Bobacuda

Thant thing looks like a multi-car collision on one set of wheels.

Wait...you saw the US Olympic Soccer Team beat the Russian Olympic Soccer Team?  After the Russians lost in hockey to the US Olympic Hockey team, that must have really upset them.

BTW, just having fun with you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

If your rim is not "shaped" like the factory rim, the clips won't help.  They are replacements for busted clips.  Check Wheelsmith.  I think they have an option to use your hubcap on their stock steelie, but it won't look original.  Have you thought of asking if anyone on this site has a set of correct rims to sell? 

EOJ -

Bolt pattern is "4.5 on 5."

The "barrels" on my wheels were rotted so I needed new rims (16"), but I wanted to retain the original hubcaps.  I spoke about it with The Wheelsmith.  They had me send them my old rims, they removed the centers and put them in new "barrels" with as close to the same setback as possible.  Had them powdercoated at the same time.  With freight from Texas to California, it cost me just over $800.  But they look great, my hubcaps still fit, no problems with the width for modern tires, tubeless and no rust.  Quite happy with the end result.

BTW, like color of your truck

Brent -

Nothing so exotic.  A friend and I had it loaded with live oak firewood, stacked about 2 ft higher than the bed, going up a rough pasture road, up a steep hill, next to a bluff, and I killed the engine .  Truck started rolling backwards (gravity works!), the brakes locked the wheels and it was skidding, heading for the bluff.  Fluid drive, so the engine did not help slow down anything.  As a last resort, I picked a small, but sufficiently sized oak and did my best to only hit my junkyard salvage rear bumper on it ( it was as wide as my fenders). 

It worked.  Destroyed the tail light, destroyed the junkyard bumper's mounting brackets, caused me to have to modify the bumper (trimmed it down with a torch), and stopped my truck from getting a lot of custom body work going off the bluff.  Had to take 1/3 of the wood off the truck to get up the hill, where my friend and I took a much need "rest stop."  Quite a ride.

Dodgeed -

My truck's original tail light (just one) got ripped off and the bracket bent to hell in a pasture around 1978.  The current brackets & tail lights are actually replicas of some used on old Ford cars.  My brackets are welded on.  The lenses are just plain old red, no logos.

Dodgeed -

My '53 has the seat frame with the posts that allow the bottom part to be moved forward or backward on the frame.  Real PITA to get them set if the back is already in place.  I generally pull the back up, set the bottom where I want it, then mash the back into position.  That's the same seat and frame that was in the truck in 1975 when I bought it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't changed out before that.

The rear fenders and dash plate in yours match my '53, but our wiper buttons are different.  Yours looks like the one we had on our '51 Dodge.  Look at the attached photo of my truck, you will see the rear fenders, the Fluid Drive emblems and the factory rear view mirror.  Maybe someone on here has found the mirror brackets in a boneyard they would be willing to sell you.

It needs the top made from Mopar "Mod-Top" material.  Blooming idiots...

My son has one for a daily commuter (about 100 miles a day) - avg about 26 mpg.  A friend has a 4-wheel drive version he uses around construction - 21 mpg.  That's two different guys with lead feet in full size trucks, running the AC and carrying loads.  Both love 'em.

I got mine on EBAY - best price at the time.  If I were buying one now, I would look into the one with the replaceable ends from DCM Classics ($160) like Merle got.  I paid more than that for mine and when its fixed ends are toast, I have to replace the whole thing.

Has anyone been to this one?  Is it worthwhile for a Mopar person?  Most swap meets I've been to  (with the exception of the Mopar Nationals) have been devoid of old Mopes or performance era Mopes.

BTW, I've been to the car museum and the Ozarks,both are worth a visit, but what about the swap meet?

And not my cup of tea, but the best deal I saw for $15,000.  A '73 El Dorado ragtop in great shape for $15,000.

El Dorado.docx

Some other interesting Mopars and a distant Mopar relative where for sale.  A Valiant wagon (sold), a 4-door Virgil Exner styled Plymouth with a poly 318, a rebuilt 74 Road Runner 340, and a Willys Henry J gasser

Plymouths.docx

The FBG swap meet got lucky, temps were down from over 100 to just 98 .  Anyhow, it had a good turn out, but most of the stuff was Model A, Model T, Ford Falcon or 70's Chevy truck stuff.  I did see two Dodge trucks for sale (51 and a 46 shell on a Chevy frame).  Both needed lots of work (more rust that the photos show) and both were $4,500.

2 Dodge trucks.docx

The old drag link from my truck did not appear to be a problem, until it was under load on the truck.  That is when you could see the ends flex without moving the tie rod or the tires.

Have you changed out the drag link (it does not have replaceable tie-rod ends)?  When the steering in my '53 got sloppy, the drag link was the primary culprit.

Lay under the truck and have someone move the steering wheel from side to side while you watch the pitman arm and how the drag link and tie rods respond.  Doing this made it fairly easy to spot slop in the system.  After I had the slop removed (new drag link), I moved on to adjusting the steering box.

BTW, the drag links are not cheap.  I have considered taking my old one to a machine shop and having them modify it to use tie rod ends.

Cruise Ins are free and the few car shows I have gone to around here are $20-$35 with defined charities getting the proceeds.  When I take my truck, it is the oddball, but my money is green.  I really don't care about trophies or any of the other stuff.  A mention on the PA that it is a "Good looking...what type of truck is that?" always makes my day.

My '53 outdraws the equivalent Chevys and Fords around it.  I always open the hood and the windows.  I stay by the truck, so I will let them open the doors so they can see inside.  I generally wind up being a tour guide for all the folks that have never seen one and more than one person has told their spouse or parents, "Why didn't we find a truck like this one?"

Brent, do like the rest of us...stay away from Pebble Beach.

John H -

Sorry I did not see this earlier.  The $270 was for wires, connectors and the directional signal.  I copied my old harnesses to make the new one.  I had a wiring schematic provided on this site that gave me the correct wire sizes and colors.  I was also able to peel back old electrical tape and confirm the wire colors.  Do a search on my name, I have posted photos and descriptions of this several times.  If that fails, PM me and I will see what else I can add.

Bob

Hooked the pressure gauge and code reader to the truck before re-opening the trans and changing the governor (again) and the pressure transducer- all readings are now correct.  Go figure.  Anyhow, the beast is shifting, but has to be coaxed into overdrive the first time as JBNeal said or by decelerating, then accelerating the first time you top a hill (plenty of those around here).

Front suspension did even out when the beast was back on the ground.

While you are at it, what is the number for the carb?  On the photo you posted, it will be stamped on one side or the other, just out of the photo's range, on that "fin" that connects to the "barrel" of the carb.

Take a photo of just the part needed, sitting on or near a ruler for measurements.  I might have one on one of my parts carbs.

Does it say "Free candy and puppies inside!"...?

Young mechanic I know tells me that the "lean" will zero out when the suspension is on the ground and loaded.  Just replace the worn out parts and all will be well.  In any event, this was a new one on me.

The "how to drive it mods" did not help.  I installed the "magic wire" with the capacitor and rerouted the ground wire away from the alternator, which helped for a while (stopped the shift in/shift out issues).  Several months later, it simply refused to go into OD or to lock up the torque converter.  We replaced the fluid, filter, OD and TCC relay (one piece) and the pressure governor.  The new gov did not seem to want to fit right.  Once it was all back in place, the pressure in the trans would not exceed 60 lbs - in fact it decreased to 38 lbs at higher RPMS.  We will change out the gov with a new one (again) and change the transducer to it as well.  If we get all of that functioning and it still doesn't work, it's on to the TPS next.

The more I work on this, the more I like my flathead.