This is the thread where i hope some people will enjoy me restoring my first mopar vehicle named ole blue a 1987 dodge w150 power ram shes basically rust free on the cab and front clip minus a small rust hole in the driver rocker and bubbling on the front fenders and she has the 318 with the single barrle carb with the normal 727 tranny with danna 44 in the front and i assume a 60 in the rear havent researched it yet but i want this to be a spot to see what i mess up on and what i succeed with






i purchased her for 300 dollars not running with a clean indiana title and got a 90s bed for free off a cummins he had which is toast and wont be stayin on it wasnt getting fuel so i tried blowing out the lines and thats when i heard air in the gas tank and found out it didnt even have gas in it soni got five gallons and she fired right up at full idle so i turned it down and set the idle properly im considering a flat bed or buying a bed with good bulk head and bed sides and laying a wood floor in it the tailgate was donated by my buddy with a 79 powerwagon that a guy put a 80s tailgate on but he found a 70s one so i got the tail gate for free then when i got the truck the tires were trashed and the rims are done for cause they cut 3rd gen wheels to fit over the front hubs so i got brand used rims and tires to throw on it and they work pretty good and i just did valve cover gaskets and now at idle it has 40 pounds of oil pressure instead of 15 and its time for it oil change soon but being 18 in school and lossing my horrible job means no income for the project for now so it sits till i buy oil and a filter cause im curious if theres any shavings in the oil because this 300 dollar truck runs and drives perfectly for some reason and it makes me suspicious i guess you could say cause every project ive had has blow its tranny so im skeptical of this but hoping for the best in this journey i got over 1000 dollars in parts in the summit racing store and ready to make this thing a daily again and hopefully some of you will appreciate this thread and follow and enjoy what content i produce and give a first timer some pointers on mopar since ive played with chevys and fords always and now testing the waters of mopar and so far its smooth sailing with this truck but we all will see what happens in the future

 

nice rig! looking forward to the progress.

 

Well old blue made it to her first carshow the turning of the leaves festival just down the road from me she turned heads people laughed at her but ive had her for a month now only but they can wait till next year when i have the new bed with wood floor and new paint job with the 4 barrle carb conversion then they wont be laughing granted a 300 dollar truck probably didnt have no place being around 20 30 40 thousand dollar cars and parked across from a mint 92 d150 4 speed but it only had a v6 put in it but it was still a nice truck wanted his tranny old blues slipped slightly pulling out of the driveway but after being made fun of all day she was rowdy and pissed leaving people quick laughing when the tiny 318 screamed and even magically broke the tires loose granted it was raining all day so less impressive now there were people that saw my dream and digged the truck some even questioned me about it the judges only glanced at it and walked away not paying any mind to the beautiful interior which is the best part of the truck and probably the place where i scored highest

 

I have surprised more than a few people with a largely stock 318. They aren't total dogs. Glad you had fun at the show!

 

Like a truck that stands out in a crowed.... Mopar on Brother !!!!! Never give up !!!

 

There's nothing wrong with a serviver....

 

well on my way home today I'm picking up several grit levels of sand paper and bondo to start getting the cab ready to be painted in primer my one goal before snow fall or temps drop to low to paint can't decide on what color I could keep baby blue or a darker blue or there's a few others like Hemi orange yellow or green if I do dark blue I thought of doing the second gen official pace truck design on it like this

but I'm still deciding if it would look good on a first gen because I don't really like them on the second gens because how short the trucks are



just a few more pics of her from the ad I found her on those 3rd gen rims were ugly can't even sell them for 40 bucks on facebook cause the owners cut the front 2 rims to fit over the hubs

 

Shoot it what ever color you like.... It's your truck.... And your project.... And you can always change it later if you dont like it....
You can always scuff it and Primer/Seal it to keep the rust off it till next season....

On-Line Supplies >>>>>>
https://tcpglobal.com/

 

well shes painted up on the bed sides as a test since its being replaced anyhow

 

Well that looks better.... Nothing a couple rattle cans cant fix for now..... On the bed, you might see about grabbing a couple 4X4 wheel well Flairs and see if you can cover up that wheel well for awhile, until you get back to it some time down the road.... Just food for thought... Pick up something at the junk yard....
https://realtruck.com/c/exterior-acc...RoCPm4QAvD_BwE

 

bed aint staying I have a few beds that are saveable this one is to far gone and off of a cummins

 

Well today figured id do a cold start and then decided that ill spend the day playing because i have no work to get done on the truck

the boat is another smaller project that lets me switch projects when one stresses me out to much its going to continue to match the truck later in its life and so will the trailer everything is from the 80s in this pic and its satisfying to think about

 

very cool!

 

Oh Man... You haven't even painted the boat or the trailer yet !!!!!!

 

Today i was finally lucky enought to find a set of taillight harnesses in the local pull apart thanks to who ever trashed their 93 150 for helping me keep mine going ive searched for months now with out luck unable to find them for sale now i can insure and drive the truck into town with out worrying about the law or being rear ended because people didnt know i was turning

 

That's a mighty big load in that wheel barrel.

 

Awesome... One more thing off the check list.

 

I planned on getting a bumper but didn't have a breaker bar it was mighty nice having such a light load in it for once gas cap I ended up grabbing was kinda heavy though lol

 

LOL...

 

After spending 65 dollars for the taillights i decided to buy 45 dollars worth of parts to hopefully help the 318 run better also spent time looking at a new transmission from monster transmissions a stage 3 727 4x4 with a 2000 to 2500 stall torque converter its also red so i can spend a extra 75 dollars to have some color under the truck it has been named dirt dog since the truck will be for dirt drags and mud bogs every now and then ill take her on a 1/4 mile strip should hold 700 safely so goals are 550 to 650 for horse power have a cam new heads new intake new carb thats all for the motor for now maybe a new oil pickup and oil pan new rear main seal when ever i take the tranny out im waiting till it goes before i send it out to use it for the core for the dirt dog tranny but for now ill settle with the new wires cap and rotor next is a new tire aswell since the other one is cut in half

 

What !!!!! Not Ignition Rotor or Sparking Pins???? LOL
Your off to a good start...
Also on the Transmission... Check out CRT>>>> https://www.coperacingtrans.com/

 

I actually have a 87 d150 5.2 2wd named ol blue lol. Add my snap p.oldnumber7

 

Well i put the new cap rotor and wires on and now the motor wont catch while cranking just back fires out the carb and i know i did everything 1000 percent right so im a little confused abd pissed at the truck even though its not its fault but id figure id give a small update on the post

 

Go over the wiring diagram for your sb and make sure the plug wires are correct.
Make sure you didn't use a big block diagram.

 

I Agree

 

I'm deciding to pull the 318 I've been wanting to for a few months to tear it down to the block and buy brand new heads cam and intake and oil pump maybe a new msd distributor so I want to completely tear it down paint and clean it so why not do it now the timing has jumped and I don't feel like standing on my neck to fix It in the truck so I decided its time to pull the front clip and regasket and partially build the motor I want a 340 for it but there aren't any for sale right now in my area the are in my price range but this is a start to a new chapter in the molar journey

 

But 440s are fairly cheap and easy to come by!

 

I have a buddy with one but I want a 71 340 my granddad had a 71 dart with the 340 and just put bigger jets in it and it would blow the doors off my uncles modified cornet

 

i do so love me a mopar small block.

 

It took about only 2 months of procrastination to get the old girl running again but she does and she sounds good to now i can focus on finishing the body because when its been warm ive focused on sanding and primerin her

she also got new rims and new 35s since im replacing the fenders i cut the fenders inplan on getting a lift at least a 2 inch one