Last installment for tonight.
When you build something like this, positioning of the cab on the frame is critical. The goal of this project was to keep and use as much of the original Dakota chassis and drive train mounting as possible. Since the frame I'm using has already been shortened and my measurements tell me it was very close to what I wanted, the next step was to install the drivetrain and modify the cab to fit as need be. New factory replacement motor and transmission mounts were ordered and the motor was bolted into place on those original style brackets.

Before the drive train was moved from the 96 frame to the "new" frame, that frame did get cleaned up and painted. It wasn't a pretty job, but much better then what the white paint job was. There was still welding that would need to be done with the frame. My concern was to get covered what would be hard to get at once the drivetrain and cab were mounted. Pic 1,2 & 3 show the 318 bolted in place on the Dakota frame. Notice how close to the radiator support mounting holes the front frame rails are cut to? It really is that close.

Pic 4 is just fun. Everyone wants to know how I move cabs and truck beds around here, this is how! The old engine hoist with a 4" x 6" wood beam perched on top of the hoist with a 3/4" bolt welded to the hoist that passes through a hole in the 4" x 6" wood beam. This was the 1st test fit of the cab. Notice that the cab is a good 12" above the frame, and also notice the hoist is lifted pretty high. For the cab to clear the transmission, the hoist had to go to max lift, and the cab is pretty tilted. Things are pretty dicey with the cab lifted that high. That much weight lifted that high makes the hoist pretty light on the wheels at the hoist end. Moving the hoist with the cab that high is pretty nerve racking. If things go astray, all you can do is get out of the way and watch everything crash, then, after everything stops moving, you look to see what got messed up.

I had to pull the cab off the frame (by myself) several times before I got enough metal trimmed out of the way it would sit on the frame. This process took about 3 days, every night the cab sat on cement blocks on the driveway, and the frame was rolled into the garage. Gene