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:

 

[sixb]

That would explain a lot! Stupid maching shops.....you cant trust them

It's machining! And I take offense to that statement.

 

[LT.]

Well, I figure that it is time for an update. The beater is still in the shop in the Jemez Mountains waiting for the tranny to go in.:-\ The fella who ownes the shop gets slamed just about the time he starts to catch up. So, I am going to have to start pushing a little and hope that he can squeeze it in. I will be ordering the FOA coil-overs per ChestonScout and Casper Customs sugestion. I will also follow their suggestions and order the 16" travel instead of the 18" like I wanted before. I figure that if the 16" ones do not do the job I want then I will have a couple of folks to yell at later. Just kidding Brothers. Turbosniper will be getting the chance to do the work for a few reasons. First, he has a plethora of time on his hands. Second, he is closer to me than other shops. Third, he seems to have taken this "bullet proof" thing to a whole new level. Everything he plates is out of armor plate. Now, if I could just get the time off from work to take a little road trip to Colorado........... Hummmmmmmm......

LT.

 

[turbosniper1]

What can I say.. I have a thing for armor plate!!! Not to mention I got a really good deal on a BUNCH of it when I came across an outdoor gun range that was being dismantled!! So I have sheets and sheets of T-1 Armor plate that is perfect for rockcrawlers!!! It does have it's issues though, like you can't drill it because it is harder than drill bits are! So every hole has to be cut or blasted! And it also eats up grinding discs like they are candy! But the finish product is well worth it!!! Here is one example of something I built out of Armor plate....
This is the upper shock mounts for the rear of my rockcrawler:

And these are the Armor plate mounts for the trac bar I built on a Toyota:

Don't worry LT... I will over-build everything!!! I always over-engineer and analyze everything to it's maximum extent! I hated math in school, but I was REALLY good at it! I won't fail you Brother Rob!
Matt

 

[LT.]

I ordered the coil-over shocks today. After talking to ChestonScout and CasperCustoms I went with the FOA coil-overs and I also ordered the springs as well. I owe a big THANK YOU to both of them for helping me with this decision. If things don't work out then I will have a couple of fellas to yell at. Just kidding. Two 16" travel, remote resivior, 2 1/2" dia. shocks with two 18" 250 lb lower springs and two 14" 200 lb upper springs. I also ordered the dual rate kit with the high temp valving and the replaceable heim joint. Everything should be here in 10 to 14 days. The valving was ordered for a light / medium compression stroke and a medium rebound. This was all per the suggestion of the owner of FOA shocks. I will give everybody an update after I recieve them. Now, if I could just scrounge up the rest of the money to get the rear four-link done.

LT.

 

[ChestonScout]

Thats awesome Rob!!!


I hope you like them. If you dont mind.....would you PM me or post up the total for the shocks?

If I run into any money after changing the motor out on the Scout.......I want to link the rear this winter. Just wondering how much$$$ it will take.

Im just going to run a 1 link though. Simple and CHEAP!

 

[LT.]

Update time. I got the beater back last night and drove it 33 miles home. In a lot of ways it is like a new rig. I can now power brake the truck and smoke my 42's.:greg: Shifts are quick, tranny is responsive, no more slipping into gear, and firmer shifts. All good news. However, I got up this morning and looked under the truck and there is a good sized puddle under the rig. DANG! The only thing that I could think of was there goes some of that very spendy fluid. I will be calling my buddy later today to give him the bad news. But, I am going to wait until a more desirable hour first. He works 60 plus hours a week and so I think that he deserves to sleep in on the weekends. I guess that it will be okay. I was just looking forward to getting the rig linked sooner than later.

LT.

 

[LT.]

Well I talked to my buddy and he will be picking up the beater again maybe Monday evening. Turns out that I also broke a bracket that holds the steering box onto the frame rail. I also took it out to test the flex to see what else I could do to gain a few more inches of travel. I chose to flex it out on a rock that was a little bigger than I had thought. I ended up putting a small dent under the drivers door and now the door does not want to close as well as it used to. But, it's all good. I was needing a few battle scars in it anyhow. Maybe someday I will get around to doing a boat side as well.

LT.

 

[turbosniper1]

SWEET!!! Sounds like the Trans is a great investment! (as long as the leak gets fixed!)

Also, while you have the truck can you do me a favor and take the pictures I asked for?? Straight on from the side, front, back, and above if possible???? Thanks brother!!
Talk at you soon!
Matt

 

[LT.]

Here it is in all its beater glory.

LT.

 

[LT.]

There you go Bro. I hope that is what you need.

LT.

 

[sprueitt]

Rocker Panel Guards...........enough said.

 

[Bart]

Sweet looking Ram for sure. X2 on the rocker guards.

 

[LT.]

Rocker guards are for those who fear body damage. Those souls who are uneasy about some trail scars. No rocker guards for me. This vehicle was chosen to be my offroad vehicle for a few reasons. First, price. Second, it was available. Third, it's ugly and already had a dent in it. If you are going to wheel something and you want to wheel a full size then you have a few choices. You can either call it quits when the trail gets tight or you can adapt and overcome. I choose the latter. I also chose this rig because I don't think that there are too many vehicles out there that are uglier than 80's Dodges. That being said then anything that I do to it is going to be an improvement.

LT.

 

[turbosniper1]

So, here is the first photo chop:
Before.....

After.....

And finally here is my artist rendition of the stretched wheelbase combined with the bobbed bed...

Basically I am looking at bobbing about 8-10" out of the bed between the wheel well and the taillight. This way it will be easier to achieve the maximum departure angle when the axle is moved back 10". LT is requesting a 90+ degree departure angle, so this combined with the dovetail is the best way to achieve it.
Matt

 

[turbosniper1]

And here is an idea for the rollcage design. It will integrate into the upper coilover mount on the rear axle for added strength!!! This was just an idea I came up with, but it is 2330 hrs and I am kind of tired... so here you go:

Hope you all like!
Matt

 

[LT.]

I just got back from taking the beater back to the shop. I am hoping to get the tranny leak fixed but, now I need to address the steering. The cheaper way to fix this is to go with a crossover steering set up. But, will this be good enough for when I step up to the 44" Rockers? Will it be okay with the coil-over swap that I will be wanting to do in a few years? Or would I be money ahead if I went ahead now with a full hydraulic set up? Either way this is going to cost money I just really want to only do it once.

LT.

 

[turbosniper1]

I would have to say if you only want to do it once, and plan to step up to the 44" tires, I would go ahead and go with the full hydraulic steering. You can get entire kits that come with everything you need for the conversion (except for the axle mount) that make the swap extremely simple! Pump, reservoir, filter, cooler, lines, ram, steering valve... all included. PSC or Howe both have the kits I am referring too.
Here is a link to the Howe kit:
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Rock-Crawling-Full-Hydraulic-Steering-_p_124-1615.html
throw in a couple heims, some link material, and you are good to go!

In my opinion you will be happier if you go ahead and go with the hydraulic steering now. If you go with the crossover steering you will inevitably want to switch to the hydro in the future.

 

[ATOYA4U]

Im with turbosniper1 I would go with full hydrolic. When I had my blazer I ran 44's with crossover and hydro assist and it just wasn't enough...

 

[ChestonScout]

Tough call.

The crossover setup will work. You can get hydro assist like mine for about 200 bucks if you drill and tap the steering box yourself. (Easy)

Thats what Corey and I are running...both with 44" Pitbulls.

Mine will steer good 90% of the time. Having said that....I want full hydro. I wont get it, but I want it. I havent driven the Durango since he swapped but he said it turns nice.


Im afraid your project is going to get to be to big to be able to make it to EJS (not an option)

I think you should plate the frame for now and leave the steering for another time. Focus on the rear and then wheel it!









Of course Im not made of money like you so take that for what its worth...




BTW The pics are cool Matt!!!

I cant wait to see it happen. You know this beater is going to beat up the big boys now. It kept up before!!

 

[turbosniper1]

I kind of agree with Cheston about the project outgrowing the time frame... but another option would be to do the body work, rear coilovers and 4 link, and cage between now and EJS, then after the week of wheeling you could leave the Ramcharger with me again to continue the build up.... just another option!!
Matt