LT's Wild RamCharger

LT is new to the board, He just joined up. He is from my hometown of Los Alamos NM and we both wheel up here in Utah alot. He is a wild guy. He has been into wheeling along time. He has owned several built to the hilt CHevys, and a few Dodges. Right now he has a 87 Dodge Ramcharger which he calls his beater. The motor is a 360 bored over 0.3. He got real happy with the Sawsall and cut tons of the body off, including the roof, and front and fenders. He has a roll cage that is under fab right now. He now has a dana 60 going in for the front and a Corp 14 for the rear. He has Hydr. steering and a bunch of other stuff. He has new tires, 42 Irocs and beadlock rims.

I let him tell you about it. Here are his pictures:

 

[LT.]

THats a short list there Mr LT.


I cant wait to see it!

I can't wait to see y'all. Time really seems to be dragging these last few weeks. Hard to believe that EJS is less than two weeks out now.

LT.

 

[Bart]

Sounds very promising. Good luck with the finishing details. I know you'll make it. You deserve a break and vacation time.

 

[turbosniper1]

I will be posting this here , and also over in the Moab trail plans section......
I live in Fruita, CO so I am blessed to have a super long driving time to get to Downtown, Moab if I leave and get on the Interstate and head west to Crescent Junction, (unless I fee like making a couple extra minutes by going through the canyon)..... But the bottom line is that I can get from The mega Metropolis that is Grand Junction, CO and meedt up with you all lucky S.O.B.s in the wonderful "Clicke" world of Rockcrawling and Rockracing, and all around general fun on the streets of Downtown Moab!!!!!
SOOOOO...... If there are some thing s that you break and can't get the part down there, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail or a phone call and I can work with you to get the part you need and then the best part of all is to get it to you in a SUPER Timely Manner!!!!!!!! I am not doing anything but taking care of my girls the week of Safari, oh yeah and it is going to be about 3 days out of pretty serious spinal surgery. So everything combined from my very poor health, lack of having a running rockcrawler right now, getting my 20' Gooseneck trailer up to be traded for my new rockwell axles, tires and wheels for my '01 Ram 2500 and also an extra set of tires as well... but the big thing is the 3 steering Rockwells and 1 rear axle. Pretty good trade if you ask me!!......

BUT..... I still have access to a GMC 3500 one ton dually with the full 8' bed, and a 16'bumper pull trailer. So if there are any parts that you need that you can't get there and don't feel like making the trip up here, give me a shot..... and just for the cost of fuel and maybe a pepsi I would be more than happy to drive down with your goods!! Afterall, it only takes me about an hour and 15 minutes up to 1 hour 35 minutes to make the drive depending on the cargo that I have with me at the time!!!
My e-mail address is:
turbosniper1@yahoo.com
and my phone number is:
(970)985-5104 --> I might not answer the phone the first time when I don't recognize a number, but please just leave me a message with your phone number and where I can pick up your parts, I will call you back as soon as possible in order to make the exchange as swift as possible!!!!!
If this sounds of interest to you, and you have need, call me up!!! So far I am planning my first trip to Moab to be the afternoon of April 3 so that I may partake upon the vendor show! Atleast that is the plan as of right now, I have spinal surgery on the 31st, so if it goes well then I will be there for the 3rd!
Thanks and congrats on getting the Beater near to completion Rob!!! I am truly jealous of you, as usual!!
I wish everyone a safe trip to and from Moab and safe and smart travel while in Moab!!!
- Matt

 

[LT.]

I got to drive the beater for the first time in almost a year last night. A few problems have come up but, I think most can be over looked if need be. First problem was that the rear brakes barely work. Some years ago it went from drum brakes in the rear to disk brakes in the rear and I am wondering if I need to change the master cylinder or the proportioning valve to correct it. Also it looks like I have a problem with the final drive out of the rear output on the NP-205 case. For what ever reason I have a grumbling coming out of the rear output on the 205. It does it when it is in 2wd and also in 4wd high ranges. In 4wd low I can't get the outputs to spin fast enough to make the noise. When I engage just the front drive I can't get it to make the noise either. I am going to take the inspection cover off the 205 on Tuesday and hope that it is just gear resonance or something like that. I am also going to drain the brand new gear oil and see if there are any metal flakes in the lube. I will be calling Off Road Design tomorrow to see if they can send me the correct new NP-205 by first part of next week. Wish me luck. Again, no pictures because we are having trouble with our internet connection at home. Sorry.

LT.

 

[LT.]

Sounds very promising. Good luck with the finishing details. I know you'll make it. You deserve a break and vacation time.

Thank you sir. I am looking forward to seeing you again this year. Good luck with your own project.

LT.

 

[LT.]

The update for the day. I ended up ordering a new NP-205 T-case with the modified shift rails from Off Road Design today. It is supposed to be a two day ship from Off Road Design's facility to the shop. I am hoping it will show up late this week or Monday of next week. I will be trying to put it in the truck on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Wish me luck.

LT.

 

[LT.]

Okay, the punch list for tomorrow looks something like this.
1. Align the rear axle and make sure that it is square under the truck.
2. Reinstall the front tow hooks.
3. Finish cutting out the rear fender well.
4. Try and find a good place to mount the CB and wire it in.
5. Finish the front plate for the front winch. Maybe even mount the front winch and wire it in.
6. Beater once over. Double check every bolt, nut, and weld.
7. See about how hard it would be to make a spare tire mount for the back end of the truck.

When the new T-case comes in then I need to swap it out and then try and mount the front passanger seat back in. I really can't mount the seat in until after I swap out the T-case. I have a huge hole in the floor so I can access the T-cases and the shifters easier. I hope that is it.

LT.

 

[turbosniper1]

VERY NICE!!! Hopefully it will make it in time, but if not it is not a problem at all for me to drive up there and get it and like we talked about last night; I can bring it down to you with tools and a trans jack, or you can come get the t-case and the tools and then I will come down later in the week and see how everything works out!!
Either way, if you get it in time, or we have to work something out..... It will be smooth and the install will work great!! Just make sure that rear axle stays in place when you drop that crossmember!!
AND TAKE SOME STINKING PICTURES LT!!!!! THAT IS AN ORDER!!!!!
If not..... DOWN AND GIVE ME 30 MAGGOT!!!!! :bow: (<--- that's the closest to push-ups that there are in the smilie database! HEHE)
Give me a call and let me know how it is all going!
Talk to you soon brother!:thumbs:
- Matt

 

[broncomitch]

don't think ill be making it down for ejs, i just got a new truck so that wiped out my tax return, and im still unemployed.:-\

maybe i can talk the GF into driving down for a day to hang out and go on a trail.

but your rig is really bad a$$ (always was) im jealous :thumbs:

 

[Goose]

its a good sign when your list starts to get shorter, then again does the list ever get any shorter? lol
sounds like your going to have some killer flex! good luck getting everything buttoned - up

 

[LT.]

This is what has happened in the last few days.
1. Align the rear axle and make sure that it is square under the truck.
Done.
2. Reinstall the front tow hooks.
Done
3. Finish cutting out the rear fender well.
Done
4. Try and find a good place to mount the CB and wire it in.
Not yet.
5. Finish the front plate for the front winch. Maybe even mount the front winch and wire it in.
All done, just need some extra bracing.
6. Beater once over. Double check every bolt, nut, and weld.
Done.
7. See about how hard it would be to make a spare tire mount for the back end of the truck.
Almost done.
The tranny hump is also finished. As is the front drive shaft. I am really just needing the rear T-case. When I get it swapped out I can reinstall the brand new rear drive shaft (again), front shaft, finish installing the tranny hump, and the front seats again.

LT.

 

[LT.]

Here are some pictures for the faithful readers. I hope you like them. If the rear end looks higher than the front, it is. I have always wanted to have a truck that had a hot rod look to it. This is all I could do this time out. Maybe next time I can replace my T-case shifters with some pistol grip shifters.

LT.

 

[turbosniper1]

VERY NICE!!! I don't know if I told you before, but I really liked your beater before you started all of this. It just had the great sound with the flowmasters and the 360, you had the driver skill to take the rig pretty much everywhere that everyone else was going, not to mention it just plain looked sweet riding down the street with those 42s hanging out!!!
Now it is EVEN BETTER!!!! Now it has the complete and utter performance to keep up with the look that it has!!! It flexes like crazy, has super stout locked axles, has big/awesome/quasi-sticky tires and the power to turn them, not to mention the safety of a cage!!!! This Beater is no longer a Beater.... you have successfully turned a hot dog into caviar! Awesome work brother!!! :greg:
- Matt

 

[LT.]

Thanks Matt. I was thinking of re-naming it. I dropped it while I was under it the other day. I managed to scalp my head a little and got a cut on my left shoulder and just hurt my right one as well. Since I had the head injury I was thinking of calling it Chief.

LT.

 

[mbryson]

Cool! Glad to see you got it done.


Glad you got it ready to go. I thought I was all ready to rock, but found a bit of a trans mount issue last night. I think I've worked up a decent temporary solution, but we'll see how it lasts.

 

[Goose]

wow! I think chief is much more fitting.
that thing looks too tuff to have a name like beater.
BTW, I was pretty jealous looking at your coilovers.

 

[ChestonScout]

It looks REALLY good Rob!

Only 1 problem I can see and it is sitting across your windshield! Get the scraper out man...lol

It officially isnt a Beater anymore but I think it will always be the Beater to me.


In 1 week we should both be in MOAB!!!

 

[LT.]

Cool! Glad to see you got it done.


Glad you got it ready to go. I thought I was all ready to rock, but found a bit of a trans mount issue last night. I think I've worked up a decent temporary solution, but we'll see how it lasts.

Good luck with your tranny issue. I am hoping to catch as many of the RME faithful at this years RME run. I hope to see you there!

wow! I think chief is much more fitting.
that thing looks too tuff to have a name like beater.
BTW, I was pretty jealous looking at your coilovers.

The coil overs are sweet. I still can't believe that I was able to get all of the spring rates right on the first time out. I crunched numbers for weeks to try and figure them out. I guess sometimes it pays to do a little desk top four wheeling once in a while.

It looks REALLY good Rob!

Only 1 problem I can see and it is sitting across your windshield! Get the scraper out man...lol

It officially isnt a Beater anymore but I think it will always be the Beater to me.


In 1 week we should both be in MOAB!!!

I really can't wait. I am now waiting on the transfer case from Off Road Design to show up. I really hope it shows up either today or tomorrow. Here is to hoping.

LT.

 

[LT.]

I was looking through some old photos that I have of this thing. Looking back in this thread and seeing how it used to be and what it has become. Now, if it will just work as good as it looks.

LT.

 

[LT.]

Today the new t case showed up and I now have it installed. No more rumbling from the rear drive line. I also got my brand new rear drive shaft installed. All through the floor board. Tomorrow I am hoping to get the front drive line in, winch mount boxed, CB installed and wired, camper out of the back yard, loaded onto the flatbed, spare tire mount finished, and give the whole shootin match a good test drive. I also need to figure out the new shift pattern to the t cases. I now have the modified shift rails in the new t case. So far so good.

LT.