Thread: Brought home some Dodges

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A good explanation of the Pilothouse name, coined for the new '48 model that continued through '53 - Welcome to the Dodge Pilothouse Truck Club

Originally Posted by rspears

A good explanation of the Pilothouse name, coined for the new '48 model that continued through '53 - Welcome to the Dodge Pilothouse Truck Club

Thanks for the link! Sounds like it was a term used for all their cabs, I'll refer to it as the 5 window from now on. After reading the article I found out that one set of box fenders must be off a 1953 because they are the square ones. I'll have to decide which ones I like better latter in the build

Nice! The old pilot house trucks are great looking trucks. Put a Dodge in your garage!

I could use some help on deciding a donor setup. The Dakota chassis is pretty well decided, what I'm a little torn on is the power plant. Everything inside me says keep it a Dodge and it would be the most cost effective using the Dakota 318 power train. My other option is the 'ol 5.3 swap. The only reason it crosses my mind is because of the 18-20 mpg that Rita gets running around, I really doubt the 318 will get close to that. Another option I'm not sure about is the Dodge 4.7. I haven't done much research on it but my local salvage guy that I get most stuff from won't even sell me one for it because he says it's such a POS. He said no engine that ends in a 7 from that vintage of Dodge is worth a crap. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

I could use some help on deciding a donor setup. The Dakota chassis is pretty well decided, what I'm a little torn on is the power plant. Everything inside me says keep it a Dodge and it would be the most cost effective using the Dakota 318 power train. My other option is the 'ol 5.3 swap. The only reason it crosses my mind is because of the 18-20 mpg that Rita gets running around, I really doubt the 318 will get close to that. Another option I'm not sure about is the Dodge 4.7. I haven't done much research on it but my local salvage guy that I get most stuff from won't even sell me one for it because he says it's such a POS. He said no engine that ends in a 7 from that vintage of Dodge is worth a crap. Any thoughts?

Tell your local salvage guy he's full of shit. I have a 4.7 in an 04 Dakota I bought in 2010. It had about 70,000 when i bought it and it has a little over 118,000 on it now. I change the oil regularly and run a bottle of Lucas through the tank every 3rd or 4th fill up. It's been back and forth to Ohio 5 times and to Virginia and South Carolina once each. The only trouble I've had is when the left front wheel bearing seized 7 miles into Ohio On I-70 about 7 at night in late Feb of 2015. I got it off to the shoulder and had it towed and fixed. If I keep my foot out of it and I rarely do, it'll average right around 20 on the highway and 14 or so in town. It's a truck and the rear gears aren't the greatest.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Tell your local salvage guy he's full of shit. I have a 4.7 in an 04 Dakota I bought in 2010. It had about 70,000 when i bought it and it has a little over 118,000 on it now. I change the oil regularly and run a bottle of Lucas through the tank every 3rd or 4th fill up. It's been back and forth to Ohio 5 times and to Virginia and South Carolina once each. The only trouble I've had is when the left front wheel bearing seized 7 miles into Ohio On I-70 about 7 at night in late Feb of 2015. I got it off to the shoulder and had it towed and fixed. If I keep my foot out of it and I rarely do, it'll average right around 20 on the highway and 14 or so in town. It's a truck and the rear gears aren't the greatest.

I knew someone on here had one of those motors and liked it, I'm glad you spoke up. I don't like over googling about engines or vehicle's, seems like most people are only vocal with problems they have. Those are some good numbers for mileage, I'm not going to rule out the 4.7 yet.

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

I knew someone on here had one of those motors and liked it, I'm glad you spoke up. I don't like over googling about engines or vehicle's, seems like most people are only vocal with problems they have. Those are some good numbers for mileage, I'm not going to rule out the 4.7 yet.

The 4.7 is somewhere between a 283 and a 289. I had a 71 with a 318 and it really didn't go down hill until it had almost 200,000 on it. I'd keep it all Dodge but that's just my 2 cents worth.

5.7 or bigger hemi...…….……..anything less would be a crime against humanity.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

5.7 or bigger hemi...…….……..anything less would be a crime against humanity.

I must have failed to mention that it is on a budget. ��

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

I must have failed to mention that it is on a budget. ��

That's easy, adjust the budget!

We'll I'm about to commit a crime against humanity I'm going to pick up my donor Dodge Dakota Thursday. FB market notified me of another Dakota listing and boom there it was. 318 Magnum, 2wd, 117k, new tires and a bad water pump, $750. I didn't even try to dicker with his price, It was exactly what I was looking for. I'm getting too many parts for something I'm not ready to work on yet I think I'm going to fix the water pump and drive it for awhile and get rid of my Hyundai Tuscon.

Dam, score!

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

Dam, score!

It was a fail. I looked at a picture of it on my laptop with a bigger screen and I seen V6 on the fender. He double checked and apologized for his mistake.That would have been a killer deal! Back to the hunt

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

It was a fail. I looked at a picture of it on my laptop with a bigger screen and I seen V6 on the fender. He double checked and apologized for his mistake.That would have been a killer deal! Back to the hunt

You wouldnm't have liked the V-6, from my experience it was a turd.

Keep it all Dodge; I put the 5.3 in my 48 Plymouth and the Mopar gods have cursed me ever since.