Mike,
Welcome to the DML. I also have an R/T that I will be installing a Vortech
and M1 manifold on in the next few weeks. Stick around and you will gain
valuable information from others as to what modifications work well and
those that don't.
Dan
98 R/T cc
----------
> From: Mike Miller <slepyhed@netway.com>
> To: DML <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
> Subject: DML: Yet another new member
> Date: Thursday, July 16, 1998 12:26 AM
>
> I bought my Dakota R/T about one month ago. I've been reading the DML
list
> through the WWW archives for about that long.
>
> When I read on the list that the R/T was starting to become available, I
> headed to my local Dodge dealer (Manzi Dodge in Lawerence,
Massachusettes)
> and asked if they had any. The answer was, of course, no. They had heard
> about it through local dealer shows, but decided that they didn't think
> anyone would come in to buy one. Fools!
>
> So, I asked the sales guy if he could get me one. I had my heart set on a
> flame red RC R/T with no AC. He looked in his database and found only
three
> RC R/Ts in all of New England. He called up two of the other dealers and
> they wouldn't let their trucks go. The third dealer had a black R/T on
the
> lot, but it was in Maine. I asked them to get me that truck. Well, Manzi
> must have had someone on staff that had blackmailable evidence on the
> dealer in Maine, because they were able to trade for the R/T there.
Before
> this, I had agreed to pay sticker for the truck. Manzi managed to get me
> the truck (they had to pay about $500 above invoice to the dealer in
Maine
> just for the privilege of selling it to me).
>
> The truck came into the dealer on a Thursday afternoon. There was a
glitch
> with the paperwork, but I could certainly come in to look at it.
>
> Now, I had been wanting something like this for well over two years. I
went
> to a Dodge dealer in 1996 and got loads of info on a 5.2L five speed, but
> then I heard about the restyling for 1997. I decided to wait. 1997 rolled
> along, and I heard rumours about a 1998 R/T with a 360. I waited longer.
> The R/T was delayed till mid-1998. I waited. I read on the archives of
the
> DML that the R/T had begun production. I ran for the dealer.
>
> So, when I showed up that Thursday afternoon to look at my truck, I had
> never really seen an R/T. I couldn't take it that day, because the truck
> had come in late and the paper work needed one more day. Sure, my dad had
> owned a 1968 Coronet R/T and a 1970 Challenger R/T SE, so I had a good
> feeling for what the "R/T" badge meant. I was very eager to see if a 1998
> R/T stood up to what was available 30 years before.
>
> Mind you, before this I had already owned (and still do own) a 1967 Dart
GT
> with a 273 that could do 15.0 in the 1/4 mile and also a Shelby GLHS that
I
> never got around to racing, but was definitely faster than the Dart. My
> hopes were set high.
>
> So, on that hot, humid Thursday afternoon, I walked into Manzi Dodge and
> asked the first person I saw if I could see my new R/T. This guy turned
out
> to the service manager, and lead me right out to the sevice garage. On
the
> way, he said to me, "It's all we can do to keep from taking this truck
for
> a drive around the block."
>
> I remeber that next moment more clearly than any other moment in my life.
> There was my new truck in the middle of the garage, facing straight
towrads
> me. My first thought was, "My god! Look at the size of those tires!"
>
> The next day, I picked it up. The salesman gave me a checkout on all the
> controls for the truck. It seemed like every ten minutes he was stopped
to
> say to himeself, "Huh, I didn't know it came with this." Examples include
> the tilt steering wheel, the leather wrapped steering wheel, and the
> Infinity stereo.
>
> Driving off, I felt like the king of the road. The truck drove with a
> fairly smooth ride, plenty of power and excelent handeling. The sound of
> the exhaust was truly worthy of the R/T heritage.
>
> That weekend, I went to show it off to my dad (the old R/T codger). He
got
> into the driver's seat, started the engine, then goosed it. His exact
> words: "Whoa! Hah!" I told him that this was definitely and R/T, and he
> couldn't agree more.
>
> We drove it around town for a bit. We were being gentle with it, because
> the engine was still in the break in stage. Even so, it was clear that
> Dodge was back!
>
> The next weekend, I pulled it into Dad's garage so that I could shoot
that
> nasty under-coating junk on it. "Body Shutz," they call it. I pulled off
> all the tires and went to it. About half way through, dad noticed that I
> was getting as much undercoating on the floor of the garage as I was
> getting on the bottom of the truck. I ended up spending all day Sunday
> cleaning the floor of Dad's garage. Luckily, I managed to not get any on
> Dad's 1970 Hemi Cuda; Otherwise, you would not be reading any of this
now.
>
> The biggest lesson learned from that weekend: the tires on this truck
weigh
> a ton! I went to put a tire back on this truck and nearly threw my back
> out. Mind you, I'm only 26 years old and in decent shape. These tires are
> HUGE! It took both me and my dad to hoist these tires back into position.
I
> hope I never get a flat.
>
> I drove the truck around for a while until I reached 600 miles. Time for
> the first oil change. Well, as it turned out, the filter was larger than
> any of the filter wrenches I had on hand. I ended up using the screw
driver
> trick to get the filter off. This is a simple trick: you take a large
> flathead screw driver, and put the drive end against the filter. Then,
take
> a hammer and smash the screw driver through the filter. Twist the screw
> driver and the filter comes off.
>
> Now, I knew when I bought the truck that it is only one of 300. I figured
> that I'd keep it completely stock, because then it would be worth the
most
> in the long run. After a few hundred miles, though, I was kind of
> disspointed with the performance. I decided that I'd make modifications,
> but nothing irreversible.
>
> I researched the DML archives to find what worked best. I soon came to
the
> realization that a FABM-10 would be the best place to start. I went out
and
> got an Edelbrock 1208 right away. I put this on without doing anything to
> the rest of the engine. The problem was, it was too tall to make the
stock
> air filter bolt work. I ended up installing it with the cover mounted
> upside-down. This made a diffence in performance. The next weekend, I
made
> an s-bolt and managed to get the cover on right side up.
>
> It was at this point that I met up with a Mustang Cobra (new) on the
> freeway. We both took the same off ramp, and he was able to tear away
from
> me onto the new road. Clearly, I was outclassed. BTW, this was on a
Sunday,
> and this guy had racing numbers painted on the windows from Epping, NH
> Dragway. After this I decided that some modifications were needed.
>
> So, here are my current planned mods: I want an SBEC from MP when it
> becomes avaiable. I want to put some good plug wires and a decent coil in
> ASAP. I'll put on some good, long headers (not the junky shorties that
> people are signing on to buy now). From the cat back, I'll probably leave
> it alone, because what's on an R/T isn't all that bad. I'd like to put on
a
> four barrel Holley throttle body if that's feasible with an MP intake.
That
> might take some high-flow injectors. And a good cam would help out a lot.
> Mostly, I'd like to see some lightweight valve lifters so that I can spin
> the engine to 6500 RPM. Also, I have a feeling that these tires are way
too
> heavy for all-out performance. We'll see what I do with that. And in all
> cases, I will do nothing to this truck that I can't undo with a wrench.
Its
> one of 300. If someone wants to restore it some day, I will make sure
> that's an easy thing to do.
>
> One question: Is there an MP SBEC for the current Dodge Rams with the
360?
> If so, why won't this SBEC work on a Dakota?
>
> -Mike Miller, 1998 RC R/T
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