been a few days, here the latest, got the front half of the bed cut, took out 6 inches, got it tacked back together, got the frame put back together, driveshaft shortened, and the back half of the bed started cutting, will probably reinstall the bed to finish the back half cutting and welding, running out of room around the house........anyways...check it out
ok, so, now its a shortbed, has dual circut brakes with a brand new master, runs and drives prettty good now, will try to post some more pics later......ran into a recurring problem last night though....took her on her first more than 2 mile drive, ran perfectly drove real well, but got there and it wouldn`t start again, the starter is in bad shape and drags down so bad it won`t turn the motor fast enough to start, been trying to find parts, but very little luck, anyone here have any ideas on some kind of upgrade that can be done........any help would be appreciated.........thanks its a poly 318 with an automatic
Just make sure all the connections are clean. And you might try the bay website for a starter or parts you need.
76cam, thanks, yeah everything is clean, its all new actually, hell, had a jumper box and a truck hooked too it last night and it still wouldn`t spin fast enough to start, makes it a bummer, truck runs and drives so good when it will start....i drove it like 30 miles on the highway last night, cruised like a dream.....til the starter woes....
The only other place to check might be the ing,switch.Might not be making a good connection when you turn the key.But it does soud like you have a starter prob.Best thing whould be to take it off and go check it.
yeah, i`m sure its the starter itself, just can`t find a new, rebuilt, or parts anywhere, used to be a place in town that rebuilt them, but the way things are now, who knows where i`ll have to send it.......donno why a damn starter is so hard to find.....weird
I could have sworn a '60 would have only been a 361 big block with the pushbutton trans...those valve covers didn't look like the scalloped 318 poly valve covers, but maybe I'm mistaken...
pretty sure its a 318 poly, but not the first time been wrong, only 2 bolt valve covers, one on each end in the top corner? 318? whats the other motor have?
Is it a direct drive starter, truck only sort of thing? A 318 poly should have a standard gear reduction starter.
yes, it is a direct drive starter, bolts to the bell housing with three bolts in a odd triangular shape.......
Just tuned in, that truck is way rad!!! love it as a short bed. Keep it up. Lookin forward to seeing it finished.
Just a heads up.. BOX PLATES!! I see that you know what you are doing.. I see plates on the inside but it is hard to tell what they are there for. I know what they are and the guys that have done frames know, but, Some others on here may not know. I have cut up a lot of frames . Many long to short bed. I had an older frame guy walk me thru the first one when i was 15. He had me make the cuts at 60 degrees and plate the inside. This made a very strong splice. The last one I cut. I followed his directions as I had on all of the frame cuts I have done. It was an O/T '84 chevy 1/2 ton. I welded it with my little 110 volt mig. Had a pretty stout 327 / 700r4. I put many miles on that truck and sold it to a friend that loaded it down untill the bumper was almost dragging on the ground and drove it to Pennsylvania. That was 12 years ago and it is still on the road today. I don't know if it is just from my "training" but, 90 degree cuts scare me.. Congrats on the father son project. I have an 18 year old. No interest in cars at all.. Has his heart set on Cal-Tech.
You have a pre-'62 318 Poly. And the back of that motor is basically the same as a 331, 354, or 392 Hemi. Flywheel, starter, bellhousing, etc. Email Bob (or call him): http://www.hothemiheads.com/ He can hook you up. Also, if you go to the auto parts store of your choice and get a starter for a '54+ Chrysler New Yorker, you'll have the right one. But it's much easier to build it - or have an automotive electrical shop do it. I agree - it's likely just cruddy inside. ~Jason
Keep expecting to see a greasy handed, rust in the hair, shit eatin' grinning 15 year old sitting in the truck making vroom vroom screech noises. WTG. Got a 7 year old here that informed his uncle the other night that he's getting the Chevelle soon as I kick the bucket! LOL Told him No Way, I'm getting buried in that car. He says matter of factly, No problem, I'll dig it up and throw you back in the hole. Both his uncle and I about spit beer out our noses...
Thats great that your kid wants an old car. Maybe he can trade the Dodge for something suitable for a traditional hot rod build.
Your poly 318 has more in common with the newer LA 273, 318, 340, 360 engines then it has with any of the early hemis....there is a lot of confusing info on them. The chrysler Poly motors share a lot of the chrysler hemi parts, and the earlyer dodge/plymouth polys (the 270-325) share a lot of parts with the dodge red ram and super red ram hemis. The 318 Poly was the new "A" series engine for '57, before they went to the "LA" series. There are a few threads on the differences and the parts interchange. Just wanted to through some info out before someone goes looking for those super rare "318 Hemi heads". Here is a shot of the 200hp 318 that was in my '64 dodge. And just FYI, most of the rotating assembly is the same between the A and LA engines, it is fairly easy to piece together a stroker kit from the after market supplyers. I have seen them out to 390ci and 408ci, mutli carbs, headers and all the normal rodding tricks with modern parts inside the old blocks. They can build great power with a little head work, but build great torque with just a swap to a factory 4bbl intake from the original 2bbl.
cool project i myself am slowly working on a 60 dodge truck that im turning into a short bed. take a look at Rock Auto, they have some start parts that ya need.
That's absolutely true... For the '62 - '66 incarnation of the 318 Poly. This guy has the '57 - '61 version, which has several minor differences, the biggest of which is the pokey-outtie early Hemi-style crank flange/flywheel. Because the transmissions changed over in '62, they eventually changed the crank/flywheel to match the rest of the small block Mopar stuff, but because his was made before that time, he's stuck with the old flywheel & bellhousing. To mate the 1st Gen '57 - '61 318 poly to the same transmission as a small block Mopar requires an adapter, like 73RR sells on the HAMB. And because the old Mopar stuff was the same, and because the early Hemi is the most typically adapted, and because the pre-'62 A shares the same transmissions as the early Hemi, any early Hemi to small block Mopar adapter will work.
ok, so, the starter woes continue, went to NAPA, finally found a motor bushing and brush springs, paid almost 40 bucks for them, and as was mention asked the guy about a rebuild kit for ` 61 with a 318, he pulled out a whole starter, and it is a different part number as the later LA 318s, so, not sure what it fits, do know it only had 2 bolt holes, mine has 3, going to pull mine out now and do some measuring, its almost a gear reduction whereas mine is a direct drive, so, keeping fingers crossed on it working.... hey tumbleweed, yeah, that would be they way i would and do normally do frame, cut at a 60 or even a 45 degree angle, but in this case it would have been a ton of more work, so, its a straight cut, and instead of boxing, made plates that fit inside the frame in a smaller channel shape, fully welded with my 220 machine, my boss helped, i`ve done a ton of this stuff, but nothing compared to his 50 years, so, i think it`ll hold up......
chrisntx, wanted to say this ealier, but had other things to worry about, first, i think it fits this board just fine, second, he got this truck from his grandfather who is at least 80 and will probably keep it forever now, third, if its not traditional enough for you, GET LOST! others seem to be enjoying it.....so any opinions such as yours can keep them to themselves.. good news for the others, pulled the starter replaced the motor side bushing and and the brush springs and cleaned it real well, and the starter works like a champ! now we can get to some other stuff.....thanks for the help guys......
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