Another build thread + Racing Updates

[Magnethead]

Dropped the midplate off yesterday, got the call today that it has already been welded. I'll go grab it on my lunch break tomorrow.

Also drilled the hole in the MSD mounting bracket.

Also got the dragster buttoned up. Needs some more things done, but we're close.

 

[Bucky Badger]

Looks so sweet

 

[Magnethead]

It's amazing how much crap it takes to run a "simple" 150 shot of spray. Third fuel pump, 3 more fuel lines, pressure regulator, solenoids, lines......

 

[Magnethead]

More progress. Mid-plate is done and just needs to be taken to powdercoat, bellhousing is notched, so that pretty much sums up the things I needed at this stage. All I need now is the shifter system and a torque converter.

 

[Magnethead]

Now you see it, now you don't.

 

[Magnethead]

All the wiring in the steering wheel is done. Pulled the cluster apart and blocked off the LED for the "air bag" idiot light. Wiring under the dash is as complete as it will get until the shift controller is installed. Wiring in the back seat is pretty much done, I need to run a blue wire from the sPOD to the LineLock terminal in the center console to complete all that [solenoid is not plumbed so not a high priority]. Under hood is kinda done but quite the patchwork, so I'm adding yet another barrier strip to clean that up, will mount between the PCM and coil. Once that is wired in, I can hook up the battery, configure the MSD box in the laptop, and should be able to start and run it off the MSD box.

 

[Magnethead]

MSD is all wired up. Moved the truck on factory ignition so I could pull the firebird out, but MSD is pretty much ready to go. Just need to connect the main power for it and plug the laptop in.

 

[Magnethead]

 

[Magnethead]

Cluster**** has began. Between FTI, JW, and Martin Saine, a solution shall be located.

 

[Magnethead]

Finished up installing the MSD box tonight. Two-step RPM limiter seems to work well.

 

[Magnethead]

Picked up a converter for an A518 today. Was given to me for free by a local shop, already cut in half to make my life easier. Only problem is that it has the offset bolt hole (you can see where the counterweight was knocked off), so that pad will have to be cut off and relocated, or something. Preliminary thought is to have FTI weld 1/4" pads to the existing feet (and relocate that offset pad) to match the midplate, take a 9.5" front cover, and weld it into the A518 front cover.

The JW flexplate is 131 tooth, the A518 is 130 tooth. I'm not sure if that will cause any problems, but I dont think so.

All dimensions are with some margin of error.

A518 Front Cover ID:
11"

JW Assembly Height:
7-11/32" (no clearance)

Height to backside of ring gear:
1-14/32" stock, sitting on 1/4" plate
1-17/32" JW assembly w/ spacer

Height of A518 front cover, absolute:
3.115"

Height of A518 front cover, above ring gear:
1.675"

Height of A518 front cover, above internal center:
1.800"

Height of A518 internal center, absolute:
3.115 - 1.800 = 1.315"

JW Assembly converter mating height:
1.360"

 

[Magnethead]

Making progress on the battery box. NHRA rule is two 3/8 bolts firmly attaching the body to the nearest structure, preferably frame rail is possible. I'm doing a 1/4" steel backing plate, the 1/8" steel bed, 1/8" of bedliner material (all sandwiched between two nylocks on each stud), then a 1/4" aluminum top plate and wing nuts.

 

[Magnethead]

A month later and the battery hold-down bracket is finally completed. Racing and work got in the way a little.

Slowly working on getting my debt from Christmas paid down so that I can get the torque converter and SHIFT system budgeted.

 

[Magnethead]

Did a quick experiment last night, then packed everything up into a box to be shipped to FTI in Florida today. Also pulled the firebird out of the garage to give it some much needed attention.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME WITHOUT PROPER SAFETY SYSTEMS!

 

[Magnethead]

I wish photobucket hadn't broke the internet. I moved the photos over to Google.

Dakota Electrical Things - https://photos.app.goo.gl/7hYYMi0Htqid4Shm2
2017 Build Progress - https://goo.gl/photos/FRnJnnHHfBxTfFbK8
2015-16 Build Progress - https://goo.gl/photos/AvdM6DBFnZ9nFaaB9

Truck is almost ready for the finishing of Phase 1.

Currently on page 11 of the OG build thread - https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-dakota/394387-starting-the-build-process-11.html

 

[Magnethead]

Old trans is all but ready to come out of the truck. Have 2 stubborn upper bellhousing bolts to try and dig out.

That magnet is the size of a dime. The amount of material stuck to it is the size of a cookie.

 

[Magnethead]

LOTS of progress today.

 

[Magnethead]

Ended up with 0.155 of converter clearance with the 1/4" midplate plus an .065 shim. New converter uses 7/16-20 converter bolts, ARP says 55 ft-lb, I say no way. I couldn't get past 40 safely.

Whole album: https://goo.gl/photos/FRnJnnHHfBxTfFbK8

 

[Magnethead]

Picked up the balancer from Reher-Morrison. Now I have an idea on where to start.

Driveshaft shipped today and will arrive tomorrow from Driveshaft Specialist in San Antonio.

Pulled the valvebody out of the old trans to steal the sensors to be dummy loads.

 

[Magnethead]

 

[Magnethead]

I now have no idea what this thing actually stalls at. The fact that it wasn't pulling the motor down is why I stopped at 3,000. It has to be somewhere between 3500 and 4,000. I hope.

 

[Magnethead]

Exhaust is on. Kind of neat watching the guy do his thing. I'd been getting pipes bent by him after work for the last few weeks, trying to mock it up at the house and see what would fit where. Also investigated a couple leaks. Turns out one is a water pump gone south...the pulley is just flopping around. I knew it was coming. Also managed to cut my forehead open while unstrapping the truck from the trailer.

I came in today and said "My part is done. You're the artist, it's time to make some three dimensional art."

 

[Magnethead]

truck is legal now. Have put probably 150-200 miles on it so far. It settles in around 230-40 on the highway, 180-195 in stop and go traffic. Only 5 degree gradient across the trans cooler. Fixed the transbrake adjuster bolt leak with some locktite 567 thread sealer mixed with blue locktite. Now only drips a little off the bottom of the bellhousing and the tailshaft seal. I'm okay with that. Looking at pump-around systems for cooling the trans fluid when engine is off.

 

[Magnethead]

just noticed i havent added any photos or videos since exhaust.

One minor issue. Glazed the belt and pulley on the Alternator. Will have to go back to using the idler pulley. Voltage steadily dropped as I went, belt slipping across the pulley.

Got the front brake lines clipped up and away from the tire and ball joint, mounted the overflow reservoir, and filled up the tank. Replaced the 60" belt with a 70" to go around the idler between alternator and AC, and all is good.

 

[Magnethead]

 

[Magnethead]

Went to the track Saturday. Torque converter is kinda goofy. The dash tach is 200 behind actual. I wanted to datalog and play in the MSD, but my laptop was being a female dog. Had to reinstall windows on it last night.

The converter stalls around 3,000 RPM on the brake and flashes to 3500 on the launch. The V6 is spec’d at 175 HP in stock emissions trim, mine might be closer to 200 as-is.

64 MPH = 715 Axle RPM * 4.10 = 2932 driveshaft RPM @ 4000 engine RPM = 26.7% slip 1/8 mile
71 MPH = 793 Axle RPM * 4.10 = 3252 driveshaft RPM @ 4150 engine RPM = 21.6% slip 1000 foot
78 MPH = 871 Axle RPM * 4.10 = 3571 driveshaft RPM @ 4300 engine RPM = 10.7% slip 1/4 mile

 

[KTMLew01]

just noticed i havent added any photos or videos since exhaust.

One minor issue. Glazed the belt and pulley on the Alternator. Will have to go back to using the idler pulley. Voltage steadily dropped as I went, belt slipping across the pulley.

Got the front brake lines clipped up and away from the tire and ball joint, mounted the overflow reservoir, and filled up the tank. Replaced the 60" belt with a 70" to go around the idler between alternator and AC, and all is good.

Need to get the belt wrapped farther around the alternator or it will never quit slipping.

 

[Magnethead]

Need to get the belt wrapped farther around the alternator or it will never quit slipping.

yea i put the idler back in, it's good now

 

[Magnethead]

Got the timing cover notched for the ATI balancer. Had to take off way more than I expected. Made a filler plate for the backside, now just have to find somebody willing to weld on cast aluminum.

 

[Magnethead]

Current status report:

made alot of progress over Christmas break.

With the timing over clearanced for the ATI balance,r i took it to a friend to weld it up. As usual, the cast aluminum was no weld-friendly, and even when cleaned, still had alot of impregnated oil and contaminents that made it hard to carry a puddle. It's not pretty, but it shouldn't leak. The front side definitely shows where the heat came through. I figure I can pack the front opening with RTV to help co-seal it in the event that one of the contaminent micro-bubbles does have a connecting pinhole to the outside.

I also got the procharger pulley in, it's for an LT1 4th gen F-body as shown in some of the previous photos i took from an F-body forum. It uses a 3 on 3.2" bolt pattern, one hole is slotted for either the standard SBC/BBC pattern or the LT/LS pattern which has one bolt offset 5 degrees. The trick was that I was expecting 3/8" holes, and it's actually 7/16". So I had to drill out my 3/8" steel adapter plate further than I had anticipated. And in doing so, i drilled out 3 holes of the mopar pattern instead of the GM pattern :facepalm: so I had to go back and do the correct 3 holes on the GM pattern. I then took it to a friend's shop and opened up the center hole to match the 2.25" diameter of the pulley's centering lip.

I was going to use an underdrive main pulley, however the shoulder of the P/C pulley will not fit inside the U/D pulley. So i'll have to use the stock main pulley. The P/C pulley is 1.75" wide plus a 1" shoulder. I *could* let it hang out that far, but it would be sketchy. It will be better to have the P/C pulley as far inboard as I can to minimize the side-loading on the crank snout. Stacked tight, it is about 6-3/4" from the face of the PC pulley to the forward lip of the timing cover.

Doing some more research. Spent a half hour on the phone with procharger tech support.

F1C-94: Don't use. It's for NMCA/NMRA Mustang class only.
F1R: Don't use. Takes a very large small block to make work properly due to extreme parasitic losses (but will make monster power once you can get it spinning). High IAT's guaranteed due to impeller design.
F1A-94: Could use, but has fairly high parasitic losses, but not as bad as F1R. Very efficient compressor means it tends to have very high IAT's if the intake air is of elevated temperature, such as near exhaust header, even at low boost.
F1A: Best for the situation. A much-updated core from the F1D and F1, but does not compress the air as violently as the A-94 or R and thus does not create as high IAT's for the same boost level.

Procharger also offers "free" mock-up blowers. You give them a deposit of $400 plus $40, they send you an empty gearbox and volute assembly with pulley shaft. You pay another $40 shipping to send it back, and they credit you the $400 back. That's actually one hell of a deal for somebody in my boat.

The tech (Jeremy also sent me some information on tensioners. P/C's preferred system for the 8 and 12 rib dedicated systems is a manually located spring tensioner. It allows you to set the tensioner location for a specific belt length configuration, you set it to a specific preload, then the spring takes care of the belt from there. It's the best of both worlds, when used properly and with a brain.

I spent the last 2 days doing a bunch of measuring. It looks like I can mount a 6x12" plate of 3/8" steel to the cylinder head (4 direct 3/8" bolts) and the LA mounting ears (2 7/16" bolts with 1-3/4" spacers of 3/4x0.120 DOM). That will give me mounting surface from the base of the AC compressor to the base of the timing cover (12" tall), and out to the edge of the exhaust manifold (Head ports @ 4", mani stops @ 6").

Mounted directly face-to-face to that 3/8" steel plate, will be a 12" x 12" slab of 1/2" aluminum plate. However, it will have to be offset 1.5" to clear the LS power steering pump retrofit (and may have some other areas relieved for hose clearance). This will give me coverage from 1.5" to 13.5" outward, with the same vertical location of the steel plate. The 13.5" dimension is rather important because that is the location of the inboardmost location of hipotek's PDC mounting brackets. From this plate, there will be at least 1 if not 2 brace anchors going back to Hipotek's poly motor mounts. This will be to keep the 3/8 and 1/2" plate combination from bending.

The second 12x12" slab of 1/2" aluminum will be placed identically to the first, however there will be spacers between them of an arbitrary length. 1/2-20 bolts will go through the front plate, spacer, and either through the second plate and thread into the steel plate, or will thread directly into the second plate where the steel one is not present, with a nylock on the backside. This will absolutely ensure that in no way, shape, fashion, or form will the assembly ever be able to flex out of alignment unless the anchors to the motor mount break.

The front plate will then be notched and the head unit dropped in, idler and tensioner added. Hopefully somewhere along the time, the spacer length will be decided such to make the belt line up with the crank pulley.

Based on the LS transplant blueprint, the F1X/F2 series of blowers are 10.5" from face of pulley to volute flange, based on a 2" cog belt pulley (dimensionally same as 12 rib), which means the head unit itself is 8.5 inches thick. Seeing as I have 4.5" in front of the cylinder head, that means that the gearbox/volute mating surface will be around the front of the head, and the volute will be above the exhaust manifold. Meanwhile the P1/D1/F1 based kids are 8.75" thick with an 8-rib (1.25") dedicated belt on a 3/4" offset pulley. Either way, I can't fit the whole blower in front of the head, so there will be some space sharing going on. But i knew that.

I'm keeping AC, and going to a half-size radiator to make room for plumbing and the electric water pump. If i go FMIC i'll be blocking off part of an already shrunken radiator, along with the intercooler behind it. I can fit a 10x10 in the end of each bumper, but that's not cost effective. If I remove the sway bar, I can fit a 26x10 laying down but then I run the risk of road debris, parking curbs, ect. I have sent quote requests out for a 27.5 x 13 inch, 3 1-inch-row radiator to 4 different companies. That's basically a Scirocco radiator, but 5.5 inches wider and much thicker. Stock radiator is about 540 square inches, this will be 315 square inches. So the extra surface area of bigger rows and a third row is necessary. The Pierburg CWA200/400 pumps are 8" square x 9 inches long. That will leave me a 20 x 8" or so opening under the radiator next to the water pump, which I can put a 26x10 FMIC in front of, but will require some magical space making. The real trick will be the AC condenser.

With the pierburg pump, tinyCWA controller, 165 thermostat with six 1/8" holes in it, and a decent pair of 10" radiator fans, I shouldn't have too many issues with cooling. The bypass port on the intake will be pipe plugged off and the heater core return hose will tee into the lower radiator hose.

Tuff Paw is making us a new fuel tank for the dragster right now, I am going to ask him about one for the truck if we like what he sends us.

The inside/inside longitudinal dimension of the tire carrier is 19", and it is 32" plus a little between the frame rails. From the tire carrier to the bottom of the hitch is 11.5 inches. I want to re-use the factory fill port, so I will need 2-2.5 inches of height under the bed to run the hose into a fitting. That reduces the tank to about 9 inches tall, 8 inches if he can do a 1" sump. A 17x30x9 tank is 4590CI = 19.8 gallons, 17x30x8 = 4080CI = 17.5 gallons. That would let me use the tire hanger as the primary mount with ties going to the frame rails for support. With the factory fuel tank gone, I can add a front cross member over the axle to run both double adjustable shocks and an anti-roll bar to. I'll also be mounting the new fuel pump and management systems to the driver side frame rail where the old tank was.

ISSPRO makes shorty fuel senders: http://isspro.mybigcommerce.com/ra9506-iss/ for 6", http://isspro.mybigcommerce.com/ra9507-iss/ for 7", http://isspro.mybigcommerce.com/ra9508-iss/ for 8". My contact there says that can be anodized for use with E85.

From the bellhousing face, the K member starts at 7.5 inches and ends at 16 inches, the front crossmember (not core support, but in front of the sway bar) starts at 26 inches (minus the 1/4" motor plate). Comparatively, the V8 block is 21.5" face to face, 22.5" to the timing cover, and 27.5" to the face of the serpentine crank pulley. This may cause a conflict of space between the blower pulley and the front crossmember, but nothing a grinder and welder can't fix.

 

[Magnethead]

Alot of photos.....

 

[Magnethead]

Signed up on Bimmerforum looking for Pierburg water pump information, was redirected to RealOEM.com which allows extensive cross-referencing.

I pulled the known CWA/BMW part numbers from the TinyCWA website: https://www.tecomotive.com/en/products/tinycwa.html

I heard back from TCP Performance and griffin radiator.

Basically I asked for information on building a "wide scirocco" radiator. A regular scirocco is a single 18x12 core measuring 22x13 total. Our radiator opening is 28 inches wide, so I asked for information on having one basically widened 6 inches and in a triple core format, ideally three 1 inch cores.

I also went back and forth with Chiseled Performance about a custom intercooler. Bad news bear, there. I'm not impressed with how he presents himself in language, and I kind of get the feeling that he's not interested in contributing to the project.

Thank you for contacting Griffin about a custom radiator.

3 core refers to a copper brass radiator. We build our radiators with 2 row 1.25” tube and 3” thick tank. You would not want to go thicker than that because it will reduce air flow.

We would be happy to build one for you based on your specs. We need you PRINT out our CUSTOM RADIATOR TEMPLATE and fax it in or scan it and email it to me at [email protected].

Please PRINT IT OUT, fill it out completely, including: Core and tank size (pg1) dimensions, inlet/outlet positions, filler neck, mounting brackets etc. and fax it to my attention at (864) 845-5001 or scan it and email it. My builder will use your drawing so all information needs to be on your drawing.

Custom radiators generally start at $650 and take 2-3 weeks to build. We will know more once we see your particular application.

We can build that. A 3 row 1" tube core would put the core at 3.5-3.75 then we need an extra .25 front and back for the tanks making them as deep as 4.25. or you can go with a 2 row 1.5" core that will be 3.25 thick making the tanks 3.75. Inlet and outlet on same side not a problem, we will baffle tank and make it a dual pass design which will enhance it's cooling ability by about 15%.

You would be looking at $825 plus shipping. Core thickness would be 3.5 3 row 1" tubes and the tanks would come out to 4".

I would not put two mini coolers, that just going to flow like crap and kill your boost, so 26" from air tube to tube ?, being that all these cores are 24" , that not enough room if going with the 703520-6011, you're kinda limited on space but the nitrous will help with the cooling, we can do the air tubes offset to the btm so the air tanks taper towards the top

>> OK, if they don't have a short core, then 28 can work, I'll just have to use pie cut's for the bends instead of mandrels. "Ugly but functional". Would also like V-band flanges for the connections.

This is the smallest you can make this, you are already small on core size,and air tanks cant be any smaller, can you fit a 4.5" thick core, and 12" tall?

>>4.5 thick won't package well, and would rather not do 12" tall :/

well youre kinda stuck then on this bud

CWA 200 11517586925:

Supersedes:
11517586924 (04/07/2009 — ), Exchangeable retrospectively
11517563183 (11/20/2006 — 04/30/2008), Exchangeable retrospectively
11517546994 (09/01/2004 — 02/14/2007)
Part 11517586925 was found on the following vehicles:
1' E81   (02/2006 — 12/2011)
1' E87   (03/2005 — 02/2007)
1' E87 LCI   (01/2006 — 06/2011)
1' E88   (11/2006 — 10/2013)
1' E82   (12/2006 — 10/2013)
3' E90   (02/2004 — 09/2008)
3' E90 LCI   (07/2007 — 12/2011)
3' E91   (02/2004 — 08/2008)
3' E91 LCI   (07/2007 — 05/2012)
3' E92   (05/2005 — 02/2010)
3' E92 LCI   (09/2009 — 06/2013)
3' E93   (09/2005 — 02/2010)
3' E93 LCI   (07/2009 — 10/2013)
5' E60   (07/2004 — 02/2007)
5' E60 LCI   (11/2005 — 12/2009)
5' E61   (07/2004 — 02/2007)
5' E61 LCI   (11/2005 — 05/2010)
6' E63   (02/2004 — 07/2007)
6' E63 LCI   (04/2006 — 07/2010)
6' E64   (03/2004 — 07/2007)
6' E64 LCI   (04/2006 — 07/2010)
7' E65   (06/2004 — 07/2008)
7' E66   (07/2004 — 07/2008)
X1 E84   (09/2008 — 08/2011)
X3 E83 LCI   (02/2006 — 08/2010)
X5 E70   (02/2006 — 03/2010)
Z4 E85   (10/2004 — 08/2008)
Z4 E86   (10/2005 — 08/2008)
Z4 E89   (01/2008 — 08/2011)

——

CWA200 11517586929:

Supersedes:
11517586928 (04/23/2013 — 04/29/2014), Exchangeable retrospectively
11517559272 (03/01/2007 — 05/29/2008)
Part 11517586929 was found on the following vehicles:
1' E81   (02/2006 — 12/2011)
1' E87 LCI   (02/2006 — 06/2011)
1' E88   (11/2006 — 10/2013)
1' E82   (06/2009 — 09/2013)
3' E90   (02/2007 — 08/2008)
3' E90 LCI   (03/2008 — 12/2011)
3' E91   (02/2007 — 08/2008)
3' E91 LCI   (07/2007 — 05/2012)
3' E92   (09/2006 — 02/2010)
3' E92 LCI   (11/2008 — 06/2013)
3' E93   (10/2005 — 02/2010)
3' E93 LCI   (09/2009 — 10/2013)

——

CWA400 11517597715:

Supersedes:
11518635089 (12/01/2013 — ), Exchangeable retrospectively
11517604027 (03/01/2011 — 03/25/2015)
Part 11517597715 was found on the following vehicles:
1' F20   (07/2010 — 02/2015)
1' F20 LCI   (05/2014 — 06/2016)
1' F21   (07/2010 — 02/2015)
1' F21 LCI   (09/2014 — 06/2016)
2' F22   (10/2012 — 06/2016)
2' F23   (04/2014 — 06/2016)
3' F30   (04/2011 — 07/2015)
3' F30 LCI   (12/2014 — 09/2017)
3' F31   (07/2011 — 06/2015)
3' F34 GT   (07/2012 — 06/2016)
4' F32   (04/2013 — 02/2016)
4' F33   (11/2013 — 02/2016)
4' F36 Gran Coupé   (08/2013 — 12/2016)
5' F10   (06/2010 — 06/2013)
5' F10 LCI   (10/2012 — 10/2016)
5' F11 LCI   (01/2013 — 02/2017)
X1 E84   (04/2009 — 06/2015)
X3 F25   (02/2011 — 08/2017)
X4 F26   (07/2013 — 09/2017)
Z4 E89   (03/2011 — 08/2016)

CWA 400 11518635090:

Supersedes:
11517596763 (11/02/2011 — 04/08/2014)
Part 11518635090 was found on the following vehicles:
1' F20   (04/2011 — 02/2015)
1' F20 LCI   (06/2014 — 06/2016)
1' F21   (12/2011 — 02/2015)
1' F21 LCI   (06/2014 — 06/2016)
2' F22   (10/2012 — 06/2016)
2' F87 M2   (11/2014 — 06/2017)
2' F87 M2 LCI   (09/2016 — 09/2017)
2' F23   (03/2014 — 06/2016)
3' F30   (04/2011 — 07/2015)
3' F31   (08/2011 — 06/2015)
3' F34 GT   (07/2012 — 06/2016)
4' F32   (11/2012 — 06/2016)
4' F33   (03/2013 — 06/2016)
4' F36 Gran Coupé   (07/2013 — 06/2016)
5' F07 GT LCI   (08/2012 — 02/2017)
5' F10 LCI   (08/2012 — 10/2016)
5' F11 LCI   (10/2012 — 02/2017)
6' F06 Gran Coupé LCI   (06/2014 — 09/2017)
6' F12 LCI   (07/2014 — 09/2017)
6' F13 LCI   (05/2014 — 09/2017)
X5 F15   (08/2012 — 09/2017)
X6 F16   (09/2013 — 09/2017)
MS BMW Motorsport   ( — )

 

[Magnethead]

Comparing where the blower pulley will land in relation to the chassis.

Looking back at some of my old posts and double checking the cylinder head pattern so I know where to start with drilling the 3/8" steel blower plate. Given how much cylinder head gaskets can change things, I'm just going to make the primary hole, mark the head with transfer material, clamp the plate on, drill the other 3 holes, put the plate back on, mark the 2 motor mount holes, then move them down .035 to account for a 30-40 head gasket.

I used my set of calipers to measure far-far and close-close to get the numbers shown below. The actual values are 2.450, 3.020, and 3.200 ; I rounded them to the nearest fractional since I would like to assume that's what the pattern is actually drawn on. Obviously using the transfer method will work best when I get that far. That said, precision would be nice, but with 6 anchor points plus extra straps going different places for reinforcement, I think having the plate holes a couple thou or a hund big will be fine. Obviously the starting hole will be drilled pretty exact.

I also pulled my block off dad's engine stand since we need it for the dragster, and put mine on a cheap harbor freight stand. It's okay, but not great. Used our Pro 1 Safety and Racing equipment engine sling to move it over. Jeff Hefler got fed up with other brands equipment not being perfect or be customizable, so he now makes engine slings and SFI certified safety belts that can be custom embroidered.

I bought a Mopar M1 from David Peterson, he is sending it to Richard Nash at HiPoTek to be finished for me. I'm having Richard add his 8AN fuel rails, Siemens Deka/Ford Racing 60's, and source me a set of Mopar Performance valve covers. Byt the tie he is done with it, it should have my top end be pretty much complete a throttle body, which F&B said they are willing to make me a custom 2x58mm for my application.

Cody Wolfe/Devin Lewis of Team Broke Coast are sending me an old alternator that I can use to continue with mocking up the belt placement. Right now it looks like I will need a 1/8" spacer between the main pulley and the balancer.

 

[Magnethead]

Got the 6x12 3/8 steel plate drilled and mounted to the cylinder head and block, then added the power steering pump plate. I don't see any way reasonable for this plate to bend or move. The bottom 2 bolts going to the block are 7/16 bolts inside 1/2 holes, gives me enough wiggle room for head gaskets and block decking/head milling.

Clamped the 1/2" aluminum plate up to measure. I kinda like that he gave me extra. I bought and paid for 12x12 and I got 12x16. I can notch the left side for the power steering pump, still have several 1/2" grade 8 bolts going into the steel plate, sandwich the second plate somewhere along the line, then run support struts back to the motor mount. From the edge of the accessory bracket to the end of the plate is about 18".

Knowing that the plate will end at the power stud, that gives me a frame of reference, minding that the V8 will be 4.5" forward of the V6.

Had to take the bumper off to fit the truck in the garage. Literally a half inch from clearing.

Pulled the trans out so I can chase down a couple leaks and get the converter re-stalled.

 

[Magnethead]

Nothing like slapping a head on at 1:00 in the morning to verify the math. Aluminum plate and the factory serp and the LS steering conversion ain't gonna quite fly. At least it is survivable, just have to notch the aluminum plate for the pulley and the static idler between the pump and compressor. Steel plate needs more notching around the supply hose, but it is good enough until I am further along.

On the blower side, It's overly complicated compared to most, but I want to have a static idler next to the blower pulley so that I have the same % of belt wrap for all the pulley and belt sizes. Most kits only have the tensioner next to the blower pulley, but if you can only use the next size larger belt and you're running a tiny pulley, you might only have 50% wrap, versus a big pulley and proper belt, might be 75% wrap. Using the static idler guarantees me to have no less than 75% wrap at all times, at the cost of having a much longer belt to fit the tensioner in. With a 12 rib belt, I'm not as worried about belt wrap % on the 7.65" bottom pulley.

I'm done with metal working for the time being. Not going to be able to use as many 1/2" bolts as I would like, hopefully four 1/2-20 NF grade 8 bolts will be enough. Tapping and threading the 3/8" plate will be fun. I should be able to cut 7 threads into the plate. Not sure I'll be able to do much more until I get a blower pulley and have the transmission back in the truck to put the engine back at the correct angle.

 

[Magnethead]

1) Intake and AC bracket got powdercoated

2) I got some idler pulley mounts from the dealer and another idler from oreilly's

3) I got a chinese power steering pump and pulley for mockup purposes. Yay advance 30% discount codes. Boo Hiss on core charges

4) AN hose fitting (straight) won't clear the AC bracket. Will try a 30 degree.

Procharger? Half-Check
Power Steering? Check
Air Conditioning? Check
Alternator? Check

 

[Magnethead]

 

[Magnethead]

It was a long weekend. I spent $100 in entry fees (2 classes @ $50) for Mopars at the Motorplex. Went 25 red to the other guy's 8 red in first round of Truck, got down to 4 cars in DOT tire and got an $80 check. Not a bad second weekend in the jalopy. When i was swapping front wheels from race tires to street tires, found a severely cracked brake rotor. So I get to play with the brake system.....

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[Magnethead]

It seems I haven't updated this thread in a while.

My main build thread is on another forum if you'd like to be filled in since the point above, with all the nitpicky details: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-dakota-tech/394387-starting-the-build-process-19.html

I've mocked up the blower plates on the V6, moved the front bumper 2" forward with 1/4" plate to make room for activities, scaled the truck, removed the factory proportioning valve and replaced it with a manual valve and line lock, updated the wiring diagram, bought a basic fuel cell, had the fuel cell modified for my use, hung the fuel cell in the truck, got a brake upgrade kit from the junkyard, and built the new throttle pedal assembly.

I also have a short stack of parts ordered and awaiting delivery, and a long stack of parts to order.

 

[DanicaFreak]

have to say I like how you are making it a sleeper truck, that could still pass as mostly stock. Sleepers are awesome. Have you done anything to it that has made it not as reliable as a daily driver?