all right guys, in my quest not to work for "THE MAN" the only way im seeing me able to do that is have my own company, and as far as i can see there is no ORD or one of the million and 2 jeep specific shops for dodge trucks, what do you think, would a company like this be able to make it(being dodge sepecific)? and if a company like that excited what would you like to see from them for products?? also have to do a intro to business assign that i have to right a business plan for, soooo just give me your feed back on what you think a good off-highway specific company is. i was thinking along the lines of a in house engine rebuilder, ie send the block off for machineing and then it comes back to be put back together right by a guy in house, then eventually get own valve grinders and the equimpent to bore cylinders and deck heads, have nationa or someone like them make spring packs for us and market our own lift like all-pro does, do cross over steering, and drive line set up, lift installs, cage work, shit like that..... im just thinking/dreaming here, what do ya think??

I think it woudl be very cool. If you had a Replacment Steering system, i probabally woudl have already bought it. Also, i would love to have a place that could hook me up with a stroker crank for my 318. Maybe build up 518's. I dont knwo of anyone right now who specializes in building the 518/46RE tranny (except maybe jet, but i didnt like their warrenty), and if there were, i woudl have bought it. I think it would be very cool to have a one stop spot for dodge trucks. I dont know how it would work with everyone, but if you could compete in pricing, i would be buying everything from, you. Let me know how it comes.

Garrett

Some stuff also i woudl like to have are drop brackets for the rear of the new ram leaf springs, 60" (new ram) leaf spring conversion for 72-93 rams, 72-93 dodge front springs, with the center pin moved 2" forward and 2" longer than stock, with a matching shackle, a steering box brace kit for 72-93's, and lots of other stuff, maybe like bolt on rock sliders, and such.

Garrett

-full float 9-1/4 axle kits
-affordable rear disc conversion for 9-1/4
-longer shackle kits
-high clearance t-case crossmembers
-crossover steering kits
-magnum mpi motor wiring harnesses for earlier trucks
-rock sliders
-cage kits
-chain link steering wheels :flipoff2:

Originally posted by FULLSIZE
-chain link steering wheels

Are you from Espanola? :flipoff2:

No winters in Grass Valley, I take it. :D

Some good suggestions here. For steering box brace, I used 1/4" plate and boxed the frame between the crossmember and the radiator support; then sleeved the bolt holes - this was described in Peterson's a month or two ago, with pics. Selling that as a kit, with a pre-cut plate and tube, would be good (some welding required, and heavy drilling of the frame).

Cage kits would be pretty high on my list, especially custom(-ized, izeable, etc). To the best of my knowledge only Jegs has cages for Dodge trucks; very limited configuration and all designed for racing (ie. drag, desert, or NASCAR-type truck). Eventually I'll want to cage a crewcab.
An assortment of various Dodge-specific adapters would also be good. People always want to put a Cummins in something, or the V-10 Viper crate engine.

A long-arm front suspension kit for the newer trucks (see Ramstien's for example).

Axle swap hardware/kits, esp. for the newer ones.

CAD-eliminators that cost less than two 60's.

Also woudl really like to see some locking hubs and alloy shafts for new rams..

Do you have any pics of ramstiens long arm from suspension?

Garrett

Just what he posted here previously.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/show...&threadid=30611

broken link Lloyd

Originally posted by Hick
Maybe build up 518's. I dont knwo of anyone right now who specializes in building the 518/46RE tranny (except maybe jet, but i didnt like their warrenty), and if there were, i woudl have bought it.

disclaimer: I don't know shiat 'bout Dodge autos (I row my own gears in the Dodge). ATS and DTT both have really good reputations for building Dodge diesel autos (47s maybe?). ATS has a sweet triple disk lockup converter out now, I watched one of thier trucks run a 12.8 at Bandimere (1 mile elevation), a 24 valve Cummins 4x4 on 35" street tires, in 90° heat.

Pete

hows the company idea coming?:D

the paper is wrote, and turned in, proffessor gave us comment, no grades, and said it was very different, not something he has seen before, so i dont know, there is alot of tech knowledge i have to learn, i suppose that will come in time, we will see

TTT, any more useful info boys and girls anything you wish to ad???

I too have pondered this question many of moons... What i came up with is that too few of people really get into building their Dodges for serious off-road abuse. I started and then stopped due to the shear mass of the vechical on the trail. Not to mention the front suspension is no where up to the task of anytype of off-road abuse. The automatic transmissions have an extreamlly poor reputation and the engine pinging problem. I stopped before i threw much more money into mine and started building a true rock crawling vechical. However i have seen Ramstiens up close and can tell you first hand that it rocks. With a dana 60 up front, long arm travel and 14" swayway coil overs it kicks ass. There was some serious cash with this setup and after he came to the same conclusion as i did and built himself a rock crawling Jeep. Now his Dodge and mine are demoted to tow rig duty, a place that suits them well. I wish u well in your ventures but i would think about this venture a while before i jumped into anything too big... :D

ummm ya, about the front suspention, its called a dana 44 and leafs, and the tranny a 727, thouse dont get swapped into just about everything, i know chevy guys who run 727 tf because there ruthlessly tough, im talking when trucks were real trucks, not the putrid excuse they use today. 74-93, and maybe a lil new shit, but i doubt it

ummm ya, about the front suspention, its called a dana 44 and leafs, and the tranny a 727, thouse dont get swapped into just about everything, i know chevy guys who run 727 tf because there ruthlessly tough, im talking when trucks were real trucks, not the putrid excuse they use today. 74-93, and maybe a lil new shit, but i doubt it


Oh my- bad... 74-93... Now you are talking about the real crap. I have seen a few 94-2003 on the trails of California but 74-93 i have seen even fewer of. In my opoion they are bigger piles of crap than the new stuff. Personnal i do not see a large enough market for an off-road specific shop that caters too 74-93 Dodge trucks... but i could be wrong.. or right.. :flipoff2: And for your information a coil sprung front suspesion is by far better than a leaf sprung suspension. Dodge just did not have rockcrawling in mind when the designed the suspension. If you wanted to make serious $$$ at building Dodge stuff it would have to be in the bolt on crap that makes it look good. More people just want the truck to look good than to really use it in the dirt. I would also have to say that the $$$ is in the new stuff not the old..... :flipoff2:

If you get your panties in a wad over what my opoions are to your question, you should really ask your self, if owning a business is what you want to do. Just think if i was a potential customer. People seem to think that owning a business is not that hard. Owning a business becomes part of your life. You eat, drink, and sleep your business. I know I have done it. I love doing it!

GOOD LUCK..... The greatest failure is not to try!!

If you wanted to make serious $$$ at building Dodge stuff it would have to be in the bolt on crap that makes it look good

Did you ever think that I dont want to get rich, I could care less, if Im making a decent living thats fine, doing what I love EVEN BETTER! If you read my first post, I really dont want to work for anybody sides me, and that means my own business, and i will kiss my own ass if I become the Steel Horse for dodge trucks:flipoff2:

Take drnut's opinion seriously.
He's warning you not to stay away from the possibility of getting rich, he's trying to make you consider the possibility that you might go bankrupt. :D

And i've owned my own business(es) before as well, and it does become your life. The people that you hire cannot be fully trusted to keep the business's best interest, because they have no real benefit if the store does well, and no real drawback if it just stays afloat.

Remember, it's a "business" and you must approach it as such, keeping emotion out of your thought process, because that will not help you in the end.

Thankx Adam...



Did you ever think that I dont want to get rich, I could care less, if Im making a decent living thats fine, doing what I love EVEN BETTER!

I fully understand where you are coming from. I have been there and done that. Just getting by is OK for awhile but it gets old really quick. I am not trying to pursuad you from following your dreams. I am just giving you a heads-up. I really hate to see people pour all they have into a business and see it go belly up just because they had blinders on. Well i wish you the best of luck. I hope that you prove me wrong and you make a killing at what you love to do. :)

Oh my- bad... 74-93... Now you are talking about the real crap. I have seen a few 94-2003 on the trails of California but 74-93 i have seen even fewer of.

you couldn't be any farther from the truth. the leaf sprung trucks of old are way tougher than the new stuff. real dana 60's are a good reason to build an older dodge, they bolt right in. coils and links? are you kidding? without either building heavyduty links or at least boxing the stock ones you'll bend them all to hell. computer controled auto's? shitboxes! the only thing the newer trucks have over the older ones is the MPI magnum engine.

the reason you dont see many of them is because of the misconception everyone has about them. dodge? who builds a dodge?

I DO!!!! :flipoff2:

by the way, what do you wheel drnut? ;)

Well to start.. i didn't mean to start a pissing contest but i guess i will play...

you couldn't be any farther from the truth.

From what i have seen in the Big Bear area of Southern California there have been a few 93-present Dodge Ram 4x4's on the trail... including mine :p I can't think of 1 74-93 Dodge fullsize truck on the trails. (However i have seen a few built Ramchargers) Now i never said there were not on the trails.. I just haven't seen any.

the leaf sprung trucks of old are way tougher than the new stuff

I wouldn't say that. But then what do i know.. :flipoff2:

real dana 60's are a good reason to build an older dodge, they bolt right in

Well thats great but Dana 60's will bolt into just about anything now adays. Still the fact that the orginal 1/2 ton Dana 44's were the crappier of the bunch at that time.

computer controled auto's? shitboxes! the only thing the newer trucks have over the older ones is the MPI magnum engine.

Now are you saying that all computer controled autos are shit or just the light duty Dodge? There is nothing wrong with the heavy duty autos behind the V10's and Diesels. Chevy makes some of the best autos on the market and they are computer controled.

The only diffrence between the new Dodge and the old Dodge is the age of the crap. The MPI Magnum is ok but its still way behide the competion and the technology is better than 10 years old. Chevy Vortex engines are 10 times better.

by the way, what do you wheel drnut?

1. had but sold.. 1973 Chevy 4x4 extreamly built 350 with some minor suspension mods.. was ok but didn't wheel worth shit

2. current 1997 Dodge Ram 4x4 sb with 360. Great daily drive (execpt gas milage) 3/4 front springs gives enough lift for some 33's. Wheeled good on minor trails but the size really sucked.

3. current 1985 Toyota 4x4, 35's, 5.29's, spooled rear, detroit front, chevy 63's rear, dual crawl box,... yad, yad, yad the best wheeler yet

I hope this answers all your questions....
:flipoff2:

My 96 ram wheels really decent for a daily driver that sees 80 often. By the way, i still wanna see parts for my ram that i know work, and how. Basically, i want a quality long arm kit. Also, as these trucks keep getting older, the more of them you see on the trail (no way could i afford a new truck, this one was bad enough, but it is paid for now :flipoff2: ). And plus, i need an excuse to put 37" mt/r's on my truck.. an excuse of testing parts.. or umm, something like that woudl work.

Garrett

no pissing contest here. you just cant call the earlier trucks crap. come on up with you 96 and lets do fordyce or the con. ;) thats the only dodges i see on the trails around here, the early ones :beer:

Well thats great but Dana 60's will bolt into just about anything now adays. how much money you got?:flipoff2:

no pissing contest here. you just cant call the earlier trucks crap. come on up with you 96 and lets do fordyce or the con. thats the only dodges i see on the trails around here, the early ones

Like i have said before it is just my opoinon.. nothing more nothing less.. :D I am planning to hit fordyce next year with my 85' Yota but my 97 Dodge has been put on tow rig duty... one it is perfectly happy with.. :D

how much money you got?

Not nearly enough for 60's to bolt into anything!! :flipoff2:

:D let me know when your in my neck of the woods. i love fordyce :usa:

Hey, FULLSIZE, go easy on him. I would agree that dodges are great and all, BUT...... There is just not the following that other rigs have that would warrant having a shop specifically for them. And if there is then if another came along.....well 2 is too many. IMHO I think that going into business based on the sole fact that it's what you like to do is WRONG! He should do some serious research and make educated opinions, based on the facts that he learns. I can't see opening the doors and having people come in just for that. Maybe what would be best is to open a shop and work on all 4x4's, then as he makes money start prototyping parts, then try and sell them on a mail order basis?????? Just my opinion though!

or maybe open up a dodge speciality shop that has very open doors to all 4x4's.

That would be my plan, hick, it was my plan from the beginning, I guess I should have put that in the orginal statement, but keep the comments coming

i agree. you'd have to work on a little of everything, with a special niche for dodge's (of all years:D). then build up the availibilty of your dodge specific parts.

choose a year to start with and find all the problems with it then cure em.
for a 96 dodge 4x4 deisel I can tell you in order of importance to me are :
1) the damm cheap crap dodge calls steering linkage, I'm tired of buying new steering dampners every year to stave off the wobbles.
2) a shackle flip rear that eliminates the blocks dodge was crazy enough to put in the back of my dodge. this is to eliminate the hops.
3) a swap kit for a stronger t-case. preferably something with deep gears and 2-low.

1) the damm cheap crap dodge calls steering linkage, I'm tired of buying new steering dampners every year to stave off the wobbles.

my brother and freind keith haven't had any problems with there's. buy a rancho stabilizer:rolleyes:

2) a shackle flip rear that eliminates the blocks dodge was crazy enough to put in the back of my dodge. this is to eliminate the hops.

i agree. but have you looked at any of the deisel pickups? dodge wasn't the only crazy one. ;)

3) a swap kit for a stronger t-case. preferably something with deep gears and 2-low.

have you broke your t-case? :eek:

have you broke your t-case?

I did! Granted it was the cheap 231hd but it broke none the less. The crazy thing is that i was not doing really hard wheeling just some easy stuff and the damn thing would not stay in gear. What a pile of crap... oh well...

Steering stablizer? I have a rancho on my 96, it is great. As for the rest of my steering, i have 3 bends in my steering arms, and have already snapped my admustment alignment link. Also i replaced my 231hd at 34k miles, and again at 61k miles. As for the shackle flip, BDS (http://www.bds-suspension.com) makes a shackle flip for 94-01 trucks. It is in their 5" lift kit. I woudl run it, but i know it isnt the best setup for trucks that haul heavy loads. Also i woudl rather have a block than a shackle flip with a trailer behing my truck.. but thats just my $0.02

Garrett

1) try the roads in ontario and hit a railroad crossing above 80, its terrifying and this truck has had everything from the steering box down replaced last year. I can buy new dampners but I like to cure problems not cover them up.
2) just cause they followed someone else into a bad idea dosn't make me any happier, and a 4 1/2 inch lift block behind 400lb-ft of torque? thats not to thinking in my books. I was thinking a 2 1/2 inch lift spring rear and airbags to haul loads would be the best solution?
3) yup the 241hd in mine has been rebuit once already, fortunatly it happened to the previous owner not me. once it fails again I will upgrade to something older heavier and harder to shift that will never break (only 205 I have seen fail was a lube problem)