Scruffy49

Beautiful car, especially as a father son project. You have no idea how refreshing it is to see a younger member with something classic and not another cookie cutter plastic tuner car. If it were mine, I'd be looking to add a set of fender skirts. Looks like you have the other period external touches. Fairly easy to get hold of a set of replicas and the prices aren't out of line.

I know up through 1969 Dodge still had oil bath air cleaners available. If I could find one for the 318 in my 69 D100 I'd run it instead of a paper one. Try swinging your oil bath housing by a heavy equipment shop. Odds are they'll have a replaceable element type that will fit right on. Then you have a vintage looking modern type AND a real vintage back up unit. Just an idea.

Mine was originally rough sawn oak. Could see the ellipses in the grain as the chunks came out. Had black painted pine side boards and a black painted marine grade plywood "headache rack". Grandpa used to haul a lot of heifers with the truck. Oak is nice to look at. Pine is cheap. I'm going to need durable, as in almost impossible to mar. Seriously considering milling my own boards, have white oak, red oak, persimmon, bois d'arc (Osage Orange), black walnut... all in large sizes. If I can get a nice look as well as strength so much the better. And as far as poplar, the original floor beams and ceiling beams in my 1841 plantation home are rock solid. So is a lot of the clapboard siding. You just have to use old growth heart poplar, not lumber yard garbage sap wood. I tried to resaw a piece of heart poplar from the barn, broke the saw (powered by a Stihl 036 chainsaw motor). Using the truck (on a U-haul trailer) in my move last year the floor was 3/4" CDX held in with 1/2" eyebolts. Had enough crap in the bed to flatten the springs and the wood held up great. Looked like garbage but with a layer or two of black paint would have been quite servicable.

We have a few older or outright old tractors on our small (54) acre farm... Massey Ferguson 165 Diesel (non-turbo and straight pipe)... 12' cut mower (John Deere) from the early 60s. Baby orchard tractor, JD 2350... Full sized orchard tractor, with tree shear, JD 3020... 5' tiller, Kubota L1501 (not supposed to be in the states...) A bit newer... JD5400. We also have a 3 cylinder gasoline JD1020UL but I can't find any pics. And an AG tire equipped first year 110 rider (that needs engine work).

Rear dump manifolds? Easy, 1980s small block trucks and vans. Real common mod for LA318s in 68-71 trucks. Supposedly flow better than the original center dumps as an added bonus. You'll have to weld up some emissions nonsense or get some really good pipe plugs. Could use a set for my 69 D100 but too lazy to rework my not leaking dual exhaust until I have to. Sensor location? Front passenger side top of manifold. Edelbrock on a 318 huh... don't run more than a 500 cfm carb, 318s can't breathe as is.

I've been thinking about using those fronts myself. I can fix my stock fenders but... truck is from the seattle area and i live outside memphis. They'd just end up rotten again. My rear fenders are okay, a few cracks but was thinking of using the previous series fenders (39-47). Have seen it done using original fenders, looked good. And would tie in much better with how my truck is getting built (lowrider tail dragger). The stock fenders are a little too "boat trailer" for the build style.

You guys must not live near Pep Boys. Or truck stops. $8 for lace on, $20 for slip on. Just don't buy the super cheapo black slip on, it will rot out pretty quick. Never even got mine installed... Or make your own, outdoor weight vinyl at Hancock Fabric is $5 a yard. Jo-ann Fabric carries it as well.

I'm doing the same thing with the guaranteed runner 230 I picked up last year. Started taking it down this weekend since it has been sitting on a trailer and got wet. My truck's (circa 1963 swapped in) 1948 P15 218 was known good and snapped the rings in 3 cylinders when I fired it off in 2004. And that was with pouring ATF down each plug hole and letting it sit for several days. Hadn't been run for 10 years prior to that. Swapping to an alternator even though I have a decent 12v generator. And a decent 6v generator. EZ-wiring mini-fuse harness. Will be adding some convenience items like power windows (my stock regulators are broken). All new switches too. And brighter lights. Daily driver work truck huh? I don't even trust my 69 D100 that far. And it has twice the brakes the PHs do. You really need to consider upgrading at least the fronts. For mine, the stock rear will be deep sixed in favor of something that can support discs. Of course, Memphis drivers make west coast drivers look sane...

Gas cap? Piece of cake, take your beat one to NAPA or the local ag shop, they'll have one. My trucks have John Deere caps right now. And they are the same as really early CB and CL Honda motorcycles. I get bored, have a lot of toys, gas caps get swapped around, a lot.

I've got a 1963 Honda (Benley based) CL72 that is going to be in the bed of my 49 at local gatherings. CL series was also called the "Scrambler", in this case a right side chain 250 parallel twin with dual pipes and dual carbs.. Been pouring ATF and 5W30 in it for the last couple months, it kicked through when I got it but has been sitting up. Cam or piston rings are stuck. No big deal, needs a full engine out resto-modding anyway. Have a 69 GT750 front twin leading shoe drum front wheel for it, rear already converted to TLS by a previous owner. Running or not, old bikes and old trucks go well together. Even my ratty old Honda that was painted to match my 69 D-100.. which is green and rust with a white roof. 49 is blue.

It will take some digging. Not many pics of it. Sat in the barn in Puyallup from 74-94, drug it to WSU for about 4 months, then it sat in Graham in my parents back yard from 94-2011. Now it sits next to my house an hour outside Memphis. Only pic I could find easily on the "confuser"... You can kind of see the center bumper guard. I got the grill nameplate from Reg years ago.

Would take some digging, but I do have a spare plain one. Probably under the wheels in the cab. Truck runs Ramcharger 15" wheels, stock ones are in the cab right now. Can't find my outside center bar... got a spare?

My 49 has had bumper guards, locking gas cap and a center bar interior mirror since the day it left the line. My dad has the build sheet at his house. The truck was bought new by HIS dad. I found a plain center bar under the seat. I had to break the locking gas cap to remove it. Tumbler seized and the key broke off in it. Sometime before I drug it out of Grandma's barn in 1994. Where it had been sitting since 1974. You want rare? I have the stock spare tire, still in the rack under the bed. Grandpa had 9 wheels for the truck, I kept the best 5. 2 of them are the temporary driver's seat.

My 49 had the moose brown headliner, black firewall pad, and pearl navy blue vinyl seat covers. I know the headliner and firewall pad were stock. The seat cover... no clue. Door panels were long gone, same with sunvisor and armrest. I'm keeping the blue seat covers (if the base cover is still good), the rest is going to be redone in various hardwood strips. Probably over Rod Doors ABS bases.

My wife used to have "Sucubus" on her Celica tag. Couldn't get the right spelling, too many letters. Sold the car in Washington state when we moved back to TN, the old MS plate is nailed up in the garage from when we lived here before. I can't decide between "Moldpar" or "Oldnslo" for the truck(s). Either fits either truck... Since neither old Dodge is street legal... may just put on Rebel flags and be done with it.

Mirror heads are easy, any truck stop. Mirror arms? If you don't absolutely need to have stone stock, Harley Davidson mirror and a bushing can replace the top hinge pin. I have the stock driver side mount, wasn't planning to use it. Maybe I should pop it off and fire up the forge... See if I can make up a reasonable facsimile of it... Remind me later via e-mail. It is pecan harvesting season, toys are on the back burner until probably March.

My 218 canister had a Texaco T-11 in it. It can be cross referenced to about 6 different NAPA/WIX filters, with or w/o sock. Not sure what the 230 has in it. I'm going with a PH8A filter adapter for Big Twin Harleys. Tired of messing with canisters, do enough of that at work (Mercedes powered Sterlings).

My truck's original switch had a round key. So did my 58 D300 and my grandfather's 60 D100. My truck's original switch turned better with a pen knife that it ever did with the key... And I used to "borrow" my dad's 77 Corolla the same way...

The quote for mine from Progressive was $186 for 6 months. Full coverage on my custom motorcycle is under $100 a year, and I mean full coverage everything. My 69 D100 costs me about $35 a month. Both my trucks will be getting agricultural plates. Can drive them every day, but only within a 50 mile radius of the farm. Or I'll license them at the vacation property, one time $25 plate fee and zero usage restrictions. If I run a TN antique plate and have so much as a spare tire in the bed, it is technically in violation.

My battery and cables were swapped out in 1994. Les Schwab brand (tire chain out west). Ford 8n/9n tractor stuff. Great battery, cables are a bit light. New set are 0000 power inverter cable from my C60 utility bucket truck. A full inch thick. You can jump 12 to 6, just make sure the donor is turned OFF. If it doesn't start after 2 or 3 tries, forget it. I've jump started dozens of 6V motorcycles with a 1000 amp truck 12V. Best 6V battery? Go to Mack trucks, tell them you are working with an early 70s R685. Monster amperage.

Oil, gas and gear lube. Way to start a fight... My 49 started and ran fine with the semi-solidified Pennzoil my grandpa put in it in 1974. Was not started until 1994. Sat again without cranking until 2004. Last cranked in 2008, heard rings tinkling down into the oil pan... Whatever gear oil was in it in 1974 was topped off in 1994 and is still in the transmission and differential. And still clean. Last greased in 1994 with Slick 50 brand grease. Still green. My 69 truck with a 318 runs Wal-mart brand filter (changed once a year) and Wal-mart brand whatever grade is handy. I don't change the oil, just try to keep up with the leaks. Same with the transmission (which really likes Type F fluid). Diff gets modern gear oil, whatever was on sale before the axle seals were replaced. Both have green coolant, some rust issues. Nothing a few ounces of ATF in the radiator won't fix. Cheapest garbage gas I can find. Trucks, not sports cars.

My truck always got serviced from a drum of Air Force surplus wheel and prop shaft bearing grease. Not sure how my grandpa got hold of the drum, but the stuff worked great in his (my) Pilot House, his (my cousins) 60 Power Giant and his late 70s Toyota pickup. I use generic #2 in my Sweptline and Ranger. Marine grade white lithium for any zerk fittings. Only bearing failures I've had were on my 69 D100, had the axle seals replaced and the "mechanic" thought Dodge bearings were splash lubricated like the off brands... Driver side bearing turned into powder, in the Rockies, with my horse trailer... just west of Tremonton Utah in March of this year. Not fun. Or cheap. Finding parts for a Mopar 8.75 isn't getting any easier.

Lots of UPS trucks still run the big 6 lug pattern, with modern tires... Try your local medium duty truck dealer. They would be a 19.5" tire though.

Ford Ranger steel spares are drilled for the locator pins... I knocked the pins out of mine. My 69 D100 is likely going to donate its 79 L'il Red Express rims to my 49 truck. And the 78 Ramcharger wheels on the 49 will go on the 69. Sweptline is currently farm only, no sense wasting hard to find rims on it. Last time I checked, 5 lug Toyota was 5 on 4 3/4. Easiest wheels to get for shop/winter use? Crown Vic, every boneyard in the country should have cop cars or taxis...

Born in Puyallup, grew up in Graham, went to Wazzu. My truck was sold new in Puyallup, went to Pullman in 94, to Graham in 94 to TN with me this April. Used to go through Sultan a lot, drove heavy export loads, would bootleg them over the pass at night since Cle Elum scale was usually open and you guys weren't.