1986 Dodge D-150 - High School Custom - Tech

And yet another truly useful addition for the Dodge from Corbeau's list of accessories was their three-point retractable safety harness-the key word is retractable.

One of the reasons we went with Corbeau is their extensive catalog of seat bracket applications. We initially started with '85-91 Dodge Ramcharger brackets, but discovered the Ramcharger's floor isn't even close to the '86 D-150. A quick measurement of the D-150's floor and we'll fire it off to Corbeau for a better match.

Here's a shot of the Dodge's cab before we touched anything.

With the stock bench seat removed, we had to vacuum out years of crud before we could try the Corbeau seat brackets for fit. Our guess the Ramcharger brackets would fit turned out to be wrong.

Replacing the stock Dodge seatbelts and harness with Corbeau's three-point retractable safety harness was necessary because the Dodge harness would no longer retract, proving to be quite inconvenient...dangerous, actually.

Handily, Corbeau's three-point retractable harness utilized the stock Dodge pickup points for mounting.

Mechanically, the Dodge 727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission slipped like a champ and leaked ATF like a stuck pig. Our friend Hoss at STP Performance along with transmission guru Scott were able to return the 727 to almost better than new operating condition.

Scott installed a kit that improved the TorqueFlite's shifting, along with modifying it to circulate ATF through the transmission cooler in park.

For a complete selection of automatic transmission parts, we discovered Caltrans in Santa Ana, California.

With everything buttoned up, Scott topped up the TorqueFlite with a quality automatic transmission fluid. The three-speed transmission should last us long enough until we have the money to get a four-speed overdrive lockup unit into the Dodge.

After 20-plus years of service, the Dodge still had its original exhaust system. In preparation to lower the truck and pass emissions testing, the folks at Magnaflow installed one of their high-flow catalytic converters along with a Magnaflow polished stainless steel muffler. Notice what a beautiful job Jim Gose did routing the all mandrel-bent Magnaflow stainless steel exhaust pipes.