Dodge RamCharger Central banner

1974 RC SE 360

27K views 191 replies 17 participants last post by  RCCADMAN 
#1 ·
Reserving space for my build.

Back story: When I was 18, I bought an old beater SUV that was more ready for the scrapyard than it was for the trails. That was my first 4X4. The elusive split door 74 Trailduster. I beat on that thing for about two more years after putting a used 318 and new transmission in it.

Marriage, kids, life, career… you folks know the drill… off it went in pieces and parts. I never wanted to see it go. (Not knowing how hard they would be to find again), I still regret letting it go.

Fast forward about 18 years… I bought another one for $600. Albeit, not a Trailduster, but a Ramcharger SE in pretty decent shape. Most of it is original with a two tone paint I have yet to see on another RC SE. Not sure if the paint is factory or not, but fits the original orange paint “age”. It has the original 360 and 727. It did not have a top, so I had to acquire another one. (NOT an easy task) The axles are not original. They are a six bolt with WARN hubs. I believe it’s a chevy axle. The seats… also not original. Plastic padded racing type stuff. The original seats are the deluxe parchment 5 passenger set per the under-hood build sheet.

Fast forward another 12’ish years. Yes, it was low priority and now that I’m 50, I’ve got that itch again… and of course, more money and facilities to work on it. It ran when I bought it. I’ve driven it around the SW WA backroads, but the cartilage is worn out on all the joints, the timing is off, and may have some vacuum issues. So it sat… WAY TOO LONG.

Now it’s go time. I spent many years watching all the how to shows on velocity, and my favorite dickhead of all time, Mark Warman of Graveyard Cars that taught me the passion of original equipment and studying the vehicle to dig up its past. We all know how rare it is to find a nice first gen RC, especially the first of the first gen.
This won’t be a frame off just yet. First order of business is studying the original shop manual, (EBAY) the original 74 owner’s manual (Also, EBAY), and buying all the new parts to bring it back to life and get it tuned so I can determine what needs to be done with the tranny, t-case, and diff’s. All the parts are in my cart on RockAuto.com and new parts being added daily.

The only mods I care to do now is swapping the t-case and tranny to add the ability to “unlock”, as well as nicer tires and wheels. I had a 4” rancho lift on my first TD, but not 100% sure on this one as I plan on pulling a new “vintage” inspired camping unit to spend time in the campgrounds.

That’s enough hot air for now…

Chad
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#52 ·
dodge82273 said:
the 40 lbs bolt hole in that valve cover is NOW deformed ( pulled toward head ) and will not seal unless you repair it . It's bolt edge needs to be "straightened " made flat/true , upside down ,with a hammer ( or 2 ) and a flat hard surface , carefully so as not to "thin" the metal .
Yes, valve cover will be deformed from the overtorque if it's the OEM stamped steel valve covers for sure - dunno if I've ever seen the Mopar performance valve covers after being cranked on like that - I think they're cast aluminum so they may be ok? If you don't have the MP valve covers (or some aftermarket cast aluminum ones) I'd recommend considering a purchase in your near future. I could never get the stamped steel ones to ever be right with the world once they were deformed, but I'm not as patient with a hammer as some other people! ;D ;D ;D
 
#53 ·
fix V/S replace ............ times have changed is all .
 
#54 ·
Hmmm... Didn't think about the deformation. I will have to look at that.

The engine (360) is completely stock with the stamped valve covers in corporate blue. I am also using the cork gasket which I believe is the original design. I just took off the rubber gasket that failed. Not sure how they intended a stamped tin piece of metal with 5 bolts over a long periphery to seal properly. They will eventually be replaced with a solid design to ensure a better seal. Right now I just need it to run again. Pretty comes later...
 
#55 ·
silly cone  lol let it set up a bit , then install gently ..
 
#56 ·
Yeah, someone used some sort of liquid gasket on my sons valve covers on his 68 Galaxie 500XL 390. Now he can't even pry them off with out bending the shit out of them. I'm guessing someone used an RTV or something and put them on wet.  {hammer}
 
#57 ·
many factory installations just use a silicone , GM has or had for many years on valve covers 350 cu .
 
#59 ·
RCCADMAN said:
If the cork gasket doesn't work, I will look into a Permatex gasket maker.
Cork distorts way to easy. I always use these Fel- Pro ones...
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs50145r/overview/make/dodge

They're way better quality and are tough.
And you should be able to get them from any auto parts store.
You may have to order them. I get mine at Auto Zone. Just use the Fel- Pro part number.

That might not be the right number... make sure it's for the small block.
Summit keeps defaulting back to my Big Block. ::)
 
#60 ·
#61 ·
#62 ·
My thought was to stay as original as I could, but if the rubber is the only way to go now, I should do that.

By the way.... don't over torque your tin valve covers... Summit racing has a new chrome set for $32.

 

Attachments

#63 ·
Will a 318 or 340 valve cover fit a 360? I plan on going wrecking yard shopping for this item. I'm hoping some of the yards in the general area have older cars or trucks.
 
#65 ·
This weekend I managed to take a field trip to the local Pick-n-Pull where they had a 1979 Dodge truck. To my surprise it still had the original 2bbl air intake box assy with air filter sitting in the cab, and it also had a 360 with a good stamped steel valve cover. So I nabbed both. As I pulled the valve cover, I was amazed to see a perfectly clean head of an engine that seems to have a fresh rebuild on it. It was perfectly clean inside. Such a waste.

I also met a guy named Bruce at Pick-N-Pull who has a beautiful 93 RC. He said his rig was stolen out of Seattle's Pioneer square. After realizing the Police couldn't... or wouldn't, find his rig for him, he turned to RamchargerCentral and thru a roundabout way, found a guy who saw his rig leading to the return of his truck! Thanks Guys!!! It was also nice to meet a local RC Owner.

I brought the parts home and installed them so I could have something to attach all the plugged vac lines to in the future.

I also found one of the major issues that made me park it so many years ago. I found the spark plug wires were not run correctly and the distributor was 180 out. At TDC the rotor was pointing at the firewall. So using the FSM to get the correct distributor cap location of wire #1 and the correct firing order, I got it all wired up correctly and pulled the distributor and turned it around. I also got the oil pan pulled to check for debris and sludge as well as replace the gasket. Of course I found I had to pull the starter, the engine to tranny brace, as well as the brake line bracket on the front cross member to get it out, but it eventually fell out.

After that it was time to eat the ribs I smoked and the 16oz steaks a buddy cooked.

Mmmmmm.... Baaaar-b-Quuuuuuue

So the next step is to clean up the oil pan and starter, get them reinstalled, flush the cooling system, and hopefully... Fire it up after 12'ish years.

Meanwhile, my Durango is still a POS... Seriously... The fuel filter on top of the tank!!! There is an engineer I want to have a word with. This time I'm running that bitch out of gas before I pull that tank again.
 
#68 ·
Delays... Delays...

Ripping the walls off my house from the studs out. Apparently someone thought it would be a grand idea to put the siding on right after framing the house. Then... add another another layer of siding to cover up the current rotting masonite type siding. So I'm tearing off two layers of siding and fixing dry rot, and then adding sheathing, house wrap, new windows and window seal tape, trim, and hardie board lap siding.

Once again, the RC waits...  {bawl}
 
#69 ·
whats your next house project ? its time to start thinking about it don't ya think ? ( LOL ) its never done .  ::)
 
#70 ·
dodge82273 said:
whats your next house project ? its time to start thinking about it don't ya think ? ( LOL ) its never done . ::)
The kitchen. Mine is from the early 90's... and it shows... {puke}
 
#71 ·
LOL yeah , ok ... "dated"  GF and I get a kick outta them shows on tv , "dated" they tear up a perfectly good kitchen every so often because its "dated" . PAINT nice wood cupboards white , and they got kids .....Give me a clean working farm house kitchen w/ a kitchen table ...... I'm happy as long as the food's good ....  ;)
 
#72 ·
dodge82273 said:
LOL yeah , ok ... "dated" GF and I get a kick outta them shows on tv , "dated" they tear up a perfectly good kitchen every so often because its "dated" . PAINT nice wood cupboards white , and they got kids .....Give me a clean working farm house kitchen w/ a kitchen table ...... I'm happy as long as the food's good .... ;)
I too am fine with a functional kitchen. This one has oak cabinets but the face frame is made of another wood that is just stained the same color. It all needs to be refinished. We also want to refine the kitchen to fit our needs and change the shape while opening it up a little bit to the living room. So we have many reasons for this. Aa for good food... I love food and my wife is quite the chef. I eat very well. lol
 
#73 ·
;D ;D ;D
 
#74 ·
No... I didn't forget about my 74. Still doing the siding on the house and now working 11 hour days. Maybe this weekend I can do a few odds and ends on it...  Life... (heavy sigh)
 
#75 ·
A little progress this weekend. I finished putting the parts back on the engine. Got the fuel filter and new fuel lines installed. Dumped a little fuel into the carb and it wanted to fire. Might have to do a little timing adjustment.

I also dropped the 35 gal tank and dumped all the old fuel into buckets (9gal). Rinsed out the tank and cleaned up the outside a bit. I also had to get a new float from Summit because the old float on the sending unit had a big hole in it. I also blew out the fuel lines. Now it is all reinstalled and ready for good fuel next weekend. When I disconnected the fuel filter, very little fuel came out, so I'm hoping there is no ethanol in the carb.
 
#76 ·
Dear diary, this last weekend I had a few moments to hook up the engine bay fuel lines. Tried to start it but I couldn't get the fuel to the carb. Ran a 6 foot hose from the fuel pump to a gas can. Still no luck. Picked the can up off the ground and put it atop the radiator. Now I have fuel to the carb with the fuel pump pumping it out of the can. . Still would not fire. Took the top off the carb, played with a few things, set the carb top back on without screws or gasket, pumped the throttle, and BAM! I got fire. But now i need a new gasket.... Just ordered the rebuild kit for the Holley 2245. Should be here by friday. Hoping to work on it labor day weekend during moments I'm not ripping the front of the house off.
 
Top