Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 43

Thread: New Guy from Montana!!!

  1. #1

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B

    New Guy from Montana!!!

    Just thought i would post up a little info. I am a new member to the site, I have been doning a lot of work to my 89 ram 50 and have been using this site to help me out in my travels. Just want to say hello and thanks for all the great info you guys have to share as most of you know these trucks are not that easy to find info about or performance mods. I will be posting up some pictures of my project that i have started on my daily driver.

  2. #2

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-21-2012
    Posts
    176
    Location

    North West Florida
    Vehicle

    1994 Mitsubishi Mighty Max
    Engine

    4G64
    Welcome. Great Falls hu, thats where I am from actually. Post some pics!

  3. #3

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B

    My 89 dodge ram 50

    So my name is corey and i figured i would give the story of how my project came to be or the nightmare of a truck. So about 3 yrs ago my boss gave me this truck said that is had a bad head gasket. I thought 4cylinder with overhead cam .... easy fix. oops my mistake!! i pulled the head and started looking around. I found that the head as wraped which means it got to hot. pulled the pan and rods to find that the motor got really hot and the rings are fried along with the piston skirts. yeah!!! So i was gunna junk it but my stepdad use to have one of these trucks and loved it so they decided to take it to a shop and have a motor put in it. SHe paid 5000 without me knowing for the new motor. the truck wasnt worth that in my opinion for a factory motor.I could have built a turboed one for that price. He gets the truck and drives it for a week and decides that he doesnt like it cause it has no a/c or power anything...... ITS A 1989 Ram 50... DUH!! Well they decided to give me the truck cause i was having car problems, then i drove it and for the next 1-1/2 years it was in and out of the shop because it was not running correctly wrong head then the lifters were really noisy, no power, etc. My worst nightmare but we have to much money in it now to get rid of it.

    2013-05-16_18-38-27_823.jpg2013-05-16_18-39-00_103 (2).jpg2013-05-16_18-39-27_751.jpg

    Which brings me to why i became a member. I still couldnt figure out why it had no power? i mean on the highway floored 55-60 mph thats it? So i started doing what i love to do tinker. I found that the stupid munki carb vacuum secondary diaphram had a hole and was not opening at all. hense no power. I tried to find one and after a week of searching and calling junk yards within a 300 mile radius and no luck i turned to the internet $150 dollars for the vacuum secondary and i had to wait for it from japan??? well this sucks so i bought a 32/36 redline weber and removed all the emission bs. WOW the truck ran way better. then about two days after that when out to start the truck and BOOM with a hiss then clunk clunk clunk!!! Shut the truck off open the door and stepped in about 2-3 quarts of oil in the driveway. BLEW the oil filter at the seam everything covered in oil. Well we towed it back to the house after a stop to the car wash, and drained the oil and pulled the pan to find that the oil pump pluged up with rod bearing and babot with ALOT OF METAL in the oil and pan. This motor only had 6,500 miles on the rebuilt. all this because a faulty king rod bearing spun. DAMN!!

    2013-10-22_07-31-50_655.jpg2013-10-22_07-32-37_867.jpg2013-10-28_19-19-33_560.jpg

    So i pulled the motor myself got the shop to send back the motor under WAARRANTY thank god! I well i figured it would be a good time to start my project truck and build it to my liking. So below is a list of things that i have done in that last month why the motor is being rebuilt. hope you guys like and let me know what you think!

    1. Cleaned and sanded the entire engine bay and painted with VHT Roll Bar and Chassis 250F paint and clear coat
    2013-11-13_07-30-44_269.jpg2013-11-13_07-30-49_155.jpg2013-11-13_07-30-58_175.jpg

    2. new electrical tape around the entire harness under the hood and wire loom
    3. Removed the old emissions wiring harnes and rewired the positive and negitve cables to the battery, alt, & starter.
    2013-11-28_21-00-42_681.jpg2013-11-28_21-01-01_328.jpg2013-11-28_21-01-10_62.jpg

    4. Got rid of the old ignition coil and put in a msd blaster coil with resistor
    2013-11-09_21-28-05_786.jpg2013-12-01_21-51-18_264.jpg

    5.Flushed the heater core and power steering fluid when i changed the steering gearbox( it was leaking and grinding & easier to change when the motor is out)
    2013-11-28_21-01-33_144.jpg
    6. My dad and I machined the intake hole from stock 2 holes to one oval that fits the weber and we cut the egr down on the primary and filled it with machinable j/b weld, so no gas would flow down the hole and sit. We also machined it down to help the flow in the intake better hopefully. And then i cleaned and removed all the vacuum switches and plugged the holes with stainless steel plugs, put a 185F thermostat with a new thermostat housing.
    2013-12-01_21-49-16_52.jpg2013-12-01_21-49-00_585.jpg2013-12-01_21-48-34_115.jpg

    7. I bought an all aluminum radiator and had the valve cover powder coated black.
    2013-11-28_21-02-32_908.jpg2013-11-28_21-00-13_171.jpg

    8. Then on the way I have new single port distributor advance, cap and rotor, mds 8mm plug wires, and pacesetter armor coated header.( pacesetter wasnt my first choice but for now it will work i hope without to much fixing.)
    9. All the new bolts are stainless steel and now all connector inter the hood are waterproof except for factory connectors

    Well I hope i didn't bore all of you with this long post but it was fun to do and hope you guys enjoy. please let me know your thought so far. I just got a call that my motor is in at the shop so i can pic it up and post some more for you guys.

    Thanks

  4. #4

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Quote Originally Posted by sleeps View Post
    Welcome. Great Falls hu, thats where I am from actually. Post some pics!
    Thats Cool I have lived here all my life. When did you move away fro great falls?

  5. #5


    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    08-31-2011
    Posts
    832
    Location

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada
    Vehicle

    1981 Dodge D-50
    Engine

    Ford V8
    Looking good so far. The baby seat is classic Keep us posted

  6. #6

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-21-2012
    Posts
    176
    Location

    North West Florida
    Vehicle

    1994 Mitsubishi Mighty Max
    Engine

    4G64
    Quote Originally Posted by Sscorpion View Post
    Thats Cool I have lived here all my life. When did you move away fro great falls?
    In 2006. About a year and a half after I graduated from Great Falls High.

  7. #7

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Quote Originally Posted by Fordubishi View Post
    Looking good so far. The baby seat is classic Keep us posted
    Thanks! I was wanting to try and add a seat belt to the bench in the back to put his car seat so i could fit all three of us in the truck but havent figured out how yet? also have to see if that would be legal or not?

  8. #8

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Quote Originally Posted by sleeps View Post
    In 2006. About a year and a half after I graduated from Great Falls High.
    Thats Cool i would have graduated in 2007 from CMR but dropped out to work full time then got my GED a couple years ago.

  9. #9




    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    03-20-2011
    Posts
    4,851
    Location

    Pittsburgh, PA
    Vehicle

    1980 Dodge D-50
    Engine

    G54B
    How about this and its a factory belt: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BELT-Center-...3cee05&vxp=mtr
    Pennyman1
    The best Dodge that Dodge never made
    Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980

  10. #10

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    06-12-2013
    Posts
    140
    Location

    west valley, silicon valley, bay area, ca
    Vehicle

    1993 Mitsubishi Mighty Max
    Engine

    4G64
    Alright another 5M owner

    5M - Mitsubishi Motors Mighty Max Macrocab
    I knew daredevils and I ain't got nothin' against them, ........it's just they're all dead.

  11. #11




    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    03-20-2011
    Posts
    4,851
    Location

    Pittsburgh, PA
    Vehicle

    1980 Dodge D-50
    Engine

    G54B
    I used to own an 88 Ram 50 Sportcab - does that count?
    Pennyman1
    The best Dodge that Dodge never made
    Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980

  12. #12

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Quote Originally Posted by Lon Moer View Post
    Alright another 5M owner

    5M - Mitsubishi Motors Mighty Max Macrocab
    Do i count as a 5M owner it is a dodge ram 50 even though they are identical truck almost?

  13. #13

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Quote Originally Posted by pennyman1 View Post
    How about this and its a factory belt: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BELT-Center-...3cee05&vxp=mtr
    I dont know i want to redo the interior in black and gray but i dont know how i want to do it yet?? That is an option. thanks for the idea thought, im always open to new ideas.

  14. #14

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Well guys after a long and brutal 3 months of bs the motor is in and running nicely. I havent put my need exhaust on yet but broke it in and jetted the carborator for our shitty air. I will post up pictures soon and a video. Long story short it runs a lot better as of right now the distributor needs to be rebuilt but without the vaccum advance hooked up im pulling outta 3rd gear into 4th at 75-80mph @ 5,500 rpms. That works for me considering 55mph was maxed out on the highway before the rebuild. After i get the 2-1/4 SS mandrel bent magnaflow exhaust on the truck i will post up videos.

  15. #15

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Sorry i havent posted up videos or pictures yet. Been really busy with work and other stuff. But it is on my to do list. I have installed the magnaflow exhaust. and it sounds sweet!!! BUt i have been trying to figure out this intermitent grind/ vibration under the truck around the tranny and back of the engine. any ideas??? some times it happens 2-3 times a day and sometimes not at all but it does it while driving so i thought it was u joints or maybe carrier bearing. The carrier was replaced 6 months ago and the u joints would make it vibrate all the time. last night when i parked it was doing it with the truck in neutral running and the parking brake on? I have a new clutch with about 5,000 miles on it so i don't think it is the throwout bearing. Any ideas could it be the starter??? grabing the flywheel??? i am lost please help

  16. #16

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    08-11-2012
    Posts
    1,199
    Location

    Oakland, CA
    Vehicle

    1989 Mitsubishi Mighty Max
    Engine

    G63B
    Quote Originally Posted by Sscorpion View Post
    the story of how my project came to be or the nightmare of a truck
    Welcome to the madhouse, Corey!

  17. #17

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    03-23-2014
    Posts
    609
    Location

    Pukwana, SD
    Vehicle

    1991 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    6G72
    Welcome!

  18. #18

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Sorry for the delay but here are some more pictures of the finished motor in the truck!!!
    IMAG0054.jpg IMAG0053.jpg

    Below is the Stainless Steel Exhaust!!!!
    IMAG0011.jpg vs. IMAG0012.jpg
    original restrictive header downpipe vs. header w/ 2.5" elbow fitted to maximize flow. Then 2.5" - 2.25" smooth transistion with reinforcment ring.


    IMAG0018.jpgIMAG0019.jpgIMAG0017.jpg

    1st picture-above is the complete assembly as it is hung under the truck.
    2nd picture-High flow Magnaflow cat(part# 50005) attached to Magnaflow 4" x 22" ( part# 10345 ).
    3rd picture- factory exhaust hanger modified with removable ubolt instead of being welded.

    IMAG0058.jpgIMAG0059.jpg

    1st picture- assembly with bracket installed to go over frame
    2nd picure - muffler with mandrel bend 90deg elbow into a 45deg to exit in front of the rear tires.

    **** for this to work where the flanges are the factory heat sheild needs to be trimmed out just a little bit to get rid of really bad vibration.****

  19. #19

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-21-2013
    Posts
    1,258
    Location

    Maurertown, Virginia
    Vehicle

    1990 Dodge D-50
    Engine

    4G64
    I viewed your photos in the Gallery: that is a nice-looking truck, and the engine compartment detail is wonderful.

    Nice work!!!

  20. #20

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    THANKS! I am really happy the way it turned out.

  21. #21

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    03-23-2014
    Posts
    609
    Location

    Pukwana, SD
    Vehicle

    1991 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    6G72
    Howdy! LOL

  22. #22

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B

    Awesome Update to the truck!!!!

    Sorry i havent responded in a long time. I guess life happened and poof there went 5yrs. CRAZY!!!! Any ways this will be the first of quit a few more posts but wanted to give you guys an update on the truck. I have been working on it off and on and using as daily driver but this winter while being laid off for the summer i figured why not a nice christmas present for myself. I have created a bunch of albums on my profile of all the extensive work to the truck the last 2 months but here are a couple of pics for you.Suspension Bell Tech P# 436SP.jpg
    Belltech Lowering kit

    Brake #1.jpg
    New Brake system All around

    IMG_20191105_140054.jpg
    Short Throw Shifter

    IMG_20191227_150120.jpg
    Brand New Paint, Windows, Etc.

    If you like what you see check out my albums on my profile.... LOTS OF PICTURES!!!!
    I am still waiting on a couple parts from the Powder Coating Guy. But after that I will post up more pics. The interior is all brand new and just need to be cleaned.

    And the bottom of the truck and bed is all getting Bullhide Lined/ Rhino Lined in a few months gotta get taxes back first.

    Hope you Guys Like the progessm Let me know What you think!!!

  23. #23


    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    05-01-2018
    Posts
    1,414
    Location

    Kailua, HI
    Vehicle

    1986 Dodge Power Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Really enjoy your truck; thanks for the pics

  24. #24

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Quote Originally Posted by xboxrox View Post
    Really enjoy your truck; thanks for the pics
    Quote Originally Posted by xboxrox View Post


    Thanks man! I think it is funny but there is something magical about these trucks. I have had a lot of different cars and trucks in my life so far but for some reason even though i cant fit my whole family in it. It has always stuck around and never got sold, and is the definition that empties my bank account everytime i get a little ahead in life, LOL. I don't know what it is about this truck but every time I get in it I feel like a high school kid again with the coolest truck in town, and its the greatest feeling ever. It truly is a joy to drive and own one of these magical piece of machinery. That will so be a forgotten piece of history. Sorry for rambling but I hope everyone has had a chance at some point in life to get the feeling I do when I Drive my old Blue Truck!!!

  25. #25

    Array
    Status
    Offline
    Join Date
    12-01-2013
    Posts
    81
    Location

    Great Falls, MT
    Vehicle

    1988 Dodge Ram 50
    Engine

    G54B
    Thanks man! I think it is funny but there is something magical about these trucks. I have had a lot of different cars and trucks in my life so far but for some reason even though i cant fit my whole family in it. It has always stuck around and never got sold, and is the definition that empties my bank account everytime i get a little ahead in life, LOL. I don't know what it is about this truck but every time I get in it I feel like a high school kid again with the coolest truck in town, and its the greatest feeling ever. It truly is a joy to drive and own one of these magical piece of machinery. That will so be a forgotten piece of history. Sorry for rambling but I hope everyone has had a chance at some point in life to get the feeling I do when I Drive my old Blue Truck!!!

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •