Got an 83 Ram Charger with a 440 today!

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I contacted Summit Racing about a new intake/carb set-up. I explained the engine wouldn't be doing any racing, just cruiseing and sounding mean. I signed the e-mail with my military signature and this was their reply. What does everyone think?

Thank you for your e-mail Jeff,

The intake manifold, I would recommend is a EDL-2191 and it is $199.95. Here's a link to it:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2191/

The carburetor is a SUM-M08750VS and it is $279.95. Here is a link to it:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-M08750VS/

The Mopar linkage adapter is a SUM-M08082 and it is $6.95. Here is a link to it:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-M08082/

The intake gaskets are a EDL-7225 and they are $18.25. Here is a link to them:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-7225/

The carb studs are a SUM-G1423 and they are $5.95. Here is a link to them:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1423/

The carb plate needed is a SUM-G1420 and it is $6.95. Here is a link to it:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1420/


Unfortunately, we do not have any type of military discount, but please read the following:

Summit Racing Equipment fully supports the men and women of our military. We appreciate the sacrifices that not only the service men and women make, but also those of their families. Summit Racing Equipment sends several hundred care packages containing food, phone cards, and memorabilia every year. This is in addition to a multitude of both monetary and other donations we make to the Walter Reed Hospital, Wounded Warriors, and other programs we sponsor.

At this time, this is how we choose to support our troops. Most of this is behind the scenes because we would never choose to use this as a marketing opportunity or a publicity stunt, rather just because we care. Summit Racing Equipment has not forgotten about the sacrifices our military service men and women make for us every day. We will continue to hope and pray for a safe and speedy return home for all of you.


Thank you for your inquiry today. When you are ready to place your order- visit us online @ www.SummitRacing.com or call us toll free at 1(800) 230-3030, open 24 hours a day / 7-days a week. We provide standard ground delivery at no additional charge to the contiguous 48 states (a standard handling fee based on order total does apply). In-stock parts ordered by 9 PM Eastern ship the same day via our ground service.

Thank you for your business!
Bill
Summit Racing Equipment
 
I liked the truck better. You got ripped off.
 
I personally love the idea of a 2wd big block Ramcharger. If I could find one, I would get rid of my truck in a heartbeat. It looks a ton better with the chrome bumpers and mirrors to break up the blue paint.

BTW, I did like the truck too. Pristine.
 
Button said:
"I" dont think I got ripped off, and that's what matters. Opinions are like A--holes, everyone has one. Now as your cute little signature says, "Go Away, ya bother me".
Click to expand...

:lol:
Well no matter which one I like better, you're doing a great job on the RC! Initially I thought the brush guard and rear bumper were cool but now I think the chrome parts look much better! Just do what makes you happy, so long as the wife stays happy too.
:nike:
 
Nice Ramcharger. I served 16 years in the Airforce, and had lots of Mopars. I used a 77 440 in a project a few years ago. I left the short block alone, but used a Comp XE268 cam and matching springs. I was using the factory intake and Thermoquad, but it was jetted kinda lean, so I replaced it with a Weiand dual plane intake(Just like the performer) and a 750 vacuum secondary Holley. Ran GREAT. It sucked gas in a 66 Coronet, but ran 13.50's. You might like a smaller carb for your Ram.
 
i too loved your old truck but i like the ramcharger aswell and a 440 to boot oh yeah!!! and it keeps getting better everytime you touch it
 
I fondly recall a top-o-the-line '86 RC that I bought in '88. Yeah, it was hard on fuel with an enemic 360 and the Rotten-chester carb...

Here is a trick that 'usually' works for broken bolts/studs, but for an intake manifold you need to take the manifold off unless you can be damn sure there is no fuel vapor in the air...
Since you are dealing with a 'hot' area, run the engine up to operating temp, then smear some beeswax around the broken bolt in hopes of getting some down into the threads.
Next, place a thick fender washer on the broken stud.
Now the fun part (remember the fuel vapor issue...), weld the stud to the washer. Then, place a nut on the washer and weld it down.
Before it cools completely start rocking the nut back and forth with an end wrench, and if you can, force more beeswax in there.

The option to this is to drill out the stud and if necessary tap for the next larger thread size.
You could also just buy a manifold off of ebay...plenty of them available, w/ and w/o egr, std and spread bore, alum and iron.

BTW, that engine looks to be exceptionally under the valve cover. Nice score!
 
A week of below freezing temps and now snow in Central Texas! Sure threw a wrench into doing any work on the Ram Charger. But at least the snow will all be gone tomorrow since it will be in the mid 50's. Much better than what my family is dealing with in Ohio!
 

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Wow . . . snow in central Texas . . . about as strange as the sunshine we finally got today after quite a while!! Stay safe in the slippery stuff . . . Rog
 
I am digg'in the work you are doing and ramcharger are the Bomb :thumrigh:
Yes you had a great long box truck, but this is a super great find :thumrigh:
Keep up the great work
I can't wait to drop my 360 in mine and get my hood on it and do some road trips in it Button :glasses2:
It's snowing here now to :x, I am waiting on a early spring :glasses2:
 

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Evan,
If you are meaning because of the Super Bowl, Dallas is about 130+ miles north of here and I am almost sure they will keep their snow through the weekend.

memike,
I love that hood! I did really like the 72, even the 225 wasn't bad, but no power steering or brakes wasn't exactly what I wanted. Maybe I'm just getting soft!? I had a 79Bronco once with a 351/4 speed, 4WD and I loved that truck but the Ohio road salt from winter time ate the body away! I always wanted a Ram Charger and the fact that it had a 440/727 was a real bonus.
I'm thinking about putting 315/60-15 T/A Drag Radials on back and 245/60-15's on front. A little "rake" to it and a Pro-Street type look. I'm thinking chrome-smoothie wheels all around for a clean look. But first my attention will be getting the motor to my satisfaction/dependability. Do you have a thread detailing the work on your truck?, I'd like to follow along!
 
Love your RC and you´re doing a great job on the car, very nice to follow.
Mike, love your RC too. If they were not so unusual i Sweden I would trade my Dak for a RC.
 
I've been reading about your latest adventure with interest...especially since it looks like I'll be diving head first into something similar.
Since construction is slow around here, I took a job as a loader operator in a local auto salvage yard. A few weeks ago this thing rolled in...1985 Ram 100 shortbox with only 77,500 miles. No rust but lots of dings and dents. Locked up (supposedly) /6 auto with minimal options.
Today (my day off) a friend of mine and I wound up at work anyway...and scored a number of goodies for it. Rust free straight doors and fenders off a 1985 Ramcharger, the bucket seats and console and 2 drivers side seat pedestals to get rid of the tilt mechanism. Door panels, side trim and a number of other goodies. I scored a set of 4 slot mags with good tires to get rid of the awful wagon wheels. Perks of the job....every time something comes in with better parts than it has, I acquire them for this build.
One of the perks of seeing new arrivals before the general public does!
And we hooked up a set of jumper cables to my D350 to see what worked in it...and turned the key...the /6 isn't locked up after all. Not that they need know..I'm using that as a bargining chip. It will be interesting.
I salute the hard work you have put into your trucks and hopefully I'll have something to post myself pretty soon. Thanks for the inspiration.
A pic of my current "ride" for your consideration, the Volvo L90 loader with the grapple attachment. It really does the job on appliances and anything else I grab onto.

Alan
 

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alan627b,
Looks like you lucked into a good deal. Let us know if you got it!
I may go back to the 'Wrench-A-Part' this weekend and see about pulling a radiator from those white RC's. They had 318's in them but the rad in the 83 has a small leak about 1/3 of the way up and in the center. It should bolt right in but I wonder if it would cool sufficiently? I think it will.
 
Button said:
Evan,
If you are meaning because of the Super Bowl, Dallas is about 130+ miles north of here and I am almost sure they will keep their snow through the weekend.

memike,
I love that hood! I did really like the 72, even the 225 wasn't bad, but no power steering or brakes wasn't exactly what I wanted. Maybe I'm just getting soft!? I had a 79Bronco once with a 351/4 speed, 4WD and I loved that truck but the Ohio road salt from winter time ate the body away! I always wanted a Ram Charger and the fact that it had a 440/727 was a real bonus.
I'm thinking about putting 315/60-15 T/A Drag Radials on back and 245/60-15's on front. A little "rake" to it and a Pro-Street type look. I'm thinking chrome-smoothie wheels all around for a clean look. But first my attention will be getting the motor to my satisfaction/dependability. Do you have a thread detailing the work on your truck?, I'd like to follow along!
Click to expand...

Just got it to the hill and waiting on a time slot for it Button :thumblef:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=116075
 
The Ram Charger has a large radiator but it appears to have a small leak and is pretty coroaded up inside. There are at least three other RC's at the local 'Wrench-A-Part' that all appear to have good radiators but all have 318's in them. They should bolt right into my RC since it originally had a 318, but would it cool the motor sufficiently?
 
I would think an A/C equipped radiator should work ok. I don't know if I would trust a used one long term though. I would test it though before you buy it. Bring an old bicycle tire tube and a hand pump. Just cut the tube in half and put it over the inlet and outlet and apply a few psi and check for leaks.
 
camd64 said:
I would think an A/C equipped radiator should work ok. I don't know if I would trust a used one long term though. I would test it though before you buy it. Bring an old bicycle tire tube and a hand pump. Just cut the tube in half and put it over the inlet and outlet and apply a few psi and check for leaks.
Click to expand...
Great idea, with the tire tube. Never thought of that before. Thanks for the tip.
 
camd64 said:
I would think an A/C equipped radiator should work ok. I don't know if I would trust a used one long term though. I would test it though before you buy it. Bring an old bicycle tire tube and a hand pump. Just cut the tube in half and put it over the inlet and outlet and apply a few psi and check for leaks.
Click to expand...

Holy Crap! I never even thought of anything like that. It's so stupidly simple, not even I can forget that one.
 
Well I went to the Wrench-A-Part this afternoon and on the way I stopped and bought a bicycle tire pump at Wal-Mart for $10 and took an old tube I had with me. Wouldn't you know it, EVERY V-8 Dodge truck I checked out was missing it radiator already! So since that part of my trip ended up being a waste, I did pickup some other stuff. I came across a Ford Custom van and pulled some of the wood trim pieces so I could use them on rebuilding the old custom center console I pulled from another Ram Charger. Darned it the pieces didn't fit perfectly so now I paln to sand everything and re-stain it to hopefully match the woodgrain dash I installed. That First Aid compartment actually had a 1st aid case in it. Yea, it was empty but I'll re-stock it and use it. And yes, I grabbed the bottle opener off the rear van door as well!
The Wieand chrome air filter houseing was stashed in the cab of a truck I had been in numerous times before and I plan to polish it up and use it. I've never seen one of these and suspect it is from the 80's, are these rare?
 

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Check and make sure the bottom radiator hose is on the correct side when looking for a big block radiator.

The last small block radiator I bought new at advanced auto, and it was only $100 new.
That was about two years ago and it is holding up fine in my dads power wagon.

Can a local radiator shop repair what you have?
The new cost on a stock radiator for my 48 willys was $600, my local shop went thru my old one and only charged me $84 bucks and it was really rough. They had to crimp a couple of lines but the motor never even gets close to the hot range.
$500 extra cash in my pocket is a bonus.

If you cant fix the stock one look at Summit for their cross flow aluminum radiators, which would keep that big block really cool it the texas heat.
 
sireland67,
Its been since about 1993 when I was stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia that I took a radiator in to be cleaned out, repaired and painted. If I remember correctly I paid less than $180 back then for the work done on my 69 Coronet 440 that had a 318 in it. I think I may go that route again and as a last resort, get a replacement. The Texas heat does have me concerned, but while in the Army I have live in Georgia, (humid), Fort irwin, CA (120 degree dry heat) and now Texas for the second time. Always in the heat and thats how I like it. No snow or road salt like up north, haha.
 
I put in another grueling day at the boneyard today, and midway through the afternoon one of the roll off trucks bringing cars from the auction arrived with a 87-90 2 tone blue Ramcharger. Looks like I'll be going in on my only day off to nab some goodies....it has the grille I want to get rid of that horrid tube thing. I intend to update the truck to 87-90 appearance. I'll take the camera and try to get some pics on tomorrow evening.
Stay tuned!
 
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