Took one of my final trips to the secret warehouse today, to pick over the few remaining parts of the donor Durango that I won't need, but which may have have some resale value. It was exciting to finally see the bare frame the body will mount to, and the first time I had a chance to confirm it indeed suffered no damage during the rollover prior to my purchase. There is so much stuff packed in that engine bay, I really hope there'll be a way to pare back some of it when the time comes. The 6.1 in the Derelict (last two photos), by comparison, also features all sorts of modern amenities - but achieves a minimalist, clean look. Note the original Hemi valve covers, adapted to the new engine. Spectacular. Anyhow... I'll likely pull the wagon out of winter storage this coming weekend, if the weather holds to some consistency. I'd like to drive it around for a couple final weeks in its original configuration... to really soak in the "before" experience.
Man...that's looking so good. Great idea to drive it around stock for awhile, bred. Gives you one more chance to get the feel of that 50's car and give you a better feel for what you want. I am SO enjoying this build. And I am still jealous!
Yep, Bred, like Fox says - get out and enjoy it for a bit. Enjoying watching this unfold. By the way, nice nice warehouse.........
Thanks guys! Found a couple shots tonight the Derelict while "undressed". This is the Art Morrison custom frame, which was created from measurements of the wagon's underside using a laser. Pretty damn cool. Hard to say at this point how different they are, but since I had a couple shots from similar angles... why not mock up an unscientific comparison anyhow.
Remember, anything can be made to fit with a big enough hammer and a torch. There's some nice junk in that secret warehouse.
Indeed. The owner is an (eccentric?) criminal defense attorney who bought the warehouse and then quickly filled it - at a rate of 50 cars a year at one stage - with about 130 vehicles, stacked cheek to jowl. Many are now sold, but there are about 40 left including everything from a nice survivor-grade '50 Desoto coupe, two restored Road Master convertibles, and a gloss black 1930's Pierce-Arrow limo... to a '57 Thunderbird that looks like it was at the bottom of a lake, a '56 Chrysler 300 parts car, a cool Nash Ambassador bathtub, and a dozen 60's era Jaguar engines. How I would love to hang one of those long, thin motors on my wall - just incredible. It's been an amazing eye-opener for me, and certainly puts into sharp focus the true effort required to make most antique cars roadworthy again. I spent about four hours yesterday helping the old caretaker (who took apart the Durango) move many of them around on skates, as they're being sold off to other collectors and restorers. It was actually pretty fun, and helping him ultimately kept my total cost of him stripping the Durango to: giving him its 17" wheels for his Ram, and the value of the scrap metal... maybe hundred bucks or so. He's thrilled, and so am I.
I've always been impressed by those early Jag engines. Actually the entire Jaguars. Seems like that warehouse would be a fun place to just wander around, at least till everything is gone. There are some surprises in many of those old buildings. Thanks for the story.
Just checking to see if there is any new news to report. First saw your car over on the HAMB but your plans were not "HAMB friendly" so you told me to check up on it over here. After just getting back from a trip out west, I'm leaning toward what your plans are with yours. I'd love to make mine a trailer puller and head on a cool vacation every year.
Howdy, Yeah, I was thinkin' out loud too much early on, over there. Oh well. News: I'm locked and loaded on my shop's white board for End of July. At that point I'll post lots of photos of these two vehicles becoming one. The shop is about 30 minutes away, but I hope to get out there a couple times a week, assuming I'm not in their way. The only lingering hesitation I still have is the wisdom of this engine for a long-haul vehicle: the Hemi is far from fuel efficient, though I recall advice earlier in the thread about reprogramming it to help a bit. Whether it's ultimately a bad call will somewhat depend on how we really use the T&C, but I have a friend who tows his 28 foot Airstream - a lot - with a Mercedes GL SUV with the 3.0 diesel V6 and is thrilled with it. Lots of torque, the typical diesel smells and sounds are gone, and 23 MPG highway when not towing. Still, for a few thousand we had a new frame, running gear, motor and transmission: I must not forget this was easily the best financial bang for the buck so far, as donor parts go. There will always be a wrecked diesel Sprinter van down the road that we could upgrade to later, while still keeping most of the effort and money we're investing now. No.. for the time being I'm still very optimistic that the Hemi is be genetically correct choice, that it'll be a blast to drive, and that when take our little Airstream over Loveland Pass.... we won't even break a sweat. Lots more to come!
Bredlo: Skip the Sprinter engine! Believe it or not, that diesel SUCKS fuel! On a Jeep Grand Cherokee, you are hard pressed to match a Colony Park with a 5.0 litre V-8. It uses more fuel than a gas engine Tahoe. It seems there are also some mechanical issues with it as they age. Maintenance is supposed to be a bear, too. If your donor Durango Hemi does not have cylinder deactivation, that would be the way to go down the road. Find a donor Hemi that can run in 4 cylinder mode when V-8 power is not required. That system really does work, and does not add to the maintenance costs later.
Really! Boy, that's surprising - they sure get top dollar, $17K, $18K for 12 year old examples with 110K+ on the odometer. I'd read a bit about that - MDS. It came out a year after my donor was made, I believe. My initial thoughts were wariness that it'd be a far more complicated electrical / computer setup for that technology, but yes, around town it'd be great to putt around in a 4 cylinder. I'll keep reading up on MDS-equipped Hemis as a "down the road" option - but for now, I'll certainly enjoy the trusty 5.7 as is. Speaking of swaps, the other detail I need to research as long as everything will be removed from the frame) is whether AWD is the best choice for us. It came on this chassis, but I've read it cuts into MPGs, and that it's more expensive to maintain over time than 2WD. I'm not sure we'd come across enough situations to warrant it, especially if we move west in the next year or so as we plan to. If it's not difficult or expensive to swap out to a 2WD setup, while keeping everything else the same - I'd love to hear your thoughts on that (if you have any), Mike.
The cylinder deactivation comes into play, believe it or not, most on the highway. On level ground, you only need a fraction of the power the engine can produce, and in 4 cylinder mode, the throttle plates open further, which gives much improved gas mileage. In hills, or on acceleration, you need all 8 and they kick in. Yes, the computer system is more powerful, but not really any more complex. On the all wheel drive question, if you don't need it, don't waste your money on it. A lot of those parts can be sold to finance the 2 wheel drive conversion. You will need the 2 wheel drive computer, too. The 4 wheel drive eats gas whether engaged or not, since you are spinning the transfer case, the extra drive shaft, the second differential, the 4 cv joints and 2 axle shafts, plus the different wheel bearings. It can make a difference of 2 or 3 mpg easily, and that is if you never use the 4 wheel drive setting. Use it, or engage the auto all wheel drive, and the difference could be an easy 6 or 7 mpg. Also, the 2 wheel drive is normally on a lower suspension what will give the correct stance for the old wagon. The 4 wheel drive suspension is likely to be too tall to look right. You may even need to get drop spindles for the front end, too, because it may sit too high to look right. The Durango frame is a lot further off the ground than the Chrysler frame.
Cool - as wary as I am of additional complexity, it would be a nice feature If I ever need another engine down the road. Not surprisingly, most threads on Dodge forums seem to be from Ram folks who want their MDS removed. I suspect that what they consider "neutering" their 6K lb. truck... may have real benefits in a 4K lb., highway-cruising wagon, though. It'll require more research on my part. It doesn't sound too awful of a process, given that everything will be apart anyhow. That's what will decide this as much as MPGs - a factory stance is in the top 5 on my priorities. I know myself - I'll be endlessly explaining and apologizing for anything less. The Durango currently has full-time "AWD / 4 Lock / 4 Low", so I'm not sure if that'll be more or less complicated to convert, but I'll seek out forums specific to that instead of going into too much detail here. Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated!
Bred, if I understand your intent correctly, you do not want the wagon to look like it was dropped on to a truck chassis. If this were me I'd want it to look like a 50's wagon with the surprise being when they look under the hood and get down on their hands and knees to see what else has been done. That is my ultimate goal with the Safari although I'm not sure I've got the blast left to go to the level you are but I'm still thinking hard about it. Having the Chevelle to drive for now while I do the wagon helps as I know it will be a slow process and the one thing I do not want to do is to suddenly check out and leave a very unfinished wagon for my wife to deal with. Particularly given that of all the cars we have this is the one she would want to keep and be driving often. Your having a professional shop do it is great, just out of a retiree's budget given what the shops here charge, and more knowing that I can do this myself. It would drive me crazy, I'd drive them crazy, I'd end up changing much of what they did anyway to suit me, not what they think will suit me. I just need to find the energy and time to get to it. That might be my spring 2014 project and just spend a couple of months doing it if I can find the right donor vehicle(s). Watching you go through the process is very helpful and encouraging. It is going to be outstanding when it hits the road.
Precisely. As I've mentioned in the past, the other concession we'll consider is some type of period-correct looking console... built from parts of similar era dashboards, levers and knobs that match our dash controls. I absolutely empathize. Luckily, I'm not only confident in this shop's work, but the scope of their efforts will be focused solely on mechanical and electrical, given the great state of the wagon currently, letting Melissa and I (she's a designer) fuss over the things we're good at: matching new carpeting to the existing upholstery, retrofitting an old trunk into a 12v refrigerator for quick access to food during road trips, etc. You know, the fun stuff. Whatever you choose, it'll be amazing, given the specimen you're starting out with. I'm already a fan of yours from your years on Airforums. Cannot wait, and I look forward to sharing the hairpin turns and dead ends in the process, as well as the victories. The enthusiasm from all of you throws happy fuel on the fire.
