Just bought me a new project...! NEED MOPAR GURUS!

Picked up my 55 Dodge C3 B 1/2 ton... short bed, stepside... Has the entire 318 drivetrain of a 74 Duster...

needs a good bit of work but all very do-able! I will probably go to a wood bed... maybe try to still use the gate though. The cab isnt all rotted out but needs attention. The wheels are cool (not in the pics... they are aluminum made to look like spokes? et maybe?)! All the glass is good, dash is great... I am just going to do a little ratrod/junkyard vintage, my style thingy with it... God only knows what that includes as I have only built bikes...lol

I bought this thing complete with title and extra rolling frame... was an unfinished product. the motor is fresh and the valve seals were done when the heads were off. The frame has been undercoated and everything from the trans to the engine has been painted decently, blue and silver. I am going to move very slow on this as not to miss anything or make decisions Ill change.

For the mopar guys... how dit that drive train on the 74 dusters do? I see some "green" items I will be eliminating along with the a/c so I imagine the HP is rather low... What are some decent bolt ons that do well with that setup? Has a 1 barrel now... Decent all over 4bbl intake for it... not too costly???

The truck has the v8 emblem on the hood... what was the stock v8 that was in their?

Any other thoughts?

Also, just to rub it in I paid $600 bucks for it all! Scrapped the rotted frame ($62 bucks back in pocket) ... I cut the hole front axle and rearend out of that frame just to have some extra parts.

Not nearly as bad as it looks...lol





so was out 600, got 62 back spent 20 in gas... as of now, 558 in the hole I think. lol. My smile.... Priceless!

 

I am not sure but I think the V-8 emblem is a Ford piece. The mopar 318, 727TF, 8 1/4 rear end is a good combo. They are not big on HP but decent intake, small cam, and HEADERS will make a good mild street motor. The exhaust manifolds on most 318s are very restrictive. Check the rear end, you do not want the 7 1/4" mopar unit they blow apart with anything more than a stock 6cyl. I believe the 74s used 8 1/4". Nice project now GET TO WORK!!!

 

That V8 is NOT a Ford part ........ Jeeezuz ...

That truck would have either a 241 inch Dodge Hemi or Poly Head V8.

Plenty of off the shelf parts for the 318 that will make run Very Well & it will last Forever ... Or till it Blows up ... Whichever comes first

Nice to see it hase MoPaR Power instead of a Fucking Chevy in it.

 

This was how the old frame looked... The guy used his backhoe to set it on my trailer so I just went to the house and cut all the u-bolts from the leafs and then strapped the axles down and went to the scrapyard, unstrapped the frame and he lifted it off there...voila! 62 bucks back and extra parts dismantled! lol...

 

I LIKE THE WHEELS... CAPS ARE E-T... NOT SURE IF THE WHEELS ARE BUT THEY ARE UNI-LUG

THE VALVE COVERS ARE THE ONLY THING THAT HE DIDNT PAINT... ILL BE PULLING THOSE FOR INSPECTION ANY WAY... NEW HOSES JUST SITTING.. STUFFED STEEL WOOL IN ALL PASSAGES...

THIS IS ART TO ME... THATS CHARECTER... DO THEY MAKE A CLEAR COAT THAT STOPS RUST? I MAY CLEAR IT AS IS IF SO...LOL

TAILGATE IS BETTER THAN I THOUGHT

DOORS ARE BETTER THAN MOST!

STEERING WHEEL WILL BE GONE!

 

That's a fairly solid looking truck. For $600 you made out pretty good. There are quite a few mid-50 Dodge truck builds here on the H.A.M.B. Lots of great information, I learned more in the first 2 days on this site, than in the 6 months prior after I purchased mine. Good luck with your build. I've attached pics of mine...when I went to buy it and the other was a coupla' months ago. Parts are hard to find, but out there if you look hard enough.

 

Nice truck. I've got a brand new in the box Weiand Action Plus intake for a 318 I'm selling. Bought it for a stalled project and now need cash to finish another. Also have a set of old M/T valve covers for that motor with nice patina. I'll PM pics and prices if yer interested.

 

The body does look good and I would think you are quite fortunate to have the tailgate in such nice shape,,gas tank would likely fetch $100.00

 

hope you saved the ft shock mts.

 

THIS IS ART TO ME... THATS CHARECTER... DO THEY MAKE A CLEAR COAT THAT STOPS RUST? I MAY CLEAR IT AS IS IF SO...LOL




Check this out, if that's what you want. Be sure to look at the whole thread

http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/216032/post/1712505/

 

Slow down there chief, thats why I said I wasn't sure but from the picture it looks like the V8 symbol on my 57 Ford truck!

 

If you plan on using those ET wheels, please find the correct offset washers and special lug nuts that they take. Without them those lugnuts will pull through the wheel and you will have scrap aluminum. PM me for further info.

 

if thats the stock drivetrain out of a 74 duster it does NOT have a727 trans or an 83/4 rear axle

does it have disc brakes? if it does then it has 5on 41/2 bolt pattern on the wheels if it has 4 drums it has the small bolt pattern kinda hard to find aftermarket wheels for the small bolt pattern

its a 904 trans and at best a 81/4 the rear axle on your scrapped frame was an 83/4

be carefull on your choice of intake manifolds/gaskets the 318 heads have very small ports and a 340 or 360 intake or gaskets will allow you to suck oil into the cylinders out of the valley find a edelbrock ch4b intake (basically an aluminum version of the stock cast iron one) headers will wake it up but its not gonna be a stormer

im pretty sure the wheels are ET's

 

I would be interested in both... send pm with part numbers, pricing, payment methods, etc... thanks... I had a weiland for my 318 wideblock in my coronet... great intake!

 

I didn't... I was looking at them on the old frame... I bet they tend to break? bad design it seems but the good thing about these old trucks is all the room for redesign! I will probably rearrange that set up at some point as I would like the truck to sit a little lower...we'll see!
If not, I cannot see it being all that difficult to fab those up or easily put together another idea...

 

thanks for the pics... cool truck! I am not too concerned about having stock parts. I really like my stuff to be of the chopper influence so there will be lots of changes. My investment is so little that I am not concerned with the value later. As long as I do not go over the top with the work (I dont, I like to keep it classic and simple), it will easily return my investment. I may redo the grille my own way and sell the grille bars to fund some of the build... That will be about 150 back for the set... I would like to stay under 1200 bucks total for the build which should be easy since I can do it all myself, other than mounting up some new tires...lol

 

I will check that out here soon... thanks man!

 

Yeah it's just sitting like that. Ive had some cool old unilug cragars a time or 2 so I know all about those... Thanks though... that would be a bad mistake! lol

 

its drum all the way around... Ive had more chevys than anything and at first I thought it was a chevy 10 bolt rear... looks similar but its not of course... it is a 10 bolt though???
The wheels fit nicely and once I get the washers and right lugs will be fine.

Thanks for the info on the intake... Im not looking for a monster, just want to keep everything open and flowing the best it can... I will order some long tubes before I run the exhaust (if theyll fit)... If I was after a ton more power I'd be looking for more cubic inches for sure, which may come later but I would rather set it up to have enough power to get by and not suck down a ton of gas... I have been able to get good mileage out of a 318 or 2 before but I never set them up myself.

Thanks for the info again

 

I am not sure how well clearcoat adheres to rust, overspray found its way to my eyeglasses which were sitting outside my garage door..I used Treme Flat Klearcoat..You have to apply the coats light or you end up with a glossy finish..I know cause I had to knock my first application of clear off and respray for the desired flat finish
Pic in my avatar is without clearcoat

 

Nice truck. Here's a few lincs for IDing what you have-
The difference between the 904 and 727 pan gaskets-quick ID
http://www.mopar.nl/?page_id=856
8 1/4 rear loader-
http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/drivetrain/5148_custom_rear_end_install/index.html
Here's a linc to some useful interchange info
http://www.bionicdodge.com/Download/Mopar_8_3_4_Rear_End_Guide.PDF
The 8 3/4 were front loaders like the ford 9", so simply looking at the rear end there will tell you what you've got to work with...and as said the 7 1/4 rear end is "only" good for the slant 6 and not even that great for it at that....a very week design.
If I read correctly your more of a bowtie guy, and that's cool, I've owned a few makes other than mopar, there's alot of good info out on the web for fixing up or swapping out parts on the 318, but if you plan on keeping that truck you may want to consider a newer 360 crate motor for more power. A more modern 4 speed auto trans would be the A500 non electronic OD trans...it's basicly a 904 with overdrive.
Some folks are purists and will tell you to keep it all the same make, but how many times have you seen in any car mag any given old ford or mopar with the tried and true{and let's not forget cheap to get parts for} SBC. It's your ride so it's your call....me....I like the oddball mills that you don't see much of for the "that's cool" effect.
BTW- an early mopar hemi{331/354/392} will fit front to back where an SBC will...side to side is another matter!
You could also try P15-D24.com in the pilot house section...all early mopar trucks, all the time.
{just a suggestion}

 

if the rear axle has 10 bolts and a pan its a 81/4

 

Finally found the article...read up on the lil lowly 318 mill potencial-
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0401_mopar_318_engine/dyno_test.html
..not too shabby, huh?

 

looked at everything you posted for me...thanks! I have a 8 1/4 rear and a 904 trans... I still have the 8 3/4 rear out the old frame... should I switch? wait and figure out the ratio setup first? or keep the 8 1/4 as I am not building a street demon and sell the 8 3/4 to help fund the build?

any thoughts?

 

The 8 1/4 will be fine behind your mild v-8 but the 8 3/4s are bulletproof! Depending on what the width is of your 8 3/4 it could bring some good cash. The 8 3/4s for A-body mopars (Dart, Demon, Duster, etc.) bring over $500!

 

It was from the original truck frame so I assume it's the longer rear for trucks and c bodies? Center section should still be worth a little... I know its a posi unit but not sure which... it's tagged as a 3.23 ratio... find out soon enough I guess. I am going to compare the 2 ratio wise and setup... I am for gas mileage! lol

 

does the 83/4 rear axle have spindle nuts on the end of the axles if it does its pre 64
thespindle nut axles them selfs have little to no value except to restorers but the housing and thrid member could be worth something ,

on the driverside(i think) of the center section there should be some casting numbers in the case if the last 3 digits are 741 its for lower performance applications if they are 742 they are great rear axles they dont have a crush sleeve on the pinion shaft so these are considerd more desireable then the other two the last version has the casting number is 489 these are the bullitproof 83/4's the only down fall to them is the crush sleeve which only comes into play while setting up the gears they do sell crush sleeve eliminaters now

 

Panhandle, if your missing the tags that give you the ratio you can try figuring it out old school by putting a mark on the front yoke as well as the drum and count the number of turns on the drum per one yoke revolution of of the front yoke...look up the oem specs for ratio and you should be able to figure it out precisely from there. 3 and a half turns of the drum tells you a 3.50ish gearing...2 and and 3/4 turns would be roughly a 2.75... alittle over 4 turns and it's probably a 4.10/11..you get the jist of it...
As long as you hang up to the mid 300hp range that 8 1/4 will do fine...hit at or over 400hp and I'd really consider the 8 3/4 rear.
When it comes time to unload one of those rears do others a favor and measure the pad width and backing plate or lug plate width for they're reference/use.
Oh, I've seen a complete rear disc kit available on ebay for $360ish that fits the late 60s non-tapered axle 8 1/4, 8 3/4, and dana rears...no-one can tell me why it won't work for the tapered axle rears, I've just been told it can't...maybe no-one has tried yet?

 

I was just told to do it this way... work the same?

1) Jack up one rear wheel and chalk-mark the 12 o'clock position on the tire. (Make sure the slack is out of the drive train)
2) Hand crank engine 2 complete turns.
3) See where chalk mark on tire ends up.
A) Between 11 and 12 o'clock, ratio is 4.11
B) Between 12 and 1 o'clock, ratio is 3.78
C) Between 1 and 2 o'clock, ratio is 4.54

 

I'm 100% Mopar always have been and always will be. I started building small Mopars at 14 and my first 440 at 18. The 318 is one of the best engines mother Mopar ever built, not a screamer but a real work horse that can flat out handle abuse. In 1974 the 318 was a smogger engine with about 8:1 compression so a big cam, headers and 4 barrel are going to hurt this engines low end torque. If you are going to keep the 318 stock compression then save yourself some grief and keep it a 2 barrel, run some long tube headers if you like but keep them small tube. Run truck cam or an RV cam but not much bigger. If it were me, knowing what I know about the low compression 318 I would kill all the smog stuff, keep the stock cam & 2 barrel, & get a set of magnum exhaust manifolds form around a 1993 dodge truck, they flow real good but will let you keep the bottom end. I gave this same advice to a friend of mine that bought a 73 Challenger with a stock 318 with around 80,000 miles on it. He didn't listen and bought a complete performer package (cam, 4 barrel intake, eddy carb) and a set of 1 5/8 headman headers. It looked great when he popped the hood but that car was a total dog. We lined my bone stock 76 1/2 ton long bed with a 318 3 on the tree up and I beat him by a good 7 cars. Keep in mind in 76 the trucks didn't have the same emissions as cars so most trucks were faster for those years.

I would keep the 8 3/4 rear end just in case you want to move up the food chain with a 360 or big block someday. Even if the 8 3/4 has the castle nut axle shafts, it will be plenty strong enough for the 318, plus you can replace them with the 64 and newer 8 3/4 axle shafts without issue. You will need to use the ford style green bearings on the axle shafts.

I like the 904 trans with a small block, it is smaller and lighter than the 727 and will do the job. We used to run 904's in the drag cars because they have 15 lbs less spinning weight then the 727 so thats 15 more (free) horse power to the rear axle. With a 400 HP 340 or 360 you had to use red eagle clutches and a kevlar intermediate band with a fully manual valve body to get her to hold up but then your were good well into the 11's.

Feel free to PM me if you want.

Mopar OR NO Car