parts chaser project truck

[440shorty]

I have been using station wagons for moving stuff, after not having a proper pickup truck for years, but was able to get this 1987 Dodge D150 as payment for putting its previous owner's Dakota pickup on the road for him.
Here it is in front of its previous owner's house, where it had been sitting for years
...440shorty.

 

[440shorty]

More before pics

...and here are a couple of pics of it at my shop where it has been sitting until this year...

It is a 2wd with a 318/A998/ 8.25 light duty driveline. All those aftermarket wagon wheels are rusted out, and the tires are bad. It would not run because there is a rust hole somewhere in the fuel line. However, the body is solid, the interior ok, and even the paint is decent.

440shorty

 

[Old Iron]

That's gonna make a great go getter pickup!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[earthman]

Good to see you back! What are the plans for it?

 

[440shorty]

Plans

Well, first up I got the 318 engine running, and it runs great. It actually is a reman, and the transmission was rebuilt, too. The brakes were sketchy at best, but with a little coolant overflow tank plumbed to the fuel pump, I was able to drive it in and out of the shop.

So a friend of a friend is building a '29 Chrysler, and was looking for a small block Chrysler engine and transmission...

 

[440shorty]

EngineSwap

...so I sold the Dodge 318 engine and A998 Transmission, then bought an Olds 403 out of a wrecked 15th Anniversary Trans-Am, and swung it into the engine bay to see how it might fit. [S

 

[440shorty]

make it fit

So i did what many others have already done. Mocked up the Olds engine with mounts, and used wooden blocks to see how it would fit.
The first attempt with finished 2x4 blocks and forward mounted Olds style mounts put the engine too low and too far back.

 

[dowoplover]

You know all the Dodge guys eyes are glazing over about now....

 

[Tim...Ok]

Cool..I love the square bodies dodges.. I recently picked up a running driving 91 3/4 ton cummins 5 speed..Slowly bringing it back to life..

 

[Willowbilly3]

You must have a lot more ambition than me to take out a a good drivetrain just to put in another one.

 

[05snopro440]

You must have a lot more ambition than me to take out a a good drivetrain just to put in another one.

I was thinking the same... 440shorty, all the power to you!

 

[440shorty]

More Power

Really? The absolute core of Hot Rodding is taking out a perfectly "good" running engine and replacing it with something much more powerful.

Sorry Dodge lovers, but the 318 isn't going to cut it.

I don't have any Dodge engines at all.

The 403 may be the mock-up engine, as I also have a 455 Olds that is closer to ready to run, and a 200-4R overdrive transmission if I get more gear than the 3.23 I already have for it.
Either way, the 403 came with Pontiac-style mounts and brackets that position them in between the two Olds-style locations, so I bought some new mounts, and mocked those up, again with wooden blocks first:

 

[Willowbilly3]

Well, we each have own own definition of hot rodding, and shop truck, so I won't argue with yours. A few of my favorite cars have been Olds, including a 64 4 speed Cutlass and a 66 4 speed 442. That being said those engines have a couple serious issues to longevity if you are going to hotrod one. Number one is the oiling and they need restrictors to keep the oil on the crank. The other is the valve train, not good for any kind of rpm. Fix the oiling and get some good rockers and they kick butt. Or just never rev past about 4700, which is getting past the torque curve anyway. The 403 is the last one I'd pick due to the very weak windowed block, not an engine anyone builds (unless you were lucky enough to find one of about 2500 non-windowed 403 blocks)

 

[440shorty]

mild build

The 403 will be fine, because I am not going to can it up. I have a bunch of good leftover parts from other builds, including a mild cam that worked well with a stock computer in an 81 Delta 88, a hogged out aluminum factory A4 intake, and a Q-Jet off another 403. I have a pair of headers that might work, if not I will use manifolds and a 3" single exhaust. The goal is decent gas mileage with plenty of torque. I know guys that had Dodge trucks like this with carbed 318s who complained of poor mileage and only average performance. What better way to improve it than more cubic inches.

440shorty

 

[440shorty]

Making engine mount brackets

So the Pontiac style mounts look like they will work, and line up with the Dodge crossmember pads. Next step is to make a template of the bolt pattern of each side of the frame pads, then see how that will line up. As it turns out, one bolt in the passenger side lined up with a bolt hole, so I made the bracket to fit there, then bolted the mount to that side. Afterwards, I swung the engine in again, with the bracket on the drivers side bolted to the frame only and the mount to the engine, and marked the bracket after making sure the engine was not twisted or tilted.

 

[falconvan]

That's pretty darn cool; an Olds powered Dodge truck. You can just about guarantee you'll never see another one of those.

 

[440shorty]

Engine, mounted

And there it is - a little forward compared to the Dodge, I think, but still enough room for everything. I tried the original transmission crossmember, upside down and on the bottom of the frame C channel, but it looks like it won't work. The engine is also not quite parallel to the centerline, but there should be enough slop in the bolt holes to center it up.

440shorty

 

[440shorty]

Transmission crossmember

So more of the aluminum rectangular tubing looks like the perfect fit for this. Even the Dodge speedometer cable fits. Loosening the engine mount bolts let me get the engine straight, too.

440shorty