1949 AD-kota

After doing an S10 swap myself, I think the dakota looks like it works much better as far as the radiator area and track width. Very nice.[cl

62ChevyII said:

After doing an S10 swap myself, I think the dakota looks like it works much better as far as the radiator area and track width. Very nice.[cl

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Yep, the rack and pinion looks a lot friendlier than the S-10 steering box location.

What is the track width of a 92 Dakota?

Todd said:

You are very welcome! Yes the earlier rotors are supposed to be swapable along with the rear axles. I am thinking that the rear is going to be narrow, however a ford explorer 8.8 would fix that and the bolt pattern issue.



'92

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Yep, some internet reading indicates that the late-model Exploder 8.8 is a fairly common swap into the A.D. series of truck. Sorry, I would have posted that this morning, but I was kinda rushed for time (forcing two five-year-olds to brush their teeth, so we could go to the sitter's)

Just a little thought with regards to your steering shaft-I'm wondering if you could perhaps file or machine two flats onto the stock Chevy column shaft (to create a double-D) and then swap in an aftermarket upper U-joint. A little tip with those-The stock Dakota ones are EXPENSIVE if you need to replace them. I had to do one on a "friend's" '92 a couple years back and the only place I could get one was the local Dodge dealer! Something in the neighbourhood of $200-$250 for that little intermediate shaft and those two U-joints, even at trade pricing!

Greatly anticipating future progress updates! Thanks again for sharing!

Regards,
Shea

Flipper_1938 said:

What is the track width of a 92 Dakota?

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58" on the center of the tire
66" to the outsides

Still contemplating the double D joint. Was surprised it all fit so well.

Fighting with seats today. I put in an original seat to see where it was, YUCK. Tried to fit the Dakota seats in and the were to high. Dak seats are split bench with and arm rest, Plus. But the negative is 8 mounting points. I have some other seats, Nissan buckets and a Taurus split bench, still 8 mounting points. Should have worked on mounting the brake booster and pedal assembly instead.

I used a bench from a full size 88 Chevy truck and it fit perfectly if you trim away that sheetmetal riser the factory seat sits on.

62ChevyII said:

I used a bench from a full size 88 Chevy truck and it fit perfectly if you trim away that sheetmetal riser the factory seat sits on.

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That looks like a good option. I will explore that if the parts I have don't work out. I have already made peace with the riser coming out.

Looks like I am going to find a '88 and up seat. Got the seat riser popped out then went to work on the firewall.



The mount was cut from the dakota firewall.



The firewall was trimmed to fit the dakota mount plate. the rectangle at the top was a bead that needed to be removed.



It was bolted to the firewall, welded and ground.



Dakota booster and master cylinder attached to firewall.



Pedal assembly in place, just need to fab a piece to attach it to the dash.

I've been working I swear. You know the excuses, little things that don't post well, forgot to bring the camera in the house, lame ones right?

I'm a sheep, but the 88 and up fullsize seat is so easy and at $21 from the u pull it.





Got the lower column bracket made.



The slot is for the column shifter. Trying to convert some 3 speed car stuff to automatic.



My friend Matt came over to cool up the welder.



More soon, I hope. Football is now back at the college so my ambition is shorter.

I like it. AA++ [P

drive shaft

will a stock drive shaft fit or are you having to have one made?

for mine, l have a huge pile of driveshafts from 25+ years of hoarding them, so l can almost always find one to fit my projects.

truck is looking nice[cl

Later

A stock shaft might just fit. It is a 2 piece.

Dakota wheelbase

Todd, what is your plan for wheelbase? According to wikipedia the Dakota wheelbase is 123.9",the AD trucks I think are about 116" or 118".Is there an easy way to shorten the wheelbase on a dakota?

68gmc780 said:

Todd, what is your plan for wheelbase? According to wikipedia the Dakota wheelbase is 123.9",the AD trucks I think are about 116" or 118".Is there an easy way to shorten the wheelbase on a dakota?

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It will shorten like an S10, but I plan on leaving it and running a flatbed.

Sorry for the delay in updating, we had floods in the fall at work that caused major chaos. Then I had hernia surgery last month. Been moving slow and doing some light work in the shop. My brother came over to help get the front clip off and the set up block & trans out.

The motor mount now has the torque stap added. Yes, the strap is made from an AD brake pedal. I am a little cheap and it was too late to to buy steel.




Also got the pedal assembly attached to the dash.

Now on to the tilt column. With the desire to have column shift, it was not working to use the old column and the dakota booster. My buddy Mark had a clean tilt column for cheap (free).

Here is the lower mount I made up, just a couple more little items and its done.



The billet mount is so easy to use that I can forgive myself for having it. Also seen is the attachment of the brake assembly to the dash.



As it went, I wasn't 100% accurate on the placement and the column rubbed the dash a little. So I made this shim to drop it. 3 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16 inches the slots are 2 5/8" on center with 5/16" slots.



In all its glory, a tilt column with shifter.

There was still a little flex at the dash with the column and brake unit. The original attachment point on the dash was chewed up from some harsh service. I made a new brace from some scrap 1/4" plate, 1" square tube and 1"X2" rectangle tube.



A little creativity with the hole saw and a file on the lower part of the mount.

U-joint and 3/4" double D shaft hooked to the rack and pinion. Should be a heck of a lot easier to move around now.

Nice work Todd. I like your "keep it simple" approach and use of material that you have laying around.
What you doing up at 3:00AM?????

Thanks Bob. Yeah, 3 am is a little late, usually in bed by 2am.