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Shade Tree Wrenching on a C-series 3/4 ton


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     So this is going to be my rambling build post about the 'Dude Magnet' my 1954 Dodge 3/4 ton C-series beater. The chick magnet on it is unfortunately permanantly broken but I will mostly be addressing other issues.

     I think I mentioned in my intro post my buddy and I trade this truck back and forth every five years or so for small money when one of us loses momentum or interest. 

     I have done a few cars before- enough to know that the body is the really hard and expensive part. The chassis and driveline are the easy and fun part for me.

     I am not in a hurry to put a small block chevy in her or drop it on an S-10 chassis- I am a mopar freak. I also see the truck as too far gone for a restoration so I'm treating it like a tool. I'm going to get it working as well as possible and keep it cheap, while hopefully avoiding rat-rod cliches.

     This weekend the snow melted in PA and I was able to get a few hours of work in on the truck. I guess doing a few replies on here is the best way to post pictures? Here goes:

It already had a 32/36 reproduction Weber progressive carb on it but the stock pedal was beat up and bailing wired to the pushrod. The stock mechanical  throttle linkage was only getting 2/3rds WOT.

I got an air cleaner off Langdon's stovebolt and a cheesy ebay throttle cable and pedal setup. 

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The throttle pedal itself is way too billet 90s for the rest of the interior. I might sandblast the chrome off it and maybe paint it satin black. The brake pedal is also new- I welded the tip of the '54 pedal to the bottom and bolted on the original pad. That'll look nice painted black. 

The front brakes are going to be refreshed too- new calipers, hoses, hard lines, 1" bore master, and a dual 8" power booster.

I hope my 230 flathead six has enough vacuum to work the booster and I won't need a can or a pump- I figured I'd roll the dice on that one.

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Last one-

pics of my brake pedal with factory tip welded on (sorry the I-beam scrap in the background makes it hard to pick out)

The second pic is my funky home made cable stop and return spring bracket. Someday I'll have a lathe!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update!

I finished plumbing the new master cylinder to the front brakes last Wednesday. All new steel lines, hoses, & calipersI re-used a summit rear adjustable proportioning valve and found Both my lower rear bleeders were stuck until tonight- I used a 6 point 1/2" drive rachet on one slightly rounded bleeder and a big vicegrip on the other. 

I didn't see any bubbles when the rear bottoms cracked but the rear line routing is funky and was always hard to bleed. I think a new inline brake light switch and a 10lb residual pressure valve are in order for the rear drums- possibly a new line and hose too.

I keep having fantasies of throwing a modern (70's+) drum or disc rear back there but it's gotta be easier to fix what I have than start with a whole new set of problems

 

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Edited by Radarsonwheels
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I stuck a pic of the new booster and m/c in the above post.

Some wires had to get moved- I modified the existing hole in the firewall to take the booster and pedal. They got crimped back together for now. It's cringeworthy but temporary- like the bailing wire that held the stock gas pedal to the  throttle linkage for the past six years! Ha! The wiring is next after it stops well.

Here's a pic of the funky rear brake line setup- somebody used a splitter as an adapter so now it doubles as a midpoint bleeder. I have a summit adjustable proportioning valve in the rear system but the rear juice is also plumbed in and out of the 'front' portion of the block since that's also my brake lamp switch.

I'm gonna try to get a pedal again tonight now that I have a 10lb residual pressure valve on the rear drums and all the super stubborn bleeders are cracked!

If you couldn't tell this view is down below the driver's footwell where the access panel is for the battery and stock master cylinder former location.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So the new power booster works awesome but I never did get a good pedal. I said why not and ended up grabbing a ZJ grand Cherokee dana 35.

The new rear is maybe an inch and a half narrower, same 5x4.5" bolt pattern, 3.55, and has discs with a drum parking brake which will be a very welcome upgrade. It will for sure be easier to bleed and maintain.

Here's the rear before and after, ready for new tabs and perches

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Today's progress! New rear shackles went on, the rear was rear centered and the pinion angle was set, and perches were tacked then welded up. The brakes are all installed and it's ready for mounting and plumbing, with a few new tabs to hold brake hose brackets. 

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Closer...

I gotta plumb the hard line to the rear hose and splitter, bleed it, and figure out/ fabricate the parking brake cables and linkage. The stock ZJ jeep rear cables meet in the middle, not on the side, and I'm not sure if I am going to use the stock pull handle or the floor one frim the zj.

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2 hours ago, Merle Coggins said:

Good job on the creased door. Those can be a bugger...

Thanks Merle

I am a little conflicted about doing things quick and dirty- my instinct is to cut out the whole battered and rusty door skin all the way up to the top body line and replace it with new steel. I've done the restoration thing before and while I enjoyed the process I don't enjoy owning a really nice car half as much as a cool driver/beater. 

It's hard to stick to the plan of farm truck repairs- I want to do much better than duct tape and bailing wire, but not get too precious about it. Last week I cut out all the rust in the passenger tailgate latch and welded in some 14g sheetmetal to get the strength back. It came out fine but you can see the repair (on purpose).

Waxing a buffed out paint job is fun but dragging out the angle grinder, drill, and welder is super fun!

Here's a pic of some of the frisbees of bondo I chipped off this door :)

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I ended up replacing the 1" bore brake master cylinder with a 1.25" bore MC. It stops much better now. 

I also checked the front wheel bearings (all good), adjusted the parking brake shoes and linkage, and started installing a fuel filler neck in the rear fender.

A lot of hot rods and old stuff I've had are fun to drive to work but too much bother to fire up just to run an errand. Yesterday I fired up the truck up at work and scooted out to pick up lunch. It fires immediately, stays on, and now stops like a modern car- totally convenient and easy!

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  • 1 month later...

Look good. I'm battling popped bondo on my Fury. Sheet metal is going back in, but this is a driver so I'm not too fussed. Truck looks good!

Edited by rcb
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  • 1 month later...

I have some new progress for this build thread! Thanks to all for the help along the way lately. I am hopefully on my way to having a truck that goes straight and doesn't hop sideways when you hit a bump.

She's getting new kingpins, bushings, and  shackles, with new tie rod ends and drag link to tighten everything up even more. 

The rear upper shackle bushings in the frame fought me really hard coming out, but good prep work and a dab of axle grease made hanging the new shackles and springs a pleasure, even outside in this summer heat.

My axle is at the machine shop getting the kingpins done and I will start bothering them again on Friday if I don't hear back.

Next thing while I'm waiting is to remove the drag link and tie rod ends, and maybe sandblast and paint the spindle brackets and whatnot from the pitman arm on back. 

 

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The machine shop is done with my axle! It now has new kingpins and bushings installed, with everything clean and ready for paint. With a little luck I hope to have it picked up, brought home, painted, and drying before I have to go to work at the crack of noon tomorrow.

In other news I got ready to crack the tie rod ends loose before the axle came home so I can set toe. I was ready for a fight! I had a bfh and a long bar and a torch lined up and ready by my large pipe vice.

I'm convinced all this preparation is why after a brief soak in pb blaster I loosened the pinch bolts and effortlessly unscrewed both sides using my bare hands!

I'm still waiting on my new bearings and drag link in the mail, and I'm going to need front  tires due to dryrot. I also suspect my stance will change now that my shackles are working and the rear spring eyes will no longer be sitting on the frame. 

Anyway I'm excited- major progress!

 

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You bet I did! That silver stuff is the best! 

And I certainly will report back about how all this long overdue maintenance affects the ride. I'm hoping it will be a noticable improvement.

These kind of specialized forums are great for getting advice and help with problems, but they are also important for us as a place to brag about our minor victories and lament our defeats. I have a good number of friends that wrench on a lot of stuff from harleys to 1/4 milers and street freaks but almost none of them have tried to pound a kingpin out of a dodge straight axle.

Thanks for making me feel welcome here.

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On 6/15/2017 at 0:05 AM, Radarsonwheels said:

So today I dug out a bunch of rust and popped bondo and sealed it up with a lick of paint. 

The body work is going to go slowly but for the grille and dodge tail gate letters I'm thinking cream or off white soonish.

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Cool Vanilla gets my vote......lol.....like I have a vote.

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Thanks Frank!

I like the off white 'cool vanilla'! My plan was gloss cream but too many people have told me their favorite touch is the grille patina and for now I dig it too. It took me a long time to find that grille and that is just how it looked when I got it. The bottom bar is actually a different color than the top and it has some waves and dents. 

I think if I ever get the body decently straight I will take another look at painting the DODGE in the tailgate and the grille bars in a creamy vanilla off white. I'd have to do some hammer and dolly and plastic work on the one bar first.

That is a beautiful car! I lent out my b-series Bunn book but I thought my hood ornament was a '51 pickup truck ornament. Mine was missing some of the dodge letters and the cool circular badge was missing too. The ram is cool, looks right to a casual observer, and was cheap at a swap meet!

I have been thinking about using harley fender spears (lower edge front fender trim) to finish the rear of the ornament but I'm afraid of festooning my classic simple truck with too much shiny junk before it's actually even straight. I'll probably leave it as is.

eh... late night dinner digestion rambling.

So here's a picture of the new kingpins installed and the axle painted and ready to install. G'nite!

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Edited by Radarsonwheels
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It's all installed! The front axle is in and I even drove it around the block once before my  fuel pump died! It felt much tighter and drove straight despite a rough one man driveway toe setting.

I thought it'd raise the front more than it did so I'm happy!

 

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