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1958 Sweptside question


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Hi all; new to the forum and have restored a few old Dodge trucks and muscle cars.

i was super lucky this week and was able to find and purchase one of the rarer s out rarer trucks out there; a 1958 Fargo Sweptside with a factory V8. According to the research I’ve been doing, there were approximately 11 Fargo Sweptsides built in 58, and 3 of those had the v8.

There are actually 2 trucks that I bought; the story goes the previous owner who passed away 20 years ago wasn’t much of a mechanic and the 3 on the tree transmission on the original truck (pink and white) was slipping so he bought a good running 59 regular Dodge , moved the Sweptside box onto it and repainted that  truck red and white. The original cab, frame, axles, fenders, hood, engine and transmission  have been sitting in the weeds on blocks ever since.

 

Obviously my plan is fully restore the original  truck   and move the Sweptside box and tailgate back over.

Unfortunately not all the parts are there, but all of the key stuff is.

 

So to further my education on these rare s, trucks, can someone educate me on what exactly is different between a 58 Sweptside and a regular 58 half ton?

And also, because a have a running 59 that comes with it, what parts would be transferable between a 58 and a 59 truck?

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Welcome to the forum !  I owned a 58 Dodge Sweptside several years ago.  Mine had the big back window, a push button auto, and a 315 V8 Poly engine and the rare Model 700 ceiling mounted radio. 

I'm still kicking myself for selling it. NOTE: the grill was from a 59.  Hows about posting some photos of yours here .

 

1 58 Sweptside 3.jpg

1 58 Sweptside 5.jpg

1 58 Sweptside 6.jpg

1 58 Sweptside 7.jpg

1 58 Sweptside 4.jpg

Edited by Reg Evans
CAUSE I COULD
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I’ll post up some photos this weekend; the trucks are 10 hours away and the hauler will be bringing them “home” tomorrow!

The reason I say trucks is that in the 1980’s the clutch started slipping, so the old owner who was not mechanically inclined bought a good running 59, moved the Sweptside box onto that truck, and repainted it.

The original cab, fenders, hood, frame, axles, engine and tranny have been up on blocks in the weeds since then.

Sunce I will have the 59 here as well I was wondering if any of the 59 parts would fit the 58.

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   I found a 59 Dodge Sweptline 3/4 ton. It had a 318, 4 speed.Before 59 they were Sweptside and used the 2 door Dodge Suburban wagon fenders. 58 had the three bar grill, but larger truck,s had a 60's style grill. 59 had an insert that had 8 slots. The truck I was looking at, had a different dash, the glove box was on the passenger side and the the five individual gauges were mounted in a different platform, not oval. But the speedometer seemed to have the hooded bezel. It's not listed now, but he wanted $1000. 

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   I did a Google search, and came up with a bunch of parts on Ebay. Try dodgeclassictrucks.com . The thread, new and retro parts, has some vendors listed. I didn't spend any time looking at the other threads. Post the pictures when your trucks get delivered and sorted. Then you'll know what you have, because it's a Fargo. Is the parts truck a Fargo?The 59 should be a 318, the parked 58 chassis could be a 315 Poly style engine, or a six cylinder long block, Canadian were different, than US versions. Welcome and Good luck.

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The parts truck (59) is a Fargo also, and I believe has a smaller engine.

The 58 Fargo Sweptside has the original 315 v8 still sitting in it.

The bad news is it hasn’t moved in 30 years and for some reason they pulled the spark plugs out of it at some point, so I’ll have to assess it; I’m really hoping it’s saveable.

The good news is the spark plug holes are pretty protected, and the hood and fenders have been in place all those years which would have kept direct rain and snow off of it.

 

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