78PopTop

Well I'm starting a build thats been in my head for a long time. I have a 93 Cummins crew cab that i'm using as a donor to make it happen.

As of right now i'm collecting parts over the cold months here in Michigan so that I can jump right in to it as soon as the weather turns. I do already have most everything from the donor to do it but I will need some guidance along this way from you seasoned builders.

Here is the rig that is getting the attention..



The current combo is a 400 with a 727 trans. Like the thread title says i'm dropping in an intercooled 12 valve between the rails. I will never tow with it I just want a fun truck to cruise and take to shows.

The cummins is attatched to a 47RH from a 94-95 truck and was looking for some advice about a trans crossmember. I am looking at a 89-90 3/4 ton diesel crossmember to swap in as the 78 one looks like it might not even be close to modifying to work with the newer trans. I am no stranger to fabrication of parts but thought this might be an option to save some time from having to build a whole new part. Any opinions on this?

This will be a slowly updated thread because it really won't start until spring but i'll post with parts I accumulate as time goes. I'll post pics of hhe donor truck as well (some of you guys might hate me for tearing that truck apart).

Anywho, thanks for any help and hope you enjoy the build as it goes.

oliver foster

Sweet ride!

Welcome to DTR

I will be following along. I see you found my similar build I aim doing on a 2WD Ramcharger too. I will be happy to help answer question as you move forward.
I have the 2wd diesel transmission crossmember if you end up needing one too.

78PopTop

Thanks very much! Ya, I was super excited when I found your build thread because its pretty well exactly what I'm doing.with mine. I'm sure I will need to pick your brain a few times along the way so I appreciate that. Just by looking at pics of crossmembers I think the diesel setup might be my best option to start with. Let me know what you need for that one you have.

Thanks again!

u2slow

I have a feeling any 89-93 2wd crossmember from a 6" frame will work. The one in my 90 D150 looks the same as my 89-90 D250 diesels.

I decided to go 8lug/4000# suspension on my '84 2wd ramcharger. Goes in easy. One of these months i may even finish it....

KRB

Oh man, that's a sweet looking RC! I like the soft top. Otherwise looks mostly stock still.

Much rust to deal with?

Do you have plans for the 400?

Thanks for sharing!

78PopTop

Good info, I'm going to have to pick either one up and just give it a try to see what needs to be done to fit the 47. I'm going to see how the 1/2 ton suspension likes the half ton engine, 3/4 ton springs will be needed I think.

Thank you! Other than the top it is in fact all original. 49,870 miles, bought it from the original owner that just let it sit most its life. It actually had the OG belts and hoses when I got it.

Here is the only rust on it (**** mice)


And here are a couple of pictures of the donor truck.



I hate to do it but I've owned it for around 13 years and its getting a little rough around the edges and its time for a change.

KRB

OK, so now you've started a whole nother tale! The '94 donor motor is in an '80s crew cab, what's the story on that? Did you do that conversion? Is the 400 going in there?

Sorry to be so many questions, but inquiring minds...

nonrev

Welcome to the forum, I like the build you are doing and will be following but..... There really not that many crewcabs out there and unless it is a total rust bucket I personally would sell that (it might be ruff to you but someone I'm sure would love to have it) That should give you enough to get a good low milage 215 hp P pump and a good 47rh and any other parts you will need as well as some $$ in your pocket, it will also keep another Cummins Crew on the road.. JMHO

78PopTop

Well, I bought the crew cab pretty much the way it is. I've made some changes along the way but its a 93 chassis and drivetrain except the trans with a 85 cab. The cab was channeled to clear the diesels bigger frame and the dash and such swapped in with some late 90"s seats with the belts built in. It really is a nice truck but I don't need the 4X4, only drive it in the summer and I just want something different now. I don't have plans for the 400 out of the RC besides selling it or just putting it in a corner of the garage, it is a 78 low compression engine that has less than 200hp and got its best of 11mpg so, kinda just a boat anchor.

I knew this was coming LOL, I don't like the idea of any more than you do but... I tried to sell the truck locally for $8500 and was offered 6 and someone wanted to trade a golf cart for it so that was my tipping point. I know the pieces are good i'll need to do the swap and its already here. Nice shape dodge diesels are unherd of here in MI for a decent price so its not that easy to find a 2wd donor. The crew is not rotten at all really, needs floorpans and has a pretty good hole in the inner roof panel by the drivers head otherwise the chassis and such was a southern truck and is super clean. I'm going to put what left of it for sale after I pillage what I need from it so its not really a death sentence for the old girl.

KRB

I was thinking what Nonrev said... I can't believe it didn't sell for $8,500. Maybe the crazy high market is softening.

78PopTop

Hey guys, its been a while since I've posted anything but.. Here we go.

I moved the CC to my garage for teardown but not before a couple big smokey burnouts, I never really beat on the truck and was pleasantly surprised its ability to put on a smoke show! Anywho, pulled it in the garage and just dove in.


All the sheet metal came off nice, not even one broken bolt! Took a ton of pics just so I know where things need to go when the time comes.


I dropped the trans and got the engine ready to pull and out it came, 12V's really are heavy aren't they. I had a heck of a time just rolling the picker across the garage floor.




Got the engine all cleaned up and slathered on some motor coater paint in satin black, i'll accent it with some gloss black parts and pretty much all stainless hardware just because. I'd rather open the hood and have someone say wow that looks nice instead of wow that looks like crap!

Added one of those 1/4" thick stainless intake plates.



Thats as far as I got with the engine for now and I put it in the corner and covered it up for the moment. I did end up selling the rest of the CC to a guy I work with that will do something with it beside just sit behind the garage in the grass so don't hate me to much. He did agree to let me keep the radiator support in case I try and use it on the RC. I do plan on keeping the stock intercooler and such so that might make things easier to just use that. I know its nothing major to post but its good progress to me. I'll make another post of what I have done the the ramcharger a bit later. Thanks for looking!

78PopTop

So with the Crew gone to its new home and a clean spot in the garage I dug out the RC from its 10 year slumber of sitting collecting dust and spider webs. Took lots of pictures of everything as my memory is terrible these days and don't want to ask you guys where this and that goes lol. Everything came off almost as nice as the CC but did break one lower fender bolt, thank goodness for 45 year old undercoating that is still soft and rubbery. Even the dealer installed trailer hitch nuts broke right loose from the stud plates in the rear, pretty funny to see someone used castle nuts for frame spacers back there.



I found a bunch of 5 star mouse hotels by this point, Cowl had more of a resort and spa vibe when I removed the nest and mummified remains. Oliver F made a good point to remove the blower motor and check behind that too.
I got the trans cross member out and found that it only had 3 bolts holding it to the frame, somebody forgot to slip that last one in from the top before the tub went on or something. I got the rest unbolted and pulled the engine/trans in one piece.



Being all happy with the progress this far I figured i'd pull the seat and check out the floor pans. I could see some undesirable problems from the underside that I thought were small but you know that undercoating was hiding a LOT!

OUCH, there is a bit more than what I was expecting. I was surprised to find the 4x4/manual trans tunnel that unbolts in the middle. I'm not well versed in ramchargers like D series trucks and thought this was odd, and also a blessing for trans fitting purposes.

Found this when I pulled up the rubber mat..

oliver foster

All the Ram Chargers I have seen, even the 2wd ones, have the bigger 4x4 transmission hump. The earlier Ramchargers had the removable transmission tunnel like you have. My '76 RC has that removable tunnel, where my '79 does not.

Finding the build sheet is cool. Where under the mat, was it hiding?

Looks pretty clean and straight. Also looks pretty familiar, right down to the similar shade of brown as my 2wd RC.
Enjoy the build and keep us posted with some details.

78PopTop

Thanks for clearing that up Oliver, did you have to clearance anything for the 47 in your rig? The sheet was laying right on top of the driver side floorboard under the mat, I was pretty happy to find it and can't believe its in decent shape considering the pans condition. Ya the likeness of out two trucks in uncanny, you can imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across your thread.

Its in pretty good shape considering what its been through. Sitting around that long and a garage fire. A little story for ya all, picture this. Two 2 car garages put together, so it has a wall in the middle. One morning the far side of the garage lit up and the rc is sitting inside the other side against the inner wall. Fire dept. comes and I know a couple of the guys, they ask if the truck ran "no" we all ran into the burning garage with zero visibility and pushed it out into the driveway out of harms way. That was likely one of the dumbest things i've ever done, couldn't breath good for a week after inhaling all that smoke. Lost my 66 Barracuda and a 38 IHC panel truck that morning, RIP..



The garage...


This is where the truck was sitting, all the light bulbs and a 66 barracuda back window above it exploded from the heat and never melted of ripped the soft top. It was ALL black from the smoke but I got the hose out and scrubbed everything before it really ate its way in.




I got the trans tunnel unbolted and eyeballed the damage of sitting in one spot on a concrete floor for nearly 25 years. I love how they just spot welded the panel over the t case lever cutout, no seam sealer nothing just a big open seam.



Got a patch made and welded in on the passenger side.

The other side was a bit of a larger patch and I don't have all my metal working tools at hand so I did it in two pieces. I beat the tar out of the side patch to make it fit nice then just welded on the lower flange



All welded up and polished with the grinder.



I layed in the chinese floor patch pans to see what I did and didn't need, marked the lines to cut and went about doing it. Tell ya what, finding those spot welds is a lot of fun when you can't see them for the rust pits


Thankfully all the braces are in fairly good shape.

This is the first time i've ever seen this area where the rocker to floor brace are enclosed I don't recall ever seeing this on the trucks.


All the panels just kinda layed in place. I won't weld them in until I get a 2WD 47RH and get the x member position figured out. If I need to drill new hole further back it will be a lot easier getting at them from the top so probably next summer i'll finish them up.



This is where i'm at right now besides just wire wheeling and scraping the frame and suspension so I can put some paint on it, then i'll run new brake lines and start on the fuel system. I also kept the throttle pedal from the 93 so i'll be doing it just how oliver did on his project, also snagged the shift linkages as i'd like to keep the column shift. Want to keep the inside as stock looking as I possibly can

Going to try and pull the fuel tank down later this evening. Thanks for looking!