sup folks - here's pics of my truck - it's an 02 Dakota Quadcab: 440, 46rh, Atlas4, Dana 60 front, 14b rear, and 40" Toyos. It's been in work for over 3 years and is just recently rolling under its own power. It was built to be a 100% streetable rockcrawler/camping machine - I call it a 'Rocklander'.

How it looks right now -



The 440 is a 78 block from a 79 Winnebago motorcoach, and besides a stock 9-1 rebuild has these upgrades: Holley Sniper EFI and Hyperspark dizzy/ignition on a Performer RPM intake, MP valve covers, CVF serpentine conversion, Fast Fish rear main seal, Engine Pro MC1787 RV cam (278/288 advertised, 204/214 @ 50, .420/.443, 107/117 lobe sep), OE truck manifolds, Milodon 8-qt off-road pan, RV water pump housing and 180* Milodon RV skirted thermostat. Oh and yah it and the tranny are painted Cummins beige for an extra 10 lbs of torque...





The 46rh was pulled from a 94 Dakota 4x4 with a 318, and got a full diesel rebuild and a Hughes towing converter -



Did a solid axle swap up front and bolted up a high-pinion kingpin D60 from an '89 Ford F350; it's got 5.38 gears, Grizzly locker, Crane cover, RCV shafts, Reid knuckles, Yukon spindles, SpeedHouse GM brake conversion kit (enabling use of OE Chevy 3/4-ton discs), and Warn lockouts. The rear is a 14 bolt FF from an '03 Chevy 2500 gasser with 5.38s, Grizzly locker, Crane cover, and stock shafts for now.

I surgically out-boarded the frame 3.5 inches per side just aft of the front cab mount and boxed/reinforced it from tip to tail. Outboarding the frame provided the room for a second Dakota 24 gallon tank and...my 40" spare tire





boo-yahh



With a big gas tank along both the insides of the frame the exhaust runs underneath - the cab and tanks make a 'tunnel', with the rear driveshaft underneath, all protected by a massive up-armored belly cradle. To keep the exhaust from melting things the exhaust went to Jet Hot and the underside of the cab got several dozen square feet of DEI floor and tunnel shield - it looks like a satellite under there -









Made a clean dash to monitor everything 'old school' -



There's a ridiculous amount of 'more' done to the thing, and I'll keep this thread updated as the shenanigans progress.

Here is a link to the big build thread in case anyone would like to see the whole transformation - https://www.ramchargercentral.com/t...rocklander-field-service-ability.291969/

- Sam

Wow! I don't think "impressive" is an adequate enough compliment. Looking forward to the updates...

WOW just doesn't seem enough!

Love the fabrication and attention to detail!

Very nice! I like it!

Yep, that is a great build.

Very nice!


Tim

thanks all. This build started out being pretty basic, but like most soon gained a mad mind of its own involving lots more voodoo than I'd planned, but it seems to be working out pretty well. I've been slowly addressing the bugs and it's getting better and better. Hoping to have it 'ready' for the trails in a couple months, and I'll post up more along the way, and video's of it in action. Meanwhile, Happy Holidays!

- Sam

...been working diligently on a nice clean way to get the truck 'quiet' while also not melting the spare tire, and this is how I did it. There's now another big 3" in/out Walker QuietFlow 20146 muffler under the spare tire well, with three nice strong and rust-proof 1/8" aluminum heat shields linked together to keep the heat under control...I hope. 3" downpipe from the center exhaust routes into the muffler, and I have a simple turn-down tacked in place until I get the bed on and fab up the actual tail pipe. Main shield bolts up to the spare tire crossmembers, and the muffler bolts up through slots in the shield to the same crossmembers. Measurements indicate the rear axle has a full 6 inches of compression before it will contact anything, and in my experience that is 'plenty'. Look under any pickup - there's lots of empty space under there, and I'm usin' all of it.

Is the shielding overkill? - maybe, but this aught to keep my spendy Toyo from wearing out due to heat. I got the muffler and shields as close to the chassis as I could without hitting under articulation - testing will confirm or deny if my calculations are correct. Pics -



















the two connecting shields - one a 'wall' the other connecting to the main shield above the tire -



the three heat shields bolted together making a nice barrier between the 'heat' and the tire -

our club had a UHF/VHR radio clinic at our place, and I took the opportunity to line up the hardware from tallest to smallest - some interesting comparisons. Also...yah the Dak sounds niiiiice with the 3rd muffler

...been a while since I've posted any updates, and I got one now. After months of deliberation I made me a Command decision: The 440 is coming out, and my original low-mile 360 is going back in, where it belongs. Everything gets 'simpler', plus it'll be lighter, quieter, cooler (more 'room'), with plenty of power, and 88 less cubic inches to feed when crawling the trails. The 360 will be set up basically be the same as the 440 was - I'm bolting on an Edelbrock 7577 intake, and a 2bbl 570 cfm Holley Sniper with HyperSpark ignition will top it off. The 2bbl Sniper will be SO much simpler, and for this truck that was a major part of the decision to swap engines.

I'm considering a cam upgrade while it's apart. While nice and smooth the cam in it now is 'tiny', and I'm looking at the following Hughes grinds to help it breath a bit better without sacrificing the nice smooth low end (probably #2 or 3) -

HUG SER9703ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 197/203 -114ºLSA NEW CORE

HUG SER0814ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 208/214 -114ºLSA NEW CORE

HUG SER1418ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 214/218 -114ºLSA NEW CORE

HUG SER1822ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 218/222 -114ºLSA NEW CORE

The 360 will be 'plenty' for this truck, especially with the 2bbl Sniper and HyperSpark ignition, and the 2bbl Sniper will easily handle a stroker kit if I choose to go there down the road. But since I'll have it literally down to the cam that's a perfect time to employ some natural gains there. I'm waiting to hear back from Hughes on recommendations, and welcome anyone else's too.

What about the 440? Well it's really a cool story - one of my best friends is buying it at cost, complete with the Sniper and HyperSpark ignition, just less the truck oil pan and manifolds, and even more perfect is it's goin' under the hood of a car he got from me a few years ago... - this car :cool2:



So yah - it's a grand plan and it's gonna be great

ok, at Comp Cam's recommendation I'll be installing their 20-745-9: 212-218 (264/270), .480/.480, on a 114* LSA. The next cam down was their 20-744-9, which is a 206/212 (258/264) also with .480.480), but on a 112*, and with my intended use he indicated the 114* of the taller cam would make my idle a bit better while still giving a real nice mid-range and upper end, and that sounded good to me.

Hughes recommended a 210/216, on a 110*, and both Howards and Bullet had similar recommendations...but none were available at either and no end in sight for backorders, so Comp Cams it is.

Appreciate any/all thoughts about how the Comp bumpstick will 'perform' in my 360.

OBTW, I think the stock/OE cam is 184/194, .410/.410, 112*...

https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-ene...ulic-roller-cam-for-chrysler-magnum.html

- Sam

so as many know, one of the inherent 'issues' with using a carbureted intake on a Magnum engine is whether or not the owner wants to retain the factory a/c and...more specifically...the big bracket the a/c compressor bolts to. There is a big aluminum bracket that houses the factory a/c compressor and alternator - nicely up out of the way, but the Edelbrock 7577 intake has what is presumably the intended heater port directly under the factory bracket...which...if you want to retain the factory bracket will require some custom work to either actually use the port for a heater hose, or use it for something else - I went with option 'B.

In my case I needed three ports - heater hose, EFI water temp sensor, and dash water temp sensor. The idea of using a 90* fitting under the a/c bracket for the heater hose would have worked, but I preferred not to snake the heater hose out and around. All said n done I ended up with three 3/8 npt ports. I drilled the two 1/8 npt ports open to 3/8 npt for the heater hose and EFI temp ports, and using an adapter used the port under the a/c bracket for my dash 1/8 npt port (via an adapter). Pics tell the rest of the story...





...original intake ports -


...and how mine ended up -

...heads are off, rockers/rods/lifters are out, and far as I can tell all look good. A few of the rear-most lifters had some caked/waxy oil built up in the middle which made them a bit more difficult to remove, but they eventually came out. I'll be disassembling the lifters next to give them all a good cleaning and inspection, keeping them each labeled to their respective holes. As usual...pics, including my shop helper this morning helping me unbolt the rockers -









and the cylinders looked great -

Got about half of the lifters disassembled - wow were they stuck - no 'springiness' to the plunger, but after some brake cleaner/internal cleaning/working them back-n-forth they have come apart. Made a quick trip to Harbor Freight and picked up an ultrasonic cleaner, filled it with a mix of purple power and water, dropped in all the bits, gave them a final cleaning with brake cleaner, and reassembly with fresh oil, and now the first few have their 'boing' back and feel good.

Meanwhile, taking full advantage of the holidays online sales and have a bunch of the reassembly hardware coming, including a 'longer' Wix 51515 oil filter, and I'll be using Lucas Classic and Hot Rod (high zinc) Conventional 10W40 oil at least for the first few thousand miles. I know the cam doesn't 'need' the high zinc, but with all the fresh internals I figure it won't hurt, then at the first oil change I'll go with regular off-the-shelf conventional 10W40.

I'm also going to try a thermostat with a rubber gasket vs a paper one - I figure if these work other engines it should work for mine - the OD and ratings are all the same so why not. This is the stat I'm gonna try -



https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/plus/murray-plus-180-degree-thermostat/mcs1/4698?q=thermostat+Flange+Diameter+%28in%29%3A+2-1%2F8+Inch+Gasket+Material%3A+Rubber&pos=1





Here's my early morning 'office' for the next several days -



- Sam

here's a good example of the utility of an ultrasonic cleaner - bottom line = worth every penny ($80 from Harbor Freight). Plug it in, I filled it with 1/2 purple power and 1/2 water, turn on the heater and let it get all nice n happy, drop in a set of 125k-mile untouched rockers and hardware and push rods right off the engine, and here's a few pics of just how well the thing works - I literally did nothing except drop 'em in the tank and pusha da button

Lifters are almost all restored and so far so good, oil pan is off, timing chain and cam are next, then I'll pull each main and check the bearings, and roll in a new rear main seal, and that's about as far 'down' as I'm planning to take the engine. Meanwhile, here's another example of how well the sonic cleaner works: the dizzy drive shaft - took it straight out of the engine and dropped it right in the tub; the difference and 'cleaning' capability is truly impressive - wish I'd discovered the utility of these things years ago.

Before -



after -

Thank you for sharing your experience with the cleaner. I need to invest in one for carburetor and hardware along with some other things.

yup my pleasure - and hey if y'alls wives like jewelry the thing is great for making it all super clean n shiny too! (great 'selling' point)

...so based on lots of intel I'm planning to 'bolt it up and go', but here's some gee-wiz info regarding lifter preload...

My 360 ran nice and quiet before pulling it, and I want it to be just as silky smoove this next go. I wanted to get a 'baseline' for my OE lifter preload - it seemed to be just right before, so may as well try to determine how it 'was'.

With the OE cam still in, I reinstalled two of the restored lifters, laid on the old head gasket and bolted on one of the heads (tightened down 'snug' but not torqued), installed the rods n rockers loose, tightened the rocker bolts to 'no-slack', then measured how many turns the bolts needed before hitting 21 lbs. And a pic 'cuz that's how we roll -



Both exhaust and intake rocker bolts made 1.75-1.8 turns before hitting the spec of 21 ft/lbs. The question thus is..."ok...but how much pre-load is that"? Apparently it was just right - the engine was quiet at all times, so I can only presume it was 'good'. Not very scientific but there it is. I've been told that between 1-2 turns is 'good'.

My new Comp cam is a new core (not a re-grind), and has just a bit higher lift...and I think that is achieved by grinding the base circle 'down' (compared to the OE cam that was in it), which means the lifters will be 'further away' from the rockers than with the OE cam, so with the same push rods there'll be more distance between the rocker cup and base circle, so that means I'll have less pre-load, and according to Hughes Engines the lifter pre-load spec for a 5.9 magnum with hydraulic roller lifters is 0.080-0.095". In theory I'll have even less with the new cam (presumed lower base circle, but maybe not if there was 'room' for a taller lobe - don't know), possibly going the full 2 turns.

At any rate, IIUC the hydraulic nature of the lifters can 'absorb' minor inconsistencies like this, and based on several sources I'm going to bolt it up as-is, but I figured I'd just pass on what I'd found.