TrampSteer

My Dad passed April of last year. A small inheritance came after but it really bugged me to just spend it paying off the car, or some bills. I wanted something more than a receipt to remind me of him. At the same time, I always wanted an old truck. Seemed to me that I am at an age where it probably is the last vehicle I'll ever buy. That seemed fitting so with the OK of the Misses, I set off looking for something. I'm a renter. Have almost no room to work on something and not that much experience in automotive to begin with. The chosen truck needed to be already running. That looked pretty achievable based on today's prices. The biggest part was finding the right one. I mostly looked at Studebakers because the Fords and Chevys seemed to carry a premium price. I was also strongly gravitating to 1948 and earlier. Then I found the 48-53 pilothouse. Like most every Dodge ever made, it was more reasonably priced and ahead of its time in design. They had a lot of style. Used to have something very similar to this on the farm where I was raised. That took about nine months. I bought and shipped a '53 daily driver home. I expected to convert the brakes to a dual cylinder master and to lower ratio differential and still come in under budget. I was pretty excited and got some good advice from this forum. But then, when the truck finally arrived, we did an inspection and got some more good advice. Now you're all caught up. And I am moving forward with the project. As Dad often said, "Nothing good worth having is ever easy."

Thanks for the pictures guys. Looks like it was a blast.

Hey Paul - let's hook up. I'd send you an PM but the system says it cannot send to you. Maybe its a full mailbox or something. For everyone else - Took the bed off today. Apparently there is a hole in the gastank (top) so guess what else is on my list now? Lol

Wish I had your shipper. I lost the whole right side of mine transporting it.

Wish everyone were closer. Trying to figure out how to get something as bulky as a frame down here economically is getting frustrating at best.

So true. Sure couldn't do this on my own!

OK, here's my update and I'll try to address all the questions I've seen as I go. As it stands now I'm going with option 3 1/2 or there-abouts. The seller isn't going to take it back, and doesn't have the money any more, and it was that was when he got it, and ... Honestly, I don't want to give it back. I still get all school-boy when I see it. Proving malicious intent, and getting all lawyered up is going to cost more than fixing it. Plus I would have to store it during the litigation which could be months. Not my style anyway. I have decided that I'll just take my lumps and move on. In nine months of shopping I didn't learn enough before I pulled the trigger on a deal. Lesson learned, end of that chapter. Today, all the "just in case" money has to be funnelled into making it runnable. The remaining cash has to be for what is necessary to run safely, and the other things I wanted will have to wait. Then I'll drive for some months and I'll reset to decide where it needs to go from there. I calculate I will have $8 left of my original budget. We cannot do anything without the frame attended to so it's going to be a cut and splice from a donor frame - from somewhere in the midsection back. There's a couple of factory frame holes that will help with alignment and I have the original measurements of what it should be. The frame shop can guarantee it won't crab when running. The VIN number is near the front of the frame so this method will insure I am not screwing up my title. Well ... according to the book it is. The rear end is hacked with welds, the right drum/hub set broken needing replacement, the dual brake cylinders need replacement, and I don't even know if the pinion angle is right. Considering how poorly this was done, I doubt they knew what a pinion was much less try to set it properly. Keeping it is a viable option only because parts expense are limited to the new right drum/hub and maybe re-welding perches. Optionally I could move forward and find a Jeep Grand Cherokee (Pre 99) with drums complete, and replace it wholesale with new perches and u-bolts. Probably a 3:55 if I get a choice. I'd still have cylinder and shoe work done but I'll end up with something I can work with from a maintenance standpoint down the road. Plus these are suppose to be a 5x4.5 bolt pattern so there is no new investment in wheels and tires. There is the added expense of the part, plus the cost of fabbing up a new drive-shaft (most likely) but now I've touched the back end once and I won't have to go back to it later. Of course, I don't have the best track record at buying car stuff on the internet . Undecided here yet. More than likely it will depend on what the frame fixing costs and we can see how much is left in the kitty. Front end looks good although they let some of the zerks get pretty dry. Looks like they greased the ones that were easy to reach. We are fully stock with the exception of a leaf spring taken out to lower the front. New bushings and motor mounts will go on the long-term list. The parking brake is in pieces in a box in the cab so that's another "must have" on the safety list. Lastly, I've got a guy that can custom make some three point safety belt harnesses and we'll bolt them into an appropriate position. Heater needs to get put back in but its Southern California so I'm not in a hurry here. Engine is running well, no smoke or drips or lower-end noises. Electrical gauges all working (well, maybe not the gas tank sending unit - that or its really empty) and the battery is charging while at idle so generator and relays seem intact. That's a start. What I am not doing now is converting to a dual master cylinder system, adding that nice black interior set from Bob's (and a firewall pad), replacing the gas gauge sending unit, rebuilding/replacing the steering box, putting on a clear-coat to protect the paint, carpet, flowing new wiring throughout, ... Honestly, the whole reason for getting the truck was a way for me to deal with my Dad's passing. I consider this truck the conversation and adventure we didn't get to really have. It has been all that, so I'm not even mad. I can hear my Dad chastising me! But that's OK too.

You guys are a riot.

AV scanners tend to run in the background. The fact of when it popped up may be asynchronous to the events you are executing. Do you know the names of the files it found and where they were located when found?

Thanks you guys. A wealth of knowledge and experience again. I am very much in you debt. I'm going to take the next week or so to look into all these variations and make a decision. I'll post back 'cuz I know you're just dying to know what happens next! Mike (Still like the truck)

OK, the next step on a journey... (thanks Paul) I purchased from an honest type of individual what he considered a "daily Driver". Now that it is here, we have had a chance to rack it and take a look around. We were looking at brakes initially with an eye toward converting to dual-chamber. Then some things caught our eye. Nothing about the last four feet of the frame made sense. The more I looked, the crookeder it got. The more we found, the more dangerous the condition of the vehicle became. I've brought in a professional mechanic (he raised the roof on how it is unsafe and not drivable), two retired mechanics who just laughed (thanks guys), and a professional frame straightener ($cha-ching$) who basically steered me away from even trying to fix this mess directly. I am now at the point where I think I have a few choices. Return the truck for purchase price as it should not be considered a daily driver Straighten what is there ( frame guys says that is pretty hopeless) Buy another '53 frame, splice it onto the back at the cross member just in front of the axle.(cut, splice,align,weld as recommended by the frame specialist) Sue for the cost, plus shipping, plus legal fees and let him have the truck back (not in my nature) Drive it. ( No, I'm not really advocating this) Honestly, I had put a lot of $$ in contingency funding for this build but it was really for paint, interior, rear end changes, disk brakes. I could have it fixed but then I would be where I thought I was three weeks ago with a running vehicle. And I have not started the engine. I open it up to your learned opinions. All comments welcome. You can't hurt my feelings, I'm still laughing at myself. That's healthy right? Mike http://p15-d24.com/gallery/album/232-as-delivered/

A heated copper wire can become oxidized when cooled (blackish). The oxidization will effect conductivity. If you've got the parts, switch them out. If they are really bad they could even start a fire. Not kidding.

Egads! Done by April 5th? Color me amazed. Let me know how you like the wiring kit. Just got my '53 B4B and saw a lot of original wiring left. That will probably have to go some day.

The wheels have been powder coated cream and are 16's in the back, and 15's in the front wrapped in brand new Coker Firestone bias ply tires (7.50x16 rear) and (6.00x15 front) tires with the original stock stainless hubcaps. Again, I am quoting the ad. Truck isn't even here until Monday.

I used to work with a guy who was actually on a reality show. Not the same one, but from the area here. He told me quite frankly,"There is no reality on reality shows". I just watch them because they're funny. Besides, no one could run a business if they gave away all their tactics and strategies to millions of potential customers each week.

I've got a tick but it doesn't help me work on my car! These are fun to watch. Thanks for posting.