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Joining The Bandwagon with my buildup- BlueDodgeRam

22K views 58 replies 21 participants last post by  JasonB 
#1 ·
I figured that id start posting up the buildup of my old Dodge, mostly to remind me of how badly im screwing this thing up :rotfl:. Im starting to get into more and more custom fabbed stuff, along with the obligatory 1 ton axle swap. but, my build will incorporate alot of really neat stuff, lots of cool designs, and many stupid decisions....:flipoff:



Lets start from the beginning, shall we? :D:



bone stock 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.9L, Off Road Package, etc. I bought it with 69,000 miles on it. Not a dent or scratch on the thing. It stayed stock for a while until I started college at Virginia Tech and joined the local 4 wheel drive group.





Next, as i was still a newb and didnt know any better, I put a Superlift 5" lift kit(yes, the one with those homoghey radius arm things) and a set of 35" Mickey Thompson MTZs.

Now, the only thing that remains on the truck from that Superlift kit are the front coils and shock plates. Currenty the specs:

-BDS Shackle Flip, factory Off Road springs, no AALs or antything

-Bilstein 5100 shocks

-Skyjacker control arms and brackets

-Thuren Trac bar

-37" MTRs until i get a set of 39" Krawlers after the 1 ton swap.

Soon after I installed a Powertrax No-Slip rear locker(which should have been the first thing I did, lockers are the best thing you can do to any rig), and finally an Aussie front locker.





My front bumper was being claimed by trees and ice from winter wheeling runs, so a new front bumper was in order. I didnt like any of those gigatic "chin" bumpers that are out there(or the price of them FWIW) so since I was starting to get into fabrication, me and a buddy designed and built a new bumper. It consists of 1.75"x.120 DOM tube and some 1/4" plate for the winch mount area. plenty of beef.

 
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#2 ·



After a coulple trips to Harlan, KY with Ramaford, MountainRam, and SuperHawk, the 1/2 ton axles were starting to show their weaknesses after adding 37" rubber and lockers front and rear. I was planning on doing a '79 HP60 swap, but I found one hell of a deal on a D60 out of a '97 Dodge Ram 2500(ok, i got it complete for $250 :D: )

Since I saved a bunch of $$$ of a cheap axle, I could afford to "upgrade" my new 60 with some better and stronger parts. I went with the 35 spline chromoly axle upgrade from EMS offroad. These shafts are a big improvement over the stock 30 spline toothipick shafts.

I also refreshed the axle with new brake calipers, brake rotors, u joints, ball joints, etc so I wouldnt have to worry about those things for a while. I installed the Yukon 5.13 gears and 35 spline carrier. I should have the 60 under the truck sometime this week, then I will be on the lookout for my rear axle.

Before I move on to the rear axle i want to finish doing what I want with the front end, which includes hydro assist steering(eventually full hydro), homebrew tie rod and draglink, and my homebrew control arms. I will be sticking with a short arm design, but my hopes are that they will flex just a well as long arms with the use of Currie Johnny Joints on the axle and frame ends. They will also be several inches longer to push my front axle ~3". I will build my steering around them so I can deal with clearances, etc.

SO, thats where I sit right now. My plans for the truck are lengthy at best. I am at 5" of lift right now, and thats as high as I will ever go. This is a trail truck that plays on the rocks so low COG is key. I will be able to fit 39-42" rubber when im "done". I definitely dont mind cutting lots of fender if it saves me from more lift. I have lots of buddys who build buggys that I will get lots of help from for ideas, designs, and general help.

Some highlights(as of now) are:
-The Dana 60 front right now is still open until I can afford an ARB air locker.
-front axle pushed forward ~3" to give plenty of tire clearance without any more lift.
-Dana 70HD or Dana 80 rear axle, upgraded to 37 or 40 spline chromoly axles. I will weld the differential for now until I feel the need to get an ARB
-->>>39" red label(sticky) BFG Krawlers, or either the 42" TSL-SX(if it ever comes out) or the 42" Krawler.
----H2 wheels. 5" backspacing so theyll keep my tires inside the fenders.
-Either a NP241 from a Rubicon(4:1 ratio) or a custom transfer case doubler for increased gear reduction. shooting for a crawl ratio of 110:1
-sliders(just have to weld them onto the truck now)
-tube bed- this is where the cool factor will show up. lots of interesting bends, along with some dimple die shock mounts, and other small details. it will not look anything like RamVs, but i may take his Grand Cherokee fuel tank idea.
-flat belly skid. basically a big a$$ removable sheet of 3/8" plate. might put some of that slippery "cutting board" stuff to help me slide over rocks.
-rear 4 link w/ coilovers
-whatever other dumb ideas i or others come up with.
CUT MORE FENDER!!!

^^^those ARE NOT my wheels. I BORROWED them :rotfl: . yep thats $3500 in tires and wheels that i got to tear up for free

Discuss....

:D:
 
#5 ·
alright, time for an update. I finally got the front Dana 60 under the truck. took about 2 days total. the pics i took during the swap are on my cell phone, but the bluetooth function on it aint workin for some reason. :dunno:


Had a couple small setbacks:
--instead of buying new cambolts and bushings(since my truck is an '01 and this axle is out of a '97), i just enlarged the holes for the cambolts. i also had the grind down the cam "washers" so they would fit in the little "track" thing.

--again, since my truck is a '01 that had the dual piston brakes, and this '97 axle has the single piston ones, i had to buy new brakelines from the junction at the frame to the calipers, for both sides. luckily, the NAPA 30 minutes away from me had both in stock.

--had the trim the passenger side coil bucket a small bit where the trac bar bolts too as the trac bar was hitting it when the suspension was drooped. 5 minutes with the cutting wheel solved that problem. :bigthumb:
You can see what i cut in this picture:


--NOTE: i have the stock steering off of Ramafords '01 2500 until the HD steering gets here. For some reason, the '00 and up 60s must be wider at where the tie rods connect the knuckles, as the adjuster now is tightened all the way in, but its still toed out about 1.5" :dunno:

other than those, the swap was easy. it would have gone quicker if we had started working before 5pm, but it was so DAMN hot, i could deal with not getting it done as quickly as i wanted.

now, enjoy the pics, and feel free to comment/ask questions.......:D:





The 35 spline EMS Offroad shafts are super BEEFY


DAYUMM, thats a big diff! :D:

note the :flipoff: sticker :D:


H2 Wheels!!
 
#7 ·
Pete... about time you got some damn pictures up of this swap! lol

Looks good, though. You need to do something about that steering, though... 1.5" toe out is bad, Mmmmkay? lol


Seriously though... good upgrade. Good luck too on finding a rear 70 or 80

-LT
 
#9 ·
On 2007-07-25 14:41, snowjay wrote:
Looks good!

Did you cut the treads on the MT/Rs?

nope, i actually bought all 4 of those for $200 bucks back when i had a set of Swampers, so i was gonna use the MTRs on the street, but now i sold the Swampers and only have the MTRs.

but no, i didnt cut the treads, the previous owner did. i dont really notice any huge gain in traction from it, but whatever :D:
 
#10 ·
On 2007-07-25 14:48, BlueDodgeRam wrote:


nope, i actually bought all 4 of those for $200 bucks back when i had a set of Swampers, so i was gonna use the MTRs on the street, but now i sold the Swampers and only have the MTRs.

but no, i didnt cut the treads, the previous owner did. i dont really notice any huge gain in traction from it, but whatever :D:

Wow that was a heck of a deal for those tires!

When I scrolled down and saw the tire I was like I thought he said he had MTRs, then I saw the Goodyear on the side and wondered.
 
#11 ·
ya, id say 200 bucks for MTRs with 90% tread is a great deal! :flipoff:

but as soon as i get everything done, a set of 39" sticky BFG Krawlers will be goin on.
 
#12 ·
so, a little bit up an update to my plan.

instead of doing the normal D70 or D80 out of a Dodge, im going to run a 14 Bolt. my buddy's selling me one for 40 bucks, so thats good enough of a reason. 14 Bolts are 30 spline, but its a different spline angle, which allows for a larger axle shaft. The splined area of a 14 Bolt axle shaft is around 1.6" compared to a 35 spline Dana shaft at 1.5". If i ever do break a shaft, Cromo shafts are cheap and easy to find.

To take care of the ABS/Speedo problem i will use the Dakota Digital SGI-5 box. hopefully i can figure out the wiring on it and be good to go.

then, the only things i will have to do is regear it to 5.13s, weld on new perches and shock mounts, and shave an inch or two off the bottom. also i will weld the carrier.


ALSO, at the same time I do the rear axle, i will install a dual transfer case setup, much like Mountain Ram is doing. Its called the Box4Rocks. A guy named Duffy (d.d.machine on Pirate4x4) makes them. The cost is $415 and mates a NP231 transfer case to bascially any case that has the round 6 bolt mounting pattern(i.e. Dana 300, NP241, NP205, NP231)



Id like to use a Dana 300 case, flipped and twinsticked. Using this case would allow me to have more drive options. i will be able to use front wheel drive to do front digs, like alot of buggies have. Ill also need to install a rear cutting brake so i can lock only the rear axle's brakes when doing a front dig.

I will have to make two new crossmembers. One to get rid of the factory tranny crossmember/"skid plate", since mine is beat to hell and i always seem to get hung up on it since im so low. It will be flat against the bottom of the frame rails. The other crossmember will act as a support for the two transfer cases, as thats a lot of weight hanging off the transmission. It will also be flat against the bottom of the frame rails. Between these two crossmembers I will put a big sheet of 1/4" steel that will act as a very good skid plate to help me slide over big rocks.

Of course, I will have to make two new driveshafts, which is why i want to do it at the same time as the rear axle.
 
#14 ·
no i did not do the Manual Locking Hub conversion, only the 35 spline cromo inners. if i ever have any extra 1000 bucks i may do it.

the 35 spline inners/CAD Delete kit from EMS Offroad was around 500 bucks.
 
#15 ·
It looks like a beaver took your swaybar mounts off and trimmed the coil buckets :roll:

Truck looks good. how'd the front shaft work out for ya??
 
#16 ·
looks good so far? nice upgrades hopefully in my near future as well. i am thinking of using the 14 bolt as well so when you do your speed sensor let me know all that is involved. thanks!
 
#17 ·
Want to sell the locker in the rear 9.25?
 
#18 ·
On 2007-08-10 05:24, dodgethis12 wrote:
It looks like a beaver took your swaybar mounts off and trimmed the coil buckets

Truck looks good. how'd the front shaft work out for ya??

haha, i trimmed those off with the O/A torch when the entire thing was still strapped down in the back of the truck after picking it up. i was bored :D:

if your talking about the front driveshaft, i havent done anything with it yet. ill need to make two completely new ones once i get the doubler in.

On 2007-08-10 06:08, hi ho silver wrote:
looks good so far? nice upgrades hopefully in my near future as well. i am thinking of using the 14 bolt as well so when you do your speed sensor let me know all that is involved. thanks!

will do man! :bigthumb:

On 2007-08-10 07:29, NFD538 wrote:
Want to sell the locker in the rear 9.25?

i will once i get that axle out of the truck. ill post up in the for sale section. i do have an Aussie locker for the D44 i need to get rid of :D:
 
#19 ·
Well when you do sell it I got 1st dibs on it :bigthumb:
 
#21 ·
negative ghostrider. ive been working and going to class and saving up for a DD so i havent had any time or money to do much of anything.

ill be sure to post up once i get something done...
 
#22 ·
update coming sometime next week. :D:
 
#23 ·
Parts are starting to roll in for this next part of my build. I ended up not doing a 14 bolt for time reasons(i wouldnt have any time to shave it as much as i wanted to), and the axle I eventually went with will be much better in the rocks. I picked up an 80s Ford D70U, which comes with 35 spline shafts, and has an almost completly smooth center section, basically eliiminating the need to shave anything.


Now, for the speedo issue, instead of fabricating in a tone ring and speedo sensor, i picked up a Dakota Digital SGI-5 speedometer interface.


Next, since my axle came with 3.55s, i needed a carrier for 4.56 and numerically higher gears, so I contacted WFO Concepts who hooked me up with an empty carrier. I just need to swap my spider gears over and weld it up, and BAM!, instant spool for relentless traction :D:


Picked up the 5.13 gears from Motive Gear, and a Yukon master install kit with all the good Timken bearings.



Since i needed spring perches and U bolt plates, I went to Kert at DIY4X for some BEEFY perches and plates, fully CNC bent and MIG welded. :drool:



Since im swapping the heavy drum brakes over to easy to maintain and lightweight disc brakes, I picked up a set of conversion brackets designed specifically for the D70U from RuffStuff Specialties. They are CNC bent, and bolt on, so no annoying spacers to deal with. Now I just need to hit the local parts store for calipers and rotors for a 1975 Chevy K20.


Picked up a D70 1410 yoke w/ u bolts instead of those weak straps:


I also decided I was going to need something to protect the diff, so a SUPER BEEFY diff cover from Great Lake OffRoad was in order.(Ill replace the photo with one of mine when it arrives, but this is exactly the one im getting, with a 1/2" plate, and counter sunk holes)


I also picked up some link material for my custom control arms, which will push my front axle ~3" forward. I chose 2" x .5" wall DOM for the lowers, and 1.75" x .25" wall DOM for the uppers. I have to order the 8 Johnny Joints and ill be good to go on that project as well."Got Link Material?" :D:


Thats all I have right now, but im still waiting on a few things to come in. Im ordering my PSC hydro assist steering box sometime this week, since my stocker is worn out, and I want hydro assist anyways.

The current plan is to:
1)get the Dakota Digital box wired in a working correctly
2)get the axle set up with gears, brakes, and perches
3)decide on a few other details, concerning a leaf spring swap to the Chevy 63" units(more on that later)
4)Wait for a warmer day, and swap this baby in.
5)Redo both driveshafts, and be able to wheel again!

The doubler is on hold right now, as I barely have enough time to right this between work and class. Ill probably wheel it all this next season, then maybe do it next winter. The rear tubework is also on the list to do soon, possibly by summer time. Ive begun drawing up designs, so heres a sample :D: (Thanks Archer for the picture)


Feel free to ask any questions on anything. Thanks!
 
#25 ·
The truck as come a long ways.Nice looking Ram.Iam coming that way the 2nd week of hunting season.Iam going to Giles,pearisburg,va to go hunting.
 
#26 ·
That white dodge that is pulling you in one of the pics is really gay! :flipoff:
 
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