Jeff Balazs

That is true enough Dave. I have seen situations where the flat is on the rear where the truck might have to jacked up just to get the spare off. Also not a lot of fun getting one off in the best of times...add in rain....mud....and snow? Well you see where this is going. Side mounts just make more sense. And off road? Well it doesn't even bear thinking about. Jeff

Changing a tire generally doesn't require a trip under the truck.......if you have a side mount spare. Another good reason to ditch the under mount spare carrier. I hate those things!!! Besides.....nothing evokes that vintage era look more than a side mount spare. Was a good idea back in the day.....and in my opinion it is still the best way to go. Also in a pinch the spare can be used as a safety cushion under the frame if you do have to go under the truck with a wheel off. It isn't a bad habit to do this during any tire change involving a jack. Jeff

For a flat tire? I don't think so....... shaking my head. Youngsters these days.........

I tried several different jacks before I found the ideal one for my truck. I have a new surplus military HumVee jack which I made a few tweaks to. Lifts the old truck with ease and because of the design it would be pretty safe to use in off road situations. Jeff

You are welcome. Just wanted to make sure you knew it was not all bad news. I will add one more thing. Putting one of these old Dodges back on the road in good order is not as simple as doing a chevy of similar vintage. You can't just pick up a catalog and order new parts for everything and anything. You probably already know this......but it needs to be mentioned. And if you do move forward with it the people on this site will by far be your best help. Jeff

My comments were made so you would not be under the assumption that it is all bad and needs to be replaced. Dodge actually did a very good job with this design. The ride quality and steering on mine is pretty much just fine as it is. Maybe not in all of them but a lot of that depends on what all was done....and how well it was done. As an example they got the turning radius spot on with the original design .....my 3/4 ton parks easier than my wifes honda civic. I have always had Chevys...until this truck. And like you I wanted a Apache but couldn't afford it. But you know what these old Dodges had a leg up on those other trucks.....you just have to work a bit harder and smarter to find it. .

I certainly agree that because it is your truck ....it is yours to do with as you choose. And yes some mods do need to be made in order to make one of these trucks safe to use on today's roads. Brakes...gearing...seat belts....lighting etc. But is the basic package so flawed that it can't be kept relatively intact? Definitely not. If you take your time and go about the rebuild and mods carefully you can have something that is perfectly useful in today's world. And it will still retain all the character of what made it interesting in the first place. Honestly I am not a purist. I have made a ton of small modifications to my truck and will probably never stop tinkering. But then I have a deep appreciation of the past and am happy to take what my predecessors left me and make it work today. There is plenty of good characteristics in that original package to work with. It may be a real challenge at times but if you go about it properly it can be quite nice. If you end up going in the other direction all you will really have is another kit car. It won't be a Pilothouse no matter what you choose to call it. Jeff.

I have 4 wheel disc brakes on mine so it will stop quickly. The steering and suspension is stock but it works nicely. Would my wife enjoy driving it? Well with the armstrong steering and the partially non synchro stick It is definitely not a chick truck. It is just too ....analog . So that is a big no. And that is just fine with me. I didn't build it for her. It is all mine. It will do over 70 but it helps if you have some stones....... I am generally not in that big a hurry. Jeff

Does it have Rizuto Estilleto stamped on it?

How about some photos? The first thing that occurs to me is that perhaps the glass is not positioned quite right inside the frame. These are a bit fiddly but when everything is lined up correctly it is pretty obvious. Jeff

They come up for sale on ebay from time to time......that is where I got mine. Jeff

I have actually made a few wood ones on my lathe. Got a real nice feel to them. Working on one made of mexican rosewood (bocote) with turquoise and a buffalo nickel inlay. Will post some pictures when it is done. Jeff

Hey well whatever the reason I am glad you found an easy solution. They are not always so simple you know. It is good to have a place like this to exchange ideas on stuff like this. Back in the old days ideas and sorces of solutions were much more localized. Jeff

I wonder if this is something caused by differences in weather conditions? I have never seen an engine here that did anything like this. But it is hot and dry here for the most part. Even my old truck had pretty good compression after it's long hibernation......20 plus years. I had a couple of sticky valves but they cleared up by themselves as the fresh detergent oil went to work. The only similar thing I have ever seen here is galling caused by poor lubrication and or running with diluted or dirty oil. I am sure that wasn't the case on your engine but it can happen here especially in hot weather. Jeff

Paul; Spot deadening is certainly cost effective. And I started off by trying it that way. Yes it gets quite a bit of the rattle type noise. But the full coverage method gets it all.....especially wind noise. And as far as using it as heat insulation goes.....partial coverage just does not cut it. I used Hushmat Ultra and lots of it. I had already coated the inside and underside of the cab in brush on rubberized bed liner material. And I set strips of rubber sound deadener into all the panels of that. The Hushmat went over all of this. I also used doubled up foil bubble wrap insulation and heavy rubber matting under the seat and behind the upholstery etc. When I say this truck is quiet and well insulated I am not joking around. I will happily put it up against any in this department. Jeff

Yep....I agree for the most part. The one car I had that the OD was absolutely best suited for was an Austin Healey 100-6. It was magnificent......and a must have option in my opinion. At the time of the double nickel sped limit I cruised at 1900 rpm in 4th gear OD. And when you stuck your foot into it it had plenty of grunt to accelerate under any condition. As I recall this OD gearing resulted in at least 400 rpm lower at speed than 4th gear by itself. I absolutely loved driving that car equipped that way. I have since driven a couple without the Laycock OD and they are not nearly as sweet. Obviously this car had the right characteristics to make best use of ratios provided by the OD. I think it would take a fair amount of testing to successfully put this type of unit behind a flathead in a heavy truck. I am not certain they even offer these with a ratio that would be close to optimum? Too tall and I think you have just wasted a bunch of money. Jeff

I have owned 3 cars with overdrive units. I really liked them in 2 of those applications. All of them were the Laycock's. But only 2 of those 3 cars had the power to weight ratio required to use the overdrive in any most driving condition. The 3rd car was fine on level highway If you got on much of an incline it was a pig and the OD needed to be disengaged. I think that a small flathead in a heavy truck is going to be very similar and you won't really be able to make nearly as much use of it as you want to. I believe it is going to need a fair amount of a boost in power to really make this idea work. And I am not sure if it is all practical with a 201 thru 230 engine. Just my opinion FWIW. Jeff

It is a good thing if it was their ale. Also known as the green death.........

I went the "full coverage" way on my cab. I am very happy with the results I got. It is extremely quiet and well insulated for an old truck. Everybody that has ridden in it comments of this. How much better is it this way than just doing a quietride kit ? I don't know.......but then I don't need imperical data to tell me what I can observe on my own. I know I spent a ton of time and money on this. And I feel it was worth it. But then this is my last and only vehicle and I plan on using it until I drop so my motives are probably different than most folks. There are plenty of noisy, hot and smelly old trucks out there. I wanted something different and if you keep at it you actually can make one of these trucks into something real comfortable without changing the looks much. Jeff

I hope you find a solution that works out for you. You should be able to use this truck as you wish. It is a beauty. I doubt very much that the small flathead is going to make the cut. And I am not a fan of the racket diesels make. I know this suggestion might not be real popular but I think I would look at finding a late model dually chassis with gasoline power and modify it to work. Might not cost an arm and a leg if you are able to find something that is close to the correct size. Jeff PS love the bike. I have a couple old AJS M/C's

Tim........as long as you know the risk..... Jeff

Thank you for the good laugh Plymouthy. Jeff

Hey! Who ya callin a red neck heh? Aint ya got no school learn'n Paul? First thing all us little guys here learned at school was ......all girls have cooties .....and they were to be avoided at all cost. And ya know what? that worked just fine for a while. But somewhere along the line this vital knowledge got lost. I bring it up as a reminder of a more peaceful and trouble free time of life. Heed the warning or ignore..... your choice. And if you ever get the chance watch the movie "A boy and his dog" .............but don't let the women folk see it. They just can't ever seem to see the truth in it. Jeff

Ah come on Don. Cooties are Cooties......and all girls and women have them. Rug rats are a result of too much unprotected monkey business.

I don't think so......you can get cooties from the monkey business I was referring to.