rebelgtp
PNW Dodge Driver
Well I joined a long while ago but now I actually have a rig that well I actually play around with and I am starting to slowly build up.
So last year my father died and left me a little bit of money. Not a ton but enough I had some extra. I decided to look for a project rig as that is something my father and I had always talked about doing.
I started hunting around and I got stuck on the idea of wanting a Ramcharger, I always have been a Mopar guy. Well after about 6 months of looking at various rust buckets I start to give up hope. Well then I find an ad on Craigslist out of Boise for a clean looking '85, basically bone stock rig. I start emailing back and forth with the seller trying to get as much info as possible before making the drive from La Grande. I decide to go take a look at it.
Well I get there and aside from the paint being cooked off the hood and roof (turns out the rig spent its entire life in Idaho and Nevada) it was straight and rust free. I take it for a test drive and it drives good. Pop the hood and all the belts and hoses under the hood look new. The tires, oh the tires, they were ancient. They were so old the side walls were pealing apart. I got the guy down from his $2500 asking price to $1200 cash money and away I drove with my new rig.
I made it back across the border and stopped in Ontario and got new tires, 31" Toyo ATs and continued my drive home.
Well my wife quickly fell in love with the rig as I had and my baby son (now 2) loves wheeling in the hills with dad. The rig is not without its faults (heater controls, speakers stuck, passwindow stuck up and some leaking window seals). First thing we had to fix though was the paint. I did not want this rust free example to rot now that it is living in Oregon. I decided I wanted earth tones and found a supplier of military paint. My wife actually chose the OD green paint the RC is currently wearing. We did a quick and dirty paint job in my buddies garage and also bed linered the rocker panels. Its not perfect but I will make it better later on.
As it is we try and get in the mountains as much as possible (sometimes every weekend).
I have already got some parts and made a few changes but I will follow up with those when I have more time.
Here it is shortly after I got it along with my big butt and my little guy
And here it is from one of our last trips into the mountains this year before winter hit hard.
So last year my father died and left me a little bit of money. Not a ton but enough I had some extra. I decided to look for a project rig as that is something my father and I had always talked about doing.
I started hunting around and I got stuck on the idea of wanting a Ramcharger, I always have been a Mopar guy. Well after about 6 months of looking at various rust buckets I start to give up hope. Well then I find an ad on Craigslist out of Boise for a clean looking '85, basically bone stock rig. I start emailing back and forth with the seller trying to get as much info as possible before making the drive from La Grande. I decide to go take a look at it.
Well I get there and aside from the paint being cooked off the hood and roof (turns out the rig spent its entire life in Idaho and Nevada) it was straight and rust free. I take it for a test drive and it drives good. Pop the hood and all the belts and hoses under the hood look new. The tires, oh the tires, they were ancient. They were so old the side walls were pealing apart. I got the guy down from his $2500 asking price to $1200 cash money and away I drove with my new rig.
I made it back across the border and stopped in Ontario and got new tires, 31" Toyo ATs and continued my drive home.
Well my wife quickly fell in love with the rig as I had and my baby son (now 2) loves wheeling in the hills with dad. The rig is not without its faults (heater controls, speakers stuck, passwindow stuck up and some leaking window seals). First thing we had to fix though was the paint. I did not want this rust free example to rot now that it is living in Oregon. I decided I wanted earth tones and found a supplier of military paint. My wife actually chose the OD green paint the RC is currently wearing. We did a quick and dirty paint job in my buddies garage and also bed linered the rocker panels. Its not perfect but I will make it better later on.
As it is we try and get in the mountains as much as possible (sometimes every weekend).
I have already got some parts and made a few changes but I will follow up with those when I have more time.
Here it is shortly after I got it along with my big butt and my little guy
And here it is from one of our last trips into the mountains this year before winter hit hard.
