update : the Saga.....

[dolphinboy400]

Well , things were going fairly well i had got most of what i needed to do worked out and planned. I was gonna try and raise the engine slightly to get at the sump, i had some free time today so i thought i'll get get it ready and do all the prep work etc.

started to take the headers off , what a nightmare, ending up with alot of swearing scraped knuckles and got them off along with the side pipes, ( left a trail of rust as i carried them outside hehe ) . Took the inner front wheel arches off ( thank god they were screwed in with rivnuts), and started to have a good poke around. I discovered that the steering rack boots are totally shot as are the rubber bushes on the front wishbones! Thank god the sump needed taking out otherwise who knows what would have happened if i had just started the engine and gone for a pootle

After that discovery i thought i may as well have a good look over the car again , and to my surprise found more faults all over, mainly little things like the overider bolts only done up hand tight, as well as the gearbox mounts only hand tight!

So after all this i just thought 'sod it', i'll do as dave suggested when he came over ( keane ), and remove the body completly fix the stuff that needs fixing paint the chassis and sort the engine out when the body comes off.

a couple of questions:

Is the fuel tank supposed to have a fixing somewhere? All that was on mine was the spare wheel bracket which would stop the tank coming out completly but wouldnt stop it moving around. i was a bit worried (when i eventualy get it on the road ) that i may be a tad risky with a full tank of flamable petrol.

I need to raise the steering wheel about another inch, do you thinl it would be ok to angle grind the existing bracket off and weld another with longer slots ( see photo). just wondered what you other ram bods did , or are you all 5'8" ?

[craggle]

Good call Danny

Get it stripped down and sort it all out properly once and for all. You should end up with a great car once it's done.

Keep us up to date with progress.

Craig.

[dolphinboy400]

little pile of rust out of one exhaust.

the lovely looking headers which i hope will clean up ok, they still feel pretty solid.

the boot.

a pic with the dash removed and the cross member. just for info purposes

obviously any and all advice and pi$$ taking welcome. looks like i now have a real job on my hands , but it will be worth it. Semi-rebuild here i come!

[bitsilly]

The petrol tank looks bigger than my one, but if it is the right size, there should be a tab above the tank in the middle, then two more point below where thos bolt heads are showing. An inverted V shaped bracket then attaches to hold the tank in.
Removing the body is a big job only worth doing if you are in the mood for a major rebuild.
To get the body off all the loom will need to be threaded out of where it passes through the body, disconnect handbrake or cut body around it, steering column out, pedal box needs to be removed, front and rear sub frames out (so radiator out) etc.
I would say the Ram is worth sorting as it is certainly one of the better chassis but removing the body is such a big step, you are talking do a full rebuild to make the most of having the body off.
I would advise you to ring me as I am in the middle of doing all the above, and there is much we could talk about!
Ward for example sell polyurathane bustse for the front, I have fitted power steering and traction control, the bonnet hinges could be re-done to allow the bonnet to go up further, there is an easy mod to allow twin roll bars if you have an early chassis etc................
If you fancy a chat pm me with a phone no.
Ed

[dolphinboy400]

Originally Posted by bitsilly

The petrol tank looks bigger than my one, but if it is the right size, there should be a tab above the tank in the middle, then two more point below where thos bolt heads are showing. An inverted V shaped bracket then attaches to hold the tank in.
Removing the body is a big job only worth doing if you are in the mood for a major rebuild.
To get the body off all the loom will need to be threaded out of where it passes through the body, disconnect handbrake or cut body around it, steering column out, pedal box needs to be removed, front and rear sub frames out (so radiator out) etc.
I would say the Ram is worth sorting as it is certainly one of the better chassis but removing the body is such a big step, you are talking do a full rebuild to make the most of having the body off.
I would advise you to ring me as I am in the middle of doing all the above, and there is much we could talk about!
Ward for example sell polyurathane bustse for the front, I have fitted power steering and traction control, the bonnet hinges could be re-done to allow the bonnet to go up further, there is an easy mod to allow twin roll bars if you have an early chassis etc................
If you fancy a chat pm me with a phone no.
Ed

you have a PM

[Clarkson]

I wonder if I have a RAM body on my car,cause the boot is the same as mine esp the spare wheel well! Tank looks the same too. I have ali straps that hold my tank in. I'll see if I can do a pic for you to explain further.

[Steve]

dave

thr sr boot does look like the ram boot, but i dont think yours is a ram

[dolphinboy400]

Originally Posted by Clarkson

I wonder if I have a RAM body on my car,cause the boot is the same as mine esp the spare wheel well! Tank looks the same too. I have ali straps that hold my tank in. I'll see if I can do a pic for you to explain further.

i did wonder what everyone else has in their cars as far as the fixing goes. The bracket i got basically will stop the tank coming back but there is nothing stopping it moving an inch from side to side. another couple of weeks and i'll have the body off

[daz427]

Hi Danny
I took the body off my RAM recently and it's not so bad!I got to the same point as yourself where I was finding more and more badly fitted/fabricated parts so said sod it and did it.You will need some strong mates though.And do take the front wheels off!!!I thought I could get away without and ended up winding up my strong mates as they had to hang around while i did!!!I was sent a copy of the RAM build manual on CD from a very kind gent on here and just read it backwards!!!!!My car doesn't have a wheel well like yours though.My wheel would appear to lay flat in the bottom.I have to fabricate a fuel tank as mine has developed legs!!
Keep posting pics as it is great to see what others are up to.My new toy(3wk old daughter!!!) has put pay to progress for now!!!!
Regards
Daren

[dolphinboy400]

Originally Posted by daz427

Hi Danny
I took the body off my RAM recently and it's not so bad!I got to the same point as yourself where I was finding more and more badly fitted/fabricated parts so said sod it and did it.You will need some strong mates though.And do take the front wheels off!!!I thought I could get away without and ended up winding up my strong mates as they had to hang around while i did!!!I was sent a copy of the RAM build manual on CD from a very kind gent on here and just read it backwards!!!!!My car doesn't have a wheel well like yours though.My wheel would appear to lay flat in the bottom.I have to fabricate a fuel tank as mine has developed legs!!
Keep posting pics as it is great to see what others are up to.My new toy(3wk old daughter!!!) has put pay to progress for now!!!!
Regards
Daren

congratulations on your daughter ! mine is almost 2 yrs old now , your gonna have some fun

It's great to hear of another Ram owner going through similar stuff, would be great to see some pictures of what your doing if you get the time

i decided after visiting andicole01's blog that it would be a good idea to do the same sort of thing, so ive started that with pics as i go. It's mainly for me but also for anyone who wants help or how not to do it hehe. I found it very hard to get much info on Ram's and it's mainly through this forum that i have what i do now. I got a CD in the post to me from a very nice bloke with the build manual and some other bits so i cant wait for that

The last bit of removals is next then the body off.

blog address: my Ram restoration (i hope thats not against the forum rules, if so let me know ) .