Build thread 37 Dodge PU

[NTFDAY]

Sure is going to be nice when you're done no matter which way you decide to go.

[stovens]

My truck looks the same, the taller the tire the better it fills the fender well, the wider the tire the greater chance of scrapping the fender!

[Mike P]

I almost feel like Goldilocks (although the wife accuses me of having the personality more akin to that of the bear). The first tires were too small, the second to big.....but after looking in the back shed some more I think I found a pair that are just right.




The wheels they are mounted on need a bit more offset but I like the size.

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[NTFDAY]

Looks pretty good to me.

[34_40]

Looks really good from this seat! Good Job! LOL...

[40FordDeluxe]

Mike, check this out! I saw it on another site. I think I'll buy one and try it out on my Longhorn.

COMPUSHIFT Mini for Chrysler A518/46RH and Chrysler A618/47RH

[falconvan]

Cool, the 37 is back! Glad to see you working on it again, Mike.

[Mike P]

Thanks Ryan, I just got thru looking thru the manual, it looks interesting and if you use one I would sure like to hear your comments on it. It's a bit pricier than the hand full of switches most people are currently using but if it works as advertised it sounds like it would be worth the money.

“…..Cool, the 37 is back! Glad to see you working on it again, Mike…..”

Well kind of . I had to wait on spring perches to come in to finalize the rear end/spring install. They arrived about 2 weeks ago, just in time for relatives to visit, the weather to cool off and couple of small projects to come up. When I did have a decent afternoon to get back on it I found out my MIG gas bottle was VERY close to empty. The bottle has been exchanged, and the parts are sitting on the tool box so hopefully I get a chance to get back to it next week.


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[Mike P]

Well as usual with this project what I thought I’d get back to in a week turned into a couple of months.

It was T-shirt weather today so I got around and pulled the bed back off and got the rear spring hangers welded on.





I know it’s not a lot of progress but I guess it’s better than no progress.


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[40FordDeluxe]

It's one more step closer to your end result. Nice work!

[Mike P]

It's BACK

Well not quite but getting closer

After another year on the back burner (and hibernating in the back shed) the 37 may soon be back in the shop. When I stopped on it last year the next step was to find a 518 (46RH) transmission for it. I’d put the word out I was looking but hadn’t come up with anything.

As fate would have it, my friend who runs the machine shop I use has been bitten hard with the “I want to build a Hot Rod bug” He still hasn’t found a body, but knows the engine he wants……a first generation HEMI. A few months back he asked me if the mock-up Hemi (331) that is currently in the truck was complete enough to build. As it turns out I actually do have enough pieces for it to put it together less the part you would normally replace on a rebuild (pistons, valves, cam, bearings etc).

I told him I wasn’t really interested in selling the parts, but I would trade them to him for a rebuilt 518 transmission and torque convertor. Last week he got back ahold of me and to let me know he’s getting the transmission built for me. He’s using the same shop I normally have build my transmissions so I don’t have any qualms about the quality of the transmission. He’ll be trading out engine work on the transmission builders race car so it looks like all three of us make out pretty well.

Ryan if you read this did you ever order the compushift unit and if so how do you like it?


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[40FordDeluxe]

I did get one for my 72 but haven't got the truck done yet to see how I like it. I have heard from a couple guys they love theirs compared to their old toggle switches.

[Mike P]

A couple of the things I knew I was going to have to do is figure out what to use for a gas pedal and an emergency brake. I didn’t figure the gas pedal would be too much of a problem but looking around the cab I wasn’t coming up with a lot of options for what I could do for an emergency brake that would be both convenient and out of the way.

When I was building my Ram 50 I had to take out the gas pedal/emergency brake assembly when I was enlarging the transmission tunnel. When I got it out (5 bolts…….3 on the firewall and 2 on the underside of the dash) it hit me that this might just work in the Dodge. I took it out to the truck, and it looked like it was made for the 37. The length was just right to go from the firewall to the dash. Basically all I would have to do was drill 5 holes and both the gas pedal and emergency brakes would be pretty much taken care of. I also knew where there were a couple of these trucks in the junk yard.

20 minutes out in the yard (there were 2 PIA cable clips under the truck I had to take loose) and it was out. I didn’t figure $10 for the assembly and cables was a bad investment.








I’m going to stop by the tranny shop this morning and see how they are doing on the 518, and with luck I’ll move the 37 will be back in the shop next week.


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[Bob Parmenter]

Yay!!!!!!!!!

[rspears]

Still got the "eye" for adaptability, Mike!