[Purcell69]

I know it has been months since I've made any progress on this project, but rest assured, I haven't given up.

Between a lack of funds and uncooperative weather, things with the truck were put on the back burner. I was toying around with options for getting it running, either swapping over to a Chevy drivetrain, since I already have the motor built, or going to a carburetor set-up over EFI, but the reality is I already have a good MPFI Dodge engine that will bolt in to the existing frame, transmission and transfer case, so there is nothing to purchase there other than the factory service manual needed for the wiring schematics to pare down the existing Dodge wire harness.

I still need patch panels for the passenger side floor and rockers/steps, but I can start with the cab floor for now.

I also got to thinking about the battery box being relocated under the cab. With all the rain we get in Oklahoma, I'm not 100% certain I want to cut an access hole in the passenger side step to get to the battery. My next thought was to just muscle it up in place from under the truck, with access from the rear side of the box, toward the back of the cab. This morning another idea crept into my head to make access relatively easy...a hoist system.

The battery would still be on the passenger side frame, under the cab, but the box could be raised and lowered with a repurposed scissor jack. The cables would have to be long enough to accommodate lowering the battery enough to remove the cables, and when stowed, the box would bolt to the frame to keep the load off the jack when the truck was being driven.

I still need to hang my gas tank and reconnect the plumbing to the fuel pump, but the weather is finally supposed to clear and dry out for a while, so I should get started on working with what I already have again by next week.

-Joe