RobRobitaille

Hey I found a T5 adapter kit on ebay anyone done it?

Thanks I did use the short strand on both sides. The the primer I was recommended is a urethane direct to metal sealer It mixes 4:1 with a hardener. Is that an epoxy primer? or something different? I appreciate the advice. This is the first time I have done metal work to this extent and I need all the help I can get.

Thanks! Its reasuring to hear you think I'm on the right track

Hope you can see these ones! I cut out the rotted metal shaped and butt welded new metal in its place then skim coated it with short strand fiberglass to seal and smooth my welds (Recomended by the local auto body supply shop) then primed it. Oh and I dont have a grill or marker lights so I fitted this one instead and plan to make a grill. I am not trying to make it original I just want a fun reliable truck to haul our toys around on the weekends. Anyone see any steps I should have added to how I have done my repairs I am by no means a body man so any advice is apreaciated. Thanks Rob

Im not sure why the pics are not working for you they worked when I clicked on them. I am going to post a few more maybe they will work

Here are a few photos. Decided to start with the worst piece. I will load more when my wife gets them off the camera. I am planning to use this truck as a toy hauler and am wondering if I shouldn't go with a Dakota donor drive line. Anyone have and thoughts on that? I have a healthy 318 with only about 6-7k on it and have a line on a 91 Dakota with an A518 trans and 3.55 posi 8.25 rear end for $500 Any opinions on how to set this truck up are apreaciated. Thanks Rob

I noticed a tag that says it has sodium cooled valves. My service manual says only the 251 and larger displacement engines had them.

Got side tracked for an other year but got it running this afternoon I had been soaking the cylinders with ATF for the last few months. I cleaned the points and put the fuel line to a gas can took the top of the carb off and put some cleaner in it and hit the starter vroom! Started like it was running yesterday. With alot of smoke Lol. SO I adjusted the timming and carb a bit and its idling smooth and firing up as soon as you hit the starter. It had 20lbs of oil presure at idle hot and climed to 40 at about 2000 rpm. Its running good I will still take it apart and clean it and measure all the clearances before I put it on the road but at least now I can move it around the yard easily. Going to build a shed this week to put it in then I can bring one body pannel in at a time and have room to work on it.

One piece at a time is fine. If you use a base clear application the base coat can be mixed at your paint supply store already reduced ready to spray no mixing required as long as you buy one batch large enough to do the whole job and mix it well before every time you use some the color should match perfectly on every panel. It will keep in the can mixed for years. The clear on the other hand once the harder is added use it and get it out of your gun because it hardens chemically and will harden even in the gun or can. As for the primer I would use an air dry one just reduce and spray. No hardener required. Then you can save the portion you didn't use in a baby food jar for the next panel. I have only used tinted primer at work for factory paint jobs on the assembly line but $160 per gallon seems like a lot for primer. Good luck This guy has good advice

Take your time you can almost always wet sand and polish out the imperfections. If you use a base coat clear coat. The base coat is easy to spray but the clear is a bit tricky to get it on heavy enough to get the shine your looking for without heavy edges. Practice on something like your shop wall or an old steel cabinet. If you make a mistake you cant polish out you only need to base coat the area you sanded and re clear that panel. Good Luck

The guy at the auto body supply shop told me that short strand fiberglass is the best to do a skim coat with if you have any pitting. With an adhesion promoter sprayed down first. I haven't tried it. But the guy seems to know his stuff

LOL.. It it kinda cool how all the different coats of paint layered:) I see some guys on youtube using chemical stripper to take panels right down to bare metal. Do you guys recommend this

I am going to try a tig on some scraps and see. The guy next door offered to teach me to use his. Its only 120v and the size of a lunch box looks very convenient.

I think I'm going to need buy a small metal break and sheer.

I started removing the old patches that were scabbed in top of the fenders and front clip this afternoon they came off not so bad but there is some Swiss cheese underneath.

Has anyone tried using a tig. I have seen the die maintenance guys use them at work and they can do repairs to the dies that you cant see where they welded. I was wondering if you could weld the patches in solid with one? I know the cost of one is much higher then a mig though.

The trailer with both quads is about 2500lbs Too much for an economy car. But I was hoping to have a dual purpose for this old truck. I also have a 73 Riviera boat tail with the Buick 455 that I redid about 6 years ago. It could pull them but I don't want to put a hitch on it if i can help it. Thanks again I have a fargo parts truck with the diff still in it maybe it would have the 3.73 in it Thanks for you help and I will look in to the disk breaks for sure. And i fully intend to go 12 volts. Do you order most of your things from the States or are you able to find most things here in Canada

Thanks Rockwood That is what i was looking for. With 3.55 gears do you think there would be enough power to pull 2 Atv's on a trailer about 70mph. I am not sure i have the room in my shop in the moment to roll the truck ahead far enough to get one wheel turn. But if it has 3.73 I think i should be ok with a large tire? My Tundra's lease is up in a year and a half and I would like to get a small car and use the dodge to fill my truck needs. But I want to start on the right track and need the drive line to be reliable and capable to do the job. I understand it wont drive like my tundra. Thanks again I enjoyed your videos on you tube your car appears to run effortless at 60 mph. Rob

According to my shop manual there were three ratios available in the 1951 b3b. 3.73 4.10 and 4.78 If my truck has the slowest 4.78 with a large tire 33" it should run 70 mph at 3400 rpm according to the calculator on this site. Is that to fast to rev this motor? I want to down grade to a small car as my daily driver but I still need a truck for my weekend hobby's and around the house jobs. I would be hauling atv's to the hunt camp and building supplies from town mostly. My camp is 2.5 hrs away on major hi-ways so i need to be able to run those speeds. Has anyone with a b3b used there truck like this?

I have the 25" head so 251 or 265cu in My grand father and I took it from a 3-5 ton dump truck about 15 years ago. I was thinking 3.55 axle ratio would run 70 at about 2900 rpm Thanks

I am wondering will the flat six have enough power to push the truck and light load like a couple of atv's along about 70mph. My hope it to use the truck as my weekend toy hauler. I would prefer not to put a V8 in it though. I would like to only change the rear end to gear it fast enough to cruse at hwy speed. Is this possible or an i dreaming.

I am quite sure it is one of the larger cu in ones. My grand father had it as a spare for his dump trucks back in the 50's. It has been used but he didn't think it worked that much but he couldn't remember for sure what truck it came out of. When we put it in this truck it ran good but i am sure it hasn't ran in in 15 years. I put oil down plugs and let it soak then turned it by hand a week later and put more oil in. Then got starter to turn it over and put my finger over plug hole it snapped my finger off hard so it appears to have compression I will maybe test it properly later. My goal for this truck is to make it a nice driver. So if it runs decent i would like to avoid taking it apart now. I would like to get it road worthy and make the body solid on a fairly low budget. Then as time goes do things as i have time and money to invest in it. Its kinda a sentimental piece for me and i am more interested in preserving it at this time. I kinda just went on a ramble sorry if it makes no sense

Here is the picture of the block # Also that list of part # would be awesome Thanks for everyone's help

Also the head is 25" long

Thanks Don that great. I am near Barrie Ont about an hour north of Toronto. Could you give me the name of that place in Hamilton for relining. Also the # on block is R72 10996 I know its not the original its one my grandfather had from back in the day when he use to run dodge dump trucks. We put it in there when i was a kid. So i think its from a 3-5 ton truck. But i would like to know what the cu in is and if i order parts for it what year and model truck should i get them for. Thanks everyone for being so helpful