Build thread 37 Dodge PU

[stovens]

Ditto on engine stand. Would be nice to have one of those! But it wouldn't get enough use for my constricted space!

[Mike P]

Mike P 09-07-12

“……..I've been kind of waiting for it to cool off a bit before I tackle the rear end swap…….”


Well, by golly it finally cooled off !!!!!!!!!


I figured tripping over the Dana 60 for the last 2 years was enough and the old Dodge is back up to the front burner (for a while anyway). I got the bed off today and spent some time taking some measurements.



Of course with the bed off I found some rust that I’ll have to patch before it goes back on. The front of the bed is pretty nasty looking and I found a bit of rot the middle of the cab.





I looked under the rear when I bought the truck and knew going in that I would have to re-do the rear end so I wasn’t surprised there. The POs work left a bit to be desired.





I’m planning on keeping it leaf springs, but the springs and hangers will all be replaced. Well at least I know what I’ll be doing with my “spare time” for a while.


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[MP&C]

Of course with the bed off I found some rust that I’ll have to patch before it goes back on. The front of the bed is pretty nasty looking and I found a bit of rot the middle of the cab..

All in all it's pretty solid.. I don't normally have such luck.

Nice project!

[Whiplash23T]

Was the pickup a driver when you purchased it Mike ? The way the springs are attached to the frame just look a bit insecure in my mind.

[Mike P]

No it was an abandoned project. The previous owner had already done the Mustang II front end (they actually did a pretty nice job on that part) and had installed a burned up 2.8 ford V6 and C3 transmission. I think the rear end was just slapped in so they could roll it around when the funds/ambition ran out.

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[40FordDeluxe]

Mike, nice to see you working on this one again. You sure don't see old Dodge trucks much at all. We continuously search off and on for parts for my Dad's 47.

[34_40]

Good to see you back on this one. Been waiting for a progress report.

[stovens]

Sheet metal looks pretty good! Nice Dodge truck. Looking forward to progress here.

[Mike P]

I spent some quality time with the torch, drill, cut off wheel, hammer and punch today and got the front and rear spring perches off. As long as I was there I went ahead and also removed the now useless gas tank hanger.





With the rear end out I was able to get some accurate measurements on the flange to flange width……I had been under the impression the rear end I took out was 58” wide but was happy to find out that that it was 60” instead. This happens to be within a 1/16” of the Dana 60 that’s going to replace it so I don’t have to come up with an extra 1” of back spacing on the wheels like I thought.

I’m also working a deal on a rebuilt 46RH right now that hopefully I’ll know more about on Monday.

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[rspears]

It's a cool ol' truck, Mike, and it's gonna be an even cooler ol' truck with a little more time in your shop. Thanks for posting.

[34_40]

X2! It'll be a cool ol' truck when your done.. and I guess you had some luck mixxed into your progress today! Way to go..

[40FordDeluxe]

It'll be real nice to drive with the 46rh in there.

[Mike P]

".....It'll be real nice to drive with the 46rh in there......."

Yeah, it think so. The original plan had been to just rebuild a small block 727 I have, but when I decided to use the Dana with 4.56s an overdrive kind of became mandatory. With the 46RH the effective ratio will drop to 3.15 in overdrive so at least I'll be able to put it out on the highway.

Getting the 46RH to automatically shift into OD and lock up the convertor appears to be a fairly simple conversion.


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[40FordDeluxe]

Yeah, with tthe vacuum switches it works pretty slick. I've used the pressure switches from PATC, and have grown to hate them. So I am using toggle switches right now. My biggest problem was the pressure switches was they wouldn't allow the overdrive to turn off until the pressure dropped below the switch range. I tried different PSI switches and got tired of messing with it so went to toggles.

[rspears]

..... My biggest problem was the pressure switches was they wouldn't allow the overdrive to turn off until the pressure dropped below the switch range. I tried different PSI switches and got tired of messing with it so went to toggles.

Ryan/Mike, that problem is caused by the switch having too much hysteresis, or non-adjustable hysteresis - big word for the value between the set and reset points is too wide, and/or cannot be adjusted, caused by the stiffness of the spring/diaphragm in the unit. What you really need is a unit that allows you to adjust the set point, and then set the value where it resets, or opens back to shelf state. You might even consider a digital pressure transducer if you want to get fancy, but one of the dual adjustable units is good if you know the pressure range and set points you're working with. Google 'pressure switch adjustable hysteresis' and you'll see a bunch of options. Hope I'm not preaching to the choir here....