Tuesday, February 19, 2019

2011 Ram Longhorn TRANSFORMATION!

2011 Ram Longhorn TRANSFORMATION!




Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to thank a lot of companies on helping me restore my BARGAIN Longhorn.
I picked up the truck dirt cheap (about $8,000 under Black Book Value).
Mechanically and Interior was it was superb shape, but the body needed work.
I researched parts, got quotes, and decided to pull the trigger figuring I'd spend about $5000 on repairs and still be into it about $3000 less then its Black Book Trade In Value.  I bought it in August 2018 and have finished all my projects this weekend.

Here is the transformation with the companies that helped me out.

1. Rear Tailgate BEFORE (see big dent)





Magic Paint and Body (in Saskatoon SK) got me a new tail gate shell painted Mopar Black, transferred all my emblems, etc for a flat rate of $800 (parts and labor included)


Rear Tailgate AFTER



2. Rear Bumper BEFORE (parking sensors do not work, rear bumper damaged, black plastic that attaches to bumper wrecked)




Found a USED Rear Bumper off a 2010 Ram Longhorn in Alberta. Bartered them down to $300 for the Rear Bumper including the 4 Mopar Rear Sensors and wiring. Paid $50 shipping.  Total paid $350.  Magic Paint and Body installed the rear bumper for me for FREE at the time of the Tail Gate purchase/install

Rear Bumper AFTER : 



3. Front Bumper BEFORE (see dents, dings, rust, chips, missing tow hook) :




Parr Auto Body in Saskatoon got me an AMAZING deal on a new Mopar bumper painted the Mopar Longhorn Gold.  $832 for the bumper, parts, and labor.  I also picked up a tow hook from a wrecker in BC off one of their Ram's for $25 plus $10 shipping.

Front Bumper and Tow Hooks AFTER : 





4.  Rear Spoiler BEFORE (broken)
 

Magic Paint and Body got me a new spoiler for $52 (Install Free) 

Rear Spoiler AFTER :



 





Here she is now - all fancied up (including a Mopar Ram Plate - $25 Amazon!)



And here is the interior that I fell in love with (did not have to do a thing inside)




Totals spent on my Bargain Longhorn (I was budgeting for $5000)
1) Tailgate = $800
2) Rear Bumper - $300 plus $50 shipping = $350
3) Front Bumper = $832
4) Tow Hook - $25 plus $10 shipping = $35
5) Rear Spoiler - $52

Total Spent to have all new looking parts = $2,069.00

Looks like I came in about $3000 under my budget!!

Big THANK YOU to Magic Paint and Body and Parr Auto Body for helping me with all my work and giving me great services and prices!

Monday, February 13, 2017

2010 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie - upgrades, fixes, and mods


I wanted a place to store the upgrades, mods, and fixes I have done on my 2010 Dodge Ram Laramie 1500.  For interest sake I will also include the price of the mods (in Canadian Dollars) and where I got them from along with the claimed horsepower increase by the manufacturer.  The 2 pictures below are the Ram when I bought it.  All pictures are in chronological order by the date the mod was installed.

Stock 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie. (when I bought it it had window visors, Bak Flip hard tonneau cover, running boards)


Stock 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie. (when I bought it it had window visors, Bak Flip hard tonneau cover, running boards)


First mod was a set of 4 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac aggressive tires. 275/60/R20.  Stayed with the stock Ram tire size. $1100 CAD on sale installed at Canadian Tire.
Wrangler Duratrac


Second mod was a handy Truck Luggage holder.  This sits on the box rails and is great for groceries.  Found it in the Canadian Tire reduced zone for $79 CAD (used my Canadian Tire money from the tires and got it free).  Retails for $200 CAD.
Truck Luggage

Truck Luggage


Next mod was the Bully Dog Hemi Plus Tuner.  Claimed horsepower gain by manufacturer is 24  HP with regular 87 octane.  The manufacturer claim on premium fuel is +32 HP/28 lbs./ft. Torque. Paid $175 CAD used from a person who unmarried the tuner and sold his truck.  That includes the tuner and the pillar pod.  Retails for $575 CAD for the tuner plus another $90 CAD for the pillar pod.
Bully Dog Hemi Plus


Next item was more of a fix then a mod.  My battery seemed weak so I replaced it with a Motomaster Eliminator AGM battery when it was on sale at Canadian Tire for $199 CAD.  These are one of the top batteries in Canada and I can see why.  It seems like I don't even have to plug in when it is -40 degrees Celsius out and the Ram starts like it is a summer day.
Motomaster AGM Battery


Next mod was a K&N Cold Air Intake (K&N 63-1561).  Claimed horsepower gain by manufacturer is 15.66 HP @ 4688 RPM. Paid $175 CAD from someone who used it for a month and sold their truck (took it off before they sold it).  Retails for $375 CAD on K&N Website.
K&N 63-1561


Next mod again was a "fix".  Recovered the leather of my drivers seat for $150 CAD.  They did a great job and it looks like factory.



Next mod was personalizing my truck.  Under Armour Fishing decal, Chihuahua decal, and a Zombie Family.  Total Cost $10.


More decal work
.
Next mod up was the Magnaflow Cat Back Exhaust.  After a lot of research I went with the Magnaflow 16869.  I am so happy I went with it.  Sounds great when you step on, but not too loud at all while cruising.  Absolutely no drone.  Very happy with the sound of it along with the sound of the K&N Cold Air Intake when stepping on the throttle.  Found this whole system brand new (except for the tips) for $400 CAD.  Retails for closer to $1500 CAD.  Estimated horsepower gain +12 HP
Magnaflow 16869


Close up of Magnaflow muffler


Next up was an Aries Bull Bar.  I had to find a bull bar that worked with my factory tow hooks and I decided on the Aries.  I really liked the looks of the stainless steel and figured it would fit in nicely with the chrome look front end of the Laramie.  Purchased from Rock Auto for $220.
Aries 35-5005



Next mod was some new rims.  It really bothered me that the Laramie comes with chrome clad rims (aka plastic fake chrome).  I fell in love with the Fuel Assault rims.  These are Fuel Assault 20x9 rims with +20mm offset.  $1200 shipped to my door from Toronto Ontario.  Retail for $420 a piece locally.
Fuel Assault D546


Another pic of the Fuel Assaults installed.


That's it for now.  I am really liking the looks and mods I have done to my truck :-)

Monday, July 29, 2013

Oldsmobile Omega - start of custom $50 quarter panel job

Dad and I decided that you either do the body work full on restore, or you do it 'half-a$$ed' and cheaply.  I really do not want to get into a FULL restore of quarter panels on the Omega, therefore we decided for the cheaper approach.  Since Dad is a genius it has turned out far better then I thought it would.

The rear wheel wells on the Omega were COMPLETELY gone.  They were rusted out and lost all of their original shape.  Dad had a great idea that included the use of PVC Pipe, Rivets, Metal, and Bondo. Total cost about $50.  Sure - it would be great if I got brand new quarter panels all around.  But $50 is far cheaper then $5000!

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 Original wheel wells - completely rusted out.  No shape left to them at all:
Rear Quarter Panel - nice big rotted out hole:
Custom formed (by dad with a mallet) dryer venting metal:


I started sanding down the Omega while dad was working on our custom formed rear wheel wells.  This is the PVC piping and the rivets to get us that 'pushed out' factory look:
Start of Bondo backfilling:
More Bondo and more sanding:
 Look at that near factory shape!!! Amazing!!

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$50  re Bondo, PVC Piping, Dryer Vent Metal, Rivets
+ Sweat Equity
+ Having fun restoring the Omega with Dad

= Priceless
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Next up - more sanding.................

Thursday, September 6, 2012

1974 Oldsmobile Omega S Update

Well after discussion with Dad we have decided to keep the 1974 Oldsmobile Omega S just that. It is so close to a Nova being an xbody clone, but I really didn't realize how RARE an Omega S was.

Dad seems to really be liking the fact that it looks like the old Nova but it is an Omega which makes it something you just don't see. Let alone the fact that it is the 'S' (sport) version.

I would really like to know how many Omegas and Omega 'S' were made and sold in Canada and the USA in 1974 but it seems so rare that I can't even get the info when googleing for it. There is so little out there on Omegas that my junky little blog here is about the 6th hit on Google search results! I will have to look into that more. Just not sure where to get that info. Might be time to join some Oldsmobile forum's.

We have made a ton of progress this summer. Not too much is 'visible' progress per say, but it has been a ton of things we have addressed. Off the top of my head:

-Replaced Holley Carb 83310 gaskets
-Rewired essentially everything under the hood
-4 new ties
-Cleaned up the Crager rims
-Replaced front brake lines
-Replaced front disc brakes
-Replaced rear drum brakes
-Replaced fuel tank (gm2108) and fuel lines
-Drained antifreeze lines and replaced all cracked and older lines to new ones
-Replaced thermostat
-Replaced rad cap
-Krylon paint job to hide the rust and keep 'the fuzz' off me :-)
-Rubberized Asphalt under coating in rocker panels (see above point re the fuzz)
-Removed ugly shock absorbing front bumper
-Install of NON shock absorbing 1973 bumper
-Fixed tranny cable slipping issue due to incorrect installation by previous owner

Very excited to continue forward with the project. It has been great. Learning some new skills from Dad too which is great. We have been lucky that we have NOT ran into any big issues yet. Have had it out for quite a few rips and it is FAST. Will have to actually time the 0 to 60 on it, but I know it is quick. With near 400 hp and 400 ft lbs of torque I guess I should have known. Sure love that throaty rumble from the dual muffler setup. Just don't ask me about my gas mileage :-)




Saturday, May 26, 2012