Project Sno Ball....85 RamCharger

[thrashingcows]

While was under the truck I had to pull the old gear reduction starter to pull the inspection cover to see if there was a drain plug on the torque converter...I never get one of those. Anyway since I had the starter out I figured I would toss that old 15lb beast and install one of my Junk yard high torque mini starters.



Haven't done much since then, other then order some needed parts, and dip into my parts stash for some more needed parts.

Getting to crunch time for the move, so not much spare time.

[thrashingcows]

Well since we mostly finished packing, I have had a couple hours the last couple days to work on Sno Ball.

Yesterday I replaced the busted drivers seat.

Old and Busted....





New Hotness...





Can't believe I found a seat that matched exactly...what are the odds!! Pretty happy with it.

[thrashingcows]

Yesterday I also tossed on a new set of headlight surrounds. I was looking for replacements, or repro's for the 81-85 grilles, but there is no units available in teh aftermarket that I could find. Found some used ones, and NOS, but way more then I wanted to spend.

I did find lots of 86-91 units though. Found a pair of brand new units, shipped to my door for under $50! Thought for that price I would make them work...not like Sno Ball is a pristine vehicle.

New 86-91 units....



Had to drill into the grille surround, then use some long screws...turned out OK by my standards.

[thrashingcows]

And today I tore out the old MC and booster...since the booster sucked air from under the dash, and the MC was toast. Well since I have a few left over parts from my hydro boost conversion on Ol' Patches, I figured those would work well on Sno Ball.



Old vs new'er booster and Masters....





I had a lifetime warranty on that NAPA MC...so went down and got a new one.

Installed booster and MC and then used my oh so fancy bleeder set-up....





All done....



Bleed the whole system from front to back...used my fancy water bottle and hose to do it by myself. Took me about 30 min and the brakes work great now!

[thrashingcows]

Did a bunch of research last night on the Meyer plow set-up that Sno Ball is sporting. The Pump is a Meyer E-47, and was made for next to forever, and a billion units sold. You can buy pretty much everything to build, or rebuild one. Also the actual frame mount system, and plow/blade are Meyer units as well. Again a lot of the parts are still available for the frame mounts, though costly. And the plow/blade parts are readily available.

Once I get it to it's new home, I will definitely be doing a complete service, and rebuild on the entire system.

[DodgeFreak]

lookin good!

[PToombs]

I buy Meyers parts from these guys most of the time. http://www.smithbrothersplowparts.com/store/index.php
I always check around on prices, but these guys have anything you need. Their website has rebuild videos, parts breakdowns and wiring schematics also. It's a great resource.

[thrashingcows]

I buy Meyers parts from these guys most of the time. http://www.smithbrothersplowparts.com/store/index.php
I always check around on prices, but these guys have anything you need. Their website has rebuild videos, parts breakdowns and wiring schematics also. It's a great resource.

Thanks...I came across them last night as well. Ton of info, and parts on there site. Will definitely be book marking that one.

[thrashingcows]

Well guess I better update this thread as well.....

Before the move I had to get it inspected so I could register and insure it in BC. So there were a few things I had to address.

As is typical on these old trucks the steering coupler was toast.....so new pieces and a grease nipple to finish it off.







Then a couple new tie rod ends, and a drag link.....

[thrashingcows]

Also needed some new mufflers, and a bit of tweaking to the pipes.....





And I pulled the OEM brake cables and soaked them in a bucket of used oil....just to lube them up and get them moving freely again.

[thrashingcows]

Obviously to get the E-brake cables out I had to pull apart the rear drums...everything looked good so I just cleaned, and lubed and re-installed once the cables were back in place.



Also Sno-Ball is still sporting the rear drums it left the factory with!



Had to clean up and replace some battery wiring as well.

Nice ground.....



Some new cables.....

[thrashingcows]

The Heater controls had been messed with pretty heavily....and had been HOT.





So I dipped into my parts stash for a few decent used parts. Used a control panel from a 80's RWD chrysler.....had to swap the temp lever, and that was about it. Works fine now....just looks a little off.

[thrashingcows]

I passed my inspection a few days before we had to be out of the old house, so I insured it for a few months and parked it at a friends house until I could get back down to bring it up to the new homestead.

Couple transport pics....

[thrashingcows]

The plow I managed to sneak into one of the shipping containers we used to move all our household stuff.



Once I got Sno-ball home I embarked on rebuilding the plow pump and other systems.

I used this site for the rebuild.....

http://www.smithbrothersservices.com/me ... build.html

Draining out some of the nasty fluid...



Some corrosion between electric motor and main body....

[thrashingcows]

Some nasty sludge....





Lots of fine sand had made it between and into the parts and pieces....



Used my fingernail to clean off the old black repaint to expose the original decal on the main body....