Htchevyii

I have an 05 regular cab 4x4 with a 4.7 and a 6sp manual, tow package and 3.90 gears. I bought the 4.7 because it was the only v8 that comes with a manual trans. I think in 06 they upped the HP about 60 from mine. That being said, I like it, except for the 13.5 combined MPG. I tow with it quite a bit and it does fine, no problems maintaining speed except on the steepest of grades when retrieving my '50 truck. I don't think the 4.7's mpg is any better than a Hemi, but I don't have an auto trans to rebuild every 100k. I wouldn't reccomend it if you to heavy loads often, but for occasional use it's fine, as long as you don't live in the Rocky Mountains

I lent the old Dodge to my Wife's freind to use as the "gift table" at her wedding. It was a hit' I heard lots of people talking about the truck.

Ya, I've noticed that parts can be challenge. I bought a whole truckload of Chevy parts to get the fender and grille panel that I wanted for the Dodge, (package deal). You do get spoiled being able to buy anything that you want either stock or upgraded off the shelf. When I built my Nova in the early 90's you couldn't even buy patch panels, now you can almost build a whole car from a catalog.

I appreciate constructive comments such as yours with valuable info. Truth be told, I will probably be fine with the stock steering and suspension, but I'm not so sure about the power train. It is a pretty unmolested stock truck, so I hate to cut it up.

Like I said before, I don't care if its Chevy, Dodge or whatever, I just want it to drive decent. I've done the drill before on the Chevy II, trying to work with the factory stuff and fix the shortcommings, update the brakes, etc and by the time I was finished, I would have been better off just buying an aftermarket front clip. Hot rodders have been mixing and matching components forever. Even if I had a Chevy, I'd still be in the same boat. I guess I'll save this forum for the stock stuff and post the modified stuff on the HAMB. And, really I was just trying to share something that I thought might be of interest to others, I don't know it I will go that direction or not.

The flattie runs pretty smooth, but does seem to smoke some after it warms up. My wife loves to drive the Fiat Spiders and has no problem in the Chevy II, (manual steering and brakes), but I think the non scyncronized transmission is a deal breaker.

Hi Don, I'm still in the planning stages right now, I've got too many other irons in the fire at the moment. My current build is a 57 F-100 that is getting a 302, AOD and a Sid's dropped axle. I will adapt a front sway bar to it. It is being built to flip. If I am happy with the way it performs then I may try a similar approach in the Dodge. My drive to and from work is 45 miles with a 65 MPH speed limit, if that helps. My wife has also expressed interest in driving the truck, which further complicates things. I don't need it to drive like a muscle car or sports car, I already have those, but it needs to be able to go 70 MPH and stop quick enough to avoid the ding dongs. I'd like to be able to hook up to a small camp trailer and hit the road for the weekend. I've only driven it down the street as it is non-oped at the moment. It is pretty worn out. I've probabily got a year before I start on the Dodge, my intention was just to share info that I found that others may be interested in, but if their kit is well thought out, it might take the difficulty out of some of those swaps. Here's the beast, I do have the proper front panel/grill for it.

I have nothing to do with the kit, I just found it online. I still have not decided which way I am going on my truck, but I don't want to put a bunch of time and money into the stock running gear just to find out that I can't stand driving it.

Actually, I like and own many different vehicles, 2 Dodges, a Chrysler, 3 Fiats, a Jeep a Ford and a Chevy. I am not loyal to any make or model, if a part is better, I will use it. That's why I have a Ford 9" in my Nova. If the Chevy frame is the quickest and easiest way to transform the truck into something that can pleasurably be driven every day, then I'm in, and obviously I am not the only one. Oh, and I do love the 55-57 Chevy trucks, but they are beyond my budget. If you have any CONSTRUCTIVE input, I'd like to hear it

I ran across this the other day: http://www.code504.com/bolt-on-s-10-chassis-swap-kits/ It looks pretty interesting and might take a whole lot of trial and error out of a frame swap. It looks like they are still working on the Dodge version.

It depend on the condition of the engine and sludge. The more worn the engine is, the thicker oil I use. If it has lived most of its life running non-detergent oil and is all slugged up, high detergent oil can break loose the sludge and clog your oil pump pickup. The best solution in that case would be to remove the pan and try to remove all the sludge.

I don't know if this is the correct number?

I was walking by my bosses desk and saw a picture of a picture of a bunch of Pilothouse body parts on his screen. His friend is a building contractor and was tearing down a barn that was full of old truck parts and sent him the picture to see if they were worth keeping or if he should throw them away! I got two hoods, the correct grille panel for my truck, which I needed, two fenders, ( a better drivers side than I had), two doors, (not very good), and a transmission. I also got for a 47-53 Chevy truck: 3 frt fenders, 2 rear fenders, running boards, grille assy, etc. I paid $200 for the lot.

Crummy pics but here they are:

Hi guys, just curious as to who used yellow trucks, PG&E, Caltrans, etc. I bought a bunch of parts and all were or are yellow.

I use Eastwood's additive. http://www.eastwood.com/ew-zddp-oil-additive-4-oz.htmlYou might be able to skip it in an old flat head, but performance engines with stiff springs are wiping out cams with modern oils. From Valvoline's site: Why is it important to have the zinc/phosphorus levels in motor oil changed? With ever increasing limits on emissions, automobile manufacturers have tightened emission control systems on newer vehicles. This is one of several factors considered when the American Petroleum Institute (API) sets standards for motor oil with zinc. The current API standard is SM which replaced the previous SL classification. Because phosphorus can poison a vehicle's emission system, the level of zinc is lower for current motor oil.

Spray cans and pints are legal, but not gallons. Eastwood released their own version that IS CA legal. http://www.eastwood.com/elastiwrap

Ok, thanks.

Hi guys, this was in a box of parts with the truck that I bought, 1950, b2b. It this for this truck? It doesn't have much for a core, will it really make heat?

I drug the '50 home with my '05 yesterday. It was about 4 hours each way and the little 4.7 and 6 speed did fine.

Well, it looked great before and awesome after!

The guy I bought it from was named Ali. It would be a nice surprise if the correct nose is included, but he didn't mention it. I'm excited to go get it but until then, I'll have to be satisfied reading about your trucks and researching them. Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi guys, I just bought a 1950 pickup on eBay, I haven't even seen it yet in person. Unfortunately, I can't pick it up until the weekend after next, so I don't know what I have really bought yet. I broke my own rule of buying an old vehicle without seeing it and inspecting it. For the price, I am not too worried. It seems to have a newer front grill panel, I will probably fabricate some type of custom grill insert for it. I am going to go for a shop truck type build, maybe a little on the ratty side. Here's a link to eBay, let me know what you think. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-Dodge-pickup-truck-custom-short-bed-/121319684443?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=RD%252F%252BTvJixRFa%252B9O%252BBKkUmMBnCAk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc I really like this truck, it might belong to someone on here, I don't remember where I found the picture: