New Guy with Questions - 53 Dodge

[Dan Babb]

Hi..I just purchased this 1953 Dodge and have a bunch of questions.

I'm located in Greensboro, NC. If anyone is local, please get in touch with me. PM me here and I'll get you my contact info.

1) Whoever painted the truck last sprayed over the 'vin tag'. Anyway to get the paint off and still leave the black paint that was original on it?

2) What are some good places to buy replacement parts for it? I need some interior components (handles & window rubbers).

3) Where can I find specs on the engine that's in it?

4) Trying to find out what the color options were. I think green was an original color. What color would the wheels have been? Front Bumper? Grill and the job rated piece in the front?

5) Battery compartment is rusty. Need to pull out the sheet metal and redo it in there (it's in the floor down by the driver side). The brace that holds up the running board right near the batter is pretty rotted...where can I find a replacement, or do I need to take it out and have some sections welded in to replace the rot?

6) On the dash, there's what looks like a speaker and a square piece underneath it. There's no radio in the truck...why is there a speaker? What's the square piece under the speaker?

7) Can I replace that oil filled air cleaner with a regular air cleaner...or does that oil serve a purpose that's needed?

Here are some pictures:

My goal is to do some simple stuff so I can get this on the road. My short list of things to do are the following:

-Take off the bumper & running boards. Get them blasted and painted or powder coated

-Needs tires...the ones on there are flat spotted from it being parked outside for 2 years without moving.

-I need to take the wheels off and do some cleaning and add some lube to the suspension.

-Interior needs to be cleaned up and needs a floor mat

-Wiring for the guages needs to be checked.

--The motor starts up fine. Needs a cleaning and fluid change.

-Replace fluid in the rear end...who knows when that was last done, right?

-Clean up the bed a bit. Probably just pull the boards out and clean them up...then put a clear stain on them so they stay nice. Change hardware to stainless while I have the floor out. Where do you get the metal slats that go in between the boards?

I'm sure I'll have many more questions as I dig into the project.

[Jim Gaspard]

Welcome Dan to the Forum. Looks like your B3 truck was well maintained both in and out. Dark Green was a very popular color for the 1948 to 1953 pilothouse B series trucks. I have two that color myself. Radios were a luxury then, and the speaker grill was more of an architectural feature of the dash with a dual use.

Like any new owner, you have lots of questions of where to start, your sources for parts and methods of repair. You can generally find them quickly through the 'Search" function above. In a few seconds you can all the previous threads to just about any PilotHouse issue. Visit DPETCA above and you will find links to all supplier sources, as well as a gallery of member trucks, and where we are located across the US & Canada, Europe, South America and Australia. Take your time to tour all the functions of the website and you will find a wealth of information found nowhere else.

It appears you have a truck that will take very little to be a driver. Congrats and good luck on your PilotHouse adventure.

[Nat Angell]

Dan, I'm near you, in Lexington and have a 50' that I'm working on. It sounds to me like you know more than I do about them, but will be glad to help any that I can. PM me if there is anything I can do later, Nat

[carl b51]

Dan its aways good to see another PH I would say that the paint color on the truck is what it should be . The emblem in the middle of the dash is 51 or 52 . A 53 says Dodge in that spot, and the rear fender are not round sorry to tell you this But Its a nice lookin truck !! Carl

Edited September 29, 2009 by carl b51

[Dan Babb]

I think the vin tag says it's a b3-108. Is that consistent with it being a 1952?

I guess I'll have to get rid of the 1953 licence plate that came with the truck and find one from 52.

[carl b51]

Yes Dan that is what it should say if it is a 51 or 52 with 108 inch wheel base.

If it had a radio it would be on the left of the steering wheel , the speaker grill is common to the 51 to 53 and the chrome piece under that would hold the ashtray if it had one. Hope this Helps Carl

[Vintrader]

Dan, Welcome to the Forum. Here is a direct link to the DPETCA site

http://dodgepilothouseclub.org/index.htm

If you can get your VIN of that plate, there is a chart on the site that will tell you when your truck was made and where. You will also be able to find most of the answers to your questions. Good Luck.

Dutch

[Reg Evans]

Here's mine with an ash tray and a cigarette lighter. The inner flat area around the tray and lighter should be painted to match the speedo and gauge faces. The optional radio was a MoPar model 610 T but that's another story.

Forgive the dangling wires. I'm working on them.

[Merle Coggins]

Welcome aboard Dan. That looks like a nice B3B. It's quite possible that it is a late production '52 that was registered as a '53. That happened often back then. My '50 B2C is registered as a '51, and I've found evidence that it was built in December of '50. The true '53 model was considered the B4 series.

To answer some of your questions;

1. Painted S/N tag... I've had luck at times using a gasket remover spray. (a paint stripper would probably also work) Spray in on and let the paint bubble up for a few minutes. The carefully scrape or wipe it off. Use a plastic scraper. If you are carefull and don't scrub too hard you shouldn't damage the ink on the tag. It that doesn't work you can get a reproduction tag from Vintage Power Wagons. http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/ You just have to stamp your numbers into it and attach it.

2. Replacement parts... I've had good luck with Roberts Motor Parts http://www.robertsmotorparts.com/index.html for several parts. I got all of my window rubber from Steele Rubber Products. It'll cost you a little more, but I feel that it's worth the extra price. https://secure.steelerubber.com/homeframes.html Many other mechanical parts are available through your local auto parts stores. There are many other sources avaialble too.

3. Your engine should be a 218 CID Chrysler Flat Head. There will be a number stamped on a flat boss at the top edge of the block just above your generator. If it's the original engine I believe it will start with T308. If it's something else we may be able to tell what it is from that number.

4. Colors... Go to the DEPTCA site. There's scans of color chip charts that show the standard body colors. Wheels would have normally been "Dodge Truck Cream" or black. Bumper would be black.

5. Battery box and running board supports... Your only souce on these will be a parts truck. The battery tray will probably be best to fabricate a new one.

6. Speaker grill was standard on all trucks, but there was only a speaker behind them if they had the optional radio. The piece below that is for the optional ash tray.

7. Air filter... Yes you can reconfigure your filter to accept a paper element. Although there's nothing wrong with an oil bath filter, and in fact it's a quite efficient filter, but it's messy to service. Mine was rusted badly due to where it was stored when I got the truck. I cut out the inner mesh part and modified some other areas, then I found a paper element that fit. It still looks stock at a glance, but it's not.

Have fun with it.

Merle

[coW52Dodge]

Welcome, Dan!

[Dan Babb]

Thanks for the answers and the great picture.

I'd love to see a shot of the whole truck in yellow.

I'm going to start putting a plan together and tear into it next weekend. I will try the gasket remover on a small section and see if it takes the ink with it...if it does, I'll just leave it as is and put it back on the truck.

[taz06961]

Your truck really looks good in the pictures. On your plate the numbers should be B4B-118. The 4 means it is a 1953 The second B means it is a 1/2 ton. The 108 means it has a 108 inch wheelbase. The engine should be a 217 1/2. It is called a 218. It is a great little engine. The Complete bed was black unless an extra fee of $6.44 was paid. The 1953 is the only one with a split windshield and wing windows. The original 1953 fender is is exactly the same until 1985. You are so lucky to have a nice grill. They are impossible to find. The grill was painted the same as the body. Good luck you have a real treasure there. Jim

Edited October 3, 2009 by taz06961
correction

[greg g]

click on the return to P15 d24 button and go through all the info there also. While most of the stuff refers to cars, they are pretty much mechanically identical to the trucks (except for bell housings and transmissions) that alot of the parts and tech stuff will apply. there are links and parts numbers and mantanece information there.

You can also check out the members list and see if there are any car and or truck guys in your neck of the woods.

[Reg Evans]

Thanks for the answers and the great picture.

I'd love to see a shot of the whole truck in yellow.

I'm going to start putting a plan together and tear into it next weekend. I will try the gasket remover on a small section and see if it takes the ink with it...if it does, I'll just leave it as is and put it back on the truck.

OK....here is all of Ole Yeller.

And here are some more Yeller Pilot Houses that attended last years second annual BBQ at Tim Estradas ranch in Clements, Calif..

[John Mathias]

Dan, I have a set of the running board struts, if you still need the one near the battery, check my posting on the parts for sale "running board struts"

Good looking truck!

John