New Here! ISO Help Choosing Wheel/Tire Set up + Parts info

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hholcomb2525

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Posts
2
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Location
SRB Florida
Ram Year
1983
Engine
3.7 slant 6
Good Afternoon Everyone,

I'm new on this site and in need of some information regarding parts I'm ready to order and wheel/tire specs.

I have a 1983 D150 long bed in fairly good condition, on 31x10.5in tires with a 3.7 "Leaning Tower with No Power" married to a 727. IMG_0304.JPG

d150 drop kit.PNG
I recently ordered a dynamic performance 4 inch rear drop kit, and a set of QA1 dual adjustable shocks for the rear to start off this build. I'm getting ready to purchase a set of Viking 1.5-3 inch drop coil overs and x2 Industries lowered tubular upper control arms for the front (All parts pictured have attached links).

If anyone has info and/or recommendations on either these coil overs or control arms please let me know!


MOST IMPORTANT- I have been looking into ordering a set of
20x9.5 inch U.S. Mags "Ramblers" with +1 offset, wrapped in Mickey Thompson
Street Comps (either 275/40 or 275/45) but I want to make sure the wheels will fit right.

I did some measuring myself and some "guesstimating" and believe they will, but my main concern is the wheels
sticking out too far. I can always put a spacer on the hub if they are too tucked in but I don't want to drop $2500 into viking shocks (2).PNGcontrol arms.PNG
this set up and have the wheels sticking out of the fender any. If anyone has a wheel tire combo similar to what i'm
looking at please post any pictures or information, as stated previously the main concern is the wheels sticking out
past the fender.

Thank y'all,
Heath
 

Dodge trucker

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2021
Posts
302
Reaction score
172
Location
Kankakee il
Ram Year
1985
Engine
225
Body seems in nice shape
I have taht same truck in an '85 version and a set of those same wheels in the shed too. (what's on the truck in the pic)
My truck even has the lazy 6 and 727 combo too. I have a fresh slant 6 on a stand, "hot rodded" a bit. almost ready to swap in.
leaf springs aren't "slant 6" or "318" dependent. there are several packages for suspension capacity.
Back in the 60s and 70s believe it or not, they used that engine in D500 and D600 grain trucks, and in motor homes.
I love the 70s and 80s Dodge trucks. I've had quite a few myself.
but I honestly think you're headed down the wrong road with that truck. Lowered, with 20 inch wheels, is definitely not my cup of tea. IMHO you are gonna ruin that truck, if you carry out your plan. But I guess that's just me.
 
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hholcomb2525

hholcomb2525

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
Location
SRB Florida
Ram Year
1983
Engine
3.7 slant 6
Body seems in nice shape
I have taht same truck in an '85 version and a set of those same wheels in the shed too. (what's on the truck in the pic)
My truck even has the lazy 6 and 727 combo too. I have a fresh slant 6 on a stand, "hot rodded" a bit. almost ready to swap in.
leaf springs aren't "slant 6" or "318" dependent. there are several packages for suspension capacity.
Back in the 60s and 70s believe it or not, they used that engine in D500 and D600 grain trucks, and in motor homes.
I love the 70s and 80s Dodge trucks. I've had quite a few myself.
but I honestly think you're headed down the wrong road with that truck. Lowered, with 20 inch wheels, is definitely not my cup of tea. IMHO you are gonna ruin that truck, if you carry out your plan. But I guess that's just me.
definitely get where your coming from on the looks, I originally wanted to lift it a few inches with 35s but ended up getting into "muscle trucks" over time. i know the long beds are not what most people do but its what i have, I plan on eventually do a short bed conversion though im not ready at the time. The reason im lowering it, wheels/tires etc. is because im LS swapping it Even though im a purist when it comes to dodge vehicles. I had a 440 with 62,000 original miles I was going to build for it but with the cost of just the motor parts I could build an LS with the same power and buy a trans. The LS i have at the moment, LQ4 rebuilt by a local shop, gapped rings. I put on rebuilt & ported 317 heads with LS7 top end kit, and a stage 2 BTR turbo cam, Fast LSX intake, currently waiting on my gt45 ebay turbo kit to come in to finish the motor. due to the power i think ill be pushing, @600+/- , lowering the truck, better suspension, etc is the safest way to go
 

Dodge trucker

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2021
Posts
302
Reaction score
172
Location
Kankakee il
Ram Year
1985
Engine
225
LS swapping a Dodge// further ruination of a nice truck. If you MUST swap engines why not keep it Dodge? 318, 360, (Magnum or older LA series). or newer Hemi?
Im so over "swapping in a Chevy engine into anything" Has been going on since before the LS series came out.
I have been thinking of putting a 318 into a square body Chevy truck just because.
Alot can be done with that slant 6. that doesn't involve scrapping it! lotsa guys are turbocharging them,, with parts from the boneyard.
I have been down the "pull slant 6 out and put a v8 in" road.
instead with my current 85, I'm gonna try and see what that little 6 can do..... I mean if I keep the 6, I won't have to buy a v8 trans or v8 mounts or a v8 radiator, etc,,,, so the money not spent, just to make a v8 work in my 6 cyl truck, is more money I can play with on building a better 6 banger. Its a 1/2 ton, and the lightest GVW of the 1/2 tons at that.... even if I beef up the suspension, beef up brakes, add a big block, etc/ its still a 4800 gvw 1/2 ton. (I have had 1/2 ton Dodges with 6000 gvws before too) to will still only be able to legally tow what it was originally factory rated at, if I haul more and wreck, the insurance idiots will have my ***..... so eitehr I work within what I have or I find a different truck.
The body isn't perfect but not terrible (I have seen much worse) the frame still has the original paint and factory paint-stenciled numbers on it, (very solid) and there ain't as many "nice" examples around any more/// at least not around northern IL/Indiana. and I have 2-1/2 trucks' worth of Southern GA and Colorado sheet metal at my disposal to make it the nicest truck it can be, with very little cash outlay/ (biggest expense will be the paint job when I get it to that point)
Mine will be a 3 season daily driver when done. If for some reason this slant 6 isnt enough for me when done? I have a Plymouth Volare I'm also restoring that originally had a /6, and its lighter, so that much engine will be "faster" in the car than in the truck.

In looking for parts to "make this truck my own" I happened across another 225 /6. Yes it is a total "dog" with its original engine. I have my other 225 on the stand, and have had it thru the machine shop, am assembling it as we speak. I bored it 20-thou over (thats all it took to clean things up)
---had the crank polished (again all that was needed)
---ported and polished the head, had a valve job done with oversized valves installed.
---Shaved the block 0.030 and the head 0.070" Should have done the block more but wound up making up for it on the head. Compression will go from a true measured 7.75:1 (even though all the manuals claim they are 8.4:1) to 8.8:1. That in itself will make a noticeable difference. I'm not building a race truck.
---they also magnafluxed and shot peened the block (overkill I know/ but there was a casting mark we thought might have been a crack, we wanted to be sure it wasn't, before we sunk time and money into it)
---I sent the original cam out to oregon Cams to have it reground into something more of what used to be known as an "RV" cam
There is also a company called Delta Cams out in WA state or Oregon that offers the same thing, but have never dealt with them
---for now found a factory Super Six (2 barrel) intake manifold, may change later to a 4 barrel. but I have an NOS brand new Carter BBD as the super 6 engines came with here still in the wrapper
---ported the exhaust manifold (especially the outlet flange area) to match up so putting a larger exhaust onto it will actually do it some good.
---recurved the distributor, along the process of getting rid of the "Lean Burn" semi computerized ignition that all 80s Dodge trucks with that engine originally came with, essentially reverting back to older style ignition with vacuum and centrifugal advance
My truck came as factory non AC. but like other things in my gearhead life, I've ripped AC out of a few that did originally have AC over the years. I am adding all the parts to this one to put the factory AC onto it, I have most of what I need..... I know a guy who parted out a truck like mine that had factory AC (same color interior too!) Im getting the factory AC dash pad from, only thing I currently don't have.

For all that money you wanna put into the suspension, you can more than build a nice truck, V8 and all, with all Mopar components. PLEASE DO NOT "LS" swap your truck!
 
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