threads
Page 3 of 3
Dodge Trucks \  89 ramcharger project gettings some work...

89 ramcharger project gettings some work...

Dodge Trucks Make Specific
views 1180
replies 23
following 9
 
standardbyker88   +1y
its got tinted tails and fender lights now. benefits of workin in a custom body shop. and a new coil and battery. runnin rough, gotta mess with the carb some more. new tranny goin in soon.

here is a more detailed rundown of my plan for the front suspension:
i already have some dakota drop spindles. for an 87-90. they fit the ball joints of the rams, as well as the brakes and rotors. only difference really is the arm the tie rod end goes to is a few inches closer to the centerline between ball joints. and it has a different bore for the dakota tie rods. i could make it work with my stock steering, but its all worn out and clunky and the steering shaft is in the way of the upper arm. that means i have to put some heims and u-joints to get it around that. so, i decided its just easier to use the dakota rack and pinion. ill run a manual if i can find it, or a power and make it hook up to my pump. that shouldnt be too hard anyways. few hardlines and some fittings.

also, to follow suit with the body drop i plan to have, im going to move the arms up 2-3" as a whole assembly. it will keep the geometry all how it was, only closer to being in the normal area at a lower ride height.

the stock engine crossmember is fucking huge, but it is rivoted in. which makes it easier to get out. i will get rid of the rivots, remove the whole thing and replace it with a new one that doesnt hang as low. it will have the mounts needed to hold the lower dakota arm where it needs to be. the dakotas use an A arm on the bottom, not a straight arm and a strut bar. also the rack and pinion mounts.

some might ask me why i dont just Z the frame...well, i dont want to splice the frame and do all that to move a crossmember that tall up. i could trim it, plate it and build onto it...but that would mean all the work being done under the truck with it in. and 2x3 tubing is cleaner. and it can be built and swapped in.

also going to have a bag bracket not a trimmed pocket for the bag. again, cleaner.

i have some giant ass trailer fenders i might use for the front. or the rear. havent decided if i want to keep the stock look in the back. i might just raise the whole rear floor as a unit. its cleaner that way. and have my body drop curb at the very end.

the frame is a 2x6x3/16" C channel under the truck. i plan to put 2x3x3/16" for the majority of it, and the main flat rail will get 2x3x1/4" so its drag proof. i know it will get some torture. ill weld it inside the stock rails and trim off the bottom of my frame. move it up into the body higher as well. its going to be wide not tall orientation of the tubing there.

im going to be getting into this thing hardcore this summer...sorry for the book.
sledneck91604   +1y
just keep an eye out for the RH strut rod, before the LH arm can bottom on the steering linkage the right comes in contact with the idler arm zerk fitting. Although yours might have different geometry.
Master Fabber   +1y
I would just start a frame from scratch man it would be so clean when done. Maybe measure off of a dakota front suspension and build new from there?
standardbyker88   +1y
yeah. it would be nice to do it that way. but i have limited shop access. the way i plan to do it, i could build crossmembers and small parts here and there then make it all work together in a fairly short amount of time. get the front done. then the rear. then the stock floor stuff. not having a shop sucks. ironically, i work at a paint and custom shop. boss just wants to charge me to work on my own stuff, with my tools, on my own time. haha...f that.