Does anyone here have or know anything about these trucks? I found one locally for sale or trade for a street bike and I am kind of considering it even though I do NOT need another project. It needs new floors but that seems to be about it. The rest looks very solid. I do not know a thing about these trucks and need some info quick before I jump on it. What kind of motor are in these and transmission? It's a inline flathead 6 and a half ton pickup. He said it needs brakes and a clutch. That is all I know about it and the owner said he doesn't really know much about it because someone owed him money so he just got the truck instead to pay off. What kind of front end (suspension) do these trucks have? Are they hard to lower about 5 inches? I thought that if it runs like he said it does but needs only little work then I'd buy it for a shop truck. I would put new floors in, new brakes and fix the ****** and just drive it and sell it later or something. Thanks a lot for any help or suggestions.
I have a flatty 6 in my 54 panel and it gets me where I am going just fine though a little more power wouldn't hurt when trying to motivate up some of these southern california grades...to me the dodge pickup of the 50's is one of the cooler looking trucks plus not everybody has one
Yeah I am not biased. I have Chevys, Chrysler, Fords, Honda, etc. I never thought I'd own a japanese car but when gas got real high I couldn't afford gas in my 85 C10 pickup so got rid of it and bought a Honda Prelude. Saves my money to put into my old cars though. I have a 46 Chrysler with a flathead 251ci inline six with fluid drive ******. Great engines and cars. I dont care for new Dodge trucks but this old one seems like it would be fun. Any idea on the ****** and suspension on these? Also how about brakes. If it's anything like my 46 Chrysler I may p*** on it because brakes for that thing are expensive and I dont want to spend too much money to get this truck on the road. I'd like to get it running and just drive it around some.
How can I be sure it's a 56 and not a 52 or whatever? It is a 3 speed I think, not auto or semi auto or fluid drive. He said the only time he drove it was off the trailor and that is it because it had no brakes the he said the clutch was slipping very badly... Like I said, I dont need another vehicle so I can p*** on it, it's no big deal, it's not something I'd really like to have just something I saw that I can trade a rice rocket bike I have for and I'd rather have this truck than the rice rocket.
anytime you can trade two wheels for four,it oughta be a no-brainer.but then again,i am not a bike person at all.
The bike I have is probably worth more than the truck but the bike is a rice rocket and I'm into old harleys, triumphs and old jap bikes, not rice rockets. That's the only reason I'd trade.
56 and later will have 12 v system. Flat head is a 230 about 125 HP . Standard three speed is basically bullet proof, 4 speed as basically a 3 speed with a granny gear 1st. You migh want to check the Forward Look website. It's 55-59 related. Some trucks had fluid drive though I believe it was done in 54. Engines are long stroke, like lower rpms, but make gobs of torque. Check with OLDDADDY of this forum for disc brake conversion hardware. Rear brakes can be a pain as you need the big *** puller to get the drums hubs off. And watch the wheel lugs, Mopar put left hand threads on one side (can't remember which) but if you try to get them off and they don;t mve reverse your impeact wrench. If you want to upgrade he rear end, get something from a MOPAR be body. move the spring perches, do the drive shaft, get better e brake (original is on the tail ed of the trans. Somebody in Michigan is making an adapter plae to screw the t 5 5speed on as well. check the P15 D24 site for that info and more regarding the truck. 52 56
Thanks a lot for the information... As for the rear end, if I got this truck I'd like to replace it with something else and a new driveshaft. I have a S-10 rear end newly rebuilt, auburn posi rear end,moser axles, etc. Would this work on a truck like this? I'd like to keep it Dodge but I have this S10 rear end sitting here and would like to use it and get it out of the way.
S10 would have the wrong bolt pattern for the wheels, at any rate. A Dodge truck if it's 5 lug is going to be either the small 4 1/2" pattern or the big 5" pattern. S10 is 4 3/4".
True, but I thought that I can just run different wheels but yeah I should just keep the same bolt pattern all around. I dont know, we will see.
Haha I was looking at that truck too. Seemed to much work for me as I need a driver. Good luck if you get it.
It is a 56. 52 would have split windshield (earlier post). May have 318 Poly or 315 Windsor engine (late). Bed is the same all the way up into the 80s. Neat old trucks and kinda different, although I'm a bigger fan of the 57s with the 1 piece hood.
chappys4life, did you see this truck in person? If so then is the floor really the only thing rotted out like he said and the rest in great shape? The floor would be very easy to fix so I am not worried about that. As for the engine, it's a flathead inline 6, that's all I know...
Sorry m8, never looked at the car. Called and once I heardd everything about it I wasn't interested. But I need a driver so I am not looking for a project.
Ok I see. Yeah if you need a driver then you might as well spend the extra money on one rust free and in running condition.
Also needs a carb or some fuel system work according to his craigslist ad. Would be cool once running right though.
i cant offer any help but I just wanted to say thanks for this post as it is helping me with my 53 Dodge. i have come across 2 disc conversion kits with help from people here: OldDaddy's (I think his is rustyhope.com) and AAJBrakes.com. have spoken with both gentlemen and seems like you cant go wrong with either. good luck and please keep posting as you are def helping me! I'll try to offer whatever help I can as well as far as parts, etc. So far all i've determined is that swapping the rear end out for something with disc setup is less spendy than trying to find the rear drums for the Dodge. i dont care about needing a diff wheel hole pattern personally though obv it would be easier if they all matched. just trying to stay within a budget. a small one at that.
Thanks for the info Tim and yeah your right. I can get a carb for this or just rebuild it. I am getting rid of my V8 conversion S10 because the kid that I bought it from hacked it up too badly so I am pulling the good rear end, engine, ****** and interior and getting rid of the rest of it. I have this 1990 ZX-750 rice rocket bike that I dont ever plan on riding or messing with so I figured I can trade him if he is willing to and get the truck running, make some nice floor boards for it, do the brakes, all new lines and hoses and just drive the thing around some and sell it. I'm trying to get rid of everything of mine now so getting this wouldn't be helping much haha. I'll keep looking into it and see. I'd rather build a T bucket but cannot find a body around here for a decent price.
S10 Axle is likely too narrow unless it is the 4WD version which was 4" wider. I have a 50 and did the disc brakes from olddaddy and am adapting a T5 right now. Just welded up a trans mount last night. I am picking up and axle from a Cherokee tomorrow if all works out. Cool trucks that are definitely different than others. Come over to the Pilothouse website for more info... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8
i sold mine that had worse paint but decent floors for about half what the guy wants. there was a 52 in mooresville with a fat man clip already in it for less money also but the ad has dissappeared. not a bad truck but if the floors are as bad as he says then i think he's asking way to much...ken...
I will sit on it a few weeks and decide. I've always wanted a late 40's or early 50's Chevy, Ford or Chrysler type pickup so thought this was a cool one even though I dont need it right now. I am still gathering information on these trucks to help me decide what to do.
In Richmond craigslist there is a decent looking 54 chevy if your looking for a more complete truck http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/879528226.html
If you are wanting to keep it Dodge use Dakota parts.I am currently building a 1949 Dodge pickup and am using ch***is from a 96 Dakota.Suspension widths are close.Also have a 54 Dodge pickup project that will be pretty much original except ride height,gotta drop the pickup on the ground. Mike
www.dodgecl***ictrucks.com i haven't been to it since i sold my truck and the link was on my old computer. volare clip fits. s10 frame swap is possible. dakota clip is a decent choice to. as is must II. i kind of regret sellin' mine. they are cool looking trucks...ken....
oh i forgot i was planning on jag front and possibly rear clips. easiest of all clips in this truck i think..ken....
Thanks for the link. If everything was all there to the truck I would probably keep it stock. It would be nice to put it on a late model truck frame with IFS, power disk brakes, etc etc but that takes quite a bit of money in the end. I'm going to wait it out a week or two and decide what to do then.
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