Build thread 37 Dodge PU

[123pugsy]

On the bright side I did save it from getting a 2.8 V6 / C3 / 8” rear end with 3.00 gears from a Mustang II. I think my plans going to be a lot more fun.

You feel free to go back to ''PLAN A'' and I'll have my scrap man come to pick up that lump of iron inthe pic.

Nice truck by the way.

[Bob Parmenter]

In his brief summary above Mike forgot to mention he even had a brain fart (actually it was for a good reason, but can't cut him any slack) and sold the ol' girl for a short while! But fortunately he had the where withall to drag her back home.

[Mike P]

"......Mike forgot to mention he even had a brain fart .....and sold the ol' girl for a short while....."


Actually Bob, I didn't forget just decided not to

I was very lucky to be able to get it back (I had sold it with the engine, less the intake but that was apart at the time). At least I'm not the one kicking myself in the butt now.

[Whiplash23T]

You did what Mike!!!!! Put your self over your knee and give yourself a good twenty lashings with a leather belt for doing that. Oh at least you didn't sell the 6 carby manifold with it and luckily managed to purchase it back once the realisation set in at just what you had done.

[falconvan]

That's some great looking sheetmetal, Mike. I'm looking forward to watching this one! You need a few more carbs, though.

[Rickomatic]

I am not sure why I really had to talk myself into opening a thread with the title "For Uncle Bob." I was really scared what I may see inside. Very nice truck Mike P. Much better than the images I was afraid to see in a "Uncle Bob" thread.

[lamin8r]

I am not sure why I really had to talk myself into opening a thread with the title "For Uncle Bob." I was really scared what I may see inside. Very nice truck Mike P. Much better than the images I was afraid to see in a "Uncle Bob" thread.

Ya know..I had the same feelings,,,but thought,oh,what the heck,,I will look anyway..Glad I did,cos thats an awesome little truck,and will be even more so,with that ol hemi in it..Good score..but I think it needs sumthin between the engine and the carbs..

[Mike P]

I didn’t get a lot done last week as I was stalled waiting on the body guy to come out and look at the front fender while it was on the truck to figure out the best way to eliminate the spare tire well. Basically because he doesn’t have an English Wheel we figured it would be best to find another drivers fender to cut a patch panel out of. Oh well one more part to find.

A lot of the original mockup was just to see if the parts would fit and it would be possible to get the old Hemi in there. On the original mockup from 2003 I used cardboard and tape to make the first rough template (I seem to have lost the pictures of later (prettier) final pattern I made and as I said I have to re-do it anyway because of the trans swap.




This time I’m starting with some left over plywood I had around. I want to have a template of opening of the bottom of the floor I have to fill so the first piece I cut was the floor. Interestingly from a couple of other 37s I’ve seen this piece was actually wood from the factory.




I also cut a toe board piece partially to see where the factory one was and how comfortable I would be with it in that location. Chances are I will be moving it forward.




I really don’t know why they butchered the fire wall like they did (especially for a V6) the old Hemi fit with no fire wall interference. This time while it’s in the shop hopefully I can get the firewall and floor actually built, which I will need to do prior to finalizing the steering. This mockup was tight with just manifolds, but thanks to the ideas I got from the Thames build thread I think I’ll be able to fit the headers in on this.



OK I was bored one day and I really wanted to see how the gauge cluster that I’d had sitting around for 8 years would actually look in the truck, so I stuffed that and the new steering on. I’ve got a little trimming to do on the cluster, but I think it will do OK.




With any luck I’ll have time next week to pull the front end and get the engine and transmission back in it and start figuring out the transmission tunnel.

[Dave Severson]

Good look, Mike! and the gauge panel is really first rate.

[falconvan]

Your not kidding, Mike. They did do a bit of a hack job, didn't they? The great thing is no rust to deal with. I'm with Dave; I like the gauge panel.

[Dq383500]

Oh yea super cool truck! your not really going to pour cement around the keg are you? Might need the weight though QUOTE=Mike P;430714]Bob Bart, I've too noticed how much the 37s of all flavors look alike.

"....Are you thinking about relocating the fuel tank?......"

Funny you should mention that Jack.



It's not 100% set in stone yet, but the more I look at it the more I like it.[/QUOTE]

[Mike P]

Bill was kind enough to change the title of this thread for me (I understand why people would be leery of something titled “For Uncle Bob” ). As the thread has kind of taken off I decided to just keep it going with the build.


I spent the last couple of days getting the mock-up motor and transmission back in the truck. It was pretty straight forward and the engine sat right back down on the mounts.



Just like I figured I had to lose a bit of the original floor to get the rear of the transmission up where it needed to be. The size of the 518 Overdrive section actually took up less room than I was afraid it was going to.



The real work was modifying the crossmember (actually it was the crawling under the truck for all the times to measure, get tools, weld etc).

I knew going in to this that the 518 torqueflight had a different mount location and hung down further than the 727 I originally set it up with. On the original mock-up I ended up with a fairly simple crossmember using a re-drilled Chevrolet transmission mount. The Chevy mount gave me the right height and is a lot easier to build around than the common round mounts that Chrysler is fond of.





As it turns out the spacing bolts for the mount on the 518 is almost identical to original bolt location on the Chevy mount. I ended up opening the original holes about 1/16” and it bolted right up. I decided to add a bracket to the front of the crossmember I had already built to get it the correct height and pretty much called it good for now.






The crossmember will still need some more work down the road. When I box the frame I will have to shorten the crossmember, redo the ends and build new mounting brackets on the inside of the frame rails but for now it mounts the transmission where it needs to be so I can build the floor and firewall, and get the drive shaft angle close when I change the rear end.

[Stovebolter]

I love that truck!!! Its nice to see something different. I've always liked the 33 & 34 Dodges and now I've added another year!

David

[HOTRODPAINT]

That keg needs some lettering!

Something like... "Old Dodge Brothers Brew"... "Dodge Brothers Tonic"... "37 Proof"... "Uncle Mikes Shine".... "Home Brew"... or something amusing. :-)~

[Mike P]

".....That keg needs some lettering!

Something like... "Old Dodge Brothers Brew"... "Dodge Brothers Tonic"... "37 Proof"... "Uncle Mikes Shine".... "Home Brew"... or something amusing......"

Or this Jay ?