"The truck was purchased new at a local Dodge dealer in 1987 and
I bought it for $350 after the owner declined to repair a cylinder head damaged from a
timing chain malfunction (jumped time). I pulled the engine out and rebuilt it myself. I
did away with the silent shaft system and spared little expense in getting the engine in
good shape. I had the block surfaced and the cylinders bored .020 and then installed a
re-ground crankshaft and new pistons and rings. The oil pump, timing chain, guides and
tensioner are all new. I purchased a new 2-valve head which came with a new camshaft and I
added the Weber K614 and Thorley headers. The A/C compressor was missing from the truck
when I bought it and rather than buying a rebuilt Nippondenso compressor, I opted for a
new compressor from another manufacturer and then bought an installation kit which
included the compressor bracket and idler pulley for the 2.6. All I had left to do was
have the local NAPA store make the suction and discharge hoses to mate up with the other
factory components.
The Weber K614 carb was purchased from WorldPac for $299.95 which included shipping. It
sure beat paying John Baker Performance $369.95 for the same carb plus another $75.95 for
the automatic transmission kit. I had to slightly modify the linkage to fit my automatic
transmission "kickdown" cable but it was no big deal. Otherwise, it was a
straight forward installation.
As for other improvements, I replaced the windshield, shocks, rear brake cylinders and
shoes, front disc pads, idler arm, exhaust system and the leaf spring bushings.
I spent several months restoring the interior. I stripped everything out, including the
dash, and then made sure that all electricals were functioning. I refurbished all of the
interior panels and dash with vinyl trim paint, recovered the front seats and installed an
OEM style carpet kit ( I discarded the back seat in order to make more cargo room). I put
everything back together and then installed the three gauges in the center pod. This was
easily accomplished using SunPro gauges by Actron. They are the 2-5/8" size and
fit into the pod with only a slight enlargement in the pod openings and the factory
plastic bezel. The oil pressure and water temp gauges are mechanical and were a snap to
hook up to the engine with "off the shelf" fittings. I fabricated a face plate
for the CD player and then added two more SunPro gauges below the CD.
I did have to do some minor body work to the hood and the lower door jambs to repair dents
but otherwise, the panels were straight. I did all of the prep work and then had a friend
paint it back to the factory color with DuPont basecoat/clearcoat. After it cured, I wet
sanded the entire truck with 1500 grit sandpaper and then machine buffed it with rubbing
compound several times and then polished it with hand glazing.
I'm very proud of my Raider and have had many favorable comments as I drive it around
town." (Allen Bennett)
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