02 Dakota QuadCab 4x440x40s

...things are gonna get toasty under there and I figured I'd better try to mitigate any potential meltage now. Wrapped the muffler with a DEI wrap kit, wrapped the twin inlet tubes with header wrap, and DEI peel-n-stick heat insulation directly on the tanks -









and now that there's nothing more to work on underneath there...on goes the big up-armored belly cradle -









the bash bars will protect the back halves of the tanks - I just haven't finished them yet...




so...that's where it's at - slow progress...but sure progress 👍

Nice to see the build here. Thanks! 👍

Hey! I know you guys!

...reinforced what seemed to be a couple more potential crumple zones in the frame - at least they look like crumple zones...or used to -

before -





after -





before -





after - and this one happens to be right where the gearbox will bolt up so, bonus

alright - finally got the engine all buttoned up. Oil pans aren't made from the thickest metal and the chin of big 8-quart Milodon unit I'm using hangs down a bit and I wanted a little somethin' extra down there to help prevent 'unauthorized access' from rogue rocks, logs, Jeeps, etc., so I fabbed up an armored base from 3/16 plate and welded it to the bottom of the pan. Used a deathwheel as my 'poor mans' brake' to scour the fold lines, made the bend(s), and welded back solid - worked great.





...went with this sweet double-side o-ringed windage tray (Summit G-2339) to seal things up (hope it works as good as it looks) and studded the bolt holes -









the d-side front corner of the pan was 'close' to the webbing on the D60 axle so I sectioned off the corner just for good measure...







Next - time to put this dude where it belongs...

alright - starting' to look like something

Engine's in, and front suspension/axle are in -





Front 60 is all buttoned up and ready to rock, complete with Dana/Spicer 5.38s, Grizzly Locker, Reid knuckles, RCV shafts, Speed House GM brake conversion brackets, Yukon spindles, Warn hubs, and a Crane cover with LubeLocker gasket -









These things are pretty cool to work with -





Welded some armor to the lower kingpin caps hoping to keep from ripping off the zerts -



The GM rotors fit over the Ford hubs from the outside and the wheel holds them in place (OE Ford rotors are held in place on the inside by the wheel studs), and in order for the GM rotors to clear the Ford hubs the outer diameter of the hubs had to be machined down a bit as did the centering race at the WMS. Fortunately Ben was able to chuck up the hubs in his lathe and turn 'em for me, and another nice perk was the fact that the OE GM wheel studs press right into the original Ford holes, so now all the wheel studs are all from the same '02 GM 2500





Speaking of grease, RCV has their own grease, and for the rest I started using Lucas Mining and Construction grease with Moly, which the company says is also good for high-speed/high/heat wheel bearings (disc brake systems), and it's ideal for all metal-to-metal contact points like tie rods and suspension joints, so now all I have to carry is one type of grease

Very cool. HP specs on the engine? Why front leafs?

I love it.

Cool build.

the engine is pretty much just a fresh stock RV rebuild - lotsa torque and reliability, with some modern updates - don't really need a lot of hp. I like how leafs 'perform' - they just work and are predictable, and great for driving on the street, which this truck will see a lot of.

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decided to go with a high-steer kit from Ballistic Fab, and I'm now working on finishing the exhaust and other chassis items in preps for dropping the body on for the last time.

p-side -



d-side -








PSC did their rebuild/ram-assist voodoo on a Scout II gearbox, and this is more or less where it will be going -



...progress...

...exhaust is finally - finally - done...

too tired to explain everything, but the short version is I added a second muffler, relocated the cutout, and decided not to use header wrap on anything and instead fab'd up two aluminum bolt-on heat shields and am using both muffler wrap and form-a-blanket from DEI.

Finish building it and sell it to me

...gimme a chance to destroy it at least once first

Man, I would love to have/build something like this. I've got my eye on a quad cab body and frame right now. Good job!

thanks! For the wheeling we do and the trails we have here...and being pretty true Mopar fans...a quad cab Dakota was a perfect machine to start with for us. This one is being primarily for hard-core overlanding - it'll handle the multi-day camping gigs as well as the class 7-8 trails we have in/around here in Colorado (plus Moab, Rubicon, South Dakota, etc), and it should be 100% daily/highway-drivable. Should be a pretty strong machine - I just hope it runs/drives as well in real life as it does on paper