MB 616 diesel powered Astro build
 

MB 616 diesel powered Astro build - Page 2



.

Calling JB3 you're famous again mate!

it's curious how identical the Astro front subframe looks like my 76 Firebird.

Nice project! That box you indicated on the master cylinder is the primitive rear ABS if memory serves me.

That is a ton of work to put into such a crap-pile van!!!!
The custom adapter plate I bet is worth twice what the van was......
Somebody sure can weld, though!

Back when I had a Datsun Maxima diesel wagon there was a guy on the nissandiesel forum that swapped in a LD28 from a Maxima into his Astro van. A solid six cylinder 2.8L engine with a cast iron cylinder head...and you could add a turbo with factory parts from the L28T gasser engine.

he's making good progress. I wish I'd known he needed good subframes... I've crushed 4 rust free astro's...

as for the look of the subframe compared to an F body, yeah it's similar, but WAAAY shorter, and MUCH beefier than the F bodies... (I've got 4 first gen F cars...)

I can't fathom how slow that is going to be when its finished.

Lol, pretty good guess, adapater did cost twice the money I paid for the van.
Crap pile is a relative term, I like those old astros. Same kind of sickness that makes mb enthusiasts spend thousands restoring a old 123. :D

Link is from page 2 of that thread. I'm also turboing the 616 on page one, and interestingly that shorty astro is a mere 200 lbs heavier than a 240D. (Stripped as it is for work)
I think even with NA it might have similar performance as a regular 240, though this is all estimation. The gear ratios in the T5 I'm using and the astro 3.71 rear end are all slighty more advantageous than the stock mb ratios also.

Lol, whunter has called me out. I hadn't intended to post up this project until it was actually running and I could see if it worked. Now that its up though, ill just slowly update it with my other threads on it. Now I really have to get it done, too many lenghty unfinished project threads out there. :D

touche! :D

I would use that van to go pick up all the mb parts I regularly haul back from the yard ,all it needs now is a plastic fantastic front grill off an sec.My yard outback is starting to look like a mercedes boneyard out of one of those paintings from past vintage cars of yesteryear.

Some progress, this is whunter signed us up for. :D endless boring chevy pics

So the clutch pedal, which is a major hurdle of the manual swap is just about resolved, some final welding to do once I have the right angle, but it hangs in the correct area finally-
from the outside, this is where the slave is supposed to poke through on vans that had this provision. Turns out that if I had done this on an 87, there would be stock holes and I could just fire the pedal in, but since this is an 89, they didn't punch them, which complicated how to fit the pedal in-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d816f03.jpg

after drilling a bunch of little holes and carefully working with the hacksaw and dremel, the hole for the slave was finally cleaned up-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...pse6dc6340.jpg

stock chevy clutch master for manual astro applications-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psdf6bb00d.jpg

mounted outside and inside-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps20b2a750.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps91c44841.jpg

For where the pivot needed to go, drilling some horizontal holes in this tiny inaccessible area was not really possible, at least for me, and I decided to instead cut a slot, build a pivot, and weld it up when I had it fitted properly.
this is where the hole is supposed to be i think, matches on both sides with this weird little curve-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps48d95e35.jpg

I notched out that whole area on both sides- (not the cleanest cut in the world, but ill dress it up before I weld.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c338816.jpg

meanwhile with the pedal I made this little pivot piece with a couple ears for welding-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps74cec50a.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e28f1cc.jpg

fitted it lines up pretty well, now to weld it in-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psf6fcc184.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...pse5b2d23a.jpg

overall, this was a huge pain in the rear. Pics later once I weld it in (if I do a good enough job to display to the world) :D

and if you'd posted this before you started revamping the rust on the first one, I'd have GIVEN you an 87 shorty work van with a low miles diff, and new springs... rust free of course... original owner right here!

the sickness I have for MB's started with Astro's... I had 6 (4 astro's 2 safari's...) now I've only got the one 2000 long body... (I GOTTA get the intake gaskets changed some day...)

lol, well I sourced that subframe before you did your whole strip party, and while you were doing it, I did see some pics of nice looking vans, but with your time crunch, and it being impractical for me to get down there for months and months, I went with the repaired subframe I have. Didn't even bring it up at the time.

Ive been sitting on a lot of these parts for 2ish years waiting out the EPA.

This clutch pedal situation got a little more complex. Turns out that the stock pedal of this type comes with a torsion spring to keep the pedal at full height, and a stop where the pedal will sit under tension.

so rummaging around, I managed to find this big torsion spring, which originally was for a Mk2 VW brake pedal. I played with the spring rate by rebending the hooks to look like this-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps204f3ceb.jpg

So that it would actually catch on the pedal, I notched it up high-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps747dade4.jpg

I then notched the pivot piece I made to get the other side of the spring, here it is installed on the pivot/pedal, rest position for the pedal is approx level with the pivot piece now-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psf8d3bf5c.jpg

Now that the spring was installed, I welded in the pivot piece permanently, you can see here how the rest position of the spring kicks the pedal up quite far. Welds are a bit ugly, but plenty strong.-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7a2d9163.jpg

next I made a little stop for the interim until I rig up a neutral safety switch. This is made again from a mk2 VW part, its actually a clutch lever bushing for a cable clutch, which works well enough as the interim stop-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psba4310af.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps05759236.jpg

Now apart from cleaning and painting the weld areas and bare metal, I have a working spring loaded clutch pedal with a stop finally!

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psa9dcdee9.jpg

I found this Astro van Diesel swap on another Forum. Different type Diesel engine. member there is a member here under a different name.

Might be something of interest here.

NissanDiesel :: View topic - Astro Van with LD28

Charlie

Awesome! Thanks charlie. I had heard about that swap but had never found a thread on it. Definitely loads of useful info

I understand your love for the Astro. My mom bought hers brand new in 1996 from a now closed Chevy dealer in Miami (while I was still in High School it was my car to borrow before I bought my Bronco) and it is STILL her daily driver. That car has been from Key West to Maine and out to Yellowstone. Last time I drove it which was about 2 years ago now it had about 350k miles on it. Still runs pretty good too.

Yes, that's me who did the swap. I still own it and love it. Get up to 26MPG. Average is about 24 MPG.

what you did with reversing the oil pickup, genius in its simplicity! :D
I wish the 616 had an as easily modifiable pickup like that, would have resolved a host if issues with the steering ive been playing with.

awesome build.
looks like that 85 astro started out with a clutch, at least I see the master in one of the pics, did you have to install the pedal assembly, or did the iron duke have the factory manual?

No, i did not have a clutch pedal but it had the pivot piece :rolleyes: All I had to do was to get the pedal. Luckily I could find an Astro with MT in the YJ.
Also the cut-out for the clutch master cylinder was also missing. I had to do the cutout myself like you did. I read that Chevy built only 4800 Astro's with MT until 1987.

did you use the nissan slave and the GM master? How did you resolve the hydraulic issue?

The fact that your van is up and running has lit a fire under me to get this done, I should have both motor mounts done today and can finally mate the subframe back to the body at least by this weekend. I want to drive it!

two parter update, bunch of new pics.

Here are the finished position wise motor mounts. (later once Im satisfied with them, Ill take them off, do some finish grinding/welding if needed, and powdercoat them, and the driver side still needs an engine shock). So after waffling deliberation, I decided to go with the GM mounts because they are so much easier to remove, especially with the engine being in a van body and accessibility maybe being an issue for something like the mounts.

here is how the driver side turned out-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psef3c1e93.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps026c9004.jpg

passenger-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps34de0cdc.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1e91fc93.jpg

The engine now sits with excellent clearance over the steering control arms. I have a high lift overland vans steering column connector coming which will compensate for the big lift on this subframe. To bring you guys up to speed, in order to fit the engine under the hatch and remove the valve cover, I did a 3.5 inch pipe lift on this subframe, which dropped the front suspension down that far to give the engine better above clearance.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c5f7b47.jpg

a lock to lock test of that engine height looked good for steering interference. Though I did discover what looks like a bind issue with the tire hitting my aftermarket replacement sway bar, that might be a problem later. The bend is different than the OEM swaybar

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps08a70f92.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psd0b0121e.jpg

I found a use for those pallet jack wheels I had lying around (originally was going to use them to space the subframe, but just too dangerous for something like that), they make excellent transmission mount spacers-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps61429638.jpg

part 2-

time to reattach subframe to unibody and see how all this measuring and tweaking fits on the van-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...pscfda9333.jpg

lowering, the stock MB fuel filter head location had to be removed to fit-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps229fa177.jpg

mated, the only interference are these brake lines luckily! If the engine went any higher, id have some issues with the MB power steering pump hitting the GM brake booster

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps06073654.jpg

From the inside, everything lines up nicely, the stick handle is just a tiny bit to the rear, but still came right up to position. The engine will definitely fit under the hatch without issue, and it looks like I should have no major problem removing the injection pump if I need to. The access actually seems better than in the 240 in some areas-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4d309344.jpg

On the passenger side, looks like there should be just room for a turbo, there is actually a little more room than this picture suggests, but exhaust clearance might be interesting here. I have to look into the fitting here soon-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psafa6514c.jpg

Up front I can use either the GM or MB radiators, actually both are very new. Lots of room up here fortunately. (angle appears weird, but the actual pic is on a tilt)

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psbae1556e.jpg

above, this is the valve cover clearance available-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b804c1e.jpg

there is just room to get the cover off! Huge hurdle jumped with this development. It has to be pulled into the passenger cabin to clear the front, but it comes out without too much difficulty, so i will have to remember that when im routing lines later-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psa9ab3db6.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbd7e68f.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psd963cacb.jpg

On the subframe, I had some concerns since this was a rusty subframe originally out of a later van, I was worried it might not fit right. Fortunately 5 out of 6 bolts fit perfect. One is totally off, by maybe 3/4 of an inch. I also stripped the thread on that nut as well (I had threaded it first a little, and once the others were in, that bolt got so jammed it ripped out the threads)
Fortunately for me, its just about the best place for this problem with plenty of access. God forbid it was a center bolt. My plan is to open up the unibody above, drill up through the body using the bushing as a guide where it actually sits, and weld in a new nut in this new position, then close up the unibody.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psb49852aa.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps71dfe9dc.jpg

and after all that, here is the tradeoff in body height-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps19e561ff.jpg

:D Thats a bit too high, after I get it running, ill be looking to drop it about 2 inches. Right now it looks preposterous, with the rear dragging, and the front reaching for the sky

Looking good - I quite like that height actually.

lol, well I could get some beefy tires and be one of those guys with a barely driveable in the winter mock 4x4. :D

I really need to get a pic from the side outside (can't get far enough away in this shop) to show the difference in front and rear.

This particular van has fiberglass rear leaf springs which are showing their age. My plan is once done with the engine, do a 2 inch lift in the rear with replacement steel springs, and drop the front by 2, which will give me a nice nose barely perceptable nose down rake.

This was the original stock ride height on worn out front springs (before paint and being hit again !@#$%). I found it a little low, but I did like the way the body sat, a little higher to the rear-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...nting/0013.jpg

I think you could be missing out on that "useless in the snow" look.

I'd be tempted to go a bit Scooby Doo

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GIchwvJ-aN...on+version.jpg

Combined with fast 'n' loud

http://www.gasfpc.com/vans/Fast%20N%27%20Loud2.jpg

But then despite my age - given half a chance I'd be a hooligan.

lol, well eventually this will be commercial plated and company lettered, so my goal is nondescript boring old gen 1 work astro. This way it blends in and I can go about my business without undue attention on the vehicle. The plan is it doesn't stand out apart from audibly, and for that I would love an angry buzz.
Here is the donor engine running before I pulled it from the car in the video for rust and accident reasons. It was straight piped and I like the note-

1980 MB 240D straight pipe - YouTube

so Im definitely going with the stock astro radiator. the vane part not including side tanks is 42.75 cubic inches, over the MB stock 38.25 CI without top/bottom tanks, so its actually larger even though its thinner, and the inlet and outlets are on the same sides to boot, conveniently. That knocks the whole radiator mounting issue on its head.

Three primary systems need to be resolved before the test start. Cooling, oiling, and clutch hydraulics

I too had the Astro bug, and enjoyed being bitten. I bought an '88, and then a '99. Both blue, and both new from the dealer. The '88 was wrecked (rollover), and I gave the '99 to my brother with a bad trans. He fixed the trans and then sold it. As far as I know, it's still on the road (was sold AFTER the Cash for Clunkers was over). They are great vehicles, and I would have one again if it was a Diesel. Someone ought to put a Diesel in one, That would be cool! :D

there are several who have put in 6.2's and 6.5's (I don't see how... MAN that doghouse is tight! )
the upright position of the 61x motor makes this difficult as does the front sump oil pan...
a 602 would make a nice powerplant... since the engine sits at an angle, and the valve cover is 1/4 as high AND it does not have to be serviced regularly due to the hydraulic valves... it's more powerfull also!!!

did you read that thread where a guy somehow jammed a 5.9 Cummins in an AWD astro? it was nuts, he extended the doghouse something like a foot and a half, and had to brace/reinforce the frame as the weight of the huge Cummins motor and matching trans actually caused it to splay out.

you are not the first person to say the 602, IMO it would definitely fit and easier as well. I just love these old cast iron heads and blocks clattering along. :D


EDIT-
Here it is-
Unfortunately, a huge number of pics are missing!
http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=9217

pic of it-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6f4bc0ea.jpg

... wow.
um, it'd be easier to put the astro body on the dodge frame...

so here are the radiators compared- MB on the left. The ports are in the right place apart from the difference of side to side vs up and down flow.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps92959cf1.jpg

Amazingly, the stock astro upper hose fits perfectly if you cut off about 2 inches. The stock Mercedes lower hose fits with about 4 inches removed. There might be a reference issue with the fan for the lower hose, and Im missing a lower plastic shroud that I definitely need that should solve that problem. The fans almost fits in the shroud correctly, just about 1 inch over to the passenger side. Also I had to trim a one inch strip off the upper shroud to clear the power steering pump

cooling system almost completely hooked up-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2fb58540.jpg

the only thing left is this rear port that needs to go to the heater core. The plan is to fabricate a pipe passage that bolts to the top of the valve cover and gets the coolant line past the turbo exhaust area without getting too close-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88a6d7b8.jpg

Excellent development on the throttle. Due to some amazing coincidence, or just a standard hole size that all automakers make for these things, the astro throttle cable fits right in perfectly to the Mercedes cruise control cable attachment. As if it were made for it. Some heavy modification to the throttle will need to take place here, as the distance is quite a bit different for cable throw, but I can use the mercedes bracket for the custom mod

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9417f9a4.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psd8780f30.jpg

Why bother with any of the stuff on top of the rocker cover? Why not connect straight to the IP - I'm guessing you're going to install an automatic transmission...

...fast idle could be rigged directly to the IP too just put a spring at that connection so that the fast idle knob can't yank the cable too far at WOT

ok, Ive taken care of the cooling system and its all hooked up ready to test. I had this steel coolant pipe on the shelf, and I made some brackets for it to fit the valve cover-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psc2841a14.jpg

How it looks installed-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps553b069e.jpg

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps09b88733.jpg

Meanwhile, fitted the turbo. For the first time, the fact that this is a van came home to be big time. The turbo is really heavy and difficult to install from this angle, and the edges of the hatch might as well be a knife! The good news is that if fits in the space nearly perfectly, the bad news is that an exhaust pipe wont. Ill have to modify the hatch/body a slight amount to get the clearance I need for the downpipe.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73954fee.jpg

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psc3ba9b5b.jpg

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9aedc1a5.jpg

you have guessed in error sir. :D

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...on/astrot5.jpg

This swap is using a non WC T5 5-speed overdrive.

To your other comment, thats not a bad idea. Either way, I need some kind of fixed point to pull on the throttle lever of the injection pump, but this gives me an interesting idea. If I change the angle of that square hole so its facing down and remove all the plungers and whatnot, I might be able to connect the astro cable directly to the injection pump, the distance seems similar. Ill have to test it

If you were to remove the stainless steel flex pipe between the turbo and the down pipe mounting flange (use one of the clamps to hold both halves together), it should give you enough clearance for the stock down pipe. You will need to modify the bracket, but I am sure you can handle that...Rich

Sorry I meant to say NOT installing an automatic - that was in my head anyway even though I didn't write it...

The only reason I can think of having the stuff on the rocker cover is for an automatic transmission - vacuum valve connection and Bowden cable / rod linkage etc

####

How about using the back plate of the governor as a mounting point for a 1mm thick custom made mounting bracket for the new linkage? Slightly longer screws - through the new bracket - through the existing back cover (don't remove!) - into the governor housing. You should have enough space between the oil filter housing and the IP / governor on an OM616. It shouldn't be as cramped as on the turbo OM617...

I like how you modified the manifolds to work with the 4 cylinder. One of my projects was going to be a 616 turbo 240D. I was planning to use 617 turbo pistons and rods, and somehow make the piston oilers work as well. I was also researching how to add the extra fuel (616 IP not made for a turbo), and I think an ALDA can be added in place of the ADA. I have not found anyone that has tried it, but maybe that will be you! The other option would be to use the back half of the 617 pump with the front of the 616. That would involve the services of an IP shop, and would probably be expensive. You will also need a turbo oil filter stand, and the oil feed tube. The turbo oil drain tube will be a challenge as well. You could just drill and tap pipe threads in the upper pan for a barbed fitting, and just use a rubber hose with hose clamps. I am sure you are not the first to try this, so you probably already have thought about all this anyway. The turboing (is that a word?) of a 616 could be an entire thread by itself, as there is much information to be shared and had on just that part of your project alone. Anyway, keep up the good work and keep the photos coming as well (we like photos!)...Rich

Do you know that AMG made a turbo OM616?

Once and for all the answer to the did AMG do diesels for the w123 - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

Quite interesting, but those of us thinking of turboing a 616 want to do it "on the cheap". I don't have the money that AMG has to put into the tooling and R&D to produce something like this. If I was to turbo a 616 (my still do it), I would definitely try to do it right (piston oilers, turbo pistons and rods, turbo valves, turbo anything else that will make the engine last). I don't think that just fabbing a turbo on a 616 will be good for it internally. I believe it would not last long without the turbo specific parts/systems that are designed into the 617 turbo engine.

Another FYI =>

I've just mentioned you here!!! =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/337482-just-bought-another-diesel-engine.html#post3130782

You and deliveryvalve both had the same notion, definitely works! Makes plenty of room. I need to rig something up, looking for 45% pipe to make a custom down pipe. Pic below (soon)

Another awesome idea, Ill look into this. The astro throttle comes in from the passenger side of the engine area, and I may have a reference problem with the hatch going direct back, but maybe if I did a 45 degree pointing over to the valve cover, It would fit nicely!

I did grab a ALDA to possibly replace my ADA on the 616 pump, im sort of playing that by ear. Ive been observing closely threads by OM616, 47dodge, and purplecomputer who have all turbo charged the 616. It seems like it holds up decently.

originally, I grabbed the back plate off a 617 turbo oil filter housing, drain pipe, and feed to resolve turbo oiling with the stock 616 oil filter housing, BUT, I had to remove that to fit the transmission adapter, so now its a remote head.

I found a remote filter head from Moroso for racing stuff that has a 1/4 inch outlet from the filter head, so ill be running that to the turbo oil feed. Placement of that I still haven't worked out, but it has to be as close as possible.

As far as longevity, im going to be interested to see how impacted that might be. From the people have turbo charged their engines, it seems like its really not that big a deal, BUT, I don't think anyone has a million miles on one out there, so it may in fact result in reduced engine life. I will see, this motor has about 220K on it. Im basing my feeling on just how overbuilt these engines seem to be. Ive seen so many gas motors with half the construction and reinforcement of the 616 that are turbocharged. ill just have to see

adjusted camber and dealt with the last subframe bolt.

camber was pretty bad originally-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psd8f152a4.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps095a69b5.jpg

super scientific method to get it close, ill have an alignment shop dial it in when the van is running

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psf9994328.jpg

subframe bolt I was able to use the original nut still, I drilled the pass through hole just a little larger, and it threaded! it was less off than I initially expected. I was going to weld this shut, but I think im going to clean it up and install an access panel. Why GM made these things completely enclosed by metal is beyond me, this nut is heavily rusted

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0715648a.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps15be29ee.jpg

Removing some flex pieces and downpipe stuff from the stock mercedes setup back to this bolt flange on the turbo housing itself produced a lot of room to do a pipe down. Ill make a pipe the bolts to this point instead

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps56678431.jpg

There's been suppliers mentioned over on the 4BT swaps website. I reused the original downpipe on my 4BT swap and had the exhaust pipe welded to it.

I saw your swap documented over there on the 4BT website. Nice.

yeah, I love 4btswaps, what an inspiration cruising that website is to stalling projects. Whenever I think something might be an issue, I just recall that some guy crammed a 5.9 cummins mated to a 6 speed manual into a camper as an example.
Also theres an awesome thread where some guy in memphis crammed a 4bt into a dakota 4x4. :D

Found a local guy to do the downpipe for me, pic below-


so some minor updates-

stock driveshaft for the 4.3 auto fits without modification to the manual-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ab30f39.jpg

couple pics of the type of room underneath now that I could lift it. Im liking the accessibility that this body lift creates, lots of room to fit various items-
driver side-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psacfefb30.jpg

passenger side-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psbaf85a96.jpg

Turbo exhaust downpipe resolved. Local custom exhaust place made this for me. Id say its a minimum 2 inches from the body at its closest. Im going to support this in a second place off the transmission bolt pattern, maybe a third using the original second support on the exhaust manifold-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3b834850.jpg
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psbe5050b6.jpg

Slave installed-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30842fd2.jpg

I might luck out on the remote oil filter. It looks like I can drill a couple holes and mount it directly to the driver side engine mount, which would put it just a few inches from the remote plate I have and minimize the oil travel-

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...psa0c822ab.jpg

Are you talking about this thread :D :
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?13079-4BT-into-a-Dakota
?
Over 52,000 views to date. I really do need to install the windshield washer and finish a couple of other things. I hope it rains this afternoon; my windshield has so much pollen on it, I can barely see out of it.

Wish you lived closer; maybe you could help motivate me to drop the Deutz F4L912 into an F-150 or Dodge 1500. What fun!!!
:eek: