'Red' - '89 RC, 6BT/518 - (...at home in Virginia...)

[Mad Max]

bump - I've been searching for two threads, one of a pop-top glass grafting into a hardtop, and the other for grafting a pop top rear hatch and tailgate into a hardtop RC.  Anyone know where those threads are??

lookin' for two threads - for the life of me I can't find these two threads where someone grafted the glass and outer frame from a pop-top RC into a non-pop-top RC, and someone else did the same with an early tailgate and glass top hatch.  Anyone know where those threads are?  Before the September Moab trip I'm doing the surgery to Red and I wanted to re-read that procedure.  Pulling the side glass / glass hatch out and getting lots of ventilation during the hot weather is mega nice .

[Mad Max]

never mind! - finally found the tailgate thread - it was buried in one of my other threads!!
http://ramchargercentral.com/rcs-tds-durangos-etc/84-rc-with-70's-soft-top/

...still looking for the side glass surgery....

[jungle]

I forgot Brian did that on his RC. I can't remember where i saw the 2nd one your looking for .
Jim

[BenDiesel]

something to look at is the fuel consumption rateings. the cummins usually have best rate right at or just above peak torque. so if you can gear the vehicle to cruse at freeway speed at that rpm you should be getting your best mpg. there is a chart i saw some where and for the life of me i cant find it lol

edit:
after i bit more looking i found it


also found something interesting to. mostly no duh stuff but still cool
http://www.everytime.cummins.com/assets/pdf/MPG_Secrets_Whitepaper.pdf

[Mad Max]

Had a great trail run in Red yesterday - went to the top of Red Cone pass, just south of Keystone Colorado.  Beautiful scenery - breathtaking views.

I have decided to use the 47RH in Bud, along with Red's original 6BT.  I think a 300 hp Cummins and a lock-up tranny aught to keep Bud easily humming along, and I'd be able to keep Red intact - in other words I won't have to hack Red apart to build Bud, and I like the hell outta that idea.  Then again, now that I have Oxx, I think it may be time to look for a new home for good ole Red, as it is right now with Nacho's driveline.  The dude run's too good to part out, and if I can keep Oxx and Red intact (Mack too for that matter) and still be able to build Bud...well that's almost too logical to ignore.  
Nothing wrong with Oxx other than it smokes some, and I can use it for winter driving as necessary, and very likely I'll r&r the heads before winter to clear up the smoking issue.

Starting to lean pretty hard towards keeping Oxx a good ole 318, and if needs be I'll rebuild the little engine and add the goodies from Hughes and get a bit more power and mileage from it.  Simple...and I'm starting to really like 'simple'.

[Mad Max]

some pics from yesterday's gig

From the summit atop Red Cone - 12,801 feet -







the way up to the top -





along the top ridge line -



and a few more along the way -





and something we spotted buried in the woods -



and along Webster Pass, there is one particularly unpleasant section   - this part made our nervous system nervous...





- Sam

[jungle]

Absolutely wonderful pics Sam!!! Thanks for sharing.
Jim

[forsyth426]

very cool sam i wish i wheelin like that here in so cal,its pretty if you get high enough up there but there is alot of people kinda takes the quite nature feel out of it unless you go on a week day!!

[MA$TER BLING!]

Nice.
Still one of my favorite trails.

[Killerbee]

As for the chart above depicting the Cummins fuel consumption, that's very different from efficiency.  There may be another chart in which they tested the engine making a fixed amount of power over the whole power band.  That tells you where the engine is most efficient for cruising down the road.  Usually it's at the tourque peak, for a fixed amount of boost.  Add the turbo and those charts are pretty hard to predict.  The efficiency will change with the different boost curves.

Ben

[lugnuts]

 12,000 ft?    My flatlander arse would be hugging an oxygen bottle. About 10,000 and I pass out.  

  Thanks Sam, cool pics, beautiful country.   That road's skinnier than a Ethiopian kid two days after breakfast...........

[jason white]

absolutely gorgeous pics of the trail and that one part that made your nervous system nervous would have done the same to mine I would say a prayer and hope for the best

[blueduster]

beautiful pics Sam. gotta get up there to visit someday. as to the pucker factor on that ledge? feels good to be alive doesn't it? 

 my daughter Megan and my buddy Nathan said they felt that way on Hell's Revenge. it was the first time for them on anything like that.(i never told them it was my first time too  ) they never said a word at the time about how nervous they were though. guess they didn't want my attention anywhere but on the trail. 

[Mad Max]

Yep, time to move on.  I've got the intel I need, and I know what I want to do with Bud.  Fortunately, I can build Bud without disecting Red.  Therefore, Red is for sale  

EDIT - SOLD -


- Sam

[4wheelinstud]

so sam did you ever change out the turbo? Man I wish I had the money Red would be in my driveway right now.... I'm so intrested in Red I jusr reread all 5 pages of this tread and the ones that are linked to... wow my eyes hurt. LOL

Scott

[Mad Max]

no haven't really got into any of the power upgrades, just been getting it smooth and figuring things out, and been enjoying driving it.  If I were to keep it long term then I'd definitely look for a 12cm exhaust collar and an HX-35 (an early 2nd gen setup) - that'd make a great upgrade especially with the deep gears.  I'll tell ya, these Mickey Thompson tires are awesome - I only aired down to 40 rear and 45 front for last weekend's gig and it had great grip all day long - no problems at all, and then I drove home with those pressures and man the ride is great.

It's really a fun rig to drive - great street manners, and one of the main reasons I'm selling it is to get a head start on Bud, and having Mack and Oxx to use as drivers, are the others .

I know I'll be driving Bud a lot, and I'm starting to get antsy...

- Sam

PS - I do need a D60 front end with 4.56's in it - the price goes down about $800 if a front 60 is 'included', and about $200 more if ti has 4.56's .

[Mad Max]

While I have a few serious inquirys already, I will be taking back-up offers until I have cash in hand.  First verbal agreement of payment 'in the mail' is the necessary step before I'll tell other offers to hold off.

[Mad Max]

 - SOLD! -

As of this morning, looks like ole Red is going to a new home in Virginia   I'm bettin' Mike will post up again between now and 'the road trip'

- Sam

[ramchargertodd]

Great wheeling pix Sam.
Makes me want to uproot myself from Tennessee and move to the midwest.  I like the "wide open country" wheeling there.  Here it is tight, narrow  mountain trails that will leave full size trucks beat to death.  So everyone here wheels a ATVs, Jeeps and Toyota or the like.   

[Mike337]

Well Red is in a new home in Virginia. For those of you that are curious, Scott and I flew out of Dulles Airport at 0600 on Monday 7-19, we arrived at Denver at 0738. Sam and his lovely wife Tracey, who had been gracious enough to meet us, some 90 miles from there home, were already there.

Red was ready to go with a full tank. Sam had even put in fresh oil and a new filter, everything thing was just as he had described it. Sam had even taken the time to put a floor jack and lug wrench in for us, just to be on the safe side. To be honest, I don't think he wanted to see Red go. After a quick walk through and some paper signing we were on our way 1758 miles home.

On a side note, living in a place like DC, we are used to people of a different sort. Here we would have been told to pick Red up at a time that was good for them, found people that couldn't have been bothered and found the gas tank empty. Sam, Tracy…. we cannot thank you enough for all you did!!

Sam had said all that was east of Denver was Kansas. We hit Kansas and found a strong cross wind, man it blew, come to think of it, that was pretty much what we though of all 600 miles of it. What's the old saying, no need to go to hell, I’ve been to Kansas. It was 104 degrees there and Red doesn't have A/C yet.  But I digress. Missouri was a welcome change, they had a tree or two, but we kept rolling. We finally crashed at a hotel at Exit 4 in Illinois about 0030 on the 20th. We were back up and at ‘em and back on the road by 0700. Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, back in to Pennsylvania, Maryland and finally in to Virginia, the Old Dominion never looked so good. I dropped off Scott at his house and rolled in to mine at 2230.

The trip sums up at this: depart for Dulles at 0330 leave DC at 0600, land in Denver at 0738. Roll out of Denver at about 0845. Cover 1758 miles in about 37.5 hours spending $252.76 in fuel, using 87.15 gallons for a respectable 20.17 MPG. I think we would have had 21 or 22 but the Allegheny Mountains killed us.

Red ran like a beast. Nothing bothered him the whole way; we were just chugging along at 70. Even ran a good bit a little faster, police permitting,  . What we really thought was funny is we had no license plates on Red. I had a 72-hour Virginia travel permit taped to the back window, never got stopped.

I have decided to keep Reds thread going as I finish the truck. It maybe a little while between updates as I build the bank back up, ……well we'll see  .

[79Rammer]

Sounds like you had a fun trip.

I was real close to buying it also because I trust Sam and new Red was well built. I just had to move a few other projects out the door before pulling the trigger.

Have a good time with it. 

[Mad Max]

out-standing!  While I had complete faith in the old dude I am of course pleased to hear that the truck did not give you any issues.  I was hoping for better than 20 mpg for ya but that's still pretty dern'd good.  Apparantly Red's city mileage is actually pretty good too then, excellent!
 
Good deal - thanks for the update Mike - this was a fun gig.  Be seeing you and Red around amigo .
 
- Sam and Tracy

[R!bcracker]

I work in sterling, va and silverbullet1 also works in that area of loudon co.  will have to keep my eyes open for a red rc billowing black smoke from its tailpipe.

[jungle]

Mike,
Glad you had a safe trip!!! Are you going to continue on this thread or start your own? What is going to be the first project?
Congrats on your CTD RC purchase!!!!
Jim

[PlymouthRock]

sweet trip. how bout that western Kansas scenery? LOL!

[Mike337]

I decided to keep this one going for guys that want to build one, it helped me when I was looking at what to do/where to go.

First up is an AM/FM antenna and an ashtray....now the hunt is on for a 93 or so with a blown/no motor.

[blueduster]

sounds like red is in good hands.

[mopar_tim]

so you mean to tell me .... something that both andy .... and sam built is within 1.5 hours of me .....

if you need a hand with anything on old red give me a shout

[RVA RC]

X2!

[Mike337]

Thanks guys, will do.

[puttputt56]

Sam my wife and I just returned from a 24 day vacation that went up through California, Oregon, Washington, then a 13 day Alaska Cruise (9 days of it was inland and only 4 days on the ship).  Anyway I saw your question regarding a boom/lift and when I got home and going through all my magazines I found this (in TruckingTimes) a Dewalt Contractor "Concept" Truck with a lift hoist in it.
On page 62 of July/August 2010 Volume 21 Issue 5. it is a fixed unit with two "U" shape supports at front and rear of the bed with a channel down the middle with a electric hoist that runs from front of bed to rear and beyound. This truck was created by Motor City Solutions Taylor, Michigan (www.mortorcitysolutions.com.  There wasn't much information regarding spec. only a good picture of the unit.  If you were still looking for something I think this would work for you or give you some ideas!!  puttputt56

[jungle]

What about the WW2 Bomb carriers that were on the 1/2 ton dodge trucks?

[Mad Max]

.....so Mike......what's the latest with ole' Red? 

[Mike337]

Not a ton so far, building the bank, gathering up parts and ideas, still looking for a donor RC with a gray interior. Started collecting gauges, CB antenna, looking at a 102 stainless steel whip, got the AM/FM one done. Where did that huge hole come from? I have a line on some 2nd Gen rims, if all works out well I'll have them this weekend. I'm waiting on spring to paint the under carriage, new shocks and I wanted to give some of that sound deadening paint a try. Found out that Micky Thompson's ATZs are not a good snow tire around here, maybe because the snow is so wet. I'm thinking some BFG KO's 235/85 16s for next winter.

I still can't figure out why Dodge didn't build this, I could have sold it 10 times over. BTW, have I told you this week how much I love my truck?

[Mad Max]

  - awesome dude.  Have you had it wheelin yet? 

[Mike337]

Slowly but surely I'm collecting some parts. I picked up a set of 2nd Gen chrome stock wheels and caps off Craig's List and put them on yesterday. I love the look.  The ball mount/spring and cable for the 102" steel whip came in yesterday also, so I'll work on getting the CB done next week. The gauges are coming a little slower than I'd like, but I'll wait to get them in before I swap out turbos. I got a line on a 250 parting out in MD I plan on stripping if the guy ever calls back.......ahhhh the waiting game.

[jungle]

Any pics of the new wheels installed?
Jim

[Mad Max]

here's pics from Mike of Red's new shoes, and a 120" whip antenna - I'm gonna have to give 'dem type of wheels some thought - they look good!

[jungle]

The wheels look good!
Jim

[Mopar1984]

i like the dixie flag on the porch 

[Mike337]

Here's a few for sale up your way Sam, $200.00:

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/pts/2164095650.html

http://westslope.craigslist.org/pts/2193571598.html

[Mike337]

Just in case anyone reading this needs it, all you have to do is buy the correct lug nuts and its a direct bolt deal, I got 32 of them at NAPA for $40.00.

Part # 641-2794 at Napa/Balkamp brand. Part # 610-283 at Carquest/Doorman brand.