My Power Ram 350

RonJon '06 · Jun 30, 2014

I've decided to keep this '85 Power Ram that belonged to my Father. It has sat outside under Oak trees for about 20 years so is needs to be scrubbed up a bit. There are actually lichens growing on the body.

360

A little bit of a mold/mildew smell but not bad.

26,444 miles.

Today I put a couple tablespoons of gas in the carb, threw in a battery and it started right up. If the brakes are OK then I think the tires are good enough to make the 80 mile trip to my place, don't know if I'll keep the camper.

Other than mods I don't think it needs much, brakes, maybe brake and fuel lines, tires. The headliner has fallen down so I will need to fix that right away. Can't wait to start cleaning it up and getting it back on the road.

Pigeonman · Jun 30, 2014

Looks clean for sitting as long as it has. Good luck and enjoy!

dodge dude94 · Jun 30, 2014

DAMN that is clean. Even got the big master cylinder. Looks like the headlights are leaking a bit, but other than that, great truck!

RonJon '06 · Jun 30, 2014

Thanks guys. I was standing there today looking at the front bumper and couldn't see a single scratch. Just don't have the heart to sell it.

RonJon '06 · Jun 30, 2014

So anyway here's my first question:

Can anyone recommend a good fix for the headliner? I'm thinking there is some kind of adhesive spray for the back. The fabric that's sagging looks good so I'm hoping I can reuse it.

PCA4208 · Jun 30, 2014

If the fabric isn't too porous you can use this stuff called weld wood contact cement. It's kinda like rubber cement on steroids. I used it to attach the carpet to my subwoofer boxes and it works great. Other than that, spray glue will work fine.

Nice truck btw. I like the originality.

dodge dude94 · Jun 30, 2014

I know on the 2g trucks, guys will pull the fabric off, scrape the foam off it and either reuse the fabric or put new on it and use some sort of fabric glue.

RonJon '06 · Jun 30, 2014

Alright, thanks for the suggestions. That'll be my first project along with vacuuming all the acorns inside the engine bay.

WhiteExpress · Jun 30, 2014

That's crazy! I hope I find a clean 4G of my Dad's sitting around with only 26,000 miles in the 2040s!

Congrats on deciding to keep it! I think it's the right choice.
Though, I'd ditch the camper.

RonJon '06 · Jun 30, 2014

It is crazy isn't it. I originally thought I'd put a stroker in it and maybe a snow plow but with the low miles if cleans up nice I'll probably just leave it as is.

dodge dude94 · Jun 30, 2014

Just make it a cruiser.

RonJon '06 · Jul 26, 2014

Well, I tried to bring the truck down to my place from my Dad's and only made it a mile lol. It wasn't the springs but the brakes, they were all seized up and I couldn't manage more than 30 mph. Guess I'll have to leave the camper behind and trailer the truck down to replace the brakes. Oh well, it was worth a shot. :badidea:

RonJon '06 · Jul 30, 2014

Can anybody tell me if this truck is supposed to have a fan shroud?

^This is the '85 W350 Prospector.

^This is an '85 Ramcharger Prospector.

The Ramcharger has a fan shroud but the Ram doesn't. The engine bay in the Ram seemed really hot when the engine was running even though the temp gauge was OK.

PCA4208 · Jul 30, 2014

My truck has a shroud. I think it should have one. Get one from a similar truck or a ramcharger and it should fit right in.

RonJon '06 · Jul 30, 2014

OK, thank you.

(Dang...should have taken the one off the Ramcharger)

crazzywolfie · Jul 30, 2014

you don't necessarily need one. if the truck runs fine and it don't overheat i would not worry about it.

RonJon '06 · Jul 30, 2014

OK, another question. That flap on top of the radiator is different too. Could it be because the Ram is a just a regular cab and the Ramcharger has a much larger volume of space to cool down running the a/c? I find it hard to believe that the fan shroud just fell off or disappeared somehow.

crazzywolfie · Jul 30, 2014

the fan shroud was most likely removed for 1 reason or another. the flap on the rad should be the same and cover to the rad. if the a/c work you might want to find another flap thing or something to make sure air goes through the condenser. otherwise i would not worry about it too much.

O.R.T. · Aug 3, 2014

If you haven't driven it to your place yet go ahead and seriously consider swapping the tires now.

I'm only saying that since I know when I drove my wagon down from my Parent's place I only got like 50 miles before the old tires basically disintegrated. Luckily it was on a county road rather then middle of nowhere or on the highway.

RonJon '06 · Aug 3, 2014

Yeah, I think I've had a change in plans. I'll trailer it down to my place then do brakes, tires and it looks like quite a few other things as well.

My Power Ram 350

Senior Member

Senior Member

Millennial Boomer

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Millennial Boomer

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Millennial Boomer

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page