Thread: Shop Truck (True Spirit) Project

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All the other projects have been put on hold until I get my "new" shop truck built. As a some of you know I picked up a 76 Dodge 2WD SWB Step-Side about a year ago to replace my El Camino for shop truck duties. I bought the truck primarily because it has a 440 and Torqueflight in it.

The truck had some pin striping on it and a "True Spirit" decal on the front fender that I researched. Turns out this is one of the original 200 True Spirits produced by Dodge along with the original 200 Warlocks to test the market reaction to a factory custom pickup (the Warlocks were more popular and went into production for nation wide sale). Then I found out that for the entire 1976 production year there were only 70 D100 2WD stepsides produced with 440s and this is the ONLY known 440 powered True Spirit to be produced. Amazing what you find in an AZ wrecking yard .

Anyway, The truck still has it's original drive train, VIN tag and Federal Certification label. The tag which is affixed to the door jam is still in really good shape and readable. It is also the only piece of documentation that shows the build date as being correct for this truck to be one of the original 200.

I actually debated on doing a restoration on the truck ..........just too much of a hot rodder to leave anything stock (as Dave says anyone can restore one.....). I'll be going resto-mod on this one. It's going to get a color change (and I've found a place that can reproduce the decals), lowering, a few more HP out the original 440, a Posi and bit deeper gears, AC, second fuel tank, aftermarket seat, aluminum diamond plate floor instead of wood and probably a grill change to a 73 grill (as shown in the picture).

So in order to retain the tag I'm going to save this cab rather than just slap the other rust free one that I found on it.

I've been collecting parts for a year now and thought I had about everything to get it built until I pulled up the carpet (15 years with carpet on the floor and a window rolled down). The order for repop floor pans is going in this morning. So much for being an AZ rust free sheetmetal snob

I spent a big part of Wends at DMV getting the title straightened out (level 3 inspection) so now the project has officially begun. I'm hoping to be driving it in about a year.....but you know how that goes.

I didn't see the words "six pack" in the engine mod description...............it's a natural!!!

Actually the intake is still kind of up in the air. I'm really looking to build LOTS of torque in the 2-3000 RPM range .....a little trailer towing may be in it's future.

Well I'm still doing the tear down/grunge work on the pickup. I got the front end off and engine and tranny out and torn down. The engine had been rebuilt once and is currently at .040 over and will need to go to .060, the crank still looks good and is standard/.010 and the heads look good, so at least the engine has one more rebuild left in it.

I think I've pretty much finalized the cam/intake selection. I'm going to run a 1969 350 HP cam, square flange intake and either an original 69 AVS or 750 Edelbrock carb. The combination always impressed me for the bottom end torque they made

I've sent the doors, hood and front fenders to the body shop (sure hope I have better luck with this one than I did with the last one )so they can get started on media blasting and body work.

I decided to put the floor pans in before I pulled the cab and sent it off. I had ordered new pans for it and when they came in they both looked good at a glance and I noted the tag on the passenger side said it was US made. They were primed in different color, but I didn't think too much about that.

The passenger side fit great, just a little tweaking and trimming and it fell into place. The drivers side turned out to be made in Taiwan and was a MAJOR PIA to get lined up close enough to use. The hole for the body mount bolt even had to be recut, but their in and the metal on both pans is even thicker than the original floor.

There a lot a surface rust on the rest of the floor, but fortunately it's still solid and just looks worse than it is. The Media blasting should take care of that.

I've got a couple of 3 day weekends coming up so I should be down to a bare frame soon. I'll be sand blasting that myself (can't wait for that ).

Originally Posted by Mike P

Actually the intake is still kind of up in the air. I'm really looking to build LOTS of torque in the 2-3000 RPM range .....a little trailer towing may be in it's future.

Man, it has GOT TO BE a six-pack!!!!! Saw it in the Hot Rod Rule Book....It's the law!!!!!! Honest!!!!!

PS....I can't show ya the book, it's classified....

Awesome.. Its good to c a old dodge being saved.. I have a old war wagon thats lifted and so on .. I just finished rebuilding the 360 in it.. Nest Im on the look out for a step side bed..

Cool little truck. I agree about the six pack, it's sort of like mid '60's GTO's need tripower to really be a goat.

What is the deal with the floors? I know what you are saying about Arizona, I thought too that stuff never rusted out there. Is that from water getting in somewhere, or wet feet, or what?

If you are sandblasting, don't make the same mistake I made and use playsand. I still am suffering with sneezing and congestion, which was also probably agravated by all the paint fumes I have been inhaling for the past 6 months.

Don

Don it sat in a wrecking yard for 15 years with the windows half open and we do get an average of 12" of rain a year (little less the last few years). Every time it did rain the carpet held the moisture right next to the floor. On the bright side where it rusted from the top down the the floor braces were beautuful.

I've been using silica sand for several years (always with a mask).

Hopefully, once I get the cab and bed to the body shop, it will be back and ready for paint by the time I get the frame cleaned, suspension rebuilt and engine and tranny done.

Good progress there Mike!

This is one cool truck! I used to get Cars and Parts magazine and there was a 65 Dodge truck in the July 2006 issue that was some kind of original, low production, hot rod truck. (boneyard find, also) It had a 425hp 413 or 426, auto, and a factory tach. It was really stripped down with radio delete, plain floormat, no decals....cool truck. I guess Dodge put a few of these out over the years. Great find, I'm jealous.

What color are u planning on?

"....there was a 65 Dodge truck in the July 2006 issue that was some kind of original, low production, hot rod truck....."

Yeah, my understanding is there were a bit less than 50 Dodge trucks shipped with the Max Wedge motors from 63-65 (?). Not sure if this one one of the factory trucks or not (it was running B/FX).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IUfNoR7LkI

"...What color are u planning on?....."

I'm planning on going white with red stripping and decals.

Well the 3 day weekend gave me a bit more time to work on the truck. I got the floor pulled out of the bed. It had the original wood floor and a ton of carriage bolts holding it together. The nuts on the bottom sit in channel iron braces so I couldn't get a socket up there (which meant no impact or air ratchet, just a combination wrench. I was working alone, which meant that I had to hold each bolt down from the top with a weight. So every bolt it was climb out from under the bed and move the weight to the next bolt. Lot of fun

After the bed was off, I pulled the cab. I figured while I was at this point I could go ahead and set the cab down on it's back and get a good look at the bottom side of the welds and fill any gaps I might have missed. Of course being as how I was there, I figured I might as well go ahead and grind the bottom of the welds too.

So the frame is now outside where I can pull the suspension apart and sandblast it.

I enjoy the disassembly and the welding and metal work. I really enjoy putting them back together and painting them. Unfortunately right now I'm at the part that I don't like.......the grunge work, cleaning, sandblasting, wire brushing and generally getting everything ready to go back together.

At least the sheetmetal is being sent out for media blasting (the cab and bed will be dropped off Friday) and body work. It is SUPPOSED to come back primed and blocked and ready for paint. I'm not in a huge hurry to get the stuff back, I want to get the frame, suspension and drive train ready prior to starting on the paint.

I'm kind of hoping that things will slow down at the body shop that is doing the work over the holidays and they will be able to get the stuff in and started on. We'll see.

Very cool, Mike. It looks pretty clean underneath, looking foward to seeing the rest of the build. I found that magazine I was talking about in a box last night. I'll try to remember to bring it to work so I can scan it and send it to you.