Lil Red Confirmation

[440RUNNER]

Looking for some info on where to find the Vin for my little Red. I purchased the Truck recently and i am currently in the process of disassemby to start the restoration. Normally the vin is located on the Drivers side dash however i removed the dash and could not find any vin info. I do have a tag on the Drivers side door and the Radiator Core support has the fender tags however i can't seem to find the vin stamped anywhere. I have attached a picture of the Tag on the core support and the door frame which is all i can find.
Can anyone offer any info on where i should be looking for numbers to verify it is actually a Little red.

 

[bear]

That's your Vin tag . The 79 should be on the door jam and the 78 is on the door .But I have seen some early 79's on the door ( like my 79 Warlock ) . The location is one of the reason's I think people should be real careful because there is a lot of clones out there . The fifth digit of your VIN should be an S . If you need any help on were the numbers are elsewhere on the truck , like places on the frame just ask or you can even just give me a shout if you like .

 

[440RUNNER]

Thanks Bear. I found some info on another site which indicated where on the frame the stamped number was. I found the Matching vin on the frame just behind the passenger side front leaf spring perch. Everything matches so looks like i have a real deal LIL Red. Do you know if there is a sequence number for little red's? I believe for 1979 there were 5188 produced so is there any way to tell where in the production line a certain truck was produced. Thanks again.

 

[bear]

That's a good question and I'm surprised no one has asked me that before . I'm surprised I never even thought of that myself . I'm going to have to check on that one . Another interesting spot to check ( At least on the 78's , I'm not 100 % sure on the 79"s ) is under the left chrome step , on the front step support bracket . There was a tag put there at the factory . This was put there to make sure the correct cab and bed were put together during assembly . A lot of times though that tag gets lost if the truck was restored before . Quick question , Is yours supposed to have the original 360 in it ?

 

[440RUNNER]

When i bought the truck it didn't have a motor or Transmission but i have a couple of options i'm keeping open. I picked up a 360 last week and have a couple of 727's laying around however i have a good 400 i took out of my Roadrunner so toying with the idea of putting a 400/4speed setup. I have a 73 Roadrunner with a 500 Stroker and dual quad setup so it takes care of my power itch so now looking at building a street cruiser with a little better gas consumption.

 

[bear]

Well you have a couple of good options there . If you do the 360 right , you could have good torque , power , and get some decent mileage with it . Weather you use the four speed or the automatic with it . The 400 isn't a bad idea either . But personally I wouldn't leave the 400 stock . Not if you want good mileage and power . But you could do that motor as well to do the same things as the small block . A bonus , you could have a big block LiL Red . It's a toss up . Obviously I like my Big Blocks , I'm running a warmed up 440 in my Warlock . But that's what is taking care of "my" power itch ( as you put it ) and fuel mileage come's second with that for me . Lets try and look at it this way . What do you have for parts for the install of either motor ?

 

[Indiana Lil Red]

I have a 1978 Dodge little red express. I have it down for restoration. It lived a hard life before I got it.
After I rebuild the motor, I thought I would use a A 518 overdrive transmission with the lockup converter.
The block lost a rod a so I am starting over with a different motor. For a transmission I thought I would
use an A 518 overdrive with the lockup converter. like to here your opinions. I retired a Tool& Die-maker
/Mold-maker in 2006. Started that in 1969. Before that I was a car & buss mechanic. I have a 1972, 360
cu.in. out of an RV, also a 1975 360. The RV motor is low mileage. Need to get them apart and see what I got.
The RV will have a lot of parts that may interchange with Little Red, like light switch ect.

 

[bear]

Welcome aboard "Indiana Lil Red " ! I don't want to jump on "440Runners" thread but to answer your question . The 518 swap is definitely doable and a fairly easy swap . You will have to cut your drive shaft though because the 518 is a little longer . Now were you also asking our opinion about which motor you should use ? Or were you just describing what you had ? That could be a whole new thread . :becky:

 

[Indiana Lil Red]

First I plan sticking with the 360. The original is toast. It through a rod. got the block. Cam had a Flat lobe.About all that is left is heads and intake manifold. I have a 1975
360 out of a Cordoba. Haven't taken it apart to see what shape it's in. Have a 1972 Coachman RV parked in the woods. I think it has 49,000 miles on it. on the outside
is ruff. Thought I would use that motor. For a cam I want something that sounds and performs good, bunt want something manageable because my wife wont be happy if
it's hard to drive. I am looking forward to the rebuild. Started working in a garage in 1959 after school and Saturdays. First job was rebuilding a 318. That's when cars could be worked on easily. Hope the clarified some things. Dave in Indiana

 

[bear]

If you want some suggestions or inputs on which motor to use or what to do with it you should think about starting a fresh thread on it . I just don't want to highjack "440Runners" thread . Either motor will have low compression and the heads probably wont be the greatest for flow , especially the motor home heads .

 

[Indiana Lil Red]

ok, thanks