Sweptline.ORG

sold the Buick on Tuesday, and part of the offer included a trade. cash was right, trade pleased me, so i went for it. so now i own a 1989 dodge half ton short/wide bed. it was described to me as "ugly, but runs good", well, "ugly but runs" should have been the description. the body is solid, no rust but a lot of small user dents and scrapes to the paint, the interior is presentable and has the potential to be nice with some cleaning and a seat cover, everything, and i mean everything for the heater and ac is gone (no controls in the dash even), the doors have to be slammed with all your might to shut all the way, the drivers door wont open from the outside and the passenger door wont open from the inside, the wipers are hot wired to high and on a toggle switch and the horn is also wired to a toggle on the dash. i wanted a beater to use around the house, and it looks like that's exactly what i got...lolol!! the good part is, although the truck was originally a v6 it now has the heart of a sweptline. the motor (im told) is a 69 model 318 2bbl from a 3/4 ton truck, it has the small high output alternator from the 89 on it and a brand new Holley 450cfm 2bbl with mechanical choke. the exhaust is new with a pair of really small glass packs and exits just behind the cab on the passengers side, the old gal has a bark to her. the trans (im told) came from a Plymouth fury late 60's early 70's vintage and is the 904 model. can anyone tell me how to verify the engine and trans?? i looked all over the engine and couldn't find any "numbers" to run and try to verify what it is. also, as a plus, shes wearing a set of factory dodge aluminum wheels from about the same era as the truck and a brand new grill assembly. does anyone have 2 spare center caps, im missing 2 of them?? one thing i thought was gonna suck was the 5 on 5 bolt pattern, but as yesterdays luck was running a buddy had a set of bean slot mags in his yard. fronts are 15x8 rears are 15x10 and the deal was "if you get those things the F#@!! out of my yard you can have them" WOO HOO, free stuff...LOLOL!! you know i told my wife that when the Buick sold i was going to get me a beater truck, to keep at the house, that wont be sold, because i always need a truck around. i was gonna pick a model that i really had no interest in "fixin up" so i would leave it alone and just let it serve its purpose as a work truck. that's what i got, this is a body style i like, but don't really have an interest in doing anything with. its nothing special, needs a lot of small stuff, but after a day of tinkering with it, and repairing the previous owners mistakes, she runs real good and drives pretty nice too. its ugly as sin with its big bird paint and brush applied graphics, but yet i caught myself sitting outside last night enjoying the cool night air and thinking how nice it would be to take a few inches out of the rear for a better stance, throw on a 4bbl and some electronic ignition, and...and...and...and... WTF is wrong with me, why cant i just leave it alone????? LMAO!!!

one last thing, i need the kick-down linkage that goes from the carb to the pivot bracket. i have the pivot and everything going from it to the trans, i just don't have the link that goes from the pivot to the carb. anyone got a spare???

wideblock wrote: you know i told my wife that when the Buick sold i was going to get me a beater truck, to keep at the house, that wont be sold, because i always need a truck around.

Trey,
This statement is the funniest one in the entire post.
We know you by now.....
John

By the way..... did they strip the computer
from the truck when they swapped the
engine? Those dang computers are kind
of expensive to replace.... I had a '90
Ram 250 that puked one.... ouch!
John

i dont know, where is it and what does it look like? is it needed for anything other then engine?

Hobcobble wrote:

wideblock wrote: you know i told my wife that when the Buick sold i was going to get me a beater truck, to keep at the house, that wont be sold, because i always need a truck around.

Trey,
This statement is the funniest one in the entire post.
We know you by now.....
John

you know being without a running truck as long as i have has taught me that i NEED a truck around. im not saying i wont sell this one if the right offer came along, but it would be replaced with a truck and not a car. the comment to the wife was i needed a body style, year etc that i cared nothing about. that way i wouldn't be tempted to fix it up and turn a profit, i needed a beater that i wouldn't care if it stayed a beater for ever. but im seeing i don't posses that capability...lol

You have a problem.........your are a sick man!
The fix....take one truck and see what happens in the morning.

wideblock wrote:i dont know, where is it and what does it look like? is it needed for anything other then engine?

Mine was located over the engine on the
firewall. As I recall, it was a black rectangular
box about 5" x 7"[?]. I don't remember exactly,
but I think it was solely for the engine/ignition.
John

i was looking last night, there is a black box tucked into the front corner just behind the core support, other then that the under hood area has been pretty well stripped out. its almost as simple as the sweptlines now.

wideblock wrote:i was looking last night, there is a black box tucked into the front corner just behind the core support, other then that the under hood area has been pretty well stripped out. its almost as simple as the sweptlines now.

Are you running a regular carb or did they
swap over the TBFI fuel system?
John

its a holley 450cfm 2bbl, even running points ignition. its been taken back to simpler times...lol

You'll fix it up, drive it a bit, then throw a "For Sale" sign on it...come on, you know that'll happen!

Does to me all the time!

Trey, my '86 Ram Charger had that ignition control module ( small black box, inside firewall) blew it up when I removed the positive battery cable to check the alternator/ Never did that again.When are you coming back to houston to visit? Chris.

patrick, your probably right, the right offer or the next new thing will come along and this one will be out the door.

chris, i have no idea. it will probably be a while. the wife just started a new job and wont get any time off for the first year. not to say i wont leave her here and take off, but as of now there are not any plans

been tinkering a lot on the new truck. got a bed mount spare put in. converted the old grill mount bracket i had off my 70 to work in the bed. got the tool box all mounted up and threw a few necessities in it. man does the bed space disappear fast on these short beds...lolol!! i installed a triple gauge set. the old gal runs 185 degrees all the time and is showing between 55-75psi on oil, guess i cant complain about that. painted the old door panels and screwed them in. wiped all the dirt off the inside and lubed the doors. i couldn't get the latches to work any better, you still cant open them properly, but the doors do close a lot better without having to body slam them. started sanding off the brush painted strips to get ready for the spray bomb paint job, im thinking flat black with a white top will be the order for the day. good old rustoleum flat black and then some high gloss white appliance epoxy for the roof to shine it up a bit and reflect the desert sun as much as possible. also i have been cleaning up the old bean slots getting them ready to go on soon as i can afford tires.

need a few parts.does anyone have 2 center caps like these?? im missing 2 of them and would like to complete the set. found a few on ebay, but they are way to nice for the truck and are priced that way. i also need a speedometer head, my needle fell off and is laying in the bottom of the gauge. looks like any of the 80's trucks would swap in.