Jump to content

1948 Dodge Pilot House / Dakota frame swap


Apittslife

Recommended Posts

Hello, My name is Paul & I am from southern Indiana.

I purchased My Old Dodge From a friend that heard I might be interested in buying another ( I had owned a '48 Panel truck ).

She is in relatively good shape for an old farm truck, & she spent many yrs in a shed when the brakes let loose, & the original owner past away.

The lower cowl panels in front of the A-Pillars are rusted out, The Running Boards are rusted out, the driver's door has a nice sized dent, & the Front fender's have issues as well. All in all, the truck is very solid.

I had intended & started to just get her running & drive her as is.

But when I priced the cost of rebuilding the brakes, My plans changed to grafting in a front subframe from a '76 cordoba, & a ford 9" in the rear.

Then I came across a couple website's that showed guy's setting their cab's on Dodge Dakota frames, & I knew this is what I need to do. :)

So I found a 1994 Dakota extra-cab that had been sitting for almost a decade due to a bad transmission. $600.00

I spent 1-1/2 days removing everything that I didn't want from the dakota.

I am going to use the Fire wall & the Floor.

Because I want to be different from the other guys I have decided to do an extended cab, & I want to lower the roof by 3 inches.

For a drive line I am leaning heavily towards a cummins 4-BT or 6-BT engine, But I may change my mind as tyme proceeds?

So here is a picture of the dakota chassi ready for the '48 cab to be grafted to it.

IMG_20121122_145552.jpg

Here is a couple pics of the Pilot house

IMG_20121123_144013.jpg

IMG_20121123_143905.jpg

IMG_20121123_143950.jpg

IMG_20121124_134333.jpg

The cab is almost ready for me to start the Body mods & I am hoping to start this weekend. But it is my busy season so tyme will tell?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I said, I'll closely follow your progress as an extended cab will be my next project truck. There is a 4 door truck over on the HAMB website as well you may want to take a look at. Take plenty of pictures!

I look forward to watching your journey!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that cab (I have different plans for the front clip) looks EXACTALLY like what I plan for TODD.....if anyone has the guy who built it contact info that,d be huge for solving some issues I foresee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that cab (I have different plans for the front clip) looks EXACTALLY like what I plan for TODD.....if anyone has the guy who built it contact info that,d be huge for solving some issues I foresee.

I don't know how to contact the guy, but I remember that he lives close by. He said that he used two cabs to make the one. He cut one cab just at the back of the doors and the other farther forward. Then, just mate them together to form the longer cab. I'm not sure how he got the doors to fit together and latch.

Merle

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is what I accomplished today.

I figured out where I thought I needed to split the roof, Then fit the rear half to the main body, & tacked it into position.

Then had a friend help help me hold the front section where I felt it looked right, then marked it & cut the pillars. ( Held Breath & Prayed that I didn't cut to much off! ) Then set the front section in place & I made several measurements & tacked everything into place.

Lastly I filled the gap in the door-frame, & welded the windshield pillars.

Yes there is a big gap that needs filling, where I split the roof, but that section is only going to get much bigger by next week-end.:P

IMG_20121201_131920.jpg

IMG_20121201_163032.jpg

IMG_20121201_163012.jpg

Tomorrow I plan to weld in the rear section, & grind smooth.

After that I will play it by ear, as I may get the Motorcycle out & go for what maybe the last ride of the season. :cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks good to me. I cut mine apart in the same places years ago. How much did take out vertically? I remember mine at 3 5/8".

Thought I was taking out 3 inches? But I guess I couldn't read a ruler yesterday, because I only took out 2-1/2".

But I am happy with the way it looked, so I didn't re-cut. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have been working on the truck steadily.

Nothing really noteworthy & I haven't taken any pics, But will do so in the next couple days.

Removed the original floor, & firewall, & have been getting the cab ready for the stretch. Not as easy as cutting the roof off, so I am taking my tyme & adding more bracing, & stabilizing the rear section. I Don't want to have anything bad happening when I split it from the main cab! :eek:

If things keep going as they are, I may be able to set the front cab section on the dakota chassi, in the next couple days. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today was "the day".

I split the back off of the cab & set the front section on the Dakota Chassi!

When I took the pics, the cab was just sitting loose on the chassi.

Had a job come in right after this, so I had to put my truck on hold for a couple hours. Later I removed the Bed, & the fuel tank, then set & squared the front section of the cab & tacked her into place.

IMG_20121205_135229.jpg

IMG_20121205_135246.jpg

IMG_20121205_135310.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feel free to inundate us with photos...;)

yes please blaze the way for me! I'm happy you are doing this and have the knowledge, I was going to fumble thru it badly, now I have a trailblazer! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been Helping to restore old cars & trucks for way to many years.

So I figured if I could take a bucket of rust, & return it to a show piece, I should be able to handle something like this.

This is actually my first roof chop, & sectioning, so if it isn't being done the way you may do it, you now know why! :P

Here is what I accomplished today:

IMG_20121207_115227.jpgIMG_20121207_132325.jpg

IMG_20121207_115339.jpg

IMG_20121207_132236.jpg

IMG_20121207_165842.jpg

IMG_20121207_165911.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use