembering why I absolutely love this truck.

The shoulder-to-elbow arm angle with my elbow resting on the window sill is perfect, and the distance between the steering wheel and window allows the perfect elbow position on the window sill while still having a decent grip on the steering wheel. When the bench is positioned at the perfect distance for me to reach the pedals comfortably, the steering wheel and shift levers are at the perfect distance, and all of this culminates in the most comfortable cruising position possible... For me, at least.