03 Dakota ext cab

[Vimes]

Tiny update - cradle is out, K-member is tacked in. They are waiting on more steel for this now as they decided that it needed a larger diameter DOM tube for the LCA mounts. They said this one would work and would be plenty strong enough, but with the larger tube the alignment adjusters will fit better. While it's a lot cleaner looking under there than the Vette cradle was, they said it'll weigh about the same as the cradle. I was hoping it would be lighter, but in some areas stronger is better. This is one of them.

Sadly, one of the spots that I won't be saving money is the fuel tank. I was hoping the Challenger saddle tank might fit up in there but nope, no go. If I were to try a saddle tank in the space available I MIGHT manage a 2 gallon tank with one gallon on each side of the driveshaft. I'll have to figure something else out instead now and that can't happen until the truck comes home.

[Vimes]

Minor update - the larger tube K-member is being built. I like the larger diameter piping even if it is going to add weight. The original piping looked a little small, this looks more correct. Didn't bother with pics. Moving right along, just not very quickly.

[ryeguy2006a]

Glad to hear the project is progressing! We always love pictures though.

[Vimes]

Small update - the former Camaro SS rear diff now has mounts that are tacked in and ready to be welded. I had thought about doing a Dodge unit just to keep it "in the family" but those only come with 3.08s (auto) or 3.92s (stick) and what I need is more like 3.23 to 3.45 depending on what I wind up going with for tire diameter. This one is a 3.23 The welder is on vacation so no action right now. There will also be some reinforcements added that are ready to be installed but not in the pictures.

[ryeguy2006a]

Really cool update! Looks like there should be plenty of room now.

[Vimes]

Minor update - picked up a fiberglass bed cover today. These things are impossible to find for my truck. I've been looking for months for one of these things. No pics right now, it's really nothing to look at right now. If you have a newer truck and want a hard cover, get it while you can since they seem to stop making them after X number of years.

The plan is to make some modifications to it because it's not quite what I want, then use it to make molds and make one that is what I want. I'm planning on making it out of carbon fiber for weight, not appearance, so it should be quite a bit lighter than that chopped fiberglass one is. It'll also be a permanent mount, not a bed rail thing. I'll probably try using a set of hood hinges to get a little more lift out of it than you get with a normal bed cover. Making something like this will be a new adventure for me, but won't start until I have the truck back in my own shop. If it works out, I might try making other parts for it. This will be a year or two down the road though.

[Vimes]

Minor update. Progress is slow, but continuing. The shop has had to direct more manpower to the repair side due to workload and not people not wanting to work for a change. The welder said he'd have it sitting on its wheels inside a week if he could be left alone with it. Probably just as well as I'm working my property pretty hard right now. It's getting to be too crowded where I live so I'm working on getting ready to sell my house and move deeper out into the sticks.

Anyway, I'm a lot happier with the heavier bars up front. Similar reinforcement will be going in the back.

[Vimes]

I have a substantial update this time - the truck is sitting on its tires! There's still more work to be done, but they're finally making some real progress. Once they finish it up, everything gets pulled off and the frame will be cleaned up and powdercoated. The powdercoating will be for durability, not show, because this truck will be driven hard.

It's also looking exactly like I expected it to, although it is a little lower than I expected it to be. I specced 4-5 inches of clearance underneath for speed bumps. If need be I can fiddle with it when it's closer to completion to get it up a bit higher. The missing bed makes the rear look stubby, but with the bed and the front clip on it'll be balanced - more or less 5ft length for the bed, 5ft for the cab and 5ft for the front. The front clip/bed length being close to equal is what makes the short wide such an attractive truck, and I'm getting this with the extended cab I need with my height.

This should also show exacly why the Corvette front cradle would not work. It's more clear now how close the front wheels are to the cab, and how low down the cab is in relation. The fabricated cross member lets the engine sit in line with the front wheels like it's supposed to.

[ryeguy2006a]

Huge congrats!! Will they be adding anymore bracing between the lower control arms?

[dhutton]

Huge congrats!! Will they be adding anymore bracing between the lower control arms?

I was thinking the same thing. It looks like a lightweight drag racing setup currently. But then again I am not a mechanical engineer.

[Vimes]

Yes, more bracing will be going in. The shop has been doing both dedicated drag frames and street frames for years, and the round tubing they're using on mine is almost twice as large in diameter as the drag setups. I told them that this will be a daily driver, that I will occasionally track at a pro-touring event although I'll just do that with it once. I'll also be hitting a drag strip with it just to get times - I don't expect it to be a great drag racer, but ya still gotta have that time slip.

Despite the jump in progress, this is far from done. The engine and transmission will need to be installed to see where additional bracing needs to go. The transmission tunnel will likely have to be cut out all the way to the rear wall of the cab to make room for the driveshaft as the engine and trans will be sitting higher inside the cab than the factory stuff. Once the cross members are figured out, he'll start adding some triangulation bracing.

Of course, I definitely appreciate the criticisms and advice. I'd rather hear them now than after it's done even if I ultimately decide to go against them, like the 2x4 vs 2x6 debate. I was won over on 2x6 until I saw 2x5 C-channel on the factory frame, with a cargo capacity of 2400lbs .

[Vimes]

More progress. They put the bed on and found that there was a minor error on body lines, resulting in the cab being raised about an inch. Such is customization, but this is a happy error as I've been concerned about the truck being too low. I was considering a taller tire to raise it up a little, which would be fine since it's being built as a racing driver and not a dedicated racer. It's nice to see my vision finally starting to come to life. The only thing that would have made it better is if I'd used a regular cab but I'm a rather large man and need the extended cab for the legroom.



The engine is also being test fit. The fabricator will have to put a small notch the cowl to fit the engine, and he figures I'll just need a low cowl at most for the hood. I'm planning on a fiberglass or carbon fiber hood, and I don't think it will need a cowl at all. Exhaust manifolds won't fit around the frame so a set of headers will have to be fabricated, which the shop can handle. I might see if they can build a set of tri-y headers to boost midrange power. There's also been no decision made on the oil sump or steering rack. The engine came with a front sump and I can use a standard rack behind it, but if we go to a rear sump I can use a Mustang electric rack and not have to work out the EPAS stuff in the cab.





The bed had to be cut to make room for the A-arms. I wasn't expecting this but, what can you do.





The transmission tunnel is too small. The truck originally came with a 4 speed automatic which was much smaller than the 8HP70. I'm thinking it will have to be extended to the rear of the cab, but we'll see on that.







I didn't get pictures, but the rear diff is kind of tight under the bed. There's plenty of operational room, but the space for it is about 2-3 inches taller than the diff itself is. If the rear diff needs work I'll have to drop the cradle, which is just 4 bolts.

On the wheels/tires being a bit too wide and close, I'm going to get the wheelwells cut out so they make a round opening instead of a rectangular opening. Going with round openings means minimal cutting to get the necessary room, then a light fender flare to get the coverage. The fronts stick out an inch too far, but the rears almost fit inside the wheelwell. It won't take much at all to make them look factory.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks like they are making some solid progress. I saw an episode of Stay Tuned where they added IRS and a crown vic front frame to a ford truck and now I kinda want to build one. Looks badass.

[jaybee]

Great progress, this is going to be a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed that Stay Tuned project F100. They did a nice job with it.

[Vimes]

Small update. We'll have to go rear sump on the engine and the K member will be adjusted to accommodate. I'm fine with this and completely expected it. The guy doing the building wants me to find something as shallow as possible. There's tons of offerings out there and advised them to look at Holley (7 inch) and Milodon (5 inch) although I don't know if the Milodon will work as their shallow pan sticks out on both sides and may interfere with headers. The headers will be custom builds, but room will be limited.

They're also having to rethink the engine mounts as the ones they were going to use won't work. They'll get that figured out.

I'll also have to figure out coilovers now as they want to start building the mounts. Guess it's time to actually start making those calls. So, I had a thread on it, and there were some recommendations on it so am looking at the Ridetechs. I also saw that Bilstein makes coilovers and I've always liked their products but have been unable to find anyone who actually used them. I've debated between universal and Corvette on the fronts and will probably go with the Corvette just to keep it simple, but I'll also be discussing it with ridetech. The Viking Warrior double adjustable also look good and I've heard plenty of people are happy with them. Mainly street, occasional track is just what I'm looking for.

[dontlifttoshift]

Its 2026. Welded sheetmetal oil pans are dumb. Get the Holley.

Related. Holley makes clam shell mounts the the Gen3 hemis and you can swap the rubber from the 98-02 F body mounts into them.

[Vimes]

Its 2026. Welded sheetmetal oil pans are dumb. Get the Holley.

Related. Holley makes clam shell mounts the the Gen3 hemis and you can swap the rubber from the 98-02 F body mounts into them.

Thanks. I passed on the link to the clamshell mounts, and while I was there found a mid-sump pan that is 6.4 inches deep and the sump is center rear. I sent that link to him as well.

[dusterbd13]

As an old dakota guy from when this body style was new and the dakota r/t was hot ****, i LOVE IT.

[Vimes]

As an old dakota guy from when this body style was new and the dakota r/t was hot ****, i LOVE IT.

Thanks!

[Vimes]

Two minor updates.

1. We were forced to go with the sheet metal pan. It was the only one that fits at 5.5 inches of depth. The other ones hang down too far under the truck. I'm not thrilled by it but, what can you do. It does hold 7 quarts of oil so there is that.

2. I finally decided on coilovers. I spoke to several companies and checked for personal experiences, and it looked like the best in all categories were Viking coilovers. I ordered a set of Berserker double adjustables directly from Viking. These are the part numbers and descriptions.

A428GB SHOCK BERSERKER DOUBLE ADJ CO STUD/TBAR-B 10.47-15.72
10DP400 SPRING COIL 2.55 ID 10 HEIGHT 400LB

A494GB SHOCK BERSERKER DOUBLE ADJ CO TBAR-B/BRACKET 11.80-16.45
8DP450 SPRING COIL 2.55 ID 8 HEIGHT 450LB

All this and the adjusting wrenches were right at 1700 bucks with a military discount (another plus!) I told the guy at Viking that this was going on a supercharged 2010 Corvette, which I think is going to be close to the actual front/rear weights on the truck. He doesn't need to know it's actually a pickup (unless he's a member here, of course) since all the struts will care about is how much weight is on them. If need be I can change the spring rates after the fact. I think it'll be pretty close though. I'm shooting for lower, it'll probably be a bit higher, but from my calculations it should be spot-on.