'84 Dodge Rampage Build Thread

[SteveM]

Warmer weather allows a man's thoughts to turn towards racing.  It seems like the deep freeze conditions we have had this winter have rendered my Rampage virtually "Out of sight, out of mind".  I have it covered with blankets, and have some small heat sources placed under the chassis and engine compartment to keep her nice and cozy in the garage.

Our low temp this winter was about -25F, but the Rampage hibernated in comfort.

Steve.

[Frankie7799]

We had at or above record temps here in the valley of the sun ( Phoenix for those who arent familiar with the nickname ) last week. Its too freaking early to be near 90 degrees. Funny when I read that people are looking foward to the 100+ temps that the salt is capable of throwing at us. Thats about the only reason Id be outside in those temps, usually im in my air conditioned house or office bldg. Cant wait to see the Rampage at SW and meet you Steve ( and see those who I met last year again )

[Tman]

Warmer weather makes me want to ride my bike!

[SteveM]

I should have gotten a bike ride in yesterday, but I misremembered the start time of our shop ride.  All winter long, we have been riding trainers at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings.  However, our regular shop ride time is 7:30.  Yesterday was the first day that the shop deemed it warm enough to ride outside since 2013.    I forgot to wake up early enough to join the shop ride.  DOH!, so I went to my day job instead.

Today, I got back on the Rampage project in earnest.  I fitted a curved bar to the roll cage above my head, and re-mounted the seat.  Now, the seat is about 1" lower, and angles back a bit more.  Combined with the curved overhead bar (the old one was straight across), I have gained about 3-1/2" of distance between my helmet and the top bar.

No pics yet, but will load some up soon.

Steve.

[SteveM]

Well, we had an ice/sleet/snow storm over the weekend, and it was 3 degrees F this morning.

I did get to spend a little quality time in the garage yesterday, though.  I removed the seat, fire bottle, and rear window, in anticipation of working on the interior of the truck.  I also cut out what was left of the old overhead bar, which was situated just a bit too close to my helmet.




I need to weld the new overhead bar into the cage, change the seat mounting brackets, and do several other odds and ends that didn't get done during last summer's push to get the thing track-worthy.  When that work is done, a fresh coat of paint will be applied to all of the affected surfaces before re-assembling the interior.

[Captthundarr]

Steve, getting your sleet tonight  been waiting for more than a week of good weather to start plucking on Amys camaro. Don't have much to do this year. Good to see the little truck out from under the blankies.

[SteveM]

No more sleet in the forecast - but we are under a tornado watch right now.

In any event, threatening weather be damned, I have to keep moving on this project - getting ready for The Ohio Mile.

Since I set this thing up for B-ville originally, I used a minimally effective single pot "Dune Buggy" master cylinder for the rear brakes only.

At Ohio, I understand that they prefer that the vehicle should actually stop before running off the end of the pavement.  To that end, I'm installing brakes on all 4 corners, controlled by an actual NOS Mopar master cylinder.

I'm also working on some of the finer points of the interior layout, and have fitted an "underdrive" crank pulley which will slow down the water pump and alternator a bit.  It should also get rid of the noticeable wobble that was present in the stamped steel OEM pulley.

Anyway - I'm still working on this thing, and plan to be running in Ohio during the month of June, and at Bonneville in August.

Steve.

[lsrjunkie]

Great to hear Steve! I was really hoping to see you run last year. You'll be ready in August! Can't wait to see how the little truck shakes out. 

[SteveM]

Same here, and I also can't wait to see that Henry J at some point.

[Tman]

On almost as important stuff......................hows the bike racing!?!?! I am back riding as much as I can. Health=many racing years!

[SteveM]

The racing is OK for the amount of training I'm putting in (not a whole lot).  As you know, to be good at bike racing is a HUGE time commitment.

I'm doing our local "Tuesday Night World's Championship" crit series, where I can hang in pretty well in the "B" race, but the "A" race is out of reach for my level of fitness.  The "C" race is too deadly to even talk about.

[gkabbt]

Steve,
Today, I met Royce Lindsey that you talked with at Mr. C's Panel Jam last October.
His Chevette is an N/A 2.4 Ecotec and runs in F/GC.

Here are some pics of his car/engine:







His team is called 3rd Gen Racing and it consists of him, his dad Butch and his son Brady.....Pretty COOL in my book!

Gregg

PS:
REALLY looking forward to seeing you and your Rampage here next month! You're gonna LOVE this place!

[Frankie7799]

Steve,
Today, I met Royce Lindsey that you talked with at Mr. C's Panel Jam last October.
His Chevette is an N/A 2.4 Ecotec and runs in F/GC.

Here are some pics of his car/engine:





Wow thats pretty cool, Ive never seen a naturally aspirated Ecotec before. If I ever build a REMR, thats one of the engines I would consider running albeit fuel injected



His team is called 3rd Gen Racing and it consists of him, his dad Butch and his son Brady.....Pretty COOL in my book!

Gregg

PS:
REALLY looking forward to seeing you and your Rampage here next month! You're gonna LOVE this place!

[4-barrel Mike]

Is that still fwd?   

Mike

[gkabbt]

Is that still fwd?  

Mike

Mike,

Chevettes were RWD and used a tiny 6.5" diff. As Steve posted back in October, Royce told him that this one uses the stock trans.

I'll check with Royce tomorrow and see what he is using for both.

Gregg