"The little black truck"...
 

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.

welcome back!

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...0Truck/D50.jpg

As purchased.

I don't have a baseline MPG yet, as the filler neck leaks. Once replaced, and I can get a full tank of fuel in her, I will get baseline and start fuel log.

So far:
New starter, battery cables (extra ground to motor), fuel pump, carburetor, battery, front shocks, tires, sway bar end links, and valve cover gasket.
She starts on command, first turn of the key. Humorously, and seriously, I have already dropped a lot of weight, cleaning the crap out from behind the seat, blasting the bed, and several hours pressuring washing underhood and the front suspension. She groaned like an old screen door, but I finally blasted her with 3 cans of degreaser, and several hours with the pressure washer.
I see some slop on water pump pulley, so it may be getting a new water pump sooner then later. If so I will probably do the electric fan while I am in there, for my convenience.
May skip the header for now, stock manifold doesn't look terrible. Going to talk to the exhaust guy up the road, looking for 2.25 or 2.5 from Y back, ditch the converter, through a Borla. Truck is a smoker at startup (valve stem seals and guides?) so putting a new converter in there so it can get oil contaminated seems a waste. Might put the 60-100 bucks somewhere else.

If by custom you mean 'made it myself' you could start at or above the bottom of the backlight, go straight back and then curve the last 1/3 down to the tailgate.

...or go to a full aerocap. And that outside rear-view mirror looks huge.

Yeah, side view mirror is way too big. Going to do something smaller for sure.

Tonneau will probably be a flat, bed height. I like the visiblity of the little truck. I might be a bit of a traitor, but appearance counts for me too.

No problem. That's actually why I left the aerocap as an afterthought.

It looks like if you draw a line from the rear view mirror, you could go straight back from the bottom of the window until you follow the line down; that would give you what's called wake filling.

Maybe someone else has the relevant chart, but it turns out the most aerodynamic is a half tonneau (the back half) with a partition in the bed. Sort of box in the back half (lockable storage?) and leave the front half open. The air spills over the back of the roof and pushes on the back of the cab.

Could you elaborate more? Perhaps a link to an image? I am struggling to follow. My thoughts were a flush with bed rails fab metal unit. Nothing too fancy, simple 1.25 square tubing with steel outer, painted, or bedliner material, with hinge at front.

Alright, it has begun.

I had not filled it up on my earlier drivings, as the filler neck leaked. I fixed it last night, so it got it's first full fillup today. I have already put 50 miles on it so far.

I don't expect it to be wonderful MPG right now for a couple reasons:

• The carb is on, but has not been adjusted yet. I need a bigger return spring.
• The water pump appears to have some slop, I have new one, need to put it on.
• I have not covered the bed yet
• truck is stock height
• brakes were dragging very badly this morning. (freed themselves, but obviously I need to look at brakes.

As much as I would fix everything at once, I am doing it in steps for a few reasons:

1. cost
2. time
3. show progress
4. illustrate the need to address basic mechanical maintenace

Brakes don't normally stick, but she sat for several weeks, so it might be part of it. I see a lot of ecomodding ideas, aero, etc, but not as much in discussion about the basic mechanical and "tune up" areas. I see a lot of older cars being modded here, but seldom does mechanical maintenance come up in discussions?

Search Google with 'GMC half-tonneau pickup' and the first hit is a very helpful aerohead posting:

Modding a pickup

...and on the Gale Banks website I find:http://i.imgur.com/6i3TC.jpg

Don't ignore aerohead's post just because I posted the picture. It maps out a lot of possibilities for a pickup truck configuration.

Wikipedia says the half-tonneau was was OEM in 1998 on the Chevrolet S-10 EV

I know none of this answers *why* it works. I'm going to stick with Another great permalink from sven7:

US Pat 4,573,730. 4 Mar 1986

While the half tonneau should save you an mpg, you might think about putting together a plywood aero cap, as bobo333's 1977 Ford F100 sports. Shouldn't cost too much money and will probably get you two or even three mpg. I know, not much, but with a baseline in the low 20's it's going to be really tough to get much improvement.

What's your goal, fuel economy wise? Just minor improvements that look stock, or making it as efficient as a midsize car?

btw
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Power...WD&srchtyp=ymm

I see a lot of ecomodding ideas, aero, etc, but not as much in discussion about the basic mechanical and "tune up" areas. I see a lot of older cars being modded here, but seldom does mechanical maintenance come up in discussions?

There may be the assumption that the owner has already "baselined" the vehicle. I consider that starting with a set of certified scale tickets:

1] Driver, full fuel & all items that are aboard permanently: Total weight adduced from two axle totals
2] Weigh each side of vehicle to get individual wheel positions.
3] This is total of three scale receipts: At a CAT Scale

Tire pressure dialled in from vehicle manufacturer data and RMA book (see CapriRacer's site: Barry's Tire Tech). Basically, a 15% load reserve above load versus pressure table (that fits within vehicle manufacturer range of pressures).

With that, proper alignment (painstaking). Wheel bearing service and proper preload (this is more open to interpretation than it should be). Same for no brake drag on calipers and fine adjustment of rear drums + emergency brake actuation.

Zero steering wander: KENWORTH (among others) cites excessive number of steering corrections per hundred miles as a source of poor FE. Rebuilding the steering apparatus should be high on list. At the same time, other front end componentry and body/frame bushings.

Rear spring sag. A lifetime of being torqued over in one direction can cause rear springs to have settled unevenly. Luckily, leafs are basically cheap.

Any adjustments in FSM to the auto trans? Are shift points at recommended rpm?

Obviously, all new fluids, filters, belts & hoses. The cooling system needs real attention for FE. Non-EFI motors have a hard time with temp regulation. So start with a pressure test. Etc. And use some RMI-25 to gently clean as you drive. I've used it more than 20-years.

Yes, sounds like valve stem leakage. A rebuilt head isn't all that expensive (as valve stems are a PITA given old tired springs also present). A compression test before & after. And a blowby test. If any cracked rings, then . . . .

Etc.

As I mentioned in another thread, do new seatbelts first, then brakes/tires. Safety, then FE, as they work in tandem with one another in this pursuit.

A new windshield for a vehicle with over 150k is also good. Clean with muriatic acid at 1:50 water (if you're brave) if no cracks. Frankly, they tend to be "sandblasted".

Next item is all new fuses & relays. New lamps, interior & exterior. Run headlamps off of a relay-driven BATT power (13V at lamp; see Daniel Stern site) to make things bright. Check voltage at rear lamps (and consider some kind of decent LED upgrade, not just pop-in lamps in housings not designed for same).

And ETC, again. The list is never ending, but the basics should be covered as above, IMO.

.

At least quote a new windsheld, I was surprized to find I could get one for my suburban for $160. I had them put it on the next day.

What I found interesting on the chart you posted was the 'wing + cover':
http://i.imgur.com/Who5l.jpg

It is 3/4ths as effective as the aero shell and gives a lot more access to the bed. The results for a partial cover with and without the wing suggests that the air moving past the sides of the cab has a lot of effect. Are there any examples of a Bonneville style spoiler on the back of a pickup truck cab?

Or maybe we should ignore the chart because it shows the partial cover as less effective than the full cover. And does 'basic redesign' mean anything?

Good comments on tune-up. Might want to get it professionally aligned in case there are camber or caster issues, aside from toe.

Wing+Cover could be interesting but I get the impression you'd spend as much time getting the right wing angle as you would simply building an aero shell. And with such low baseline MPG why chance it? Kach22i on here has a wing on his S10 but it's not tuned for efficiency. He claims better highway stability.

I would go for the proven stuff if it's only going to add a few MPG. That is, either a partial cover or an aerohead or BZP style aero cap.

"Basic redesign" assumes you are a company putting out a new generation of the truck and you will be changing the actual sheet metal of the vehicle. I suppose this would also apply to those who build custom beds, like (I believe) SkyKing and his Dodge Ram.

There has been talk about turning a step side pickup into an MPG champ because the narrow bed gives you a head start on plan taper. I've also yet to see someone build a custom aero bed with covered wheels and everything (narrowed axle maybe?) so perhaps I'll have to do that myself some day. :)

I spent $200 at a street rod shop once to get an alignment done on a VW Type III Notchback. The car was nimble and never failed to go where I pointed it. The shops gone; and I don't know where I could get work like that done on the car I'm driving today.

The thing about 'basic redesign' is that the bar is completely filled from 0 to 20%. So it's saying might not do a thing, might be as good as a full aerocap. Then they don't show 'basic redesign' + aerocap.

It's so hard to get other people to build the vehicles you want to see built. :) Do you know what a 'bobber truck' is?

Well, the abismal first tank is in....
13.36mpg.

This is not entirely unexpected.

After last fillup, I had planned on commiting to driving it daily. However, after a couple days of fighting it, on the way to work one AM, it fought me to go 65 on the highway, and steering wheel was a fight. I pulled over, and it was smoking from the right front wheel. The brakes were dragging, terribly.

Over the last couple week, it has received all new brake calipers, hoses, and pads. All the caliper and pad slides were lubed with synthetic slide grease, and I installed ceramic pads. I would like to have done the rotors (I have them too), but the front hub bolts to rotors, and bolt heads are beyond saving, so it will have to wait until I can use shop torch and replace. Calipers got a hit of red paint, and she is back together. Work commute starts tomorrow, and we have a fresh fill up in it. Temperatures have dropped into the 30's, so that will be taken into account.

Once she proves reliable, I am going to start dialing in the carburetor, etc. Short term are to clean out interior beyond the basics, nitrogen the tires at work to max pressure, and start adjusting driving style.

These rearview mirrors look bigger than the ones which were used in the ones available back here. I'd suggest you to replace'em with the ones used in a sports motorcycle to reduce the drag at the best.

Goal is to move from my 15-16 MPG full size truck into a mid 20's MPG commute vehicle for to and from work.

It doesn't have to look stock, but I will use what I consider to be tasteful in appearance. Realistically, truck is going to be lowered about 3 inches, using stock 14 wheels and tires. Belly pan modifications will be used. A bed cover will be used. Overall goal is a sporty lowered mini truck, that returns better MPG for an economical commute.

New mirrors are sitting at work.
A basic alignment will be done, until suspension is rebuilt.
Tires are going to get nitrogen, tires are new, and just balanced.

http://image.truckinweb.com/f/wallpa..._d50+small.jpg

Mine won't be dropped quite this far. Can't afford the fancy wheels. No sunroof. Would like a little better looking air dam, but I like the overall look of this truck...

http://i.imgur.com/KC4r8.jpg

Three boards with wider gaps so you don't lose right rear vision.

An aero shell would be a good feature, but to retain a good visibility it would need to be shaped to resemble the rear hatch of a Corvette, with that glass canopy, maybe replacing the glass with Lexan to save some weight.

bed is getting a flat tonneau cover, in either vinyl with aluminum frame, or a flush mount, fabricated unit.

Gale Banks has used this on some of his trucks which have set some land speed records.

http://highperformancetrucks.com/gal...serialNumber=2

A box stock 2wd 4cyl-5sp Ranger can pull that off (I know, I used to have a one). Should be a VERY obtainable goal. You could probably even set your sights higher. :thumbup:

Have you never considered a Diesel swap? That would easily lead you to low 30s city up to nearly 40 highway MPG even without aeromods.

Diesel would be awesome, but finding a diesel combo that would swap in with a minimum of effort is going to be a challenge. This model of truck is hard to find as is, let alone a diesel version or diesel drivetrain...

Did a half tank fill up to see where she stands...Up to 18 and change.
Commute is mostly highway, but there is some in town driving.

I picked up a muffler from work, long round diesel looking thing but smaller pipe diameter. I am going to put it up on the rack and see about replacing the stock muffler with this completely straight through design muffer for a little less backpressure.

Sounds like it might be a [fiber]glass-pack. Loud pipes save lives.

There are options such as the Volkswagen TDI, Kubota V-2203 and few other light-duty Diesel engines which can be swapped into, but wouldn't be so easy to set the stock automatic transmission to work behind'em.

The D50 has been sitting for a few weeks. I got it lowered at work, but then the holiday season opened the skies, and we have been to busy to get the alignment done. I got all the tie rods installed yesterday, and got it aligned. Truck drives like a dream. The toe was incredibly far off. It was so far gone, it killed a pair of tires in 3 months. Toe and tie rods also explained the vibration at 55 that is gone. I have two new tires to put on the back, and then get all 4 done with nitrogen, and I almost think this portion of things will be addressed. I filled it up last night, and can't wait to see how the lowering, alignment, etc help the MPG.

Sounds like an awesome project! I have a lot of respect for this as I have also been working on building a minitruck commuter. Definitely post up some pictures of it with the new suspension I would love to see how it looks now.

Before lowering:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psea58f725.jpg

After Lowering, Tie rods, and alignment:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfa5910e8.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps9c6ecdaf.jpg

I am stopping for a partial tank fill up tonight. It drives so much better. Only drawback right now is the steering wheel. The guys have the total alignment right, but for some reason Mitsubishi decided to make the passenger side tie rod with total toe adjustability, but to straighten the wheel, they will literally have to separate the tie rod, turn it out a couple threads, and reset entire toe. It does not have the sleeve where one tie rod is left thread, and the other is right thread.
Still working on finding decent mirrors. May end up using small motorcycle type mirrors on stalks.

That's a nice stance for that truck.

If I remember correctly, the 2.0 DOHC that came in the Avengers, Eclipses, etc is one of very few engines that can be 90* turned. Those engines aren't too costly, and your D50 trans should bolt up. That should give you a good FE improvement.


After some searching:
"The Chrysler 904 tranny from an early 80's Ram D50 will bolt right up to a 4G63 motor. This is the same 904 tranny that many Hemi guys run in the NHRA Super Stock class."
I think you'd be looking for the 4G63 motor more than the 420A motor, but it's still a relatively simple swap. Forget carbs, step up to fuel injection! :)

Here's to the power of flattering lighting. But seriously, it looks good.