[Backtobasics]

Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages....

A change in career has brought me back to ecomodder. I have a longer drive that is going to prohibit the use of my "tri-color" truck, 1997 Dodge Ram. She has been great, reliable, and with the SGII, I get between 17-18 on my daily, mostly highway commute. However, I think I can do better.

I recently bought a 1987 Dodge D50 (Mitsubishi Mighty Max) Standard Cab, 6 foot bed, 2.6 with automatic overdrive transmission. I would have preferred a manual, but the overall condition of the little Dodge was too good to pass up. The auto has it's benefits: At the end of the day, get in and put it in D will be nice. The wife can hop in and drive it (she is manual competent, but the big truck seat is physically too big and she cannot drive comfortable). This allows me to use the van to transport kids as needed.

As purchased, it needs a battery and carburetor attention. It has a near complete full tune up from previous owner. From my research the OEM carb doesn't rebuild well, and there is miles of vacuum lines going everywhere. The hot ticket seems to be a Weber DGEV (I think) swap. I have a complete setup coming from Ebay. With purchase price + carb + battery, my total investment will be right at a grand. I pressure washed engine tonight, so pictures of starting point, plus carb stuff will come tomorrow.

Job is in a major truck accessory chain. After she proves roadworthy, next steps will be a 2.5 front and 3" lowering, custom flush tonneau cover, electric fan, and pacesetter header with full custom exhaust. Thinking I might spring for a Borla muffler this go around. I add some gauges (vacuum, and trans temp). I will see about the underside once I get it running under its own power, as a black cloroplast belly pan would blend well into this black truck.