well, it happened, my son turned 15 friday, he`s been telling me about this truck his grandpa has out on his farm and that he wanted it, well, he called me a few minutes ago and his grandpa gave it too him, so, the project will begin, we`ll see how it goes, i am guessing by the bad pics i saw a 56 to 58 dogge, v8, pusbutton trans, 2 wd long bed, gonna go check it out closer and get pics in a bit, in the mean time, anyone lookin, has more info on trucks of this vintage, chime in, gimme any info ya got.......
sorry no info, but congrats on having a son who's got an interest in old american iron! I look forward to the day I have a kid to share my passion with!
What a blessing in today's world, a son who has an interest in something other than computers & video games. Keep the faith and good luck with the project.
Your a lucky man ! Your son wants his old grandpa's truck that was sitting on the farm . Now that is kool to say the least . When you get it towed home take some pictures and make sure you ask your son , are you sure you want to do this ? That will be a great father and son project . Once you get it home and find out the correct year , make & model of the truck you can Goggle and that will get you plenty of places to find parts . It really depends on if you are going to keep it stock or change it around . If it's got the bigger , heavier suspension then you will should consider a Dakota frame swap that will give you a much better ride and a better engine choice . I think the extended cab work the best but I have seen other versions of the Dakota trucks work as well . I was looking at a 50 Dodge p/u and was checking on some different forums and they all said the Dakota works very nicely . They also said the Ford Ranger works too but I would go with the Dodge on a Dodge frame . You can get them with the V6 but the 318 or the sweet 360 will fit in that engine bay just fine . All depends on what you want your boy to have under the hood ! Damn , go for the 360 ! That's my choice for sure ! Have Fun ! Retro Jim
yeah, i did luck out, this boy is the same as me, already layed claim to my model a, and now this truck he`s taking 2 auto shop classes and is interested in all kinda of machines, on the other hand, he does like video games and cell phones, but generally he`s good kid and headed in the right direction........thanks for the comments guys, soon as he gets back, he`s gonna get his own hamb acct too, as long as thats cool..
ok guys, so heres some pics, still not sure of the year, but grandma has been paying the registration for it every year, it is very complete, looks like it might be a runner, has a pushbutton tranny, 3 speeds.....what is this motor?
Poly motor, I think early 318, but i might be wrong, anyway good runners, and some parts are available with some looking If it is a 318, it isnt to be confused with the 66 up 318's, almost nothing is the same
Spend the time on the truck with your son and cherish it. My son and I took an old O/T car that I had and "fixed it up" when he was 15-16. He is 22 now and I don't see him nearly as much as I would like. Working on that old Z was some of my favorite time spent with my son. Dont even get me started about "fixing up" an old S10 with my daughter. LOL. Great Times!
thanks shaggy, yeah, i think it is the 318, and yeah, its not confusing me, runner huh, cool, any info on the tranny, 727 or something similar, hoping, this is gonna be super budget build, on my sons 15 year old salary....lol......so.......probably just brakes, primer and freebe stuff goin on this one, although he is talking me in to cutting it to a shortbed, we`ll see.....
yeah wesley, i hear ya, i`ve had im out the garage for the past couple of years on and off helping me with our other projects, turns out he is just like me, he saw this truck and worked the whole deal, didn`t tell me til it was his.....he so stoked, me too, for him, we gonna have fun with it.......lookin it over this evening, its super simple everywhere.....gonna be a fun project
Be sure he does all the messy stuff (grinding, sanding...) and give him the chance to do the fun stuff (welding, painting...). Guide him, but dont do it all for him. That way he wont be as likely to do foolish things out on the road (It worked on Me) And, he will learn more.
yeah, he already does alot of grinding, parts cleaning, cutting, hes starting to weld.....i`m not easy on him......my dad wasn`t easy on me, and i learned alot....
TRUE!! If it runs well, keep it for cruisin'! If not, the 440/727 deal is a good plan, except that the 15 y/o may get a little frisky with that much power...For certain, you won't see another one at your local car show/cruise in!! THAT'S REALLY COOL!!
yeah the 440/727 combo, been seeing alot of those in 70`s motorhomes around here, cheap............might have to look into that what this motor goes bad...
that is what i need to do, donno why but i always wanna take over, don`t think i am, but then i stop and realize i just did, gonna fight that and put him to work, yeah, the truck is pretty clean and straight once you et through the 10 coats of house paint.....lol......
Short Bed....My 1st thought!! Cheap, all labor...he can afford that!!! Nice score...I wanted my G-paw's 66 Chev, but so did all of us kids, uncles and freinds...so granny sold it...I did get the Chev Shop Manual for it some 10 years later....
yeah, definitely gonna make it a shortbed, a total freeie her, cut the frame and bed, make the driveshaft at work, not a problem, only labor, and it will get rid of most of the body work, cause thats where the most problems are, right where to cut out.....that and get rid of the farm rear bumper......
forgot to ask the fella s that may know, i couldn`t quite tell last night, is this thing 12 volt, i`m thinking it is now that we have determined its a 58....
ok, so, tonight, took out some fresh gas, a battery, got with grandma and got the paperwork, title is good and its nonop`d, she had like 15 years of paperwork for it, but no keys, and it had an aftermarket ignition and locking gas cap, so, hooked up the battery, broke of the gas cap, took the ignition switch out of the dash and broke it, turned it over and, it fired up! ran kinda good too, will need the usual, points cond, plugs, fluids changed, carb cleaned, maybe rebuilt, but it runs, all the front lights work, but no rears.......so.......progress has begun.....oh, and what i thought was a 58, it is actually a 60, but no matter........and no brakes, didn`t open the master, but suspect no fluid, pedal just pumped, no pressure and have to raise it off the floor, but not unexpected.........so far, so good....
Hmm, Im not sure what the wheel base diffrence is from a short bed to a long bed on these but it sure looks long behind the rear wheel in the photo. It might make a cool one off shorter, long bed by just lopping off about a foot of that, if proportioned rite???
I would change the fluids all over, hoses and belts, carb rebuilt.......and DRIVE it! Let him get some time behind the wheel (as long as the truck is safe structurally) before yall start cutting and grinding. The old motor should last him for awhile and you wont have to worry about him going real fast as would be the case with the 440! Enjoy the time with him, I always enjoyed spending time with my dad in, under, or on top of an old car or truck! Jim
You are a luck man. I hope my daughter keeps up her interest in cars. I told her she'll have to help build her first car and so far she's there. That's hilarious! When I was a kid I worked at Sears automotive and the shop forman had a baja bug that he painted, every year, with house paint. It looked like bed liner looks today, all bumpy and lumpy. Glad that it runs, that's a major part of the battle. The push button tranny is different from the newer mopar ones. Hopefully it will be OK, or maybe just need a refresh. It would be a shame to get away from the push button trans - part of what makes early mopars so cool - and space aged! Later, Mike
I just read somewhere they were 108 inch wheelbase for a shortbed and 116 for the longwheelbase,heres a random pic I found on the net.
thanks lowbudget, i`ll have to do some measuring, it looks long on both sides of the wheel though, so, probably be some cutting on both sides... james516, yeah, we`re gonna get it all up up and running and safe, but since he has a year before he can drive, we will have plenty of time to do some cutting, but, so far, only gonna do a shorted conversion and change up the rear bumper, its got some diamond plate farm bumper that has to go... yeah mt94ss, i hear ya, we are gonna spend alot of time together on it, already have been on our other projects, so far on the pushutton, all the buttons felt like they worked, and the trans fluid looks very good, so, keeping the fingers crossed, didn`t have any brakes, so didn`t put it in gear, gotta get some brakes first....
no matter what the vehicle...any father/son project can be nothing but good memories for both of you....enjoy your build and the quality time you spend together.
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