wedged- 41 Dodge truck project

[wedged]

Yes, everything looks a bit rough, but i made up my mind that I want to be able to drive the truck as I work on it. When time and money allow, I would like to tear it all down and make it look pretty- new paint, new upholstery etc. With 18" wheels for the rear being pricey, I started poking around for steel wheels. Ford Explorers were equiped with 18"x7.5" steel wheel with a 5x4.5" bolt pattern. I am going to get a pair and see if they will work on the front and if they work, get 2 more. Then I am going to widen a pair for the back. I'm going to do this the old school circle track way. Cut, measure, tack and weld. I'll start taking more pics as I move along.

[67rstbkt]

Cool project, that should make one hell of a sleeper

[silver63c10]

Very cool build, I've always liked that body style a lot. The headers came out great for a first attempt, that's something I want to try eventually. I bet that is an interesting ride with that much motor in it, to say the least. Good luck with it!

[wedged]

The engine is actually kind of lame thanks to the 8:1 compression, but it still is fun to drive. Well, to me it feels lame because that blue plymouth scamp in the background of the rear spring mount picture runs low 11's on slicks and on the hard street tires it will roast 'em from a 45 mph roll.

Once the Mickey T's go on, the sleeper image will be gone, but right now it just blends in with traffic.

[Xplosiv]

Kind of reminds me of my buddys ranger in high school. He had an 87 ranger with a 429 cobra jet in it. Stupid fast, and by stupid i mean way to much power to be safe in such a little truck.

[wedged]

I was succesful in getting the fuel pump working again. I'll add a few pics of the pump repair when I get a chance. I also picked up a used Holset HX35W for when the time comes to start mock up for the twin turbos. It looks like I have plenty of room for them, I just have move some things around.

[wedged]

Here's the fuel pump disassembled. The first time I took it apart, I desoldered the wires at the bulkhead screws. When reassembling this time, I realized I should have done that again this time as it makes putting the pump back together easier.


The little parts. It's simple to take this pump apart. Aeromotive doesn't offer any service parts in their catalog. I don't know if they would sell them seperately. I bought the replacement brushes based on dimension from Eurton Electric Company, 800-423-4789. I was able to look up the size of the brush in their pdf catalog online at www.eurtonelectric.com. The part # is 33D. The brushes cost $3.25 each and I got 4 so I would have spares in case I screwed up. The brushes are about .100" too long as supplied. I shortened them with a sanding drum un my Dremel tool. I should have done that before I soldered them to the board, but I forgot to check them first.


The inside of the motor case with the magnets re-epoxied. I didn't take any "before" pics.


The brush holder after soldering the new brushes in place. I was also able to get them partially crimped into the connector, but not well enough to eliminate the need for solder. Again, I should have checked and trimmed the brushes to length before soldering them as well as de-soldering the wires to the bulkhead screws in the pump end cap.


A shot of the motor before installing the brush holder assembly


I installed the pump yesterday and wedged fired right up after priming.


JB Weld $6.99


2 sets of brushes plus shipping $20


repairing a $300+ paperweight yourself:
priceless !





Now we'll just have to see how long the JB weld will hold up to soaking in alcohol enhanced gasoline. The stock glue holding the magnets in place lasted less than 500 miles. I bought the pump 05/06. It was installed toward the end of 09/06. It first partially failed during the summer of 2008 , then started working again, then failed totally early spring 09.