New Guy from Montana!!!

[Sscorpion]

Really enjoy your truck; thanks for the pics

Thanks man! I think it is funny but there is something magical about these trucks. I have had a lot of different cars and trucks in my life so far but for some reason even though i cant fit my whole family in it. It has always stuck around and never got sold, and is the definition that empties my bank account everytime i get a little ahead in life, LOL. I don't know what it is about this truck but every time I get in it I feel like a high school kid again with the coolest truck in town, and its the greatest feeling ever. It truly is a joy to drive and own one of these magical piece of machinery. That will so be a forgotten piece of history. Sorry for rambling but I hope everyone has had a chance at some point in life to get the feeling I do when I Drive my old Blue Truck!!!

​

[Sscorpion]

Really enjoy your truck; thanks for the pics

Thanks man! I think it is funny but there is something magical about these trucks. I have had a lot of different cars and trucks in my life so far but for some reason even though i cant fit my whole family in it. It has always stuck around and never got sold, and is the definition that empties my bank account everytime i get a little ahead in life, LOL. I don't know what it is about this truck but every time I get in it I feel like a high school kid again with the coolest truck in town, and its the greatest feeling ever. It truly is a joy to drive and own one of these magical piece of machinery. That will so be a forgotten piece of history. Sorry for rambling but I hope everyone has had a chance at some point in life to get the feeling I do when I Drive my old Blue Truck!!!

Sorry I am an idiot I thought it was only posting my smiley but the font color was the same color as the background hahaha

[xboxrox]

Sscorpion, I know what you mean; they don't make anything small like these little critter trucks anymore... I am so blessed to be living in a warm mostly dry location + Hawaii allows putting people in the truck bed if the seats have passengers... My wife & her friend had a blast riding outside in the back one night taking them across town... Keeping my truck costs about as much as making a monthly payment on a new one, fix fix fix but not too bad... The steering gear was just fixed but is leaking again... Love the truck tho...

Toyota related but it's on topic; a Colombo Episode mentioned at a truck/movie forum: https://www.imcdb.org/v099273.html

cleaning off the yota

Oh Wow..! At the link above I searched for movies with a Dodge Ram 50 LOOK what came up:
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?m...e&model=ram+50

[geezer101]

Sscorpion, I know what you mean; they don't make anything small like these little critter trucks anymore...

They can and a manufacturer has dared to go back to the future - Suzuki Jimny. It holds true to it's origins. Still about the same size, has cosmetically the same design ethos and grammar but packed with new school tech. I like this gadget! Mitsubishi won't go there with compact trucks as the model has evolved radically to keep up with trends and compete with other manufacturers. Imagine a remodelled D-50. Similar cab size and body design, full size glass without the big rubber seals, flush front grille with improved headlight optics and big chunky colour coded bumpers and up specced wheel packages, frameless windows, power mirrors (hey lets add something trick like a 1 piece tilt out rear window)

[xboxrox]

For me: Not having any creature comforts helps me savor driving; I'm happy to hear the engine sounds & do manual shifting, makes me feel as though I am in control of something... I've seen that Suzuki online geezer and I like it too; that's why it will never be imported to the USA (they hate me) I recently saw on TV that the new model American trucks & SUVs will be even bigger than last years models... At what point will things reverse if ever; how big will everyday vehicles become..? A full size crew cab long bed pick em up truck is already too long to maneuver in a parking lot; at least here in Hawaii's tight lots...

I was duty driver on USS Somers DDG-34 during some port calls to the Philippines... They gave our ship two brand spanking new 1970 Mitsubishi pickups... I distinctly remember they were smaller & lower than even my Gen 1 Ram 50 but they had so much torque... All I needed was 3rd gear of the four speed manual tranny to get around Subic Bay Navy Base including a trip up the Cubi Point mountain to the Navy Hospital... They had diesel engines, what more can I say, I was in driving Heaven...

I was age 22 then (in the Philippines) with the experience of owning my 1st car at age 16 in Sacramento, CA and having driven a Case tyre tractor to plow & disk fields and old full size american dually trucks 2 1/2 ton 1948 Chevy 1 1/4 ton International Harvester (year?) 1960 Nash Metropolitan 1960 Corvette 1962 ImpalaSS 1955 Ford Fairlane 1955 Pontiac Chieftain, too many more to list including Japanese domestic 1955 Datsun 4 door sedan 1970 Honda scrambler 125cc motorcycle, etc. etc. etc. I drove all those vehicles plenty before meeting that cool little Japanese truck in the Philippines... I would love to have the 1960 Corvette or that 1970 Mitsubishi truck, they both had a cool factor of TEN...

Whew

[Sscorpion]

I agree with you both a redesigned modernized ram 50 would be awesome. I am the same way very rarley do i drive this truck around with the stero on. i love the sound of the engine and the feel of the drive.

I finally got the front bumper and valvance back from the powder coating shop. so i got those installed and after spending a week cutting and buffing the orange peel outta the paint i decided to go take some pictures and videos of the truck in the snow!!! however i did do it in -10 degree weather but there was no wind so it was the perfect time uphere with no wind... cause it always blows up here all the time.

I have always loved muscle cars but this truck is no muscle car but it has similar features, it's going to get solid steel wheels with chrome beauty rings for summer with bullet center capsand lug nuts, the hurst shifter came from muscle cars in my opinion.The truck stance itself sits up a little in the rear with side exhaust in front of the rear tires. And for some stupid reason I wanted to build this truck all motor no turbos. So after 7 years of thinking and deliberation I have decided to name the Truck PROJECT RAMROD. Due to the fact that it is a ram 50 and has qualities of a hot rod build. And it has totally ramrodded my bank account for years!!!!

Let me know what you guys think of the name I am curious to the responses good or bad!! And with that said you can watch the first ever video I have ever done of PROJECT RAMROD!!

[xboxrox]

Liking your truck's color & the large cab, looking good nice stance... As good as any new truck but half the size, a plus... Did I miss the radiator info, it looks custom aluminum..? Nice addition you are to our communiy

[geezer101]

Yeah this is a nice clean truck I think the bouncing AFR's is something to do with engine tune. The Weber makes a lot more vacuum than the Mikuni and it will do it's best to punish the vacuum advance on the distributor. To get it nailed down you need to mod the distributor by limiting it's total advance. Initial timing is about 10-15 degrees (I think...) and your idle speed may be a bit on the high side (normal operating temp idle should be about 850-900 rpm) I would also gap your plugs to 0.85-0.9mm. Run premium fuel too (95). It will run smoother and if your timing is in the ball park, it'll make some extra usable power.

*some tips to add - swap the mechanical fan for an electric thermofan. Improved throttle response, opens up engine bay room, far more efficient at keeping your engine at optimal operating temps, prolongs the life of the water pump.

This one might not be so well received but - fit a ducted air cleaner box to the Weber. It will improve torque and fuel economy. Sucking hot air from the engine bay robs power and economy.

[Sscorpion]

Liking your truck's color & the large cab, looking good nice stance... As good as any new truck but half the size, a plus... Did I miss the radiator info, it looks custom aluminum..? Nice addition you are to our communiy

Ya it is an all aluminum radiator that i purchased from shepard auto a while back. Whould not do buisness with them again. 3 bad radiators in a row and finally i just ran from aluminim stop leak through it to seal up the pin holes. but yes keeps the truck very cool.

[Sscorpion]

geezer thanks for the tips funny you metion it i was thinking about the cold air top hat but thought it might be to restrictive and not get enough air. I know when I first built the truck the original filter that comes with the weber was torn apart from it not having enough surface area to feed the engine. it literally looked like termites ate my air filterafter 2 weeks of driving. so I had to by the larger filter. to me it looks like the round top hats would be restrictive??

as far as the radiator fan goes any suggestions on a good brand or part numbers that are a direct fit?

as far as distributor and timing goes I have my setup all laid out in this thread below:

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/7986-Possible-Performance-Distributor-for-2-6l

my afr readings only really bounce when it is cold but at an idle my vacuum needle bounces rapidly between 14-15 " it is not steady. I am not sure if that is the crappy gauge, because it is cammed, or something else? my afr readings seem good once warmed up it runs the below numbers

idle 12.9-13.5
right at 2000-2200rpm 14.1
main circuit 13.5( just outta the idle curcuit) to 14.5(primary wide open just about to tip over and open the secondaries)
WOT 12.1-12.5

idles @ 800rpm with no ported vacuum from the carb
timing set @ 9Deg BTDC
spark plug gap .38 running denso iridium plugs ( .85-.9 seem way to much)???? why do you suggest that gap factory is 0.35-0.43

if I up the idle speed anymore then I start pulling vacuum at the port for distributor? but yes the truck idles better at 900rpm but then it diesels when I shut it off

the only issue I have is that if I run the truck in 3rd gear, 2800-3000rpm at around 35-40 cruising around town the afr is perfect 13.1-13.5 but if let off the gas just ever so gently the afr drops down to 11.9-12.6 which to me is to rich. It also does the same if I drop from 3rd to 4th and let the rpms fall to 2400-2500.

my question is do these trucks like to run around 2800-3000 and get good fuel mileage or am I confused cause I would assume the less rpm the better all around. less load, less rpms, better fuel economy? Whats your thoughts I have never really used a wideband gauge before but I do understand them to an extent.

[geezer101]

The cam will affect engine vacuum. It will run rich when you go off-throttle as the intake manifold vacuum will jump, forcing the carb to pull fuel. For a 4 cylinder, 2500-2800 will be near optimal rpm for economy but you are running a modified engine. I think you have to have the distributor vac advance hooked up to set base timing regardless. IIRC Giovanni here on MR50 has good knowledge about tweaking the mechanical advance on distributors to accommodate Weber upgrades. The plug gap recommended 0.35" to 0.43" - I'm using metric. The factory recommended gaps in metric are 1.0-1.1 mm. I find undersizing the gap by 0.15 mm allows a more aggressive tune and will hold tune longer. So if you aim for 0.33" to 0.35" you'll be in the ball park. You might need to experiment with what plugs you are using too. If it's running rich even though the carb and timing are good, go up a heat range to counteract the higher AFR's or... you may need to go down a range depending on CR's and combustion temps and retune

[Sscorpion]

10-4 makes sense. I do tune the carb with the vacuum advance hooked up but after i get it right where i like it then i check the ported vaccum and adjust the idle screw to remove any ported vaccum back to 0". Ok well i will stop chasing my tail on the off throttle afr, i was begining to believe it was exactly what you were saying it was. I found that if I tune the idle circuit a little leaner then I get really loud lean pop thru the exhaust with a 60 jet so I went up to a 65 jet and now it just slightly blurbuls when off throttle. much better but the difference it 12.5 to 11.5 with the jet change which I guess is driver preference. I opted for no loud backfires and lean pops but richer fuel when it is off throttle. I just hate the sound of lean pop and backfiring. but I guess from researching on google now they are tuning for sound of the lean pop when off throttle. Kidz these days!!! I always believed that tuning was for performance not the sound of your exhaust but whatever. hahah

[Sscorpion]

on another note how do you uplead videos on here from your phone without posting them on youtube first?

[Sscorpion]

in this video you can here the exhaust blurbuls

[Salteen]

You shifted into 4 a bit early, try 90 for that.

[xboxrox]

Nicer 'n mine truck

Am really liking the way you drive safe; you waited for the traffic to clear before hitting it..!

[Salteen]

yeah I noticed that. that was some fancy driving, but 6 to 65 is a good shift point. I don't like to push my motor, I would be in 5th by the time you were going in 4th! lol I love the truck, I love that far meter, sure helps alot with tuning huh! I might get me one and hook it up on one side of the dash and put the tach on the other side. (I bought the world's most common tachometer you see in half cars at car shows: https://www.autometer.com/5-tach-10-...E&gclsrc=aw.ds thats the link)

I would recommend it, it looks good and will support nearly any car given its 10k rpm range

[xboxrox]

Am really liking the way you drive safe; you waited for the traffic to clear before hitting it..!

I'm hoping to get a BIG LOL (Montana, waited for traffic to clear..?)