'77 Dodge D100 Custom - have hopes and dreams of a pro-touring Mopar!

[slantin_77]

Hey all, my name is Brodie and I'm residing in Duluth MN. I have always been a huge lover of all things automotive and just bought my first truck 2 years ago. It's a 1977 Dodge D100 Custom with a 225 slant six and a 3-on-the-tree. It's not much for power, but for now it's a good cruiser. Since I bought the truck in June of '13 I have lowered it 5" in front (with new MOOG OEM springs, cutting one coil off, and 80's B300 van lower control arms...has deeper spring perch) and 6" in rear (the basic axle flip). I also got myself a set of 18's on it. They are 18x8 Ridler 695's in front and 18x9.5 Ridler 695's in back. I love how it sits, but honestly I need to lower the back just a little bit more (maybe an inch or so), so I bought some lowering shackles and have yet to install them. I also acquired a rear disc brake swap kit from a guy on a Facebook group. It included brand new Wilwood calipers, a set of weld-on brackets and new brake lines...all for a mere $88 shipped! Now I just need to find a set of rotors that will work.

As the truck sits now, it's kind of a sad story. The truck seemed to be pretty much rust-free (besides the common "floors" and "cab mounting supports") and the frame seemed solid. Well last year in the fall I discovered some rust holes and a crack on the frame right in front of the rear leaf mount and I deemed it not safe for the road, so I parked it. As of right now, I have sourced out another truck with a good frame, rust-free and damage-free doors, a full interior, a 318 with a 4-speed floor shifter and a few other goodies I needed anyway. So hopefully by summer I have my baby back on the road.

My future plans are a full frame-off restoration, a turbocharged 225 slant six with an A833 4spd, and will have MANY custom touches that will set my truck off from the rest of the crowd. It will be a slow process, but I will keep this truck for years to come!

Anyway, I'm a big fan of modernizing classic cars and trucks and I'm honored to be a part of this great forum!

When I first bought the truck:





After the wheels and suspension:



As it sits now:

[chithead]

That's one sharp looking truck. Can't wait to see how this unfolds.

[68Formula]

This thing is going to be cool. Love the Slant 6 turbo direction.

[slantin_77]

Thanks guys! I think a turbo slant would be fun and different.

I finally got my parts truck home and had some let-downs and surprises with it. First, the seller said it had the A-833 transmission and turns out it has an NP445. Then I inspected the truck a little more and saw the doors are NOT rust-free. At least the driver's door. It has a patch of rust on the bottom rear edge. The pass. side looks to be pretty damn nice but I'm going to paint strip both of them just to see if I run into any surprises. I think the driver's door might be too bad of rust to use. A few surprises I found was that this truck has power brakes and a front sway bar...2 things I really wanted on my green truck! I don't know if it has power steering because all of the accessories have been removed off the 318. The floors also look to be pretty solid, which my floors in the green truck need attention, as well as the cab support mounts, which are also solid on the parts truck! The engine I was told is toast but I'd like to keep it around to rebuild for a future project (possibly another truck or a Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare). It has an Edelbrock intake and a Hollly 4bbl. I looked up the intake and turns out it was a pretty poorly designed 80's unit and isn't worth much at all.
Another bad thing, and I don't know if it's permanent damage or not, but the leaf springs lost their straps to keep the leafs in place and the pass. side leaf is all spread out, making the frame twisted. I hope it goes back to being straight when I remove the rear suspension.
I also got my frame paint! It's from KBS Coatings and is called the Frame Coater kit. I am planning on getting the frame sandblasted, then will clean it up and paint it. I have enough for 2 coats of the Rust Stop and one coat of the BlackTop. I got the flat black stuff. I am also going to use KBS Coating products in the engine bay with their Motor Coater and high-temp coating on my headers/exhaust.
















And yesterday I finally got my other slant six home from being stored at my friend's place. I was so excited that I removed the valve cover and temporarily installed the new Clifford one I bought at a swap meet for $60 and is brand new! So now I see that I should buy a few new parts for it (water pump, thermostat, coil, distributor (probably going to use the one off the engine in the truck and put my Pertronix Ignitor II electronic ignition in it) and a few other small stuff. I kinda want to remove the head and do a good cleaning, but I don't know if it's necessary. Anyway, it's going to look spectacular when I get it all cleaned up, painted and have the valve cover and new air cleaner installed!




And last Sunday I got a bit productive with the engine...it was absolutely filthy with caked on oil. Probably from those damn stamped steel valve covers. Good thing I have a new Clifford cast aluminum one! I spent about 5 hours with Simple Green, a flat tip screwdriver, a razor blade and a steel brush, and only got one side of the engine done, but the other side isn't nearly as filthy. Then I gotta get the KBS Coatings' MotorCoating kit and get it all painted. I'm also going to buy all-new accessories (distributor, engine gasket kit, coil, fuel pump, and water pump). I already have a replacement oil pump and starter.

[abdelillo]

I would like to know what direction you are going with the paint? The turbo idea on the engine is going to set it off. Im not sure if you are familiar with the powernation television shows they rebuild a slant 6 on the engine power show, it might serve as a good reference. There's not that many dodges so this definately spikes my interest. I have a 92 dakota planning a throwing a mildy built 318 soon in it and stanceing it. But keep it man and God bless.

[slantin_77]

The paint on the main truck or the engine? I am unsure on both. I did email KBS Coatings to see if they could get me a few swatches of engine and hi-temp paints so I could see them in person and make up my mind. I'm kinda leaning toward either the OEM Chrysler blue or Race Hemi orange. I might go toward a different way and do like a universal cast iron looking paint as well. Not sure.
The main body paint I have some ideas...right now I'm set on a color called Spruce Mica...its a Toyota color. Google it...it's one of the most beautiful dark greens I've ever seen! The truck was originally dark green so I kinda want to stick to it.
I did see the show on TV where they rebuilt and bolted on a few goodies to a slant six. I already have headers and wouldn't mind finding an Offenhauser or Clifford 4bbl intake for it just to get me by until I can start on the turbo build. Of course I could use the 4bbl intake with the turbo setup with the right carb.

[slantin_77]

Today I picked up some much-needed tools at Harbor Freight to further my progress on the engine. Got myself a puller (for the harmonic balancer pulley and other uses), a wire wheel set, an engine brush kit (needed for bolt holes and tight areas), an air blower kit and a putty knife/scraper. These will definitely come in handy for getting the best finish possible when painting the engine and accessories.

[slantin_77]

I made it to the garage this afternoon and got a lot done on the engine! Removed the harmonic balancer, water pump and timing cover (yes, I re-installed the distributor so I could get the timing gears to top dead center). I brought my timing cover and harmonic balancer to my friend to get sand blasted but he said my harmonic balancer was junk (the rubber is starting to crack and crumbling out.
I then scraped what was left of the filthy gunk, then went at the block with a wire wheel and those worked great!

[FLYNAVY53]

cool build....I love stuff that is different! Im currently doing a rebuild of a friends 1960 F100 for his family and we kept the original 223 inline 6. Its more of a partial restoration than anything pro touring so I didn't bother posting it here. Keep up the good work!

[slantin_77]

Thanks man, appreciated! I like keeping the original engine in it...it give it more of a "cool" factor. V8's are nice but they are so thirsty!

[vwmopar]

Fellow Dodge fan here is wondering if there are any updates? I've always wanted to do a slant 6. Wondered if there is a overhead cam head with similar bore spacing that could be adapted to it.

[BigMikeIndy]

If you want to get some of your suspension travel back and stiffen up the front some I'd look at doing the dakota drop spindle swap and a bigblock coil. The Dakota spindle has a much shorter steering arm increasing the steering response.

[vwmopar]

From what I have read the dakota spindle creates bump steer.

[ArtosDracon]

Is that from being too low or too high against the lower ball joint?

[vwmopar]

Yes its the location. It depends on the manufacture don't know off hand.

[ArtosDracon]

If it's too high, that's pretty easily corrected for, too low is the more difficult issue, but could still be solved with a tall stud lower ball joint and then adjusting it back with a bumpsteer kit.

[vwmopar]

What's the current status of this truck?

[slantin_77]

Sorry for the lack of replies thorughout the last few months. I havent touched it really. I haven't had time and I personally don't have the tools for disassembling the rest of the frame. Besides, I am taking my time on this, since I think I'm going 4-link and airbags. I need to take care of a few debts before I start dumping money back into her.

[abdelillo]

I understand that i was wondering if you have any plans during the winter month?

[Auto Rod Technologies]

Love the idea of keeping it a slant 6 truck.. I'm building a street rod right now and put a slant 6 in it.