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Junkyard rescue of an '87 Dodge Power Ram 50



WarStryker13 said:
I love how simple this truck is.

...That's the entire internals of the transmission.

...There's a clearer view of the upper gears and the synchros, there's very little indication of the 200k miles this truck has seen.
Click to expand...

Bruh. Where's the valves? Where's the wires? Your trans is missing a TON of stuff!
 
Well...it's not gonna shift itself. Lol

I asked a couple of people who have rebuilt these transmissions before, this gear set looks like it has less than 50K miles on it. Even the synchros still have relatively sharp edges.
 
If you can match RPMs perfectly, you can bang shift without doing anything to the gears. But that's a level of skill and experience that most will never achieve. I'm not planning on trying it with this truck, because I want it to last. The fact that it probably doesn't make enough power to bang shift is definitely not the reason why... Lol

That being said, the previous owners of this truck at least knew how to drive a standard, and I'm thankful for that.
 
the trick to up shifting is you need to wait for the rps to drop, once the rpm and speed of the tranny is a match the stick will drop right in the next gear.

same goes for down shifting. you need to slow some first if screaming in top gear, then rev the engine as you go for the next gear down, you can hold the stick on the gear feel it touching the gears ever so lightly and you'll feel the sweet spot, same goes for the up shift, you can feel it, after a little time you just know by ear when its time, no longer need to watch the rpms. after getting good at this a passenger wont know you shifted, it can be so much smoother then jerking the clutch not speed matched. another trick is to double clutch, all that does is waste time while you wait for the rps to drop. good old clutch in pull it to N, clutch in and pop it in the next gear. should not even need to push the clutch to the floor really either double clutching.

this dont work in new cars, trannys dont like it at all will always grind some chop meat for ya.
 


That's real close to what my dad taught me, but his view on double clutching was until I have a non-synchronized manual truck and actually need to double clutch, I'll be fine with just learning how to pay attention to the truck and going by ear/feel.

I did get quite a bit done on the truck today, pics incoming on the next post.
 
I (finally) fixed the blown out brake line, had to drop the fuel tank to get to it. While the fuel tank was down, I figured I'd mount the electric fuel pump and take a shower in rust while I'm at it, got the positive lead ran up to the engine compartment. I got the fluid changed in the transfer case, and got the interior nearly completely put back together.

I vacuumed the bench seat and wiped it down, but it still needs a deep cleaning. Eventually I'm wanting to have the bench professionally reupholstered, because that is honestly the most comfortable bench seat I have ever sat on. So I'm gonna keep it.

2019-03-15_08-13-48 by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

I still have to bolt everything back in, but I've still got little things here and there to take care of and that's honestly one of those little things right now.

2019-03-15_08-13-34 by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

It feels good to finally be able to sit in the cab without wanting to take a shower in bleach afterwards.
 
Scottydoggs said:
the trick to up shifting is you need to wait for the rps to drop, once the rpm and speed of the tranny is a match the stick will drop right in the next gear.

same goes for down shifting. you need to slow some first if screaming in top gear, then rev the engine as you go for the next gear down, you can hold the stick on the gear feel it touching the gears ever so lightly and you'll feel the sweet spot, same goes for the up shift, you can feel it, after a little time you just know by ear when its time, no longer need to watch the rpms. after getting good at this a passenger wont know you shifted, it can be so much smoother then jerking the clutch not speed matched. another trick is to double clutch, all that does is waste time while you wait for the rps to drop. good old clutch in pull it to N, clutch in and pop it in the next gear. should not even need to push the clutch to the floor really either double clutching.

this dont work in new cars, trannys dont like it at all will always grind some chop meat for ya.
Click to expand...

Used to no clutch shift with my 1980 fiesta while delivering pizzas back in the day.


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Great work! Night and day from the 1st pics from the jy..

Those 1st pics were defiantly shower and check for scabies and lice after the ride home.

Now it looks like it's ready to go to work comfy and clean.

Makes me want a truck again.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 


The thing is, it cost me maybe $30 for all of the cleaning supplies... It took almost 2 months though. lol

I've only got 4 things left to do before I can drive this thing: Bleed the brakes, wire up the fuel pump, get the broken bolts out of the lower control arm and put the new front passenger shock on, and wait on parts for the old fuel pump block off.

You should get a truck. Trucks are awesome.
 
More pics of the interior and how it's currently set up, I'm still looking for a cup holder solution, the current setup is temporary.

But this is the 3 port 12v outlet in it's rightful place, looking very 80's truck.

2019-03-16_09-52-16 by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

I did get the stereo to turn on and made sure it works like it should, still have to trace some wiring and find out where my switched +12v went... But it works and sounds OK with just the dash speakers...

2019-03-16_09-52-25 by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

...And the 10" powered sub behind the bench. lol

2019-03-16_09-52-34 by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Like I said, the bench seat still needs a deep clean and eventually it will need re-upholstered, but I can deal with it for now.
 
WarStryker13 said:
I'm still looking for a cup holder solution, the current setup is temporary.
Click to expand...

Looks like you have the same notch in your bench that I have in my S10. I used a family size can of baked beans, a regular can of green beans, a piece of flat stock and 8 tack welds.

32457812007_a7ca8beda9_o.jpg


33523828198_c4e643ea4a_o.jpg


Mine was just supposed to be temporary also. 2 years later, it's still the best cup holder I've ever used. I drive like an idiot and my water bottle and coffee stay put.
 
Last edited:
I'm starting to lean towards the soup can cupholder, but I've got a few places left to look before I give up.

And yes, I do need a CB... Eventually. lol
 


The open header is much louder than a stock manifold with 2 feet of pipe for some reason... needs at least a muffler before driving it anywhere populated.

And the throttle linkage fell apart, tiny cotter pin sheared off so I've got that to fix now. But the bed and rear bumper are bolted on, there's two gallons of gas in the tank, and nothing is leaking. I think.
 
Buttoned up the last few little things, now there's literally only two things left: Exhaust, and getting those two broken bolts out.

I'm not gonna lie, I've been procrastinating dealing with those... I have a feeling I'm going to end up resorting to fixing it with fire. lol
 
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