59bisquik

Here is what she looks like after some work. Soon she will be coming over to my place to continue the work. I will post up more when I get working on her.

Time to start going back together... A Fenton intake and a home made exhaust manifold ought to wake it up a bit!

In 2005, it was time to start some restoration and #5 cylinder no longer had any compression. First step was to locate a good running engine to rebuild. A 218 from a tug motor was found and drug home. Also why not pull the front clip to make life easier and get her all cleaned up!

I thought I would start posting up my build thread on my 1955 C1B. My Dad bought this back in 2002. It was previously owned by the school district. It was a pretty solid start for a build and it ran!

There are actually finned aluminum remotes that look more period correct by Moon and Hildebrand. That have a spin on filter inside of them. http://www.mooneyesusa.com/product-p/mpf200.htm

Hmmmm... looks like I have my work cut out for me. As a side note, until I get my hands on the manual, which is in the truck. What is the curb weight for this? Trying to figure what trailer to take and figure fuel mileage to pick up the ol' Dodge.

The 54 and 55 without the wrap around windshield should be the same.

So the car has the pedals mounted to the frame and the truck to the bell housing. Why can't the truck bell housing be used? What is different about it besides the mounts?

Great job Matt! Truck looks great!

I have looked through many pages and blogs but have not found the answer. I have a trans with the R10? overdrive from a 54 Plymouth. Besides the cables and wiring etc, what does it take to put it in the truck? Bell housing, flywheel etc or will it bolt in place of my original? Btw... It is a column shift and I wish to keep it that way. No T5 swaps for me, I want to keep it as period correct as I can. Thanks in advance.

I just talked to dad. I have the original 230 but it has no compression on #5 cylinder. So it looks like I will get a new distributor for the 218 and drive it until I can rebuild the 230. The 230 has dual exhaust manifolds and a Fenton dual carb intake. Do a nice rebuild with an upgraded cam and we should be good to go. Sounds like my dad has a couple vacuum and mechanical advance distributors for it. Which would be better and is the Pertronix module the same for both? I checked dodge central and only saw bed parts up to 52. Any links for a 54 and later bed?

Wow... Looks like I am gonna have to investigate this engine a bit more once I get my hands on it. The 230 and 218 looked the same and shared the same manifolds and such. As for the 55, it is the early 55 which looks like the 54. It does not have the wrap around windshield.

I am getting a 55 Dodge truck from my dad shortly. It has a few immediate issues that need addressed so I can drive it. Being new to Dodges and flatheads, I am finding some of the searches are confusing me. 1) It has a 218 industrial engine (from a tow motor) in it currently with a really heavy flywheel. The 230 is out and I am not sure why he pulled it yet. Is the 218 worth keeping if it runs good or is the 230 a big improvement? I just want freeways driveable and RELIABLE. Is it as simple as just changing the crank and rods? Same size valves etc? Would the industrial engine have a different cam? 2) He said the distributor is acting up. I was going to change it out, but an confused on which distributor to get. I plan on putting the Pertronix kit in it. 3) At one time, the truck was used for logging and the bed is pretty beat up and rusted in a few spots. Is there a source for replacement bed panels or patch panels? I am sure these are some noob questions and I apologize. I plan on installing the old BW overdrive unit on it and also have a 54 Plymouth 3.90 differential to drop into it. I will post up some pics when I pick it up in a month or two. I am pretty excited to start tinkering with this old rig! Thanks for the help!