Could you please push the Dodge in the garage....people might think it's mine!

^^^

 

Went and picked up the new pinstripe at lunch. This is the stripe that goes between the dark green upper body and the silver sides. Stock it’s two lime green stripes with a silver stripe in the middle, ¾ inch wide. I hate lime green.

The new stripe is still ¾ inch wide, still three lines, but it’ll be silver next to the green paint, dark grey (gunmetal) in the middle, and black against the silver paint. Think it’ll look sharp.

Planning to replace the lime green Dodge decal on the tailgate with a dark grey one, which will remove all the lime color and tie in nicely with the new stripes.

Now I just need to get the truck back from the paint shop!

-Mike

 

Your daily Ram Restoration update. The replacement front bumper fog lights are now on order. Hopefully will have those early next week. The new black Dodge tailgate decal is also ordered…along with one other factory decal that I’ll share when it comes in.

The new front upper bumper cap trim piece came in to replace the dry and faded one. Can’t tell if the original one was green or grey, but the only replacements they sell now are black. Wish I could have kept the original color, but the new black cap looks great, ties in well with the black rub strips on the doors, and I can’t wait to install it and get rid of that faded trim. Will change the entire look of the truck’s front end.

Lastly I spent about an hour working on the grill last night, sitting at the kitchen table. Turns out all but one of the mounting studs that run across the top of the grill were broken, where the bug guard mounts between the grill and the hood itself. Used 1200lb high strength epoxy and re-mounted all the mounting studs to the grill. Really built the area up around each one, so hopefully they’ll hold. Will remember to NEVER slam the hood once the grill is re-mounted.

Truck was supposed to be back from the body shop today, but due to the rainy weather on Tuesday they got behind, so now it’s looking like it’ll be tomorrow before I get it back. That’s ok, I’m planning to spend most of the day Saturday putting the trim back on, installing the new pin stripes, and waxing the mid and lower body. Looking forward to this weekend, love seeing a project come together.

With a little luck I’ll be driving the truck to work on Monday. Fingers are crossed.

Pics when I have them!

-Mike

 

Checked my database on the bumper cap, Mike. For 1998 they only came in black.

 

Well the one on the truck now is SURE faded out then. Texas sun strikes again.

 

Just went by the body shop. Had a guy on a ladder sanding the roof and another sanding the passenger door frame. Glad to see it being worked on, but don't think it'll be done by tomorrow.

We'll see!

-Mike

 

Truck is painted!

Went by the paint shop at lunch and it was sitting outside. It looks tons better, or it will when I put the grill and trim back on it and pinstripe it.
That said, it IS a $300 paint job. It has quite a few dips, blups, and one run in it on the bed. There is also one area on the hood that has a good smudge in it. You get what you pay for, and again it looks a ton better.

That said, Mike gave me the keys and told me to take the truck for the weekend, put it back together, make a note of any areas I'm not happy with, and then he wants me to drop it back off next Tuesday after the paint hardens some more, and they will sand and buff it for me. I'm cool with that.

So here's some painted pics. Will post more after I get it back together. The square things on the tops of the fenders above the headlights are the velcro for the bug guard eyebrows. Such fun.









Here's the pin stripes I'm about to replace. Notice in the second pic it's half missing in spots



And here's the very faded-out upper front bumper....I could not tell if it was originally green or grey.....regardless the new black one will be one in my next pics, and the new fog lights I hope!



Got lots of work planned for tomorrow on it!

-Mike

 

Yup....looks a ton better already!

 

wow! looks beautiful :2_thumbs_up_-_anima:2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Ok here's the latest novel gang. Stayed up LATE Friday night and then spent pretty much all day Saturday on the Ram. It looks tons better!

Friday night after work I picked up the truck and got right on it. Got the new pin stripes installed, got the grill and bug guard back on, and also installed the new black bumper cap and tail gate protector. Dusted the truck off and MAN it looked sharp.

BUT at near midnight I started it up to go run to 7-11 for a drink and driving to the store heard a loud rattling under the truck. Got back home and let the truck cool down. While it was cooling down I removed the stock horn and replaced it with a Bad Boy Air-Blast train horn (hahah). It's LOUD!



That done, and truck cooled off, I climbed under and started banging stuff....looking for the rattle. Found it....the catalytic converter rattled like mad. DOH!! That's a brand new issue, it had been totally quiet since I got the truck running.

Sacked out at 2am, set my alarm for 6:30am and was at Taylor Muffler when they opened at 8am. So here's weekend surprise #1!





They made me a deal, and I now have a big free-flow cat, Flowmaster 40-series muffler running dual pipes with big chrome tips under the rear bumper. It's LOUD, a little louder than it maybe should be for someone my age, but my son Eddie LOVES it...and even my countryfied wife laughed when I started it up for her. The truck really rumbles now!

After draining my wallet on exhaust, I ran down to Pep Boys and picked up a little more pin striping, I ran out before finishing the hood.....took 45-feet of stripes to do that truck, no joke! Also got some touch up paint for the silver...that turned out to be too dark and have too much metallic in it....oh well.

Now here's weekend surprise #2. I started the truck up in the Pep Boys lot, and even over the exhaust rumble I heard a loud hissing sound from under the hood... I think the truck is cursed. The idle air control module, a part I'd already replaced, failed (Duralast from Autozone). Dangit!

The IAC module varies the amount of air going into the intake to help the truck keep a proper idle, and compensate for air conditioning. Happily the truck still ran fine, just sounded like it had a huge vaccum leak under the hood.

Got home and popped the hood, and finished with the stripes while the engine cooled. Then I pulled off the intake air box, removed the failed IAC module, dug up my receipt and headed for Autozone. They swapped it right out, I went home, installed the new one, and it was as bad as the one I just took off! Doh!

I removed the latest IAC module, then went to Advance and spent $5 more to buy a BG-brand IAC. Put it on and it was worlds better. Went and got my money back at Autozone. I will say the BG module still hisses at some low idle speeds, less so when the a/c is off, and I can also hear it around 40mph sometimes. It MAY just be a Chrysler thing...but I have read that going with a Mopar part...while a lot more expensive, may help. Will think about doing that later....for now it's a lot better and runs fine.

Saturday night I pulled out wax and did the silver sides and lower green paint, and then got after the exterior plastics with Armour All. Truck GLOWS now.

Ended the evening by pulling out my folding chair and putting it in the grass under the trees, then started up the engine and sat down to look at my sparkling truck and listen to burble through it's big chrome pipes. Man it sounds so GOOD now. Ha!

Took the family to Outback for Mother's Day in the truck. Misty actually asked if she could take the truck to work sometime this week. She loves it! Ha! I did NO car work on Sunday, had a good day with the family. Hope you guys all had a good holiday and called your Moms!

Here's the latest pics, with some before-and-after's added.








Stripes Before:



Stripes After:

 

Hood Before:


Hood After, along with new black upper bumper trim:



Roof Before:


Roof After:



Lastly I had not posted a pic of the new steering wheel. Found this on a Durango. Leather is in great shape and rim is thicker than the original one on the Ram. Bolt-on easy!



The fog lights are still in shipping (and man the old ones really stand out and look CRAPPY now with all the other work done!), and the new black tailgate emblems are also not in yet. I also still need to re-paint the door mirrors, wiper arms, and door handles Satin Black...and want to have those two panels on the driver's seat replaced and the seat padding built up a bit, but it's amazing how far this truck has come in the month I've had it.

The truck is going back to the body shop tomorrow to have the hood wet-sanded and buffed, but I pretty much got everything else back together.
Will post a few more pics once the paint is buffed, fog lights are installed, and black decals are on the tail gate.

Almost there!!

-Mike

 

The fog lights are seriously more noticeable now. Also polish those headlights. Or you could go with these aftermarket ones I saw on a truck and thought were pretty cool and not too odd looking, they're a one-piece unit that replaces the headlights AND the markers and they're crystal clear.

http://everythingcarparts.com/94-01...ps_Assembly_Chrome_Crystal_1_Piece_Style.html



$133 for a pair isn't too bad when you consider two regular (TYC) light assemblies with marker lenses would still cost $100 from RockAuto.

 

Looky there! I spy a Dodge Magnum back there. Gotta throw a little wagon talk into the thread. Good job on the truck BTW.

 

What, are you part Eagle, W88!

 

I barely noticed the Dodge truck on the lift! That speck off to the right near that black hole in that building must be the Magnum or a kid's pedal car!
But the young woman in the halter top sittin in that gold car sure looks hot!