coW52Dodge

Btw, I was joking suggesting it was a parts truck. It is apparently someone's lawn ornament at this point. This is in Idaho, where stuff just does not seem to rot away, it seems.

A buddy of mine alerted me of this, saying "I found you the perfect parts truck!!". It is apparently a couple of mines from where he lives. It has been there a while.....

+1 Of course, most of the time I'd have enough parts left to build another vehicle..

Thanks, Mario. Once I get it and get it registered, we'll have to meet up someplace and grab some lunch. It'll look cool, having two PH's parked at a diner at one time.

I'm going to need to replace the bed on mine when it get here and have been debating to use pressure treated wood, machine it and paint it with that truck bed liner stuff. It will be black, rot resistant and hopefully not slick as hogsnot when wet.

I'm not sure what else he has to deliver and where it has to be delivered. My truck is not the only thing, that much is sure. I'm in SW CT along I95, about 1 hour from NYC on the Bridgeport/Fairfield line. We can't be very far apart as I used to commute to the Hudson valley (Terrytown).

Clever trick! In expectation of my soon-to-be-delivered truck having a 1:4some rear axle, I bought a deSoto 3.54 axle that I've been cleaning up. I may just remount the drums to try that one.

Thanks - yeah, this is a very cool truck. Since we have a fair bit of rust in our area, one can pay lots of money for total wreck that would still require a lot of work. A friend of mine, a fellow classic Vdubber, offered to help me out. He'd check trucks out for me as I found them and offered to store them on his farm until I could arrange transport. I was specifically interested in trucks that didn't have lots of rust - that they required body or mechanical work does not really bother me. This one was located just outside of Boise. I found it on craigslist. It runs and stops. I'll fix some of the mechanicals, do some preventive maintenance on it (brakes, fuel lines, etc), fix the bed, put some seatbelt in it and will roll it around to car shows. Next winter I'd like to convert it to 12V. Not to jack this thread in a different direction, but since you asked: A bug is actually a fairly easy car to pull off the pan, it being non-unibody. I did it by myself with the help of some fixtures built out of lumber and long threaded rods that served as lead screws. On the body, I've thus far replaced pretty much all sheet metal along the bottom, including heater channels (=rockers), along with the front and back firewall. It still needs one section near the engine that another fellow dubber is cutting of a donor car. After that, it will be ready for paint. The pan needed new floors, along with some de-rusting TLC. It isn't a particularly rare bug but, before this adventure, I had never done any welding or body work so wanted to practice on something not too valuable. I've always liked aircooled VWs so it was a natural thing to try and do. About the name, coW is a contraction of the last two letters of my first name, Remco, and the first letter of my last name. It has been my handle since before there was such a thing as the internet. "52Dodge" is a reference to my new old truck. Thanks for all the encouragement, guys. I'll post some more pictures once I get it.

I bought my 52 PH in December through a friend of mine in Idaho. Since winter in Connecticut isn't conducive to working on cars and I have another off frame project car (a VW bug) taking in most the garage, my buddy stored it for me until I was ready. Well, I'm ready - it is being transported as we speak. I'm excited! On the off chance you see it being rolled across country, take a picture for me! Leaving my buddy's driveway: Being driven onto the trailer to be taken to the cross country trailer: . Those trucks really seem to be at home on a farm, somehow, no?

Out of curiosity, Is that shop manual drastically different than the scanned PDFs? I prefer PDFs for when I need to work on something because I can search and print but prefer books when I'm just reading.

I haven't taken doors off a PH but other cars and have had success using this tool sold by Eastwood.

Looks very cool. Keep us posted on the progress - I'm sure I'm not the only one that loves build threads.

FWIW, I am going to need that rubber as well, along with a replacement window. Independently, that's the part number I came up with as well as while back.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'd like to get my truck transported from Idaho to Connecticut. I'm looking forward to fixing some of the minor problems and getting it registered to roll it around for now. The truck isn't anywhere in perfect shape so it can be transported on an open transport without problems. Would anyone have a suggestion as to a reliable but not too crazy expensive transport company? I thought I found one but everyone is telling me to stay away from them.

It is too far from me but just in case someone here is interested: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/pts/1050800382.html He apparently wants $600

That looks incredible. Rollers - seriously??

Something like that will do okay on sheetmetal. I think it would be better to have more adjustment on the current. If it has a shielding gas option, use it. While it may be tempting to go to town on the truck, make sure you practice on sheetmetal you don't care about first, though. Go to the junk yard an pick up junk hood and fenders for any car to get a feel for what heat does to sheetmetal. Then make up your mind whether you're up for welding the truck together. You'll find that your very first welds will look like bird poop and it will progressively get better. It isn't super difficult but there's a 'touch' to it that takes a little time to acquire.

On stripping, I've used commercially available stripper but that stuff can be nasty. Aircraft stripper in particular is quite toxic. Oven cleaner works but that's nasty stuff too. Depending on what you're trying to remove, "Dawn Power Dissolver" may work quite well for you. It being a household cleaner, it is available at home depot and some supermarkets. It is quite inexpensive ($3/bottle) and no more caustic than windex. It washes right off. It works well on the cheaper coats (Schreib, Maaco, etc). Original paint may take several coats. Spray it on, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight. The plastic wrap causes it not to dry out too quickly. After I removed the wrap, most of my aftermarket paint fell off or could be scraped off with a putty knife.

That's a great looking truck. Really nice job. I've come across your pictures before and lifted one to put on my digital picture frame to use as inspiration: That green color/black colorsheme is what I'd like to go for as well. My adventures with vintage cars have thus far been limited to VW bugs. I have one totally apart in the garage that I tinker with. I'm very much jonesing wanting to drive it around again but it will likely not be this year yet - hence my comment about enjoying it first. Fall in love with the vehicle first so you have motivation to finish the project when you do start tearing into it.

I'd get it running and stopping reliably and then roll it around for a bit before you tear into it. In other words, enjoy it first and then do the work. The other way, immediately tearing into it, is more difficult to do mentally (ask me now I know). Edit: Congrats on the score. That'll be a nice project.

Me too - too bad it won't be here until next week sometime. Looks like a great read. Not that I'm working on the truck yet (working on my bug instead) but it has been way too cold to be outside here in CT. If I ever build a next house, I want a heated garage with heated floors.

A friend of mine in Idaho (he looked my truck over for me, before I bought it) lives 15 minutes away from this place. Apparently, they don't have the rust problems we have here in the North East. Since my truck will need some odds and ends, he's going shopping there for me when the snow disappears. He tells me the place has several pilothouses. Why can't we be that lucky, having a great place like that nearby? Edit: Here are the pilothouses

Is that right? Wow.. Makes me sad, seeing those pictures. Of course, by the same token it makes me want to jump in a car and go for a drive: They are just under two hours away from me.

This yard apparently has a bunch of really nice old cars and trucks - I spot one pilot house. The address is said to be: 60 weaver hill road West Greenwich, RI 02817 Edit: scratch that - two pilothouses!

I'd like to run a satellite radio and sound system (hidden, of course). It would also be nice to have because you'd never know when you need to give or need a boost.