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I purchased a 1982 Dodge rampage for $1000. I'm more of an electrical systems technican, and my girls in school for auto maintenance, so we def bough a bit more than we can chew, but it's such a fuckin suh-weet ride. I was looking through craigslist sales with the strict criteria of clean titles/less than $1500/""""running"""". We're learning as we go! Fun facts about the dodge rampage:
Fun Facts about My Dodge Rampage:
Things I have done for my Rampage:
Things that are broken/need attention:
Why this truck/car? because it's kinda funny to work on! It's a running driving shitpost. It allegedly gets great MPG, and can haul 1000lbs. It also has great lines. So far I've got factory service manuals, which tell me exactly where everything should go. Chilton? More like child-ton. Wiring/tubing/vacuum lines etc. It's takin me a while because i've never wrenched on a truck before, and I only work on her a few hours a week. But steady progress means that she's now better off than when i bought her. Will post truckpdates and truckpics in thread.
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Jun 20, 2022 20:36
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 18:20 |
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night we picked her up   an after photo of welding up the drivers side seat area  I don't know what people like in build threads like these and I haven't been taking great pics. I'm accepting requests
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Jun 20, 2022 20:42
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there are a million problems with this vehicle i have yet to discover/uncover/ or describe to you, the audience, but rest assured working on it is pretty fun.
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Jun 20, 2022 20:52
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Yeah! Rampage! There's no real 'right way' to do a project thread. We just like seeing stuff that you're working on. Before/after is always fun. Look forward to seeing more, man!
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Jun 20, 2022 21:23
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So this will take a turbo K-car engine, right?
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Jun 20, 2022 21:39
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Seat Safety Switch posted:So this will take a turbo K-car engine, right? yep! She's stock for right now, but if i find a rolled 2.2L Dodge Caravan with an intact powerplant + turbo, It's gonna be mine no matter how many kids died in the crash. Path i'm taking right now is to get all the systems up and running before i make drastic alterations, but if i find a turbo ( turbo models generate a blistering 10 hp more over the stock 85 HP!) i'll find a way to drop it in.
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Jun 20, 2022 22:07
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Krakox posted:yep! She's stock for right now, but if i find a rolled 2.2L Dodge Caravan with an intact powerplant + turbo, It's gonna be mine no matter how many kids died in the crash. If it's the 2.2 then the turbo should be good for around 150hp non-intercooled and 175hp intercooled (stock). Rampages seem really cool! I don't think we ever got them in europe, even though some other weird K-car related products seem more common here than in the states even.
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Jun 21, 2022 18:18
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Seat Safety Switch posted:So this will take a turbo K-car engine, right? Don't push your perversions onto this sweet innocent poster and their child seat.  Edit: I mean, or do. Turbo Rampage would be amazing.
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Jun 21, 2022 18:32
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Investigation shows that the fan is operated by some high wear parts that check temperature from the carb/ carb air heater via vacuum tube. No guarantees the fan is actually running, so i'm going to test all the individual components and see whats working and what isn't. That'll be in a few days.
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Jun 21, 2022 23:52
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Seat Safety Switch posted:So this will take a turbo K-car engine, right? If it'll take that, it'll probably take a SRT Neon (or PT Cruiser Turbo) swap. 
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Jun 22, 2022 05:01
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Electric swap?  Okay sorry I did not mean to get you all amped up over nothing! I can sense your resistance, not sure WATT I said to get you so charged up!
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Jun 22, 2022 06:23
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ride the lightning
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Jun 22, 2022 06:29
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Leper Go-getter posted:Electric swap? I hear Leafs are cheap.
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Jun 22, 2022 19:05
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going to pull a powerplant from a trashed 1980 Kawasaki LRV and wire it to a bunch of AA's in the tailgate.
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Jun 22, 2022 19:53
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Even though the car is already awesome, which Iron Maiden album?
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Jun 23, 2022 11:03
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Krakox posted:I don't know what people like in build threads like these and I haven't been taking great pics. I'm accepting requests  Krakox posted:yep! She's stock for right now, but if i find a rolled 2.2L Dodge Caravan with an intact powerplant + turbo, It's gonna be mine no matter how many kids died in the crash. Turbo models also come with extra turbo sound which makes it seem even faster.
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Jun 23, 2022 13:15
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But honestly I really like the Rampage, it's quirky, but the design is very of the time, i.e bad. But as with every malaise era disaster, with the right kind of flair it can be a mean lean machine. Put a good canopy box on the back and it's allmost like a holden sandman. Desert vista airbrush art with tiny rampage self insert on the side? Yes.
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Jun 25, 2022 06:47
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Leper Go-getter posted:Desert vista airbrush art with tiny rampage self insert on the side...
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Jun 25, 2022 15:26
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mental images of how cool she would look with fantasy art airbrushed on her aside, pretty sure we're just gonna go with a green/black two tone. the carpet samples i ordered looked best with turquoise. tried getting her running yesterday, was running really rough and was worrying me. might've been the fuel pump, and i got a fuel pump test kit from harbor freight, but i'll need to check it out at a later date. also i think i hooked up the brake booster to a vacuum line instead of an air line from the carb. i gotta check. I was going to try and start draining the coolant bc i don't know when a PO has swapped it. the radiator petcock was gummed up, but with enough picking at it and compressed air pointed at the top I think we got a good drain. Next is flushing it with water and finding some kind of fluid to de gunk whatever's in there. Vacuum line tech sucks so much. gently caress to carbs, and air lines. guy on turbo dodge has some extra interior pieces. he's out in ohio so it's going to be a pain in the rear end for shipping but then i'll have enough trim to put things in right. also might have a dome light cover and a template for the interior ceiling. this week my bud's coming up to continue welding stuff. pretty exciting!
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Jul 4, 2022 15:09
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There's no air port on a carb. You have ported vacuum and manifold vacuum. Your brake booster needs to be connected to a manifold vacuum port (it'll either be on the intake manifold or a larger one at the base of the carb, usually on the back). Distributor is connected to ?!?!, you'll need a vacuum diagram for that (some use ported, some use manifold). It should run decent with either port, but being a smog era car they did some weird poo poo - if it's on the wrong one you may wind up with a hunting idle. Emissions stuff will be a mix. Does it seem like it's running rich or lean? If it's lean it'll probably pop and maybe die if you try to give it gas. May need to adjust the float level if it's lean. You did clean the jets while you had the carb apart? Also, timing being off will make it run like rear end, same if your vacuum advance isn't hooked up. Make sure all the unused vacuum ports are capped off too. The fuel pump is probably fine. When those mechanical pumps fail, they usually do so by dumping gas into the oil. You can disconnect the fuel line (... and coil) and try cranking it, you should get strong pulses of gas while it's turning over. If it's trickling or otherwise weak, check the fuel filter first. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Jul 5, 2022 |
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Jul 5, 2022 11:12
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STR posted:There's no air port on a carb. You have ported vacuum and manifold vacuum. mercifully it's got an electric distributor. I'll go over the deleted hoses and see likely candidates for the brake vacuum line. I've previously adjusted the float and can do it again, I've gotten proficient at carb rebuilding. What I am concerned about is the vacuum advance for the choke, the temperature sensor connects to it via a port in the air filter and I gotta go through the books to make sure there's no further missing hardware. curious cause it was running dandy a week ago. I haven't messed with timing. I think it might be lean, but it was running and driving under it's own power prior to yesterday. I'm not particularly worried, just annoying. Signs of life are good enough for me, I'll just continue flushing the systems I know need attention. she's not going anywhere for a minute anyway, I'm thinking I'm going to take this original radiator out and send it to a guy to get boiled out. all sorts of gunk inside, and I'm pretty sure ethylene glycol is corrosive anyway. don't care to take my chances.
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Jul 5, 2022 13:37
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Turns out the master cylinder is totally hosed, like you can see the housing warp when you put your foot all the way down, so that's definitely a fix that before go on the road thing. Turns out the weird struggling to start problem was a vacuum line cap split. I put together a new cap and she started on first crank and idled wonderfully for a $1200 ute. Radiator isn't actually super gunked up, it just needed some attention. Water pump works! Gonna adhere to manufacturer recommendations for what to put in there. Buddy started welding in floors today. I'll post pics when he's done because there's nothing to show yet. Got some info about the dash- apparently ammeters on older vehicles are a main source of dashboard fires? like they just go up and burn poo poo up? Anyway I gotta make sure mines unplugged, and while i'm at it see if there's sense in swapping the 1982-specific gauge cluster for an 83 or later model (has a tachyometer and a trip counter! wow).
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Jul 8, 2022 01:57
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Old-school Ammeters have 100% of the current from the alternator going through them. They're a bad idea. New ones use a current sense shunt resistor that mounts right at the alt and the gauge just reads the voltage across that shunt. Much safer. If yours has fat rear end wires, you can't just unplug it. You'll have to join the wires safely. I know nothing about your setup.
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Jul 8, 2022 03:16
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very tired, dark out, no pics, but floor is at a point where it is 'good enough '. any further welding risks damaging interior parts or are in impossible to get locations (behind brake pedal, for example). Prime candidates for silicon sealant. probably better than whatever the factory did. after that I can drill holes for the seats and have an interior! will take pics, but I think the steps for a floor are clean>Rust converter>primer>weatherproofing, right? and then you'd lay on the insulation and then the carpet? not a lot in the service manuals for trim and interior pieces, just going by vibes from car sites.
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Jul 9, 2022 03:53
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Krakox posted:very tired, dark out, no pics, but floor is at a point where it is 'good enough '. any further welding risks damaging interior parts or are in impossible to get locations (behind brake pedal, for example). Prime candidates for silicon sealant. probably better than whatever the factory did. after that I can drill holes for the seats and have an interior! Sound deadener if you want to put some MLV down. I used noico 80mil and it was really good.
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Jul 9, 2022 11:22
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builds character posted:Sound deadener if you want to put some MLV down. I used noico 80mil and it was really good. Does it do anything for heat?
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Jul 9, 2022 14:40
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joat mon posted:Does it do anything for heat? Real heat like a muffler or just is it also insulation? It’s a mild form of insulation but nothing serious if you actually need insulation. I would get something real if we’re talking exhaust type heat.
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Jul 9, 2022 20:10
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if you guys know what to do with bare metal to prepare it for turning it into a long lasting sound proof heat resistant interior, i'd love to hear it.
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Jul 9, 2022 22:56
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Krakox posted:if you guys know what to do with bare metal to prepare it for turning it into a long lasting sound proof heat resistant interior, i'd love to hear it. Sorry, not to be dense but what kind of heat resistant do you want? For #vanlife, folks usually do one of three things for insulation. Spray foam, thinsulate or hard foam board. For floors it’s typically hard foam board in what’s basically a subfloor. So if you want to just insulate against general outside temps I’d see if one of those fit. But if you want engine heat insulation then maybe something like this? https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-16-36sqft-Absorption-Deadener-Insulation/dp/B01K9X4710/
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Jul 10, 2022 03:26
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builds character posted:But if you want engine heat insulation then maybe something like this? https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-16-36sqft-Absorption-Deadener-Insulation/dp/B01K9X4710/ Yep, cockpit insulation from engine heat was what I was looking for. Thanks!
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Jul 10, 2022 03:43
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Too hot to wrench, but moved her to inside the garage so i can start working again. Got the right hardware to drill out holes for the seats. Of course on this extremely hot day she didn't feel like starting up so i had to shift her into neutral based on feeling. I had the battery on a trickle charger for two weeks, i hope i didn't gently caress it up somehow. I think the shifter needs a clip to keep the linkage at a constant location. I should read the book to find what size/part it is. Also i think the parking brake is engaged and won't turn off, based on the cable being pulled all the way forward and not letting go. I gotta figure that out, but i'll be doing all the brakes soon enough. Again i haven't touched her in two weeks so i don't think the failure to start could be anything but the battery being weird.
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Jul 25, 2022 01:01
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replaced terminals. battery good. still don't run. my work schedule changed so I haven't gotten on her as hard, plus it's an emotional bummer to have her running and then not. here's a progress pic. before/after. tho  pretty simple to run up the chain for what's no good. battery's fine. ignition hasn't been kicked or hosed with lately. maybe an open wire to the starter relay, or maybe relay is totally seized. point is I'm on the trail
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Aug 2, 2022 21:40
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she wasn't running for a second! was agonizing over why. turns out the starter relay ground is plugged in upward and held in by best wishes. put some ty raps on it. it'll stay there for sure.  installed a seat! passenger side was easiest bc there were still mounting holes left from the original frame.  next is floor shifter and driver side. note the milk crate.
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Aug 17, 2022 00:49
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driver side is in! shifter is in! shifter is at a 15 degree angle from straight with the body! That's fine I'm not a body guy. it's functional   all it needs is to tighten the hardware down. shifter finally shifts without being a piece of poo poo. might get a u clip to restrain it further. worked on front disc brakes! removed the hardware for the rotors, calipers, pins and hoses!  passenger CV boot is hosed! PO tried to fix with zip ties. lmao. gotta buy one  🎉 I have to learn how to build new brake lines 🎉 Not too bad, it's only a foot long or so. i have the tools and the correct hardware and lines. Very funny tho. next step is installation, which is the inverse of removal. I have 100% new disc brake hardware and rotors. new master cylinder. the drum brakes are going to be tricky as I don't have experience with them, and also to figure out what's going on with the hand brake
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Sep 18, 2022 20:45
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Get a good bender, a good flaring tool that matches the OEM stuff (probably double flare) (and ALWAYS double check that the nut is on before flaring), and some nickel-copper tubing. That tubing is soft enough to bend by hand for long bends, but a bender will make things cleaner.
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Sep 21, 2022 02:17
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Bent a new brake line, put on new hardware. Gotta torque everything but it's on there. Cleanest its ever looked  Next up is replacing the cv boot on the other side. Honestly a little intimidated
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Oct 7, 2022 00:36
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Nice work! A little late for this, but if whatever bending tool you are using now isn't to your liking, I'm very happy with the Eastwood tool I got. Also helped to fill the lines with sand before bending. The line you installed certainly looks like NiCu lines, but be sure to double check if you buy more as you can't always trust store employees to know the difference.
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Oct 11, 2022 18:18
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 18:20 |
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MrOnBicycle posted:Nice work! A little late for this, but if whatever bending tool you are using now isn't to your liking, I'm very happy with the Eastwood tool I got. Also helped to fill the lines with sand before bending. The line you installed certainly looks like NiCu lines, but be sure to double check if you buy more as you can't always trust store employees to know the difference. These are excellent tips! I Bent one by hand and my brakes expert buddy gave it a thumbs up. No hard corners or anything. Replaced master cylinder, and rotors calipers pads and hoses for the front disc's. Next step is rear drums. No pic because no need.
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Oct 16, 2022 22:04
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