◇NTD◇ 1982 Dodge Ram50 Custom

[mowgli5555]

The engine I am going with is a Mitsubishi 3 cylinder, 1 liter L3E indirect injection diesel engine that I found used.
I like the idea of the original truck, so I plan on using the original transmission, and transfercase setup, with the original driveshafts.

At the moment, I am in the process of designing engine mounts, basically based off the original mounts, reangled for the new engine.
I found a local company to help make my engine converter plate, and flywheel adaptor ring.

Due to these engines being pretty high revving, I tried to chose the highest rpm diesel engine I could find.
Even so, 3500 rpms is a far cry from 6500 rpms, and the gearing will make things a bit difficult.

I will be running pretty large tires to combat this anyway possible, but these trucks arent that kind to lift kits more than 2 inches.
That being said, the more gears the better. I am unsure of the rear diff/front diff ratio, and what types of options there might even be available.

[mowgli5555]

Here is the engine I will be going with, the L3E. Reasons I chose the L3E are because I wanted to keep it Mitsubishi, and couldnt afford the 1.3 Mitsubishi diesel.

At $800, the little L3E will help this truck live on, and be unique.
Plus, I might just blow this thing up at some point pushing its limits

Here I am just testing some angles. It will be mounted slighty slanted to sort of match the angle of the original engine mounts.
This way I can cut the engine subframe, and reangle the mounts to offer a more vertical engine mounting position from the original engine.
Realistically, the engine could possibly be mounted completely vertical, but we'll see what I decide.

[geezer101]

At almost double the engine capacity, this critter is going to chase goats off mountains all day long. Good luck with the swap. This is such a great little truck project

[mowgli5555]

So... I have really been thinking about my Ram50, and having a flatbed might be better for my longterm needs.
Maybe it is the crazy in me, but I would really like to find a dual rear axle setup, and have a 4x4 flatbed Ram50 truck.

Dual rear axle options are pretty limited here, unless I can convert a Toyota motorhome dually rear axle to my truck.
If anyone has any thoughts at all, I would love to hear them. Just trying to make this truck as useful as possible as I go. Josh

[mowgli5555]

I meant dual rear wheel axle setup. Anyway, here is the little guy working through the mini snowstorm.

[tortron]

Seen some l300 vans with dual rear wheels. Should bolt on too

[geezer101]

No LSD? An LSD will get it putting power down no matter what. A mod on my to-do list...

[mowgli5555]

I would take either LSD, or an open diff rear end. For some reason, I cant even find any examples of Mitsubishi L300 DRW axles online.
My SRW axle at the moment has LSD, and I enjoy it much. It would definitely be worth it for me to find a LSD DRW axle.

For some reason, I feel like I will have to build a bed from scratch. Especially since I dont even know the complete width of the DRW axle.
Let me know if anyone has anyone info that might help my search??

[pennyman1]

an alternative is to find a 10+ inch wide wheel and put really wide single tire on the rear, like the super singles some truckers run now. No need for axle swap, and the offset can give you the width you are looking for. Finding mini dually fenders may be tough, but with a flatbed you don't need them...

[geezer101]

Be careful on how you design your flatbed. I had an 'associate' on another site that had built a flatbed for their Gen 1 RWD and it was lowered. He found out that it would bottom out if he had a load on it and the tyres would hit the underside of his bed...

[pennyman1]

then you put wheel wells in the floor of the flatbed...

[mowgli5555]

So, after thinking things over a bit, I have decided to stay with the single rear wheel axle, and slowly convert to a flatbed.
I thought of putting wheel wells in, but I like the bed flat, and will likely go for that.

It would be nice to use the factory mounting points, for poly bushings.
These next upcoming weeks, I will try to get serious about this.
Someone made a flatbed project locally, nearly to my dimensions, but I just wonder if it is worth starting from scratch.

Either way, I cant get this out of my mind, and have to do it. Josh

[mowgli5555]

Okay... So, I decided to pick it up, hopefully I can make the flatbed into something useful for the Ram50.
It still needs quite a bit, but seemed to fit my frame rails pretty well.

Most flatbed that I have had, have just been U bolted to the frame along the flatbed.
Is that acceptable in this situation?? I would like to make things reversable, as I am still keeping the bed.

It seems pretty heavy, not really sure what I can do about that. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts?? Josh

[mowgli5555]

I imagine I will have to make front mounts. Realistically, the truck will need some decent down time to get this done.
Maybe I will try to tough it out, and ride my motorcycle to work for a bit.

[geezer101]

Can't see why the U shackle bolts won't be up for the job. If you want it to be as light as possible, you'll need to get it fabbed out of alloy. Only way to do it. Maybe find an alloy drop-side tray and tweak it a bit to do the job?

[tortron]

Alloy dropside. Very easy to modify. Mate cut one down with a skill saw and bolted it all back together and nones the wiser. Well apart from laying it on his picnic table when cutting. It used to seat 6. Now it seats 4

[geezer101]

Alloy dropside. Very easy to modify. Mate cut one down with a skill saw and bolted it all back together and nones the wiser. Well apart from laying it on his picnic table when cutting. It used to seat 6. Now it seats 4

He could've fixed it with duct tape...

[mowgli5555]

Just getting things mocked up to see how it might look. It can definitely be lowered a little bit more, and I still might try to shave a little weight in certain areas, so I can add it back on in other areas.

It would be nice to have it a bit longer, but it will do fine until I can build something more ideal from scratch.
Mainly it will be to carry my motorcycle car camping, and also be able to sleep on the back. Haha. Josh

[mowgli5555]

Oops... I forgot the pic.

[geezer101]

Hmm, looking good so far. One or 2 of those under tray tool chests would be handy to add onto this build...

[mowgli5555]

Storage boxes would definitly be the plan. Right now I am just figuring out my next welder.
After some reading, I think I will go with the Hobart 140. Standard household power is mostly needed, even though 3 phase is available at work.
Plus cost is an issue, I dont have $1,000 for a machine this year, just too much going on to figure it in.

I found an old piece of roll bar that I will use for a temporary headache rack.
Also, realistically the flatbed is built more stout(heavy) than I need. Next year I will build something different(lighter), but this should work for now.

The way the frame rails line up with the flatbed rails, I shoukd be able to make quick mounts for the rear end, however it is going to take a little more creativity to make front mounts, since the rails basically sit on the mounting pad.
The bed is pretty much sitting near the height it will be mounted to. Josh

[mowgli5555]

Well, it took a little longer, but I came to the conclusion that I would need a welder capable of more power.
Couldnt really swing the Millermatic 211, so I went with the Hobart 210MVP.

Tomorrow I will look into some 75/25, and this weekend get welding.
Sadly, it made this project more expensive in the end, but I needed a better welder than the cheapo that I currently had. Plus it will come in handy with the mini mini truck.

Now, back to work on the truck. It has been 14 days since I last drove the truck, and I am already missing it. Haha. Josh

[geezer101]

The welder is an initial cash outlay like all tools. But as with all tools, it will earn it's keep the more times to you use them. The tray is coming together nicely

[mowgli5555]

Okay... It has been a short period since my last update. After much thought, I couldnt leave the flatbed on the truck.
I decided to build something entirely from scratch.

Honestly, I am the furthest thing from a professional welder, but really have had the desire for years now and needed to start.
So, I will give it a shot. I decided to build it wider, and longer than the other flatbed. It was supposed to be designed with c channel for the cross members, but I went with tube steel in the end(I may regret it due to the extra weight).

It will be a wood deck, but I am ultimately unsure why. There was supposed to be weight savings, but I am getting closer and closer, everyday.

Anyway, it is mostly just tacked together to understand my math better. Not using a jig, or anything, I tried my damnest to keep things rather square, but imperfection should be expected. Continued.....

[mowgli5555]

Just another small update. Got it at least up and running again. Although, there is still plenty that needs to be added over time.

It is sitting with 1/2 inch polyurethane body mounts. It doesnt have a headache rack, or even tie down bars. Hopefully I will figure out something pretty quick.

Anyway, I like it more than the traditional bed. It is exactly what I was looking for, but couldnt find. Now to get to work on the rest of it this spring. Josh