Dodge '87 W350 Cab & Chassis Dually

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Hell yeah! How did I also miss this tread!

Looking good man. That truck is going to be killer.

I want one like it!
 
Hell yeah! How did I also miss this tread!

Looking good man. That truck is going to be killer.

I want one like it!
Just hiding in the dark corners of mud.....minimal progress - just torquing things and attaching lines as I have time.

Fuel tank, lines, exhaust, clutch hydraulics and front end….along with hanging trans and tcase once adapter arrives.

Learned that the pre-88 wiper motor is larger….time to run to the junkyard for a post 88 motor.

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Just hiding in the dark corners of mud.....minimal progress - just torquing things and attaching lines as I have time.

Fuel tank, lines, exhaust, clutch hydraulics and front end….along with hanging trans and tcase once adapter arrives.

Learned that the pre-88 wiper motor is larger….time to run to the junkyard for a post 88 motor.

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Looks amazing man! Put me top of list when you get bored. 🥱

We can road trip it together down here!
 
Wish I was better with updates - lots of little projects done but not many photos.

1. Driveline is now in and mounted - all fits like factory. I ultimately used the trans crossmember from a 89-93 ram and the 6-7” 4x4 crossmember support - the 4spd and 5spd prior to 89 didn’t match so i went all late model. Easy install.
2. First start went well, instantly built 65-70psi oil pressure at cold start idle (30deg or so).
3. Cooling system is connected with brand new brass radiator (wooo!)
4. More miscellaneous bits are rolling in to install the air cleaner and 4” exhaust (exhaust is massive and hilarious compared to any normal passenger car).
5. Fresh battery and new tray all went in nicely.
6. Attempted my first zinc plating for the core support bushings….I found the factory hardware to be better so I found clean body mount bushing sleeves, had them spun down on a lathe and replated. All the core support bushings went together great.
7. New battery cables fit great as always, battery cables USA is way too good to work with. New denso boot also of course.

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What else, new seals on tcase adapter, made an adapter harness for the fuel tank sender. I swapped to thr late model diesel tank which uses a 5 pin connector, so I used my generic terminal kit (Toyota folks will see a similarity ;)).

Also found that the early wiper is a tight fit - so late model wiper motor from the junkyard and a quick cleaning did the trick.

Can’t reiterate cleaning. So. Much. Cleaning.

Lastly first start. Downpipe is dumping into the engine bay on cold start but my goodness. This is exactly what I needed to hear.

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Going oh so slow right now….piping is complete, hood liner and transfer case shifter is all done now. Interior is all assembled now…until spring when I pull the glass for a new dash and fresh wiring harness that I pulled from the junkyard.

89-91 non-intercooled harness arrived, hoping I can make some small mods and drop it in. Then it’ll just be fluids. exhaust mounting and finish fuel inlet once parts arrive.

Intercooler charge pipe worked out great, long 2.5” 90 only needed chopped down a couple inches, added a bead roll and dropped right in with some new silicone clamps to the HE351.

Maybe I’ll drive it this winter 😅

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are those 100 series hose clamps on the rad hoses, awesome lol
 
are those 100 series hose clamps on the rad hoses, awesome lol
Haha no, just standard tension clamps. Light color is oem Chrysler but the rest are German from bel-metric.

I did use Toyota coolant hose for heater lines 😂
 
Been a while since an update. Only working on wiring and lots of little things that go unseen. Majority of it was merging the ‘93 motor to an 87 chassis using a 90 harness.

Goal was to:

1. Eliminate any need for ecu for electricals (91-93)
2. Merge existing body harness at firewall
3. Use factory wiring harness(es) and terminal pins.
4. Retain factory cluster with speedo cable
5. Utilize KSB and factory grid heater system since they are standalone from the rest of the truck wiring.

So ultimately I took the body harness plug and repinned the 50 pin firewall plug to match the cab harness. Then made a custom harness to match the transfer case and trans plugs into the engine harness. The engine harness was minimized to only include necessary sensors and retains KSB with new genuine Cummins harness. I did learn that into the mid 90s the engine harness plugs were the same on gas and diesel so pulling misc wiring and terminals helped with recreating some wiring. All in all the only item not functioning with the truck now is the ammeter which I’m debating my path forward….add wiring to recreate ammeter functionality or find a way to incorporate late model voltmeter (starting in ‘90).

What else….upgrade to late model starter relay, late model wiper motor and found a very neat item at the junkyard…..

92-93 Rams use Nippon Denso blower motors….so of course I snagged that, cleaned and installed.

Aside from that, cerakoted the downpipe, started hanging the 4” exhaust and wired in all the lighting and added 6 watermelons on the bed.

Next will be the lift, finish exhaust and register the truck!

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Goodness. Threads aren’t my forte these days.

I’ve been driving the truck daily and mixing it up with the 77. Mounted some NOS cab and chassis mud flaps on with the help of @The Machinist and have done a bunch of misc things no one else will notice. I did polish the paint, install cross over steering, added a borgeson shaft, adjusted the exhaust, tweaked the AFC, installed gauges with a spare bezel, installed a heavier AFC spring, fuel pin and governor spring, installed 4” lift springs up front and factory 6” blocks out back then added tire shine.

Once the fresh intercooler arrives I should finally see 35-40psi…..maybe I’ll actually make the 400whp after all.

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Tossed on an early tin grille….debating the switch if it fits with the ac condenser. Also grabbed the 1FZ at the jy, thankfully the 35s and small lift didn’t affect yanking the motor off the bed.

Tinkering here and there, have a handful of things to do but I’m pleased that I can drive it anytime.

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Continually driving this daily while mixing in the Tenere. Fixing up the interior now, gathered nearly everything I need while adding new door seals and new intake (turbo is ridiculously loud now 😂).

Not all fun and games, had to mix in some new wheel bearings finally (overall quite nice but one was starting to eat itself) along with new pads and rotors.

Icing on the cake was the bumper. After buying and selling a few early warn bumpers, I finally found the perfect bumper. Mixed with Engineered Vintage brackets and the bumper is hung. No fear….the DA came out to polish the top/bottom before install.

With a score at the junkyard too, I’ve got an 8274 I’m going to hang on the bumper next.

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Pulled the junkyard 8274 apart and had everything vapor’d and then re-zinc’d some of the parts that I needed to reuse.

Polished the ribs, masked and ready for paint.

I’m replacing the following on the winch:

1. Motor is now the 70865 with splined pinion gear.
2. Albright solenoid/later housing assembly
3. New Koyo/NSK bearings
4. New drum retainer bracket
5. New endhouse
6. New seals and drum bushings.
7. Powder coated drum

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