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And vacation is OVER!

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 Well, my vacation from work is over, but I got a LOT of the last items on the Dakota finished. We pulled the full 40/20/20 bucket seat out so I could go over the passenger seat, make sure the factory seat upholstery was all secure, and then figure out what is up with the jump seat/console area On the drivers seat, we noticed that the outside edge was still pretty pushed down, so I added an inch of high density upholstery foam to bring it back up. Once this was done, we reconnected all the cover attachment points, and it looks as good as new. On the center console, I found that the previous owner had attempted to remove the console, and cut the back of the seat cover and had loosened a bunch of bolts. I retightened everything up, and then created an upholstery patch from a doubled up layer of black burlap and attached this with spray adhesive. We reassembled the seat, and put it back in after a good vacuuming. The seats are about as good as new as I can get them. They are clean, co...
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Let me introduce Magnus - He didn't do anything wrong

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For those that know me really well, they know that two of my favorite things growing up were the Transformers cartoon (and toys) as well as Warhammer 40k, a tabletop miniatures game. Discussed with G, my son, who just turned 16, what we wanted to name the Dakota. All the vehicles we own have names.  In order of length of time owned, because we do things based on time in service around here: 1972 Dodge Dart Custom - The Brick My kids loved when I called it the Flying Brick when I first got it and the name stuck. Yes, it's a rolling box, but we love it. 2015 Ram 1500 Express - Warlock Back in the 70's, in the same line of trucks as the Lil' Red Express, the Dodge Warlock was a part of Dodge's "adult toy" line of vehicles. It was initially all black, with gold and chrome accents. I have loved them since I was a kid, and didn't jump on the chance to buy a basket case '77 360 version before we had kids. That name jumped out at me when I saw the truck, so it...
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What an EXCITING DAY!

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Well, got day 2 of my vacation kicked off right. Went down early this morning and started plinking away at stuff on the Dakota. One of the items I had planned to do was a K&N cold air intake. It smooths air coming into the throttlebody, and gives a decent boost in throttle response and power.  Now, unfortunately, K&N doesn't list a kit for the 3.9 V6. I can understand that, we are talking about a V6 and a 25 year old one at that. I use a few online resources to find parts interchanges, and one of my favorites is Tascaparts.com. Not only do they give you a parts list, but they give an image of assembly, right out of the manual. What I did is checked here  and found that the air intake on the 3.9 was the same as the one on the 5.2, so I ordered a K&N 57 Series FIPK Cold Air Intake Kits 57-1509-1 kit from Summit Racing . I had to make a slight modification for one of the brackets, and had a fun time routing the crankcase vent hose, but other than that, it was bol...
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Addressing the sagging seat

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 Okay, so after dinner tonight, I decided to get a little discovery time in on the Dak. First thing was to check if the reverse lights were working. They were not, so that will need to be addressed. This will potentially be fixed when it goes to the transmission shop next month. I did check the fuse and it's good. So, after discussing with the wife, and getting horrendous ($300+) estimates to fix or replace seat foam, I had a go at seeing if I could get that seat cushion out. It appeared that the previous owner(s) had attempted to remove the seat, as the cover end clips were loose from the frame. As it was starting to get dark, and my eyes just ain't what they used to be, I snapped a pic of the screw holding the seatback lever. Removed that and was able to get the rear seat cover clips free, and we could remove the seat cushion. The first thing I noticed, which my son thought was hilarious, we the seat spring laying on the floor under the seat. "Um, that should be attached...
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Change of Plans, But The DAK IS BACK!

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So, after a discussion with my daughter, we decided that the Dak would actually be a better vehicle for her brother. He has reduced periferal vision, and this is a much smaller truck. It doesn't really change a lot on this "restoration", except maybe the aesthetics and decoration we are using. So no Pokemon decor, but we are going straight up Autobots! Autobot Valve Stem Caps  $8 3 x 3.25 inch Autobot symbols  ($27) Okay, onto the restoration update. As promised, here's exterior pics as promised: There's one little spot on the passenger side door pillar where something chipped the paint, so will do a little cleanup, bondo smoothing, prime, and paint there to seal it up.  We did get it home from Lehman's who did a fantastic job getting this thing into good running order......except the transmission seems to be faulted to "limp mode". So, next month, it goes to the transmission shop. Bummer, but this thing handles like a freaking new truck, has GOBS of...
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It's like Christmas!

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 Visited the shop for the rundown of the needed repair and grabbed up a parts list. It was a pretty full list of stuff. Upper and lower ball joints for both sides. Funny note, well not so funny as a pain the ass. The driver side upper ball joint is rivetted to the control arm, so instead of replacing the ball joint, we replace the whole assembly. Probably should have just done the same on the passengers side. There's a single tie rod end in there, but the shop says the rack and pinion, hoses, and pump are suspect. I expect that to need more parts, so I am asking the shop to source the parts instead of hunting them down myself. Full exhaust from manifold to bumper (including 02 sensors), direct fit catalytic converter, cat back dual exhaust. Brake power booster, as the one on the truck is bad, along with the check valve. I couldn't remember if they needed the master cylinder or not, so will let them source that part if they need it. Drivability/performance concern gets a full Su...
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Missouri State "Inspection"

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 Okay, so got the call from the shop today. As the truck is subject to Missouri State Inspection, I have to get the front end rebuilt. Far be the inspection to have fair and equitable rules for what constitutes safety - the trucks brakes are not really operative. As in brake booster is toast. But, I have a hard brake pedal, so that passes inspection. Upper and lower ball joints, 1 tie rod end, some new lugnuts (full new set) and a new serpentine belt, tensioner and idler are on their way. I will probably get shocks front and back to round out the suspension redo, but will probably wait until I decide if we need to redo the rear leaf springs and shackles. Rust isn't a factor, but we are talking about almost 30 year old springs at this point. Maybe when we look at adding a rear sway bar. As far as the drivability issue, the truck severely needs a tune up, as well as the new brake booster air check valve (which should come with the brake booster). This check valve is wide open, so the...
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