03 Dakota ext cab

[dontlifttoshift]

That noise on max isn't going to be less with the Vintage Air unit.

You do not replace a heater core or evaporator, you replace the whole unit. The case is glued together around the core. The heater and evaporator cores are one unit on a Gen II system.

[Vimes]

That noise on max isn't going to be less with the Vintage Air unit.

You do not replace a heater core or evaporator, you replace the whole unit. The case is glued together around the core. The heater and evaporator cores are one unit on a Gen II system.

There's room for improvement on sound control, I think I'll be able to do something there. But thanks for telling me the unit itself is not serviceable. I'll concentrate instead on making it easier to remove as a unit. But with any luck it'll never go bad. I already intended to attach grounding wires to the heater core and AC evaporator, since the main problem with these guys is galvanic corrosion pinholing them.

[Vimes]

Ugh, more delays. Shop lost another mechanic so I'm delayed again. Disheartening.

[Vimes]

An update, such as it is - still waiting. The shop is now down 2 mechanics, and the owner is doing basic repair work and putting projects such as mine on the slow boil. When I stopped in to check, he had just pulled a bad piston out of a Ford pickup, and it sounded like it messed the block up. The only good news is the one in front of mine, a late 70s Malibu which had to have the frame replaced, is getting close to being finished. My truck is already there, so once it's done he can roll mine right on in and get started. No idea if it will happen this year or not, the good part of that being there's only a month left in this year.

In the meantime, I've been knocking out home projects. Busy busy busy, but the more I knock out the less the wife can complain about, and the less time I have to be upset about not being able to work on my truck.

[Vimes]

Ugh. Finally got a measurement for the rear wheel track, so I can start ordering suspension parts. I was one month away from deciding that this would never happen. 60 inches wheel face to wheel face, so now it's off to Dobberton's to get the part-y started.

[jaybee]

Happy to see an update. Sometimes it does feel like there's no hope for a project.

[Vimes]

Happy to see an update. Sometimes it does feel like there's no hope for a project.

You ain't kidding. I was going to pull the plug next month and find something that didn't require depending on a shop if I didn't have SOME sort of progress.

I ordered the Dobberton adapters, should be in next week. I'll probably need to wait till the suspension is together and the truck is home before working out the rear diff. My preference is going to be an 8 speed auto with the Corvette transmission, but if it comes to it I can use a Camaro drivetrain from the trans back.

[Vimes]

I finally feel like the ball is actually rolling here now. Top picture are the new Dobberton front adapters, bottom is the rear. They came in a few days ago but I wasn't able to open the boxes for pics until today. I still need to order an oil pan and a front and rear C5 suspension, then my part will be done until my chassis guy gets the frame built and turns it into a rolling chassis with the Corvette bits. Unfortunately Dobberton isn't modifying cradles right now, not sure why, but my chassis guy said he can handle modding the cradles.

While he gets the chassis done, I'll get the 4.8L I'm using as an initial engine ready for him to use as a mock-up. The 4.8L will be around until the end, after which I'll put something a bit more potent in.

[Vimes]

New suspension is on its way, courtesy fleabay. 2003 Corvette front and rear, off the same car. Should be in next week.

[ryeguy2006a]

Wow, those are really cool pieces! Should make for a really great handling truck!

[Vimes]

My 2003 Corvette front and rear suspension arrived, sitting on my shop floor. I'll break it down over the next week to take to the frame shop, and I'll have a few parts off it for sale soon. This feels surreal, after waiting almost 3 years for this I'm finally seeing some movement. Just hoping there are no more delays on the frame shop side.

[Vimes]

I removed the stuff from the suspension that I won't be using. Once I get the parts prepped I'll put them in the for sale area. The stuff I'm using, along with the Dobberton adapters, was dropped off by the shop today. Still no scheduled start date, as they are still having manpower issues.

[Vimes]

Here I sit all broken hearted,
Bought my parts but the shop hasn't started.

Unbelievable how hard it is to find a shop willing to work. I've been getting a lot of excuses on why they can't start, and no actual work has been done. But, we're down to next week, next week, next week. So, next week I'm going to see what the new excuse is, and tell them that if they haven't started by the first of August that I'm taking the truck back and finding someone else. The shop owner is a buddy of my brother's which is why I've been so patient, but 2 years is 2 long.

If anyone has any suggestions on someone else in Oklahoma preferably that does outstanding work and actually wants to take on work, I'd appreciate being pointed in their direction. I've been speaking to shops in the area but they either won't return calls after I stop in to discuss with them, or don't want the job unless I hire them to do a turn-key project. Turn-key is a problem for me as I want to do the work myself as much as possible. I'd do the frame myself but I don't have the skills and equipment necessary to build one that is safe and reliable. Perhaps if I was planning to build several I'd be willing to put in the time and effort but at my age and for a one-off project I'm just not interested in taking that on.

In other news, my daughter thoughtfully involved my Colorado in an accident although it was not her fault. She was driving on a 4 lane city street when someone at a side street making a left turn pulled in front of her. Nobody was hurt, front corner to front corner contact, but the truck was totaled. What was amazing was the insurance company gave me 8 grand for a truck I had all of 4 grand in, used for a farm beater and owned for 4 years. The replacement is a 2005 Dakota 2WD that's far more comfortable to drive than the Colorado was. I put a complete new front suspension under it this week as all 4 ball joints were gone and the rack had a bad seal leak so overall I came out ahead on the accident. I think the 4cyl Colorado was faster than this 6cyl Dakota, but I've not had a chance to fiddle around with the Dakota yet.

[ryeguy2006a]

That's a huge bummer... Sorry to hear your troubles. You are way more patient than I am. If it were me, I'd get the truck back and buy a chop saw. With those suspension adapters, you really only need a square frame at the right width to mount them to. Good luck finding a qualified shop.

[dhutton]

As someone who has used the Dobbertin adapters I can say that it is a whole lot easier if you keep the stock Corvette track width. Are you sure you need to reduce the track width? How does the Dakota track width compare to the Corvette track width?

Don

[Vimes]

ryeguy2006a, my welding skills aren't good enough for frame work. Wish they were.

As someone who has used the Dobbertin adapters I can say that it is a whole lot easier if you keep the stock Corvette track width. Are you sure you need to reduce the track width? How does the Dakota track width compare to the Corvette track width?

Don

Now you have me wondering. According to the web the Corvette has a 62.0 front/62.1 rear track width and the Dakota has a 61.4 front/62.4 rear track. We measured the truck at the shop and based on the Dobberton site information the cradles need to be narrowed several inches. But now I think I'm going to discuss this with the guy that has it now because if we don't actually need to narrow the cradles he may be more willing to get started. The whole cradle narrowing may be why he doesn't want to start it.

Another shop that did a wonderful job with another member's car said they could do it without the adapters, mounting the points directly to the frame. I'm now in line at that shop as well, but they said several months before they can start.

That's a sharp truck, and is pretty much what I want to do with my truck.

Dobberton info:

[dhutton]

Do you have the dimensions of the Dakota frame?

Don

[dhutton]

Frame dimensions.

Don

[Vimes]

Neat, and I appreciate it. But yes, I have a full set of paper shop manuals for the truck including the body/frame repair book. By the time I get done with this truck, IF I ever get done with it, most of the manuals will be useless. I'll build a new set as I go.

[Vimes]

Short update - the frame shop now has a full complement of mechanics for their repair side, so now the race side is starting to get caught up. Still no start date but hopefully soon.

Perhaps the delay was a blessing in disguise though. I've worked out a transmission solution thanks to the efforts of other board members. I still want a rear mount transmission so the extra time will let me figure that out, but the current plan is an 8HP transmission with a Turbolamik standalone controller. If I can't get this to work rear mount, then Turbolamik also makes an 8HP to LS/LT adapter. I've also settled on shooting for 600HP, which will give me a quick, fun to drive truck without being too much of a handful. I don't need to have to be the fastest guy around.