🔧 BUILD Reviving Grandpa's 1993 D150 Pickup

Jon01

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My grandpa bought this 1993 Ram D150 brand new back in the day, I distinctly remember the day he bought it he brought it over to my folks place and my dad and I checking it out. I knew he was buying a pickup but I figured he would get a more grandpa esque styled unit and when he pulled up in this shiny red truck I was pretty excited for how sharp it was.
I have tons of memories of him and I riding in it all over the place back before I could drive and then me driving after I could as he got older and less comfortable on the highway on long trips.
After he passed 10 years ago we put it away in the shed down at the farm while we processed losing him.
Naturally time and lack of use took its toll and it went from being very reliable to refusing to start due to lack of fuel.
Fall of 2019 I decided to pull it out and get it back on the road, a new fuel pump and it was running again. Unfortunately it seemed to have picked up a pretty healthy miss and the transmission was now holding onto 2nd gear for too long. I drove it about 50 miles but fall was upon us and I wanted to get it tucked back away before snow started flying so I put it right back in its spot.
It did seem that the more I drove it the better it was running and shifting so that was encouraging.
Of course 2020 was a dumpster fire and I didn't get back down there to get it back out.
This last weekend I did some real serious thinking as it is time to either put things down there to use or sell them. I decided that I am going to get this thing out, clean it up and put it back in service as a light chore runner and hardware store hauler.
So last night after work my dad and I snagged a new battery and plunked it in it and I'll be damned if it didn't fire right up.
I drove it the 40 miles back to town and by the time I got it here it was running smooth as silk and shifting good as new.
Here it is with about 16 months of dust on it.

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My current plan is to clean it up and do some minor updating while still keeping some of grandpa's touches- I'm going to remove the mudflaps, worn out tool box and cargo cover, but keep the Arizona skyline rear window sunblocker and seat cover. Probably going to add a 3/5 drop and some 20" torque thrusts.
Eventually I may put a cam and heads to the 318 that's in it. It's a Magnum motor so it runs ok as it is. Not a rocket but far better than a TBI 350 of the day. It does feel like maybe it could use some gears but I want to pull the codes and see what it has in it.
I also need to have a few of the bumps and bruises taken out of the body as he got a little cozy with the garage a couple times as his eyesight got pretty bad the last few years.
Once I get it that far I may havery some tint thrown on the windows and do a little updating to the stereo system.
Anyways, I always suck at making build threads before I'm halfway done with a project so I figured I'd get one going before I start this one.

Eventually I want to end up looking about like this truck here:

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I'll do my best to keep this updated on our progress.
 

Jon01

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Thanks for the words of encouragement guys.
He and I were very close and I still miss him every day but life goes on.

I got up early before it started raining today and pulled the cargo cover and tool box off of it.

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He put like 3 rugs in the bed the day he picked it up so the bed floor is almost mint.

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Then I went to the car wash and washed the shit out of the engine bay.
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It could use another couple baths and a 2 stage correction to get it really shining but I'm going to be pulling the valve covers and intake to do gaskets and no reason to get it perfect when I'm going to make that mess.

When I was driving it to the car wash the miss came back and the trans started acting up again so I fired the parts cannon and got a full tune up and trans fluid/filter change as well as some van lower control arms that'll bolt on a d lower the front 3 inches.
It feels like it's got a decent gear around town so I'll prob leave those be.

Next step is pull the mudflaps off and figure out how to drop the rear of the truck 5 inches. Shackles give 2, hanger flip gives 2 more. Axle flip will get 5.5-6. To make it sit perfect it really needs 4.5-5. I don't want to be dragging the tail, esp when we have some shit in the back so maybe I'll look at flipping the axle then running a longer shackle to net where I want to be.

If I can get out of work at a decent time this week I'll stop by a couple of pdr places and get some bids.


greasy greasy does anybody make a hellcat harness that doesnt require all of the bs with the OEM dash, controllers and simulators to make it work?
I have been eyeballing 6.4 pullouts, 500hp in a 3500# truck would be a screaming good time.
 

greasy

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Thanks for the words of encouragement guys.
He and I were very close and I still miss him every day but life goes on.

I got up early before it started raining today and pulled the cargo cover and tool box off of it.

View attachment 85821

He put like 3 rugs in the bed the day he picked it up so the bed floor is almost mint.

View attachment 85822

Then I went to the car wash and washed the shit out of the engine bay.
View attachment 85823

View attachment 85824

It could use another couple baths and a 2 stage correction to get it really shining but I'm going to be pulling the valve covers and intake to do gaskets and no reason to get it perfect when I'm going to make that mess.

When I was driving it to the car wash the miss came back and the trans started acting up again so I fired the parts cannon and got a full tune up and trans fluid/filter change as well as some van lower control arms that'll bolt on a d lower the front 3 inches.
It feels like it's got a decent gear around town so I'll prob leave those be.

Next step is pull the mudflaps off and figure out how to drop the rear of the truck 5 inches. Shackles give 2, hanger flip gives 2 more. Axle flip will get 5.5-6. To make it sit perfect it really needs 4.5-5. I don't want to be dragging the tail, esp when we have some shit in the back so maybe I'll look at flipping the axle then running a longer shackle to net where I want to be.

If I can get out of work at a decent time this week I'll stop by a couple of pdr places and get some bids.


greasy greasy does anybody make a hellcat harness that doesnt require all of the bs with the OEM dash, controllers and simulators to make it work?
I have been eyeballing 6.4 pullouts, 500hp in a 3500# truck would be a screaming good time.

I don’t know bud, I haven’t read enough about Hellcat swaps to know. Truck is cool though, love the retro look.
 
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Jon01

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I don’t know bud, I haven’t read enough about Hellcat swaps to know. Truck is cool though, love the retro look.

I'm gonna do some digging around on it. I'll need the info for when I do my Charger anyways as I'd love to HC it if I can do it and keep the dash stock appearing.


LS swap, greasy will probably do the same when that hellcat blows up.
I'm a believer in not cross pollenating. I've also done a bunch of LS swaps, a Hemi swap would be a fun learning experience.
My C10 checks that box for me. :)
 

Jon01

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Mudflaps gone, much better.
20210410_172311.jpg

20210410_172336.jpg

Got tracking for the ignition and suspension parts, hopefully its decent out next weekend and I can get that slammed out.
Trans fluid and filter will be here tomorrow so I'll knock that out.
After some more driving it is finding 3rd and 4th regularly again so I dont think its hurt just a sticking piston in the valve body or something like that.
I've also found it needs a sway bar up front if not front and rear so I'm gonna do some digging on that next.
 

Bob Kazamakis

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I'm gonna do some digging around on it. I'll need the info for when I do my Charger anyways as I'd love to HC it if I can do it and keep the dash stock appearing.



I'm a believer in not cross pollenating. I've also done a bunch of LS swaps, a Hemi swap would be a fun learning experience.
My C10 checks that box for me. :)
I was more giving greasy shit than actually suggesting an Ls swap :rofl:

After watching the engine masters with a hemi and a Holley termi x setup I wanted something to hemi swap.
 

Jon01

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Cleveland power and performance has complete drivetrain swaps with the harness and everything out of wrecked cars

Wow, they make some really nice pullout pallet setups.
I'll probably run the 318 for a while unless something fails with it, at that point it'll definitely get a Hemi dumped in it.

I just ran the buck tag, it's got 3.55 gears in an open diff so now to investigate what limited slip options are out there for an 8.25.
 

v6buicks

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I thought I recall seeing a standalone Hellcat harness that does away the gauges, taillights, shifter, ect. I'm too much of a broke dick to even look at stuff like that though, so I'm not very helpful in that regard.

Anyway, I love the truck. A mildly warmed over Hemi would be awesome in that thing. I can't wait to see it lowered.
 

Jon01

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Did a few things after work today, first I went and got some bids for PDR work, believe it or not the truck has a few dings and dents from an older guy using it as a truck. One place said just paint it, another said 250 - 300 and they'll get everything they can out. I'll drop it off there Wednesday.
Once I got home I replaced the wiper pivot bushing so the wipers are working again.

20210412_185450.jpg

Next I got after the abundance of clear silicone he used to seal the old cover and toolbox to the bed.
I tried a heat gun, hear gun and plastic razor blade and eventually just went and got my box of double sided razor blades. They worked really well, I just have to be really careful but so far I haven't gotten into the paint.

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I'll do some more work on it tomorrow, once I get it thinned way down I'll try some acetone and rags to keep working it off.
I'd love to keep the paint under it in presentable condition such that I can put some rail covers over it without worry of rust.

Tracking for the drop parts shows they'll be here Thursday. Hopefully I don't have to work this weekend and I can get them slammed on.

I've been looking for a set of regular black plastic bed rail covers but havent found anything yet. Tonneau covers are tough to find, apparently the truck is old enough that places have stopped making parts for it. If I can't find a nice looking set of covers I'll just have a spray in liner done and run it up over the rails.

Next debate is a light tint job on the windows. I'm really going back and forth on that one.
 

greasy

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Did a few things after work today, first I went and got some bids for PDR work, believe it or not the truck has a few dings and dents from an older guy using it as a truck. One place said just paint it, another said 250 - 300 and they'll get everything they can out. I'll drop it off there Wednesday.
Once I got home I replaced the wiper pivot bushing so the wipers are working again.

View attachment 86107

Next I got after the abundance of clear silicone he used to seal the old cover and toolbox to the bed.
I tried a heat gun, hear gun and plastic razor blade and eventually just went and got my box of double sided razor blades. They worked really well, I just have to be really careful but so far I haven't gotten into the paint.

View attachment 86108

View attachment 86109


View attachment 86110

View attachment 86111

View attachment 86112

I'll do some more work on it tomorrow, once I get it thinned way down I'll try some acetone and rags to keep working it off.
I'd love to keep the paint under it in presentable condition such that I can put some rail covers over it without worry of rust.

Tracking for the drop parts shows they'll be here Thursday. Hopefully I don't have to work this weekend and I can get them slammed on.

I've been looking for a set of regular black plastic bed rail covers but havent found anything yet. Tonneau covers are tough to find, apparently the truck is old enough that places have stopped making parts for it. If I can't find a nice looking set of covers I'll just have a spray in liner done and run it up over the rails.

Next debate is a light tint job on the windows. I'm really going back and forth on that one.

Fuck that silicone. That’s one of those things you just sit and stare at it like what the hell am I going to do. Then you procrastinate and find other stuff to do to avoid having to do it. Eventually you run out of other things to do and have no choice but to address it. ?
 
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Shawn1112

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greasy greasy does anybody make a hellcat harness that doesnt require all of the bs with the OEM dash, controllers and simulators to make it work?
I have been eyeballing 6.4 pullouts, 500hp in a 3500# truck would be a screaming good time.
After watching the engine masters with a hemi and a Holley termi x setup I wanted something to hemi swap.
Same thing I was going to suggest
 
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