How
to restore and to protect your old body parts and frame Dodge Power Wagon
M880 W200
To remove the rust:
Every garage that is specialized in rebuilding
old cars will tell you that the only one who can do this is them. They
say that your car has to be blasted and powdercoated. This is nonsens because
you can do this easily yourself. First you have to remove the most loose
rust. Fortunately regarding the innovation of this proces time has not
stand still. The treatment of this rusted metal will be done best with
RLS Owatrol. In the Netherlands this is not allowed any more because it
contains lead?, but in Belgium of France it is still for sale. The substitute
for RLS is CPU, unfortunately this product still has to prove itself. Another
alternative is Owatrol oil, it takes several days because you can repaint
this product. If you are looking for serious protection, then you will
have to repaint/brush it with "Corroless", a real thick primer that even
without a final finish protects forever (I live on a house boat),
a final finish of industrial paint will conserve your Dodge Power Wagon
for years.
...
Tips:
The cabin
roof
The top of your cabin is in most circumstances
quite rusted. Usually at the edges. You should remove all the paint and
rust from above. If you discover any holes, cut the section out, you can
then for example with a screwdrirver (or any tool) remove most of the rust
of the inner roof sheet metal. Then weld a new part of metal sheet to the
top of this section. Convenient is then to drill from the inside of the
cabin all around, about 4 inches distances holes, the size of the holes
depends on the topwidth of your fluidpistol from your compressor, do not
push to hard when you drill otherwise you will damage the upper metal of
the roof, with the air compressor you can blow away most of the rust, you
can even use a vacuumcleaner to suck the last rust out, then you put the
fluid pistol on your compressor and you spray the diluted primer in every
hole and in every direction, at the end the primer will come in every corner
at the moment that it really drips out under the car through your door
pillars, when you are convinced that you have reached every place, you
can consider to do the whole process again the next day with a second coat,
for the third day you can use high quality industrial topfinish, you can
also do this with al your box sections and rockers, this will never get
rusty again, the benefit of this is that it feels more steady because everything
melts together. above
Cowl,
firewall and the "cowl ears"
The most rust was situated in this part of the
Dodge Power Wagon M880, the section under the cowl grille, only after you
have removed the cowl grille, you will see that, I even have cut off the
"side-ears", I cut out the uppersection of the cowl so that I could reach
everything, a lot of welding and treatment, to improve the draining of
the water I have made a new double cowl of polyester (double to catch also
the water between the cowl grille and hood), I also made the "side-ears"
of polyester and I ended in round PVC 50 mm under the car so now never
water splashes back into the engine compartment. above
New bodyparts
The new fenders, doors, tailgate and front end
etc., looks shiny when they are powdercoated but one scratch of your fingernail
will damage it, so I really do not believe in this one coated protection,
especially not for a four wheel drive truck, so I decided to sand all this
new parts to blank metal, I used a thick primer "Corroless" and a second
coat of Corroless and then a high quality finishing of industrial paint,
there were lots of gossip that the new body parts would not fit on the
truck, that is nonsens, it could happen that a new door will not fit, bring
it back to your supplier, I bought everything at “van
Dam, Rhenen The Netherlands”, I had to elongate the mounting holes
much more to connect the bodyparts, my supplier gave me the right tips
and information, if you connect the bodyparts do not tight the bolts, just
tight them loose, in most cases the hood is still in a good condition,
after you have treated the hood make several models of wood to copy the
width sizes at several points, for example the locations are: at the cowl
grille, the middle of the hood and at the place of the front end), you
can then connect the front fenders and the front end together and use the
wooden models to be sure that all of the bodyparts will accept your old
or new hood to fit in (see also hood adjustment).
above
How
to transfer the hood lock striker plate?
This is not so difficult, just look at the point
where the old situation was welded/attached to the front end, drill little
holes and watch at a point where some movement is in the hood lock striker,
you will notice when you will have to drill the holes a little bit larger,
with some force finally the hood lock striker plate will come loose, after
you have removed this section, remove all dirt, oil and finally rust, then
primer it, paint or brush it, and make it working again with good grease,
after this you can assemble it on your new front end, take a good view
how to assemble this to your new front end, you can weld this, but I decided
to use the drilled holes to connect this with small stainless steel bolts,
because once you can (dis)assemble this part and it looks really nice.
above
There are two options:
Your original headlamps have a 3 points suspension
and can move free within a billet outer ring, they are mounted with a back
plate to the front end, if you grind the backplate and the billet rings
with for example a "Dremel" and remove the endslots, you can turn everything
independable from each other, then you put the
combination of back plate, headlamp and billet ring behind the grille,
just twist the whole combination so that your headlamp is in the right
position and the three mounting holes adjust and supports your new front
end so that you can mark the three points where your new mounting bolts
for your new headlamps should come, this is a precise job, there is only
one important point, one of the three holes should be drilled in a rather
curved section of your new (actually for another grille) front end, you
cannot avoid this.
You drill the three new holes in your new front
end up to M6 (this should be around a 1/4 inch), then you buy stainless
steel bolts (with enough washers, lock washers and nuts, assemble the bolts
loose through your front end and tie them with one nut for the moment,
then put 3 more nuts over the bolts and make sure that you have 1 inch
space left, after that you take the whole combination, headlamp, billet
ring and backplate and put these on the 3 bolts, then make sure that your
headlamps have the right position, turn and twist the backplate and outer
billet rings so that it fits perfectly, when you are satisfied with the
result carefull remove the combination from the grille and mark the position
of the headlamp, billet ring and backplate, with a non-agressive silicon
sealer fix the combination together, reminding the marks.
Let it dry for a day, the next day assemble the combination on your new three holes, the right way should be: bolt, washer, front end body part metal, lockwasher, nut, distance, nut, washer, headlamp combination, washer, lockwasher, nut, after this assemblage you can try it out and adjust the nuts and washers until your headlamps are in the right position. I understand this is not easy to write down, so if you have more questions: do not hesitate to ask them by email. above
Hood adjustment
For this job you need at least two people, protect
your fenders for example with a few towls, put your hood loose on your
fenders and connect the front of your hood to the ceiling (or in my case
to a tree) with a rope, so far that you can assemble and adjust the hood
hinges, tighten the adjusting bolts so far that you are not able to move
them, but not too tight, close the hood carefully and look if the hood
matches the fenders, if the hood is positioned lower than the fenders (you
can already watch this when you carefully close the hood), in this case,
adjust the hood a little bit higher, do not tight the bolts to much.
The easiest way to do this is when you adjust the hood a little bit above the fenders with the adjusting bolts loosly, with the hood closed, then take a rubber hammer with a towel around it and carefully use this rubber hammer to hit the hood in alignment with the fenders, if this does not work at once, slacken the bolts again and try it again with a higher position of the hood, do this until you are satisfied. above
Hood
lock striker adjustment
The mounting holes are
elongated to allow side-ways and up-down adjustment, the “T” plate floads
laterally, in this situation you should mount the hood lock striker bolts
loosly, close the hood carefully and also use a rubber hammer with a towel
around it and then carefully use this rubber hammer to hit the hood in
alignment with the front end, if this does not work or your hood will go
down to far in once, then loose or tight the bolts, perhaps you will have
to repeat this process several times, finally this technique is the best
way to do this job properly.
...
...
NOTE
The mounting holes are elongated to allow side-ways
and up-and-down adjustment. The "T" plate floats laterally. above
The toothed plate attached to the window regulator is connect with 3 rivets, if you cut these out, carefully, and drill the holes up to fit new small stainless steel bolts and nuts, for example 3/16 inch bolts, you can assemble (after you have removed all rust, primered, painted, cleaned and greased) this part on your new door, with a little patience and with the help of a pair of long curved pliers the job will be done.
Tips:
Here is an example of how important it is to buy a good manual, every detail is described and has a name, this example comes from the military manual which covers the M880, M881, M882, M883, M884, M890, M891 , M892, M886, M893 1¼ TON TRUCK 4X4, but is also very useful if you have a a Ramcharger, Trailduster, W100, W150, W250, W300, W350, W400 or even D100, D150, D200, D350.
Figure 1. Front Door Assembly.
a. Removal.
(I) Lower the glass and remove the inner weatherstrip.
(2) Free the clip on the inner section of the
weatherstrip, using a wire hook or similar tool (see upper righthand
comer of figure 3).
(3) Pull back the upper glass run 8 to 10 inches.
(4) Remove the upper and lower vent wing attaching
screws.
(5) Remove the vent wing. Make sure the lower
pivot adjusting screws do not damage the paint,
b. Installation.
(I) Install the plastic nut and “U” nut on the
vent wing assembly.
(2) Install the vent wing assembly into the door.
Make sure the lower pivot adjusting screw does not damage
the paint.
(3) Install the upper and lower vent wing attachment
screws loosely.
(4) Move the glass run back to the vent wing
as follows:
(a) Place the run next to the door channel.
(b) Press it into the channel using a wide-bladed
screwdriver or similar tool.
(c) Press at both inside comers to make sure
the hidden lip engages in the channel.
(5) Install the weatherstrip by alining the clips
to the holes in the door and pressing it in.
(6) Raise or lower the vent to maintain a 0.06
inch front-to-back glass freeplay. Then, with the glass up,
tighten the upper screws.
(7) Hold the vent against the glass with the
glass down. Then tighten the lower screws.
Assembling the Glass, Door, and Weatherstripping.
a Glass and Glasss Weatherstrip. Refer to
figure 3
(I) Insert the glass into the everseal.
(2) Place the channel assembly onto the everseal.
(3) Press the seal onto the channel securely
and lubricate the channel.
(4) Lower the window regulator to the down position.
(5) Place the glass and channel assembly into
the slot opening in the door. Lower it to the bottom of the
door.
(6) Reach through the access hole in the door
and install the regulator to the lower and upper channels on the
glass.
...
Figure 2 Vent Wing and Glass Run Assembly. Figure 3 Door Glass and Weatherstrip
(7) Install the vent wing
(8) Run the window up and
down several times to check for proper movement;
(9) If you have excessive
front-to-back freeplay, adjust the vent.
(10) Install the front
and rear weatherstrip assembly, as shown in figure 4
b. Door Weatherstrip.
(1) Apply an adhesive to
the door opening. Allowit to dry until it’s tacky.
(2) Apply adhesive to the
weatherstrip and press It against the door opening as shown in figure 4.
NOTE
Do NOT close the door after
you install the weatherstrip. Let it dry. Also, make sure the weatherstrip
is sealing properly
to the door.
Replacing the Window
Regulator.
a Removal. Refer to
figure 5.
(I) Remove the remote control
and regulator handles, the arm rests, and the trim panel.
(2) Carefully guide the
assembly out of the access hole. Be especially careful not to bend the
regulator arms when removing them from the run channels.
b. Installation.
Install the regulator through
the access hole in the inner door panel and mount it to the inner sheet
metal with screws. The regulator arms are inserted into the regulator channel
guides.
Door and Window Mechanical
Linkages,
a Assembling the Latch,
Lock, and Window Linkage. Refer to figure 6.
(1) Install the latch assembly
to the door.
(2) Install the lock to
the door.
(3) Connect the linkage
between the handle and the latch release lever.
...
Figure 4, Door Weatherstrip
Figure 5. Door Window Regulator.
(4) Connect the linkage between the lock cylinder
and the latch.
(5) Connect the linkage between the lock knob
and the latch.
(6) Install the clip on the remote control and
latch linkages.
(7) Going through the S/l 6-inch hole in the
door latch face, loosen the door latch adjustment screw spring teinsion.
Then cycle the outside handle several times, using the push button.
(8) Tighten the adjusting screw. To identify
the left hand parts, look for a green paint mark.
NOTE
The lever is spring-loaded and will self adjust.
(9) Test the door for proper function of all
linkages. If the door does not operate properly, look for bent, broken,
binding, or improperly installed linkages., Repair or replace, as necessary.
If the door operates properly, continue to step 10.
(10) Install the watershield and the trim panel.
(11) Install the remote control and regulator
handles.
(12) Install the arm rests.
b. Removing the Remote Control and Regulator
I
Handles.
(I) Remove the door regulator window glass handle
.(figure 7).
(2) Remove the remote control-handle and the
door trim panel.
(3) Working through the access hole, remove the
remote control linkage and mounting plate.
c. Installing the Remote Control and Regulator
Handles.
(1) Slide the remote control mounting plate through
the access hole into the door.
(2) Connect the linkage,and install the screws
to, the remote control assembly.
(3) Install the remote control handle and adjust
it forward to eliminate excess handle travel.
(4) Install the trim panel.
Figure 6 Latch, Lock and Linkage
. 
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 8. Upper-Lower Trim and Arm Rests.
a. The upper trim plastic panel is mounted with
a reinforcement in the arm rest area. It is then fastened to the door with
clips and screws (figure 8).
Figure 7. Remote Control and Regulator Handles
b. The lower panel pocket is mounted to the door
with clip-type retainers. When removing the lower pocket assembly, use
a flat tool to pry it out.
Always apply the tool as closely to the clip
location as possible.
c. To re-attach the pocket, line up the fasteners
with the holes in the door and press firmly. Replace any damaged fasteners
Adjust new front doors
My advice is to adjust
the new front doors to the body/cab without the window mechanism/glass,
do not do this alone, because even without the window mechanism the doors
are too heavy and too big to adjust by yourself, when there was any clearance
in your hinges, you should put new hinge pins in it, if the clearance is
way on beyond, better measure the size for your new hinge pins and drill
the holes of the old hinges up to the size you need, at your local hardware
store you can buy new hinges and use only the pins (buy the size you need
for the new holes), remember to grease the new pins, you can adjust the
new doors after you have assembled the fenders, in any case that a new
door will not fit, regarding bends or measurements bring it back to your
local dealer, in some cases this could happen according to my dealer, the
adjustment of your hinges door connection are up and down and back and
forward.
Fuel tank
To disassemble the fuel tank could be a heavy
job, the mounting bolts could be rusted, so far that they are very difficult
to loose, even with much of oil treatment penetration the bolts did not
come loose, one of the bolts (welded to one of the straps) was rusted so
far that I had to cut it a little bit shortly, fortunately there was enough
thread left to keep it and reinstall the fuel tank with this shortened
bolt end. Of course you use new nuts. above
