Tony_Urwin

This is not my truck, I don't know the owner. I just know that he will sell the truck for $900. No motor or trans. The pictures look like the entire truck has been sandblasted. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/552349474473905/?referralSurface=messenger_lightspeed_banner&referralCode=messenger_banner I considered buying it myself, but I don't have the space for it.

I like the idea of a trailer hitch. What class or TW is a universal hitch like yours? Stout enough to tow a boat?

Thanks, Los Control. I can definitely use those measurements as a starting point for my B1C extensions. My bedsides and fiberglass fenders are not drilled yet. It will be nice to have all the puzzle pieces before I start drilling holes.

Thanks for the info, Los. The panels look easy enough to fabricate. I'm waiting for Spring to finish painting my bed. If you would be so kind as to trace a rear panel for me I would certainly appreciate it! The front ones are probably just like yours, only longer for the 90" bed (3/4 ton, 116" wheelbase). The rear panel seems to be several inches short on the 3/4 ton lowsides, so I think they used the same part for the 116" wheelbase as they did on the 108". The front panel would have to be different, since there is about an extra 5-6" between the fender and cab on the 116" truck. The lowside bed story as I understand it goes something like this: The 1939-47 trucks only came in lowside. Then in 1948, Dodge advertised their Improved, Higher Side bed and lowsides were not offered. Dodge found that there was some demand for the lowside bed and offered them as an option again in 1950-51, at no extra cost. I'm not sure how long they remained an option. Don't forget that Power Wagons had high and low side beds, too. So, the 90" lowside bed I bought for my 1948 B1C is not historically correct, but I may go the rest of my life without running into anyone who notices it. My truck started out as a stake bed BTW, which means I also have bigger rear leaf springs, as well. Putting together an old Mopar truck can be so complicated!

I bought a lowside bed for my 1948 B1C 3/4 ton, but I'm missing all four of the lower bed aprons. Like you, Los Control, I was thinking about fabricating the aprons if I don't find some. Were the rear aprons the same for the 1/2 ton and the 3/4 ton trucks? I'm pretty sure the front ones were longer, but I'm not sure if maybe the rear aprons were the same?

Thanks, Oil Soup! They don't list 1948-53 Pilothouse trucks for some reason (1939-47 and 54-56 are listed), but it looks correct to me. I placed an order for a dozen.

I bought the front tracks for one piece windows from DCM Classics, along with new longer rubber window channels and their aftermarket armrests. The metal tracks came with 3 screws and the doors are already drilled for mounting either vented/non-vented windows. However, the holes don't line up very well on my doors and I will have to enlarge or drill the tracks to fit. The doors on my '48 don't match up with the armrests, either. Kind of a common thing when you buy aftermarket parts, I guess. They often need to be reworked a little to work properly. I can't speak to the regulators, since I am installing DCM's electric window kit. The rubber felted channels were originally held in with U-shaped clips, most of them were missing on my doors. Anyone have extras, or know where they can be purchased?

OK, very similar to yours, but they have the visor front and rear.

Nice work! I just bought a pair on that ePay site you recommended. Need sandblasting, painting, and new wiring. Maybe a new socket, I suppose.

Rustyzman, I'm envious of those arrow lights. Sounds like a perfect solution to the fender light problem. I think I will look for a pair myself. Unfortunately, the previous owner solved the turn signal issue with a pair of those 4" lights from Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply. He cut huge holes around the original park light holes and screwed on his new lights. Steve at DCM had a smashed grille panel and cut the ends off for me. One of my upcoming chores will be fashioning patch panels and restoring the original parking lights with yellow bulbs for turn signal/park lights. I think those bulbs are available in LED. Just need a different flasher module. Another question is what to use in the rear. When I was still driving my truck, I installed the large late-model combination brake/back up lights back there. (Not much better than the PO, huh?) I felt better knowing that other motorists might see my signals! I have seen vintage-style brake lights on eBay with LED bulbs. I suppose they are Ford style, but they resemble our Pilothouse lights. Maybe they could be adapted to Dodge light brackets. I like the idea of having brighter lights back there.

I've been considering the fender mounted turn signal lights for my truck (my fenders already have the holes). As I get closer to painting the fenders, I been looking on eBay. They all seem to have yellow lenses facing forward and opaque backs. It seems to me that the visibility of yellow lenses on both sides would help in traffic. Has anyone seen signal lights like that? Or would it be a bad idea for some reason?

Using a 3.73 or 3.54 car differential is a nice way to keep your truck looking stock, if you can find one. You might want to consider swapping the entire rear axle. There can be issues with axle splines, I think.

I recommend an online gear ratio calculator to estimate your final drive ratio in first gear, as well as RPM in OD. With the wrong combination of transmission/rear gears, you could end up with a dog in 1st, or too low of RPMs in OD. I like http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html Those T5s came in a number of different gear sets, a lot of them had 3.50 or even 4.00 first gear ratios. No problem with 1st gear pep! Be careful, or you end up mostly starting in 2nd gear. I think your OD might like a 3.73 rear axle, about 2500 RPMs at 75mph. I'm only spitballing here, and it really depends on how and where you drive. Anyone have some real world experience to share?

I dont know that the R7 or R10 overdrives have ever been adapted to Pilothouse trucks. There are several threads on the forum regarding A833 or T5 overdrive projects.

Thanks, Ken (and Los Control) for the suggestions about the countersink bit. Something I could get done while I wait for my hip to get stronger. Did you post any pictures of your transmission/shifter mount? Everyone loves pictures. I probably covered this already, but I took my E-body Hurst shifter and linkage to Dan Brewer, since I wanted to change shifter location. He changed one of the plates in the shifter and swapped my linkage for the shorter ones I needed to use the B body mount. He also gave all new clips for the linkages. All for $56 if I remember correctly. BrewersPerformance.com Good resource if you need parts for your eventual tranny swap.

Sniper, you're right about the longer ball & trunnion types. Jamie Passon's book says there were 3 different tail housings in 1964-1965. The A-body had the 3.09/1.92/1.40/1.00 that I like, but I believe it only came with the shifter positioned farther back than B-body cars. B-body cars had better tail housing, but a 2.66 first gear. I'd love to see your A833 in a 51 swap. I saw a YouTube video where they put an OD unit in a '50 Plymouth.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone. As 9 foot box mentioned, I had a hip replacement done yesterday morning, came home in the afternoon. It went extremely well, the anesthesiologist did a great job. He did a nerve block in my hip using ultrasound, and as a result he could use less fentanyl and propofol. I woke clear-headed which has never been the case with previous surgeries. I even made a trip to the bathroom at 1:30am with no assistance, no crutches, nada. Pretty amazing. Back to trucks. I had a busy week beforehand, getting things in order at work, end of season yard work, etc, so I had little time for the truck. I have read over the comments and want to make some replies, especially to anyone interested in possibly doing the swap themselves. If you are considering an A833, do your research. There are a bewildering number of differences in the A833 models (1964-1987). For the purpose of this post, all my comments refer to A833 with 23-spline input shafts, used for the Aok Boys adapter plate. First: Tail housings and shifters, very important to consider. Sniper mentioned rear-mount shifters as E body cars (correct) Some tail housings have dual mounting points for the shifter, like mine which also has a forward mount (B body). There were also other tail housing in different lengths and different shifter mounts (A body, B body, E body, F body). Some have a single mounting point, some have two. Some even have one set undrilled. The 1964-65 A833s used a less desirable trunnion-style output (along with an A body shifter mount), later units used a slip yoke output. Look for a tail housing with the forward (B body) shift mount or your shift handle will want to come up through the middle of the bench seat. Most of these A833 models used a Hurst shifter. Those Hurst shifters have three plates which control the shift linkages. The plates and linkages are also different for different tail housings and vehicles. The shifter plates and linkages are interchangeable. Mopar also used a less desirable Inland shifter (‘66-mid ‘68)with a shift lever that can be pulled out of the shifter. Next: Gear sets, Input Bearing Retainers, and Throw out Bearings. Gear sets. 9 Foot Bed posted the list of gear sets (See Above). Most common for the AoK adapter would be the A833 Overdrive, which has 3.09 first gear and a 5.125” Input Bearing Retainer. My transmission has the 2.47 first gear, often are referred to as a close-ratio A833. I like the close ratio non-Overdrive gear splits and I have a 3.55 rear axle from a Jeep Cherokee, so I don’t really need the overdrive. Some here have suggested that my 2.47 first gear will be too high behind my 230 truck engine. (2.47 X 3.55 = 8.77.) The most common first gear in the non-Overdrive units is 2.66. Just know what you are getting, and how will work with your rear axle. I have found that most of the sellers don’t know the gear ratio of their transmissions. I had to wrap my input shaft with masking tape, and then mark it as I turned the slip yoke after I shifted the gears. I haven’t approached throw out bearing situation yet. A throw out bearing came with my A833, but I don’t know if there I a chance it will work with my clutch fork and clutch assembly. It will probably be Spring before I attempt to install the transmission, but I have other things to do on the truck (paint, interior, power windows, etc.) so after a few weeks of physical therapy I’ll be back at it. Most of my information here came from Jamie Passon's book, Chrysler A833 Transmissions, the factory Service manual, or discussions with Dan Brewer. I have found lots of questionable info on the internet. Hit me up with any questions, tips, disagreements, etc. I’d love to hear what you think. I may even decide to sell the A833 I bought, especially if I find a rare one-year-only 1975 non-Overdrive A833 with the 3.09 first gear😊

Deleted incomplete post.

nkeiser, If you have a 3.09 from an 80's pickup, I'm assuming that must be the overdrive A833: 3.09 1.67 1.00 .73 (overdrive) How do you like the shift points on the overdrive transmission? Do you find yourself winding it up in first and then dropping a lot of RPMs for 2nd gear?

Soup, I am surprised that you can even take off in second without stalling. That 1.94 second gear and a 3.55 rear axle give you a final gear ratio of 6.89! Sure, the 2.47:1 first gear on the A833 is better, but this close-ratio A833 was originally used behind big V8s. Are you suggesting that it might actually work behind my 230? I know that guys with the 4-speed will often start in 2nd. What's the 2nd gear ratio on the 4-speed?

I bolted shift tabs onto the gear selector shafts and wrapped masking tape on the input shaft so I could do proper calculations of the gear ratios. My rough measurements give me 2.41/1.80/1.38/1.0, so I definitely have a close ratio A833. I have seen some indications online that first gears can be swapped in some versions of the A833. I will talk to Dan Brewer next week. If I can't get a lower first gear I will sell this A833 and look for another. Shame, because this one is in such beautiful shape. Shifts like butter, zero slop when I turn the shafts.

Not really. There is a manufacturing date which gives an indication of the available ratios for that year. Different ratios were available for the 18 spline or 23 spline input shaft. The multiple possible tailhousings on the A833 are another indicator of the possible gear ratios. To make it even more confusing, the gear sets could have been swapped at some time in the past. The most likely gear sets for my 1974 cast iron model would have had either a 2.47 first gear (Challenger or Barracuda V8) or 3.09 first gear (slant 6 or 273, 318 V8). My transmission had a small block bell housing, so it could have been either. It also had the long tailhousing with two shifter mounts which was used in B-body and E-body cars. Mine had the Hurst shifter in the rear location. Pretty confusing.

I was afraid of this, John. I don't know the gear ratio for sure. I bought a slip yoke from Brewers Performance, inserted it in the output of the transmission, and turned it without having any of the shift linkage connected. I put masking tape on the input shaft and marked the tape with a sharpie. After several attempts, I consistently got 2.55:1, which is not even a real possibility. More likely is the 2.47 you suggested, with the final ratio of 8.77 in first gear. Another possibility would be the 2.66 first gear, which would give me a slightly better final ratio of 9.44. Best would be the 3.09 gear, like the first gear in the overdrive, which offers a final gear ratio of 10.97 in first gear. Over the weekend, I will manipulate the shift linkages to determine all the gears, so I know exactly what I've got. Changing the gear set isn't cheap, and it might e better to sell a Brewer built transmission, and start over with a different transmission if the gears won't work for a flattie. Dan Brewer will swap gears with me but it would still be hundreds of dollars if I want a gear set of comparable condition. I don't need to do burnouts, i just don't want to burn out clutches trying to get started. What are the actual ratios of the Pilothouse 3 speed transmission, anyway?

I'll see how close to flush I can get those bolts. Maybe fender washers under the ears would relieve the stress. The bolts they send are anodized, right? Should I use anti-seize on them? By the way, I miked the input shafts last night. They are both 3/4".

That's a good point. I also read that another member had to file the center hole as well. I was able to file the center easily enough, but I wondered about making it slightly off center. That's probably not a problem, but reaming out the recessed bolt holes will be more difficult. Maybe clean them up with a dremel?