Leaderboard

I checked the brakes and steering and went down to the corner and back. It is not always easy to start so I didn’t want to walk home and my kid is in the house watching cartoons after dinner. I was more than a little nervous but the rusty rotors worked ok and the steering was pretty good too- a little more effort than the over-assisted 70s muscle cars I’m used to but nice. I live on top of a small hill in the middle of my block and it’s a 2 lane street that narrows when people park on the sides so I was just concentrating on making it home without killing the motor or finding a terrible problem the hard way. It’s got a loud thrum at idle that will take some dynamat to cure but it never threatened to die. The turning radius was decent (should be for a shortened dakota) and the power brakes seem to be working ok? Not amazing. Breaking them in from their slumber will help but the actual braking happens after a good bit of free travel and requires some force on the pedal. Maybe I will eventually go to a smaller bore master but time will tell. I’m super glad I extended the floor forward under the pedal so it could have more travel without a higher starting point. I hardly looked at the gauges but on the way back up the hill I gave it half throttle and good lord she’s got some stink! BIG milestone today.

they pretty much useless in a gun fight.....lol

Always.

so...... how was it?

I little pre-work morning pic of Art

Hold it the trans in place with long headless bolts aligning all the holes. The throwout bearing should be in place on the bearing retainer before the shaft enters the pilot bushing. Have a helper depress the clutch, (or rig a way to hold it disengaged if no helper). While disengaged you should be able to wiggle it in.

It's finally looking like spring around here. I thought since it was nice I'd take a pic of both my trucks. I suppose they'd be cousins?

after much research I realized I couldn’t let someone else in control of driving me over 50 hours. We ended up flying to Arizona, renting a suburban and spending time with three different family members and two good friends who winter there.

A nice read about crossing the country on Amtrak: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/20/magazine/train-across-america-amtrak.html

Also, cover all bases...?

…Remembering the Boy Scout's motto ,"Be Prepared" ! ?

Haha, the thought crossed my mind to be able to "use it if necessary" but I'm too old (and wise??) to get in that situation, i think....?

I mounted an air scribe on my plasma table to do the shifter plate. It works kinda ok, it sometimes quits and just drags, I mounted it on an air slide and it's hard to get the right down pressure set. I cut a brass knuckle shape out of 1/2" metal for the shifter, I think it suits the theme. The shaft is 1/2" square. It twists fairly easily without heat. I made a jig outta a couple cracked 1/2" drive sockets, just slip the shaft in, and turn the big nut.

I bought mine from Kanter. No problem.

you have this style also....

I am constantly amazed by the amount of people that buy and install 70 year old nos parts that are prone to failure. Do not install nos rubber item such as...fuel pump, vacuum advance, fuel lines. brake lines. Brake shoes are an nos no no....I have a real nice collection of nos parts, sitting on a display shelf where they belong. Did you know that some of those nos parts were factory seconds sold to the dealer for cheap. I'd use nos points,ign switch, genny, voltage reg, gages and dizzy all of these are superior to the chinese parts flooding the market.

Some have used Terrill Machine in Texas for a rebuild shop. I would compare prices.

I used regular nuts, cut them a little thinner, and drilled them for cotter pins. Still working fine 10 years later.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Peel-Seal-Instant-Waterproof-Repairs-6-in-x-25-ft-Aluminum-Roll-Flashing/1018733

It drives really nice. The solid engine mount is not a problem there is virtually no engine vibration. Even at an idle. It sounds like a beast since it's still open headers but cruising at 50mph there are no weird vibrations, surprising since I shortened my driveshaft myself! I thought for sure there'd be an imbalance in the shaft, but it seems good. It is too low obviously, good thing i don't have fresh paint on the front valance! She rubs now and then on the gravel road. If you punch it at 50 she'll break the tires loose(on gravel) but no shortage of power!

This is a typical picture of a machine shop hot tank cleaning of a Mopar oil pick up...they dont remove the tin cover to fully clean it...I always do... This one I had to R&R the screen ....re-crimp it... a hard thing to do right. Definitely check all machine shop cleaning of all oil passages! Leave No debris anywhere...

Apparently it’s possible to install the atf pickup backwards and run the filter up to nothing, leaving the suction hole unfiltered and above the fluid level. I installed it as a unit with the filter and gaskets on the screws- never checked to make sure the passage went somewhere! Kind of an optical illusion that the center screw is not centered, but it is. Flipped it around. Cheapest fix ever still gotta go back together and fill it back up, and see if it will work now. It’s funny if I had overfilled it it probably would have worked until it sucked enough unfiltered ATF to clog someday.

" Starting to believe Mark and Brent bring the sunshine......can't be any other explanation " WRONG! It's the spouses! Best unorganized women's auxiliary any where!

I will not buy another started by someone else project again...………..It is by far easier and less mental aggravation to just start from a dilapidated wreck....at least you know what you got and HOW IT WAS REPAIRED before the paint went on....I was lied to on every turn about what and how of the build...I HAD, not just wanted, but had to remove and re-work everything.

Starting to believe Mark and Brent bring the sunshine......can't be any other explanation. Anybody still on the fence about showing up???? Let me talk you into it!!! 48D

I've learned I can pretty much screw up whatever the wife didn't want me to do, so now, I pretty much stick to the garage, and leave her stuff alone in the kitchen. ?

I believe there were shallow and deep pans. Your article says 9 and would be typically for a shallow pan if the pic in the article is any indication. Deep pans or an aftermarket deep pan are going to take more. Did the pickup have an extension to drop it to the bottom of the pan?

Redoing someone else's work is more expensive than starting from "scratch" yourself...... If its not running, looks cobbled together and has (what I call ) untested upgrades.... Look into starting from scratch yourself and see where the cost falls. Dakota frame engine A non running 51-53 truck with 90% of parts The ability to bring it together ( tools, funds or both) It'll be a matter of which truck wins....a truck with a multitude of problems and unknowns... Or carefully bringing together a proven design that you would happy to drive your family around in. A truck like this one might require a multiple of shake downs, tear downs and....(hoping against) breakdowns. This truck (based on parts alone) might be worth 4500, if you can put it through the paces and prove its safe for family. Otherwise.....its an expensive parts truck. 48D

My brother needed a car, he told me about a car that he was going to go look at after work the next day. I went and looked at it while he was at work ... some sort of 1963 chrysler 4 door in really nice shape for $50. Needed a $5 part to drive it. I figured if my brother did not want it, I would fix and flip it myself. Just did not want to go back later with my brother and find it sold. When my brother got home from work and saw me working on the car in the driveway, I just kinda assumed he knew it was his car. I was telling him all about the great deal it was, how I fixed it and was working on this and that, Think I was 18 years old then. My older brother was getting pissed off, I had to run and get away from him, let him cool down so I could tell him I bought the car for him and not me. All worked out in the end, but will never forget that time

No matter who looks at the truck for you it still might not be what you had in mind. It might be fine in the view of the "looker" but that is not you. The price may be ok but it has been for sale for quite a while. The market has spoken in that it is too much money for what it is. If you think you really want it go look at it yourself. Bring a trailer and cash and be prepared to walk away. There must be a reason, or three, that the truck is still sitting.

Yes, the oil cooler will extend the life of the oil and thus extend the service life of engine. The trans cooler is too big for these engines, think something like a power steering oil cooler in size. Put the thermostat close to the engine as possible. All the new v6 and 4 cylinder Mopar cars come with oil cooler installed on engine now. It’s not just for heavy duty applications, it’s for engine longevity. In my 2014 Dodge Journey I’ve got the 3.6 liter vvt engine and it uses a water to oil cooler incorporated into the oil filer housing.

Brent, Yes the arm pits might get funky from time to time, however this is getting added to next years calendar for me in CO. That is of course depending on when the trip with the wife to Alaska is finalized. Thanks. Eric

It's drivable! Little more to do yet I just had to beat radar to the punch! Haha

I remember someone here converted their oil bath filter to a drop in pleated....

How sweet it would be to somehow use an original oil bath oil cleaner mounted somewhere under the hood, but I'd totally iunderstand using something else, just get 'er going! I'm rooting for you! Doug