55 Fargo

I have noticed the same thing Capan, would somefuel line insulation do the trick, rather than moving the fuel line away? I have my fuel lines a good distance away fromthe manifolds, but maybe not enough....

Absolutely, Bob, is very much a credit to this forum, a wealth of information and experience. I nominate Bob,for the Whos Who,of the Mopar Forums. Great knowing you and having you here Bob.....

Only if you would want to Jon, Old daddy, I think makes the kits for the 42s. You would have a lot more braking power for trailer haulin, in those Washington Hills. Its only a suggestion, you know whats best for your usage. I am not sure where you drive your car, on city streets, older 2 lane highways or the Interstates. But if your haulin a trailer at higher speeds, that could be over 45mph in your case, on hilly terrain, with a lot of traffic, you will want the best in braking....

Been hired to do body work on my Wife's Son's Car, it is a 1966 Acadian Canso, a rebadged 66 Nova. I am going to weld in a new lower 1/4 panel, have it already, other than that the cars is very solid, the fibreglass fenders will go, He has a parts car too. Here are some pics of this car, and a 64 Acadian, both cars are hard tops too. I would figure some of you more Southerly Guys, may have never heard of an Acadian, let alone ever seen one. It will be getting a SBC 383 stroker, turbo 350 trans, there is a 12 bolt posi diff in it already..

The top one works for me. Or in my Homerland, we go for this team. The CFLs Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Jon, open the wallet,and install disc brakes upfront,then tow trailers. In your are with the mountain roads,you need the best brakes possible...

How about the team bus for the Charlestown Chiefs, more fitting,or maybe the Saskatchewan Rough Riders football club, go "Banjo Pickers" Go

Richard Lentinillo, messed up,when He refused to do a story on Chris and Jerrys adventure with the 47 Dodge D25. I know He was emailed with pics,attachements, etc. He did not even respond, too much of a "Big Shot", I would gather. I still read the odd Hemmings Classic car, but it still seems to favor GM and sometimes Ford, do enjoy "Driveable dreams" section.....

Was that when you were riding on that bus Don? Got an idea, how about this buy this bus and restore, :eek: contract for loca lseniors transit, in your hometown, get all the seniors to the store,doctors etc, and get all the things done for yourself at same time:D.......

I agree, very cool, kinda like comparing a sedan to a biz coupe. I think this panel has a lotof potential, whether it be stock,or hot rod, EEK did I say Hot rod. Many things can be done to this unit, my Son thought it was much cooler than my 55 Fargo truck.....

Whats you have will serve you well, yes they get hot, but they are designed to handle a heavy heat load. Here is what I have done on my application, I bought a cheap 50 watt 1ohm resistor from Mouser Electronics for like $4.00, they sell the type you have too, for a little more. For my use, it should be okay, if not will pull blower off the front of the heater, and replace with 12 volt. Really will not be driving a lot in cold weather, in cool weather it heats up the cab quickly, it could be turned off , and used intermittently if need be. I have mine fused at 10 amp fuse, no issues with blowing fuses, so resistor must be doing it's job. A 6 volt blower motor on 12 volts, without a reducer, would draw a lot of amps on start up.

I rigged up a 50 watt 1ohm resistor,it works just fine,resistor gets a little hot. If it were me, living in the USA, I would buy the 12 volt universal replacement motor from NAPA, for $30.00. That same motor in Canada is $70.00,so I cheaped out with a voltage dropper. New 12 volt motor,no resistor, just a resistor type speed control switch, and be done with it

Great news Rob, glad she runs, hope to hear a video of it real soon. That will be 1 great looking coupe.........

Hey all, pulled the 55 Fargo out of the garage tonight, and noticed on the right inner fender and running board, some nasty sludge. I felt thsi combo or gravel,silt and oily calcium based dust control srpay. This stuff is nasty, and any exposed metal withouta coating, becomes instant corrosion city. I must have driven ona fresh patch of dust controlled gravel, this stuff is very nasty, and any metal it attached too, will rust big time. Years back it was oil and gravel, that wasn't a bad thing, this stuff is real bad, and no doubt has been suteing all of my vehilces, where the mtal is not protected. Another hindrance of trying to enjoy and old car or truck on thsi crummy gravel road, if it ain't the dust, it's the slimy corrosive dust control

I hate to hear your RPMs Tod, ....LOL Now my old truck needs suspension work, probably tires, exhaust is loud, after 55 mph, she gets noiser, could no doubt handle higher speeds, once all is in order mechanically. Your engine, is it rebuilt? Mine is old, and I do not want to push it too hard, and blow it up.

Wow, that could get dicey, if I have to, mine witha 3.23 diff, can keep up to 60 mph.

I also thought about going to disc right now up front. But my shoes were $70.00, drums machined $20.00, even if I installed wheel cyls, at $40 each, and new hoses at $20.00 each, that would bea total of $210.00, thhe disc conversion with all parts would be around $500, so drums are still cheaper, just saying. We both know which are a better braking system. Hey you Guys, thanx for all the good responses, yes the brakes aren't too bad, and yes we have to drive prudently, and keep an eye open at all times. The highway at the end of my road Hwy #9 is single lane, and very busy, I get a lot of ticked off people sometime on their, when I am driving 55-60 mph, and they are going 65-70 mph. So being aware, and taking extra distance is a must.

Just rebuilt my 55 Fargo truck brakes, stock front 10 inch drum, rear are 10 inch drum, 80s Mopar 8 1/4 diff from a Diplomat. Brakes are okay, fronts needed some setting up, and amy need more fine tuning, as they wear in a bit. Back brakes are self adjusting bendix type. The brakes are pretty good, not as good as my 47 Chrysler with dual wheel cyls up front, and not as good as my 2005 Caravan either. But then I don't expect them to be. So who's running stock brakes , and whats your opinion on there performance, when they are in peak condition that is.....

Re adjusted brakes, last night, pedal higher, and better braking. I will put some miles on her now, and keep adjusting. I really do see how this type of brake, needs to wear in a bit. Those old radial brake shoe grinders, would do this instantly, but if this tool was not available, some wear-in, makesa big difference..... PS gotta really thank Bob H, aka Dodgeb4ya, He really knows his stuff, and followed his guidance on the Lockheed braking systems. It is amazing how this brake design is similar to todays semi-truck air brake shoe design...

Did the front brakes last night. Had some problems, each side had on major adjuster anchor sezied, and last night with no oxycetelene torch at my disposal, could not unstick the 2. Wheel cyls looked good, no leaking behind the boots, 1 pisotn was outa bit, once I removed the brake shoe, seamed hard to push back in, but all was clean, piston in wheel cyl steel shiny red paint on it. I got the shoes installed, adjustment, not quite there. Brakes are pretty good, will all lock up, pedal hieghtnot bad, a little spongy, gonna bleed brakes again. I had a slight pulsation on first few test rides, drove around a bit, pulsation disappearing, same as my coupe. My coupe with stock brakes got a whole lot better with some wear, and additional minor adjustments, wear on shoes pretty even. I do want to go with disc brake conversion for the front, at some future point, for faster better braking. But to be honest, my 47 coupe, brakes are super, and are darn near as good as my 2005 Caravan with power front dsic brakes and drums in the back. I am going to pull out the brake tool, and do some tweaking after a few miles, I hope the wheel cyls are okay, meaning nothing seized on any of them...

Mark, look at the brakes, they are 1988 Dodge Diplomat 10 inch rear drum brakes. Self energizing Bendix type brakes.Parts available anywhere. This is on my 1955 Fargo truck, fronts are stock.....

Her you go redone my rear brakes, machine drums=$20.00, Shoes=$30.00, Hardware and brake adjuster kits=$50.00. Old shoes you can see were worn very poorly, had no auto adjuster parts, bought all new, wheel cyls in good shape. Drums machined well within the 10.090 limit... Front brakes, shoes re-lined, machine drums total= $90.00 Total brake job, $190, so far

Reg, that would work for this Guy I am sure. It would be better, than if I sent a Canadian tag. Sorry 55alive, slipped my mind about the serial number tag, don't think I have an extra anyway....

Looks Good Ed, another project gettin done..........

One day to think about it, 1 day to drink coffee about it, 1day to strip and clean all, drink more coffee, tend to the kids,wife and dog. And about 2 minutes to shoot on the paint.....ain't gonna need your help, but would splash down a few coffees with you, and have a piece of rhubarb apple pie, with a scoop or 2 of ice cream.