Hey HAMBers, I'm Dan from West Michigan and I'm 16 years old. I've been lurking here for the past few days and am amazed by all the ideas, information, and craftsmanship being spread around here. I also think that my truck will fit in here. I've got a '53 Dodge Pilothouse pickup that I worked off last summer. It was my grandfathers for the last 15-20 years. Del Terbeek, the guy that built this beast was a maintenance man for the De Zwaan Dutch windmill in Holland, Michigan. He ended up falling off the windmill and falling 35 feet to his death in the late 80s to early 90s. My grandpa then ended up buying this truck from Del's father. This truck is so ugly it's beautiful. It's actually a '53 pilothouse body on a '70s Ford F250 Chassis. But that's not all, it's got a Chevy 350 under the hood and a GM truck 4 speed. (SM420?) but it's 2wd. There are no billet parts on this thing. Everything seems to be torch cut and gas welded, it's cobbled together, but it's some of the best cobble work I've ever seen. This guy was the man! I love this truck. I finally saved up enough money to license and insure this truck last week. This thing is a blast! I've got plans to make this thing into a "hot rod" but I've got a bigger imagination than wallet. I'm going to talk to my uncle about getting the doors lettered up this weekend. But Ideally I'd like to keep the body the same but lower the suspension (gotta read up on how to drop the IFS) a bit and fit some fat meats under the fenders. Maybe throw a spool out back or weld up the open diff on the D60. I've had so many people wave at me, honk, and heck 2 people have offered to buy it in the mere 100 miles i've driven it so far. Tell me whatcha guys think. I sure as hell love it.
I'll take some pictures tomorrow. For example there's a hole torched in the cross member under the engine for the exhaust to go through. Don't worry, he reinforced it with lots of angle iron.
that reminds me of a 53 f-1 frame i got, how much 8 inch channel iron do you need to make a motor mount?
Sorry it's been so long but I've been really busy with school and work. My camera broke so I'm done taking pictures for a while. I've been driving it around quite a bit and I love it! I found out it didn't have brake lights the other night so I wired those up, good to go now. Just need to think of a fake company name to slap on the door within the next couple of weekends. I wonder what car show type people will think of this thing.
Wow!! That thing is a beast, in a good way, though!! Personally, I'd pass on the lettered doors, it's becoming passe these days, but it is your ride. I seriously think that truck has a lot of potential once you strip the goofy crap off it and drop it. Lowering that thing should be pretty easy. Buy new rearend perches and put the leaf springs under the rearend instead of over it, should drop the back several inches. I think the front can be lowered by simply cutting coils or finding shorter springs with the same diameter. Double check me on this on because I've never done the front of a truck like that.
That's a cool truck. Just needs another roll of duct tape upholstery and it's ready for service. I like your headliner bow... It's a "Bear" bow isn't it? If it is, I had one like it when I was a kid. (At least I had a bow that looked like it) I have the "fancier" laminated one now, had it about 40 years though. Wife told me not to use it though because it's so old it could delaminate and break when drawn and like in that movie I could "Shoot my eye out." I trust her judgement on this since she used to be on her University archery team. So, it's a nice wall hanging....or maybe...I need a headliner bow in my '60 Elky!
I can't say I'm a big fan of Dodges, but I've always liked that body style. Your plans sound good but I wouldn't lock the rear alxes if you plan on driving it around corners, or like breaking parts. Have fun!
Wow a dodge body on a ford frame with a chevy engine, looks like you got the big three covered! Like those pedals also.
I would love to have or build something like that a real truck, and use it like a real truck, enjoy the shit outta that thing!
Cool truck. I have a 52. I'm in the process of cleaning up a 354 hemi to put in it. There's another good forum if you have questions about the Pilothouses or are looking for any parts for it. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8 Here's my truck.
Since it's aleady a "work" truck I think I'd just clean up any "cobble" you find and detail it. Use it as a learning tool and hone your skills while being able to drive it. Once you disable it by taking vital stuff off it might sit for years and that only leads to disinterest and abandonment. Frank
Rather than trying to lower it, which can be a bit costly and bothersome on a chassis with that Ford "Twin I-Beam" suspension, I would suggest that you take an entirely different direction with it. Leave it tall. Frankly, it looks like a proper truck that way. And leave it looking like a beat old work truck on the outside. That thing is real and real is the ultimate cool. Things to do? Well, maybe upgrade the interior a little, especially the seating, though I have to admit there's something very endearing about that quirky seating that is in it now. But here's the first things I would do: Go over the running gear from front to back, upgrading or repairing anything that looks worn or "iffy." That includes suspension (which could be left stock), brakes (which could be upgraded to disks, perhaps), tires (I'd use modern light truck radials), wheels (stockers with fresh paint would look really good on that truck), and so on. I'd then tidy up the drive train. Do not install a locker much less a spool. If you need a limited slip differential of some sort, those are available, but lockers suck on the street and spools are just stupid in pretty much any context other than a race vehicle. It's got a Chevy engine? Okay, cool. Make sure it's in good working order. If it doesn't already have some sort of pointless, electronic distributor, that's a good first upgrade. It'll improve your fuel economy and make the truck run better. After that, how much you do depends on what is there now, and how much power you really want under your right foot. Replace any tired looking belts, hoses, vacuum lines, etc. under the hood. Carry spares. Give it a tune-up. With it being a truck, I would avoid anything like a "lopey" camshaft. Lopey camshafts are for hot rods and race cars not for daily-driver working trucks. Make sure the exhaust system is in good shape. Resist the temptation to run straight pipes. In fact, I'd go with something reasonably quiet. This truck already has bucketloads of cool without being loud and obnoxious. It really doesn't need noise to draw attention to it. You're in Michigan? You'll need a really good heater and defroster. Does it have one? If not, that's something to think about. Air conditioning would be nice, I am sure, but if it doesn't have that I would make that a lower priority ... unless, like, you want to use the truck when you're dating and stuff. Young women aren't real fans of sweaty hot old trucks. Having AC could help to keep them from dumping you for the guy with the later model truck. And wipers. Good wipers. If the thing has a crappy vacuum-powered wiper motor, upgrading to a multi-speed electric wiper (perhaps with an intermittent feature) would be a good idea. I'm guessing that the truck already has 12 volt electrics, but if it doesn't, good grief, that's something to address. In fact, the electrical system might be something that needs a lot of attention. Take a good look at the wiring in the truck. Is its insulation cracking? Is it looking a bit old and unsafe? You might want to get one of those wiring kits that replaces the entire wiring harness in the truck. Something generic from a company like Painless or Ron Francis but with enough circuits to power all the accessories you'd want to add (a better stereo?) wouldn't be too expensive and could make the truck more reliable. At the very least make sure that the inside of the cab is clean. By that I mean clean enough that a young woman in a nice dress would be willing to get in and sit down on the seat without it having to be an emergency or a dire situation for her to be willing to do that. The truck has some seriously cool features. That "rack" (or whatever the heck it is) behind the cab is a knockout if only because it doesn't look quite right for some reason. That speaker/ashtray/lighter feature on the dash is funky fun. I'd keep that even though I don't smoke. I'd use the ashtray to hold loose change for tolls and parking meters and such. Make sure the doors all latch, lock, open and shut properly. Make sure the windows are all in good shape. Replace the weatherstripping if needed. Make sure all the lights work. Oh, and upgrade the headlights it they aren't at least halogens. But beyond all that? Use it as a truck. Rather than making it your "hot rod" use it as a shop truck to gather parts needed to build a proper hot rod. It's already perfect for that role and it looks tough and cool to boot. You can't beat that. Okay ... well, those are my thoughts.
Shmoozo, my thoughts echo yours. Seeing as how it is a 3/4 ton truck I wouldn't waste my time trying to hot rod it. It is a way cool heavy hauler, I am not so sure it could pull off the low-rider look.
Hey thanks! I don't think that one's a bear but I haven't had it out of the truck. I've got a couple of old bear recurves, My dad was big into traditional archery for a while so I learned to shoot recurves rather than compounds. It was hard to find a left handed bear for me but I got one off of ebay after a while. Good times, I need to sling some arrows again! PS I trust my vintage laminated bear not to explode. Haha I dunno if they'd let me park at school with that on the doors. Coming up with the comany name has been tough, still haven't found anything I'd want on there. The running board on the drivers side is covered in stainless weld tracks too. One of my favorite features, that and the vice. I like the cobblework. Everything is done very well for being cobbled. The only thing that worries me is that drive shaft. It should probably be done professionally and balanced so I don't screw up my transmission. It doesn't shake going down the road though. Oh, and I definitely won't disassemble this thing, she's gonna stay driveable unless I could get my hands on a screamin' jimmy to cram under the hood but that ain't gonna happen any time soon, if ever. I have been doing some thinking and I agree with you I have changed directions. It won't be a hot rod. I like it how it is - i'd like it more if it were low to the ground but I can't afford that. She'll stay tall for now. Part of me likes the interior now but i'd like to have atleast mexican blanket quality inside there. And I definitely have some cleaning to do in there. I need to get some new tires, or atleast better ones. The brakes are actually really good. I've given up on the spool Idea too. This thing isn't the best burn out machine, it hops all over the place and I can't afford to be roasting money. 8 lugs are tougher to find cheap than say 5 or 6 lug wheels. The 350 will stay stock for now. It does just fine for me, if anything I'd rather have an old hemi or a stinky diesel in place of the SBC. As for belts, Only one. only accessory up front is the alternator. No vaccuum pump no nothing. Simple as could be, I love it. As for the tune-up I just put new plugs in and fiddled with the carb idle-adjustment screws and it runs a lot better now. Probably not quite perfect but pretty dang good. As for exhaust, I had it straight piped but it was a bit to much. I've got dual glass packs on it now and I like it a lot better. It's got a heater and it works! Wipers are good too. But I'm not driving this thing in the winter months so I'll be okay with whatever heat it pumps out. No AC, only the driverside window is functional, but my grandpa has a parts truck that I could probably steal a window out of. Oh and I'm all set for the chicks not liking the old truck (some of them do like it though for some odd reason) because I've got the '94 f350 but the AC doesn't work in that Yup window needs to be replaced on the passengers side. Door latch only works from the inside of the passengers door. So I've got some work to do on that door. Headlights, holy crap they suck. My mom won't let me drive it after dark. That's number one on the priority list right now. Thanks for the feedback guys I appreciate it. Shmoozo, you're the man!
I'd SERIOUSLY work on cleaning up that cobble crap. That sort of stuff is scarry and part of what gives rodders a bad name. Yeah its got a lot of "reinforcement" around the holes in the frame and such, but the welds look like boogers and I'd doubt their integrity. Also, the twist connection wire stuff would be the second thing I'd eliminate. Just wait till a wire comes loose and you spend an hour or 5 on the side of the road tryign to figure out why it won't run or why you have no headlights all to find out it was one lame ass twist connect that came loose. Them are for house construction, and suck in that situation too. Or if you want a worse scenario, ask any rodder whose been around long enough (my dad and myself included) about fires caused by electrical shorts! Definately have a shop build a new drive shaft, I'd doubt that one on it is worth sending to be balanced. Not to piss on your parade, but as one younger rodder to another. I know you want it to look cool first, but first priority should always be a safe and reliable ride (especially if its your daily driver)
Yep! Make this a safe-to-drive parts chaser. Hmmmm, a 5 window cab! Those corner windows look like a natural for a chopped '48 to '55 five window Chevy/GMC.
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