Projects My 1955 Dodge 1/2 ton pickup (re)build

I wire brushed me frame and threw on a few coats of paint. I am swapping out the brakes and tires so I didn't care about getting paint on the tires





The rear of the cab was rotted but the floor was still perfect so I did some t******* and welding.

(before)


(after)





I picked up some seam sealer for the interior.
I also bought a stock(ish) column shifter handle so I can get rid of the silly floor shifter that is in there now. I think it's from an 80's Camaro

The shifter will be fun. I am going to make my own gates off of the firewall.

 

I picked up 3 new 4 point seatbelts. The thought of getting anywhere near that steel dash in an accident makes me cringe. Not as fancy looking as 5 points but much more comfortable, practical, and user friendly.




These are universal belts with 3 mounting points all on the floor.
Federal Safety Standard approved #302
$50 each
http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/am4point.html

 

Love those old Dodge Pickups...I've had 3 pickups and a panel truck from 47-55

 

Here is a pic of the seatbelts mounted. The seat looks real busy but I don't care. Safety for my wife and child come first.

 

SPECIAL DELIVERY!!!!

It's not from a 55 but it works. I don't think I'm going to paint or finish it until I decide fully on the interior. Ill install it tomorrow

 

looking good. Keep going. I like the belts I might look into those. I started pulling all the stock suspension off my extra frame tonight to send it out to be powercoated. Then I will start the rebuild.

 

Thanks man! The belts will be a pain if you are not in arms length of your dash controls. The shoulder straps don't allow you to lean forward at all. I didn't think of that before I bought them. I strapped myself in yesterday and realized that I had to pull myself out of the shoulder straps to adjust my heat. Something to think about if it's just a casual cruiser.

 

The truck is looking good. I posted those close ups you wanted on my build page. Hit me up if you have any questions and I'll let you know if I run into any issues or have any problems.

 

OK here is an opinion question. I sanded down the rear section of the bed so that I could repair the rot on the bottom. When I sanded it the blue came through along with the bare metal. I really like the look and was thinking about sanding the whole truck the same way. I would clear coat it.

I think this truck will look nice with this finish:

 

Nice project.

The rear panel does look cool, but if you were going to clear it, I'd probably go with a flat clear. I think it might look a bit odd having a 'patina' type finish with a glossy clear coat on top.

If you do that, then maybe try to stain the bed in a way so it looks aged too. Maybe a faded brown color with some torch work done in spots to give it a well used look.

The nice thing about not having the gas tank in the stock location is more room for an exhaust system. On my build, I'm going to have to run the exhaust under the engine & over to the p***enger side then out back...can't think of another way to go.

Keep on posting updates.

Tip...when you do the front disc conversion, you have to drill out the lower holes in the spindle and the steering arms. Buy really good drill bits and if you can, pull the spindles and use a very slow drill press. My 'hobby quality' press was too fast and I burned out a couple of expensive bits. Wound up giving my steering arms to a friend to drill them out. Otherwise, the conversion is pretty straight forward.

 

Thanks for the info on the brakes Dan! I have a full I-beam axle with the conversion already done but it's from a 53. I haven't looked to see what parts are can be used on my axle. It would be nice if I could just swap the whole axle out but I think the steering and perch width are different.


I was planning on going with black stain on the wood and keep what little stainless and chrome that I have shine. I guess, worst case scenario is that I strip the truck, clear it, then decide I don't like it. At least it will keep my body work honest.

 

Nice cool Dodge,
And very nice work you do..
Thanks for sharing..
Cheers......

 

If you want to take a shortcut, ask the guys at the Pilothouse forum if you can just swap the axle.

Someone there will know.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8

 

This is a little OT. I noticed you live in NH and while reading this thread I'm reminded of a book I read, probably 30 years ago. It's was about the Vermont author's experience in searching out and rebuilding a 40's Dodge truck. He is not particularly mechanically inclined and just learns as he goes, but he is determined to bring the old Dodge back to life. There is not a lot a tech information, it's mostly philisophical but I remember it being a good, entertaining story. I thought, considering your project and location, that you might find the book interesting. The ***le of the book is just "Truck". I can't recall the author's name.

 

I just asked the question on pilothouse about the axle. After I posted I realized that I have never actually posted on the site. I hope I'm not perceived as "that guy"


I would really like to drop in a chevy or ford front I-beam in so I can use drop spindles.

 

Odd...I just leafed through a copy of that book ***led "Truck". My dad bought a copy after he found a '54 Dodge pickup with the rare "low rider" bed option a week ago. It's been in a barn in the middle of no-where since '83 and he wants it something bad! Low miles, great shape too. Once we come to the right price with the guy, it's headed home to the shop to get stripped and rebuilt.

Uh oh, the blue tarp and barn "disease" is hereditary...LOL

 

Believe it or not, the low bed was standard. It was more money for the tall bed option.

Make sure to post up pics if you buy it.

 

Great thread on building a Dodge pickup. Mine is a 56 with a 318 engine and 518 overdrive trans.

Here are a few pics of it while it is undergoing a steering box rebuild.

I have a couple of questions - 1) is there a power steering box that will fit these trucks? 2) what type of parking brake can be adapted to the truck that is running the original rear end?

Jack

 

Hi Jack,
You should check out Mr Carachi's build thread too. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=574288

He retrofit an ebrake. His build is also moving a lot faster than mine

 

So yesterday I found out that my brakes are leaking.

I drove my truck into the garage. Hit the bed of the truck that was standing upright, my table saw, drill press, welder, and torch

Not much damage but I'll post some pics later tonight.

Better that it happened at home and into objects rather than on the road and into people. Now is a good time to focus on the disc brake conversion.

 

Yikes! That will get your attention fast! My daughter and I are rebuilding our '55, (see intro... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=611374 It's been slow for me, as I'm still recovering from my Achilles tendon repair (thanks to the truck...). Anyhoo.. I bought the Olddaddy disk brake kit. I hope to get started on that this week. Once I do, I'll make my own build post (thought I'd wait till I actually did something interesting to write about!). I was hoping to get away with my master cylinder until a bit later.. but your post makes me think I should just get a new dual master cylinder for it too at the same time!

Dan, from what I can tell, I'm thinking the '53 front axle is from the B series... you probably could get it to work in one of two ways... measure the axle widths and spring perch widths. The other is to take the spindles off each one and compare the mounting points... and then just swap those over. I'm sure the spindle kit will work on your truck if your were to pull all the spacers and stuff off the spindles (***uming the spindle diameter is the same... but it might be a pain to actually do all that. I think you're better off just swapping the spindles, or axle if it's all the same.

Since our truck is for my daughter, I'm hoping too find some power steering options too... but really, I just want to get it driving for the time being.

I'm loving all these C series trucks coming out.. not the normal Chevy or Ford (not that there's anything wrong with ANY of them!). Dan and Jack, nice trucks! Can't wait to see more of your truck build Dan.

Marc

 

Great thread on your truck. I am a "newbie" to the site, and so far in the 2 days I have been on here I have found a tremendous amount of helpful information. I am also bringing a '55 Dodge C3 - B back to life. Just this past week I tagged and insured it so I can drive it on the road and work the bugs out. Can you post some information on rebuilding the va***n wiper motor? I have 2 extra motors that came with my truck and neither are any good. The one on the truck is so slow that I would wreck driving in a heavy downpour. I am still considering swapping for an electric motor. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and keep up the good work on your truck.

 

I didn't take any pics when I rebuilt the wiper moter
My seals and rubber were all in good shape so a good cleaning and relube with some silicone grease did the trick for me.

If I was planning on driving in the rain, I would get an electric motor. They are cheap money.

 

disc brakes...

the conversion can be done if you are a little bit of a fabricator for real cheap... only downfall is having to use 16" wheels is what I have came accross so far... Mine is 99 dodge avenger rotors slipped onto the idler hubs that are attached to the brake drum with rivets... 85 monte carlo calipers and some 1/4" plate to make brackets and done... Mine stops better than any new truck out there...

 

To my understanding you can use 15'' wheel with Rustyhope's kit? $175 for the plates and hardware and round $200 for caliber's and disc's. Total round $400, not too bad, or what do you think?
But there is one really bad thing with this kit, it's using Chivvy parts. You might get an allergig reaction with those parts.
http://rustyhope.com/mopardiscbrakes.html

 

Hey Internet, long time no talk. Just checkin in on you guys. Let me know how the brakes go, probably one of the first things I'll tackle when I get back. Also been spending alot of time staring at stuff on the computer trying to figure out the best way for power steering with the I-beam. If I get to it before anyone else (ya'll got several months to beat me to it...it won't hurt my feelings if you do and tell me how)I'll let you know how it works out. Anyway, did you get the front end dropped? Would love to see some recent pictures.

 

Ok guys, your government tax dollars at work. I had some time and couldn't get power steering out of my head so I did some research. Somebody had once told me about the 80's Toyota 4x4 pickup box and that they thought it might work. Well, I'm going from memory for the most part because I don't seem to have a good picture of the steering box on my truck, but I can see in my head how with a custom bracket it might work ok. They also said something about an Isuzu truck box. After looking at a bunch of pictures, I came up with these numbers: 82-00536, 82-00633 and 82-00636. They seemed to have been used on Isuzu NPR and GMC W5500 trucks (medium duty cab over style) from the 90's thru '08. Judging from the pictures and the fact that they mount on the outside of the frame rail and in front of the axle, it appears as though they might work without much modification. However, I couldn't find any specs so know nothing of ratios, travel or lock to lock. I also can't tell you if they would interfere with anything or not.

Anyway, there you guys go. Maybe someone can take this info and run with it and let the rest of us know how it works out. If not, let me ***ure you when I get home and back to work on the truck I will, cause I don't need a 15 year old daughter with bigger biceps then mine.

 

Wow, thanks for the info Mr. Carachi! I looked at http://www.steeringpumps.com/addtocart/1998_Isuzu/NPR_Truck/ShowAll/misc.html#. I think I have to study mine a bit more... you'd have a head start, as your 318 will have easy to find powersteering brackets for the pump. I've got a 273 that is pretty hard to find (as in none that I've found) bracketry. I think I'd have to make my (our) own.

Thanks!

 

Mr. Carachi, I sold my truck to pay for my new house

I did sell it to a friend and sent him this link with hopes that he will carry it on. I am going to try to stay active on the board because I plan to eventually pick up another truck and you guys are all so nice.

I hope everything is going as planned in Afganland

 

Bummer, but that's the way life goes. If it wasn't for my wife and kids always complaining about "I'm hungry" or "We need a place to live" I would have alot more money to spend on my projects...needy little *******s.

But yeah, hang out and enjoy the show. Another truck will find you and you won't be able to p*** it up.