Mikec4193

My old junk when I go on..... I was out to see my son out in Kansas last month and he was telling me..."dad I don't want any of your stuff..." you can give it all to Megan (his sister)...I have it written in my will he will get all my vehicles...which last year sat at 6 vehicles...been selling most of my junk in the past year....last year I think I sold 4...so he will only have to deal with 2 of them if I go on in the near future...he has never been a gear head...he always wanted to save the world... All I ever wanted to do was race oval track stuff...so if I get back into that stuff again then he will have to dispose of that stuff too... MikeC

HI Brent So how does that truck have so little rust on it? Does your state not use road salt when it snows? just wondering out loud... MikeC

Hi Dolly Dodge From my Willys Jeep days...3 pumps on the gas pedal, pull the throttle out about 1/2 way....choke out about the same...turn the key on...hit the started on the floor...truck should fire...fiddle with the choke after a short warm up period...should run down the road with choke fully open (pushed in on dash).... It is amazing how close the flat head Doge motor sounds to Willys I had a last year....sounds like a sewing machine for sure... Congrats on getting it moving under it own power.....a major milestone for sure... MikeC

Oh my gosh... Now that would be a cool retirement travel mode for sure...my wife wants to travel in the future....I can see it with a Dodge Neon roundy round car on a trailer hooked to the back...I could go see my kids and not have to book a room for once....now that would be cool... ... Love love love the finish on it....I come from that side of the tracks...love to see an old truck that still looks it's age...kinda old and smelly like me.. thanks for sharing... MikeC

Hey Ulu I have never had a lift...so what kind I have I would not really care....one that lets me not crawl around on my hands and knees anymore....so what ever one works best is the one I want....oh yeah also...one other dream tool...maybe a young kid to help hold stuff up when I need an extra pair of hands...now that would be cool... MikeC

Dream tools you say...hmmmmm...???? A lift as stated above and a plasma cutter...I love to cut and grind and weld metal....a decent plasma cutter would be a wonderful addition to my garage for sure... I can only dream about the brackets I could fabricate with one.... my 2 cents... MikeC

Hi Everyone Being the new guy in town on here I am reading as much as I can on here but I gotta ask the pros a question or two. I love the looks of the Dodge Pilothouse trucks and I even have some history with them. I also have some history with a 1939 Plymouth 4 door sedan. Not sure which way I want to go. I am thinking maybe you guys and gals and fill me in on some stuff... I would love find a cool old Dodge truck but I also would love to find a 1939 Plymouth sedan too...which of these two are easier to procure parts for? How do the prices compare also for parts and how are the aftermarket parts availability ? Which is easier to convert to a decent practical driver?? My overall goal is something that I can use as a spare vehicle that I can and my wife also can drive on an occasional basis when the weather is decent....(where I Iive right now...winter driving would be on a very very limited basis).. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. MikeC (if I posted this in the wrong area please feel free to move it)

Hi 1940 Plymouth A man after my own heart...an old car and you are going to let others sit on it....way cool...to me shiny is way over rated...it is an older vehicle....should look like one too...love the picture... MikeC

I must say....as I get older I wonder every winter why I stay where there is winter from November until April....just nothing nice about cold and snow anymore... MikeC

Love the old racecars....been into oval track stuff since I was like 4 years old....thanks for posting those pictures... MikeC

I love the internet...I found something that might fit...not sure if the 1948 is any different than the 1950...wish I had one of those interchange catalogs... http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/351002544611?lpid=82&chn=ps Just throwing it out there.... MikeC

HI Everyone.... On my last rebuild (1947 CJ2A Willys) I bought a roll of this copper zinc and a bunch of ends...this stuff is crazy nice to work with...probably going to be using it on my current project and my next too (Dodge Pilothouse) NAPA sells it over the counter too... http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/381042788110?lpid=82&chn=ps My smelly old 2 cents.... MikeC

Hey MBFowler That is so funny....my dads truck had that utility box on it too and it was a New York telephone truck too...he took that box off and found a stock Dodge one and drove for several years... MikeC

I was out in Kansas for that storm but as 1940 Plymouth says in the above post...we are getting ready for another one...8"-18" before it is done...gotta love winter in the great North East.... MikeC

HI Everybody I have been a thinking about this post for a little while. My dad had a Dodge Pilothouse truck back in the mid 1960's and he built the house I grew up in with it back in that time frame. I have owned several vintage trucks but I am really getting drawn back to this type of vehicle. I can still see myself and dad going to the dump with it, going to the local oval track on Fridays during the summer too. It was a much quieter time in the town I grew up in and his Pilothouse was very much a part of it. Once we got stopped by the local police because it was a work truck and they kept trying to find stuff wrong with it but they never could. So what got you going down the vintage Dodge truck road you are currently on? I think mine were the fond memories of me and my dad so long ago. MikeC

Hi Jeff and all you others too... I have learned from many years of grinding rust and rot from the Northeast/New England vintage tin that finding a southern truck is of huge benefit in the end...if I can find one that is... So can anybody wanna throw a "ball park" figure out that I might have to spend to pick up something that starts and stops? But might need some TLC... Any insight would be an awesome thing... MikeC

Hi Everybody It was about 2006 or so when I found an old Pilothose truck to rebuild and it ended up to be too rough so I let it go for what I payed of it....My dad had one back in the 1960's and we spent many a day out tooling around the then quiet roads where we lived and I always like the looks of them but when I bought that one in 2006 it was and eye opening experience to find out how hard it was to find parts for these vehicles... So I went out and bought a bunch of Willys vehicles (trucks and CJ2A's) and a couple of AD style Chevy trucks and I am still working on one as we speak (1953 1 ton) but I found that book by John Jerome about rebuilding his 1950 Dodge truck (which I am going through for the second time) so I start to thinking about getting one again... I am really enjoying this website...So if any of you veterans have any insight as to where to start this adventure? I would like to find something with some upgrades but not really into the whole shiney hot rod slammed to the ground thing...I am more of an old and smelly kinda truck guy... MikeC

I just started reading this book again...second time around for me...bringing this old thread back to life again... Does anybody have any idea where John Jerome's 1950 Dodge truck might be? I think he wrote it (the book) he was living in New Hampshire in the late 1970's. MikeC

Hi LakerMatt I dont have a Dodge Pilothouse yet but I went thru that whole compression test thing on my 1960 Willys Jeep truck (2 weeks ago). My numbers were the same as on your Dodge. Now I know why I got the Willys so cheap...I should have checked mine back in 2007 when I first bought it...I would have sent it down the road back in 2007...instead I spent boat loads of cash and many tanks of welding gas...spent more than 5 years (off and on) getting it ready to drive and now I find out that the motor needs complete rebuild...mine will idle great but no power...So I will sell it now and take a beating like you wouldnt believe. Someone is gonna make out like a bandit tho..all they gotta do is rebuild the motor everything else is rebuilt or new... Thanks for posting this subject. MikeC

Hi Everyone I have been lurking for a while and as all you Mopar guys know the smaller pickup trucks are virtually unavailable anymore. So as I have been online searching for a Pilot-House to tinker with most everything that I have found are the larger flatbed versions. I love these old trucks but I am looking for something I can drive the 11 miles I drive each way to work (during the good weather of course). So how hard would it be to convert one of those larger models into a smaller pickup style truck that we all love? What I was thinking about was getting a late 1970's-early 1980's Dodge pickup (D150) and then taking the Pilothouse sheetmetal and mounting it on the smaller chassis. I know the front fenders have larger wheel well openings so I would need to find the smaller model front fenders. So if any of you Pilot-House experts want to give this newbie some wise advice that would be a wonderful thing. Thank you in advance. MikeC

Hey Rusty112 You have one of the coolest looking 4WD Dodge Pilot-house trucks I have ever seen. I bet it is a bear to drive huh?? Do you have any more info on it? MikeC

Hi Everyone I have been lurking for a while and decide I would jump into the fray and introduce myself to you Dodge guys. My dad and I used to ride around in one back in the mid to late 1960's. It was old and smelly and the police used to stop him looking for lights that didnt work or bald tires. Dad never got a ticket from the police. I am looking for a complete running Dodge Pilot-House truck. I just purchased yesterday a Pilothouse cab and doors and hood to wet my appetite for now. I will post pictures as soon as get the cab home. I also have a couple of Willys vehicles too. I may have to sell or trade the 1960 Willys truck to purchase a running Dodge Pilot-House truck...only time will tell. Oh yeah I am from the upstate New York area. Been here forever. I have 5 more years before I can retire so an old Dodge truck just might fit right in with my retirement plans. Hope I can learn lots from you folks. MikeC