BFH_Metalworks

For installation, 2 new holes have to be drilled. They need to align with the "channel" in the hinge. The bracket is used as a drill guide. It will fit a 3/8 drill perfect. Reuse the one long bolt in the lower hole and a shorter bolt in the upper. A piece of masking tape works good to hold the nut on an open end wrench when installing the bolts in your drilled holes.

Reinforcement plates. This is how they will ship. Edges cleaned up and smoothed. Sharp edges all knocked off.

Right now, it's my design that I'm having laser cut by a 3rd party. That's why I'm wanting a to get a feel for demand. I'm certainly not going to make a fortune on these, but I need enough volume to be able to make a little cash. I'm trying to pay down some bills, so working on some side projects. If I can sell 15 or 20 of these kits, then I can make a bit of money on them. I do the deburring myself. They will be bare steel so they can be easily paint matched to the truck. Also, the two additional holes are sized exactly 3/8" so the plates can be used as a drill guide. 3/8" allows for a little wiggle room for 8mm bolts, so if alignment isn't perfect, there's still a little room for adjustment. I'll upload a picture of just the plate tomorrow. I forgot to get a picture.

Anyone else have cracks where the hood hinge bolts to the body? Wanting to gauge interest in a fix I designed for this. It's a 3/16" thick cold rolled steel part. Laser cut and deburred. Quality Hardware to be included. Requires two 3/8" holes to be drilled for each side. The kit will be 2 reinforcement plates, 8 flanged bolts, 4 flanged nuts, 8 washers, and an instruction sheet. I'm thinking $50 plus shipping. I'm need to see what the cheapest flat rate priority mailer I can fit everything into. I didn't post this in the classified section, because I'm not ready to sell. I can't afford to do a bunch of these unless I know that they will actually sell. @Mopar1973Man , if you are interested, I can send you a set of prototypes to review.

I've had good luck with Motorad Failsafe thermostats in other vehicles. Haven't had one actually fail yet. Just installed one in my truck, have not put any miles on it yet. Saving my pennies for a Quadzilla. Will probably go to a 200 degree thermostat when I get that.

Awesome! My first car was also a 1973 Charger SE! It was fun for a few years, but it was just one of those cars where something would break or bad things happened. Sold it when it stopped being fun. Wouldn't mind having a 71 Charger if the opportunity arose, but I'm probably priced out of the market at this point. Love the website, it's helped me out many times.

Replacing the last of the original fuel lines with 1/2" is totally doable. I ran hard line along the frame rail and have plenty left over. Just a few fittings and a couple feet of AN hose, I can do. Guess I know what's next on the list after I fix the air conditioning. Fortunately the compressor didn't fail, just have some leaky seals to replace. Thanks again for all the advice. I've got a plan of attack now. Truck runs like a champ and gets 20 mpg so injectors can wait a while longer. I'll finish upgrading the fuel lines and then see what the pressure drop is before I buy any injectors. She may have to settle for RV injectors until my finances are in better shape. I really enjoy my truck with the power it has now so I can wait until I can make the proper combination of parts happen.

I avoid cheap parts, but there's a difference (sometimes) between cheap and inexpensive. The Smarty wasn't cheap, it just isn't ideal. I bought a quality lift pump (best I could afford at the time), AirDog FRRP-100. In hindsight I should have got the 150. I have it mounted to the frame rail right next to the fuel tank and 1/2" line all the way up to the factory fuel filter. Have a pyrometer and fuel pressure gauge. Running 18 psi at idle, never gets below 12. 4" turbo back exhaust. Valair 13" clutch conversion. I just don't have the means to make multiple upgrades at once. Still running the original injectors, so I'm sure they aren't in stellar condition. Would the 7 x 10 injectors work well with my current setup? Obviously I won't get the full benefit of the upgrade. Turbo upgrade is not going to happen anytime soon. Quadzilla is probably my goal for next year. Thoughts, suggestions? Appreciate the advice already given.

Gotcha! Thanks.

Well hell, not what I was hoping to hear but my own fault for not doing more research before spending any money. I appreciate y'all taking the time to point me in the right direction. Guess I'll have to start saving those pennies. Any thoughts on Fuel Labs brushless motor lift pump? In theory it should outlast most other electric lift pumps. I plan on driving this truck pretty much forever, so if I have to buy another lift pump I want to get a few years out of it. Mopar Man, whose injectors are you running, I haven't run across any that advertise pop off pressure?

Thanks guys! Yeah, the K&N is pretty crusty, I could always clean it up and Ebay it. A friend gave it to me when he upgraded. I'd be happy if I could get just close to 400 HP. Any chance of doing that with the Smarty? Didn't know any better when I bought it or would have got the Quadzilla instead. The Smarty does make a notable increase in power. Should have ponied up a little more cash and got the 150 gph lift pump, live and learn I guess. I live in Texas, so keeping the IAT in the 90 to 140F range is cake. Would an adjustable wastegate and injectors get me past 350 HP with the Smarty or should I save my pennies until I can bank a Quadzilla? Would prefer to keep the smoke to a minimum as well, though I know the Smarty runs dirty.

Looking for suggestions. Lots of info here, but hard to find a specific good parts combo for a relatively minor build. My daily driver 2wd 5spd would be a lot more fun with a bit more power. I'm thinking 100hp over stock. Just installed a Valair 13" clutch. Have a wastegate actuator regulator that just showed up in the mail. Truck has a 4" exhaust, gauges, Smarty S04, an air dog factory replacement lift pump (100 gph) mounted to the frame by the tank. Was given a K&N cold air intake but not yet installed. Any thoughts on the least expensive way to reach my power goal? 600 hp would be great, but my budget is very limited at the moment and it is my daily driver. 17.8 1/4 mile times are down right embarrassing. Just looking to spice up my daily commute. If there's an article that covers this, I didn't see it. I have done some research, but most of what I've seen is aimed at heavy towing or all out power. Thanks in advance.

A water to air aftercooler is much more efficient than air to air, so you can go a lot smaller than the factory cooler. Plus it can go anywhere because it doesn't need to air flowing across it. That's the way I'd go. My 2 cents.

I bought a pack of 24 oz bottles from Amazon. They're plastic beer bottles for the home brew folks. Marked them in 2 oz increments. Keep a few in the truck. Refill and reuse as needed.

I have a 99 and I had my timing cover off to replace the crank seal. 200k miles and the dowel pin was at least an 1/8" into the hole, so nowhere near falling out. Just to be on the safe side, since I was in there, I took a center punch and staked around the hole in several places. Now I don't have to worry about the dowel pin falling out and it didn't cost a dime. You just need to move the metal around the hole in a few places just a small amount towards the hole. Then the opening is smaller than the dowel pin and that sucker isn't going anywhere.