Buying '78 Lil Red Express Truck

[Shadrach]

I remember the LRE and Warlock trucks well as I worked at a Chrysler dealer at the time. Later my buddy had a short box stepside with a 440 in it. Altho big blocks were fun they can't match the torque of a 5.9 CTD.
David

 

[Wiredawg]

Yep sounds like my '96, pic from previous owner, frame is actually a '97, wish I had 2 weeks with it like this to clean stuff up.

The body stuff, replacement panels, paint and all under coatings were spot on, but some electrical/mechanical I would have done a lot more too for sure. But then what would we work on?

Looks like a nice start for sure for your project.

View attachment 114903

COOL! Is that a Pontiac Firebird in the background? Nothing like projects, is there?

Cheers, Ron

 

[Wayne M.]

Hey Ron, why not ditch the fusible links and wire in Cole Hersee self resetting breakers?

 

[Wiredawg]

Hey Ron, why not ditch the fusible links and wire in Cole Hersee self resetting breakers?

Hey Wayne,

there must be telepathy going on here...I was just about to ask the TDR gallery if fusible links could be replaced with self resetting breakers. You think 40 amp good?

Thanks, Ron

 

[Wayne M.]

Hey Wayne,

there must be telepathy going on here...I was just about to ask the TDR gallery if fusible links could be replaced with self resetting breakers. You think 40 amp good?

Thanks, Ron

Ron, I would have to study the legs of that fuse box on the schematic, and try to calculate the load of each.

 

[jgillott]

COOL! Is that a Pontiac Firebird in the background? Nothing like projects, is there?

Cheers, Ron

These project threads that we are seeing now on TDR have quickly become my favorite reads on the forum. Yes, we are all here because of our common ownership of Cummins Rams, but the side projects we all have going really offer quite a bit of knowledge and interest to the forum.

 

[DavidC]

Hey Wayne,

there must be telepathy going on here...I was just about to ask the TDR gallery if fusible links could be replaced with self resetting breakers. You think 40 amp good?

Thanks, Ron

No way to identify the fuse links ?

 

[Timd32]

COOL! Is that a Pontiac Firebird in the background?

I'm not sure those are some pics from the previous owner of my truck, we went to HS together, he did that frame off work on my 96 it was his personal truck, he has a awesome shop in Bangor, PA will do everything from Muscle Cars, to European, low end- high end, complicated aluminum, is BMW, Porsche, Ford Aluminum certified, really a great pro-customer ally really makes the insurance companies do the right thing.

I dug thru his Facebook I found a similar era (time when the '96 was being worked on post) for a pretty neat Camaro, its gotta be close I'm thinking it was this.

Also did a real nice GTO for another person we went to HS with.

With my '96 kinda like what you are running thru there was a lot left to be sorted, because it was his personal truck he had really never thought of getting rid of it, used it to plow the shop lot and the sort, so you don't make things perfect like a customer's car sometimes, my truck is pretty awesome would not be on the road if he did not do a ton of work I could never do, so like your project when you start digging and cleaning stuff up, you have a pretty awesome base to start with, most of the big stuff looks really great.

 

[GCroyle]

Friends,

- So, I went ahead installed and wired in the four loud Cadillac horns I was going to install on my Wrangler. Horns still don't work though,

Cheers, Ron

Ron,

Darn it Ron everybody knows Cady horns just do not work on a Dodge, no way no how, can't do it, never happening.

It's just plain common knowledge.

Gary

 

[Wiredawg]

Ron,

Darn it Ron everybody knows Cady horns just do not work on a Dodge, no way no how, can't do it, never happening.

It's just plain common knowledge.

Gary

Hey, it's ok to JOKE with the bear, but don't TEASE him.

GRRRR.

 

[Wiredawg]

No bad fusible links. problem with connector feeding the fuse panel.

Wow. I feel brilliant, at least for the next 30 seconds....ZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzz.

Ron, Esquire.

 

[GCroyle]

OK Ron,

This was a few years ago, my M880 needed wiring TLC too. And a rare snow day in SC. Sold it wasn't getting used enough to keep it.

Gary

 

[Wiredawg]

OK Ron,

This was a few years ago, my M880 needed wiring TLC too. And a rare snow day in SC. Sold it wasn't getting used enough to keep it.

Gary

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View attachment 114915

VERY SWEET!
In 1978, I was stationed at Maxwell AFB, AL located in Montgomery AL in the telephone installation and maintenance shop. We received 2 1978 Ram D250, 360 V8s, Autos, manual steering. These trucks we bad. Went TDY (temparary duty) down to Tyndall AFB FL, where the shop we worked at got 2 brand new W350 Power Wagons with service bodies, and equipped with 12klb (I think) winches. these trucks were BEAUTIFUL. Wished I had pics, didn't have cell phones, and pretty much needed permission to take any pics. Ruskies could be around.

So, back to my troubleshooting today. Woke up 0300 this morning thinking about checking resistance from the pos battery terminal to each feeder connector on the BACK of the fuse panel. feeder terminal on the bad leg was ruined. I read good continuity at the connector, replaced it and back in business. Horns not working, so I disconnected them and tested voltage 12.6VDC. Tried the horn from the truck and no workie. Gonna use my 12VDC converter with fuse to test horns to get them working.

Done for today, ankle AND wife giving me pain. oops, Vivian is good pain.

Thanks for the input and humor.
Cheers, Ron

 

[Wayne M.]

Those bulkhead firewall connectors gave trouble on muscle era Mopars, but I never knew them to be trouble later on. I’d look close at that though. You might wind up with that whole harness out like Gary had to do.

 

[Wiredawg]

Those bulkhead firewall connectors gave trouble on muscle era Mopars, but I never knew them to be trouble later on. I’d look close at that though. You might wind up with that whole harness out like Gary had to do.

Yep, think tomorrow I will carefully remove the firewall connectors, clean with some contact cleaner, and add dielectric grease to them, and every reachable connector on this truck. Snapped some pics a bit ago;

Thanks and Cheers,

Ron

 

[Wayne M.]

As I’m thinking about old Mopar horns, the contact behind the steering wheel could be at fault. Maybe find that wire in the column and ground it?

 

[Wiredawg]

As I’m thinking about old Mopar horns, the contact behind the steering wheel could be at fault. Maybe find that wire in the column and ground it?

It looks like a new horn, read 12.6VDC at the horn connectors, and reading good continuity from horn wire in steering wheel to horn connectors. Tomorrow, gonna bench test horn to see if it needs adjustment. it's likely it never worked since the restoration, especially since it was connected to the windshield washer pump connector. The horn leads had been cut off and dangling behind the grill.

EDIT: My best tool, multi meter with gator clips and 15 foot gator clip extension.

More fun to come tomorrow.

Mama taking me to get a burger and go to the junk yard to get sliding rear window out of a 79 w250. Saw it last week, wished I got it then, but wanting it came later. I love these trucks with wing windows, fresh air vent at drivers kick panel, and slider window open. you could flow some good air with these trucks.

Cheers, Ron

 

[DavidC]

AH,wing windows, sure miss them. Now they want you to buy some ugly long piece of plastic that attaches to your top window opening.

 

[GCroyle]

Ron,

I'll admit I've slept since those pics were taken but something about the bulkhead connector does ring a bell, like the M-FM spade connections or something was wonky. It did take some chasing and tracing, new connections or even a straight thru non OEM style line to the starter circuit but it was repair for service, not for restoration.

I bought that M880 non running a bit on the what was I thinking at the time. Misc repairs, carb work, fuel pump and a new timing chain and I had something.

318CID, A/T with the intent to R&R with a 435 handshaker which I still have but it didn't happen. I wanted an old fashioned stick shift and the stick looks like a war club or a bad shillelagh. It was a crude, tough, 8' bed where do you want to go (except high speed highways) 5/4 Ton utility P/U. One day I went to our combined hunt lease to get bagged whole corn (legal here in SC) and we heaped it on that 5/4T front to back and till you couldn't see out the back window. Then short drive to stands and dump some bags of corn at each. I was on 4 whlr trails at best running thru hardwoods and pine stands that had been harvested long ago and it's almost like driving thru vineyards and dodging old pine stumps.

No speed, deliver load, move to next stand. Never even put it in 4LO IIRC it just did it's thing.

Now take care of that ankle and mind Vivian. Keep the progress reports coming.

Gary

 

[Wayne M.]

Where it started for me, far as trucks go.
An ‘81 D350 DRW with Royal trim (buckets n console). HD360/ 435/ Dana 70 with 4.10’s. It was a “fish truck” and had a large reefer body on it. I saved it from the crusher. This is after I got it home and running and gave it TLC. I eventually put a warmed up 400 in it kept the 435, and drove it a lot. I learned so much with this one- it had so many problems caused by being put together wrong. Things like the drive shaft out of phase, the budd wheels being stacked wrong, etc etc.
after driving it from ‘89-‘97, I bent the front of the frame when I crashed it hard. Guys drove from Illinois to buy it. Shortly after I got my ‘ol ‘92.
It was a cool truck.
I do miss the wing vents, floor vents and sliding rear window.