My Project

[318Pilothouse]

I bought a 1953 Dodge Pilothouse 1/2 ton. I want to make it street/race vehicle. I have been thinking about putting a Mopar 318 in it i am told they are top notch engines. Any Advice?

Also I am looking for any help whatsoever on parts for the pilothouse. It seems they are impossible to find.

[Bob_Koch]

The 318 is entirely possible, though a lot of work to do well. If you feel you have the skills then I say go for it. Parts are more difficult than a Chevy or Ford, but then us Dodge boys like challenges. The parts are out there.

I think the best place for you to start is to read through this forum through the last couple of months. You'll get a good idea of what is available and what is possible. Many of your questions have already been addressed right here.

[moparmonkey]

Sounds like a great project!

Definitely keep it all Mopar. The 318 swap is fairly straightforward, and has been done more than a few times. I'm sure someone that's done it will chime in. Does require a little fabrication work, but no more than putting any other engine in.

As far as street/race, I'll say this. 318's are great engines and in street-able trim can make up to around 400 hp if built properly. But, if you don't already have an engine, a 360 would probably be an even better choice. The truck will move better with the additional torque, the swap is basically the same, and as always, there's no replacement for displacement.

Parts can be found for both 318's and 360's pretty easily. They may not have quite as complete a range of selection as other makes, but there's more than enough options to build a very strong engine. I'm in the final stages of a 340 build for a '72 Challenger. Parts are little harder to find for the 340's (they only made them for 6 years), and I still didn't have any real issues coming up with an engine that should push 450 hp. I wouldn't look for a 340 or anything, they're a ton more expensive since all the musclecar guys want them, I'm just using it as an example of what's possible from a build perspective. Either a 318 or a 360 would be a great choice, it just depends on what you're planning on the "race" side of things.

Good luck with the project!

Edited November 23, 2010 by moparmonkey

[Dan Babb]

If you want to really make it a race vehicle, then it might make more sense to do a frame swap. Do a search here...there are more than a few guys that have done that. I think some guys have used a Dakota chassis.

Others have gone with welding in a Volare front clip. I think that winds up giving you a better front suspension and it's simpler to put in a 318/360. Then you'd just have to modify your rear suspension.

I had my truck on the highway doing 60...it was a bit of a handful at that speed...I can't imagine running it down a track with the stock suspension.

When you do an engine swap, you also need to do the tranmission, rear axle, driveshaft, brakes and maybe other stuff too (I'm having to move my radiator forward 4").

Here's a link to my engine swap thread to give you an idea of what's involved (I'm not doing a 318/360..that would have been easier).

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?p=223877

Edited November 23, 2010 by Dan Babb

[Dave72dt]

318's are good reliable engines, seem to last forever. I'd look more to a 360 for a performance build. 340s are nice if you can find them but the 360 is much more plentiful and basically takes up the same space as the 318. I've got a 318 in mine basically because it's what I had at the time. Doesn't mean it's stock because it isn't, doesn't mean I intend to race it either.

[moparmonkey]

Dan has a good point about the frame swap.

I suppose it depends on what you're planning from the race side of things, and how much work you want to do.

A frame swap with a Dakota would be a good way to get modern suspension and a 318 or 360, although it's probably a little more involved than just swapping a 318/360 into your stock frame. The engine swap will require new engine and transmission mounts, and a frame swap will require new body mounts. But the frame swap will also come with a lot of "fitting" issues, you'll be doing a lot of measuring and assembly/disassembly in order to get the body in the right place and everything lined up properly. Probably not much harder as far as the parts that will have to be fabricated, but more time consuming to get it all to fit right.

[buds truck]

I have a 318 and a dakota frame in my 53. If I had to do over again, I would have gone for a 360

[HanksB3B]

you have a 53 cab and bed on your Dakota Frame with a 318. (same difference)

I'd love to see how that was done. Do you have any progress pictures that show the major items that need to be done in order to accomplish the swap?

Thanks,

Hank

[buds truck]

hank, pm me your e mail address and I will send you more pictures than you will probably want. Bud

[318Pilothouse]

hey thanks so far for the help everyone.

Now how about any help with replacing the drum brake set up with disc brakes?

And i want to lower the truck a little bit to make it a little bit more stable any help there? I am keeping the original frame just because i am not THAT skilled with rebuilds yet but i want to fully consider all the options. I have also thought about putting a different make of motor in is there any advice or thoughts on which one?

Thanks

[Dan Babb]

I'll be ordering my disc brake kit from www.rustyhope.com

He sells you brackets, some hardware, a parts list and instructions. A friend here put the kit on his early plymouth business coupe and said it was pretty straight forward to swap.

[moparmonkey]

Rusty Hope is a good source for the brake conversion parts. Scarebird may also have something for these trucks, at least then you could compare...

http://www.scarebird.com/index.php

As far as lowering, it depends on how involved you want to get and how much money you want to spend. If you have a spring shop local to you, you could have the springs de-arched a little. That would be the proper way to do it.

Depending on your hauling requirements, you can also take a leaf out of the springs. Keep in mind though that this will also make your spring rate softer, so it will change the ride of the truck. Now, that may not be a bad thing, after all, these trucks were sprung like TRUCKS, and ride fairly stiff. But you won't be able to haul as much if you do this. This is the "cheap and easy" way to do it.

You could also flip the spring mounts on the rear axle to put the axle above the rear springs instead of below it. This will require welding though. If you're doing an engine swap though, you may want to look into swapping out the rear end too. An 8 3/4, or a rear end out of a Dakota or Jeep Cherokee, would not only give you more modern rear brakes, but both types are also axle above spring set ups, so they could be lowered with lowering blocks (unlike the stock set up, which would be lifted using the same blocks). This will require a little fab work though, since the later rear ends use wider springs, and you'd probably have to move the perches anyway.

As far as the front, there are folks out there that can add drop to solid front axles. But this would require sending out the front axle, or having someone locally to do it. Although I haven't personally done business with him yet, Sid here is pretty highly recommended over on the HAMB forums.

http://www.droppedaxles.com/index.html

Depending on what your plans are, you might also consider swapping a later model solid axle into your truck. Dodge's, Ford's and Chevy's ran solid front axles on their trucks well into the 80's. The trick here would be finding a solid axle with dimensions that are close to the B-series. This might require some research and a little fabrication, but the other advantage would be later model brakes. All of the Big 3 started running disk brakes in the early to mid 70's on their trucks, if you could find a 70's vintage front axle with "close enough" dimensions you could get the whole package out of a wrecking yard fairly cheap. Keep in mind that as long as the track width is within a few inches, you may be able to "fix" the wheel locations by changing the backspacing on the rims, so it doesn't have to be perfect, just close.

As far as another engine, I would keep it all Mopar. Yes, I'm a Mopar guy. But realistically, the fab work to put a small block mopar in a Pilothouse truck is no different than the fab work to put a small block Ford or Chevy in it. All of them will require new mounts. Dimensionally there may be advantages to one or another, but I suspect on the whole it would be a wash. Also, check out Dan Babb's hemi conversion.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=20635

The mounts, which he got from a member here, will bolt up to a small block mopar. They will be a little narrower (because the small block mopar is almost exactly an inch narrower than a 354 hemi), but that's pretty darn close to being able to buy a set of mounts and bolt a small block right into the truck. Contact Dan or Gary (Wayfarer) for info on the mounts.

Edited December 1, 2010 by moparmonkey

[318Pilothouse]

Dan Babb-------You have the similar truck as i do....I have 53 B4B 108 ....Can you help me with where to acquire parts specific to that truck. I cannot find body parts, interior parts or anything like that...... Its like the parts are not made anymore.......Also i am wondering what anyone has done for rear lights.......I dont want it to look cheesy so i am trying to get any idea of what others are doing.

Edited December 2, 2010 by 318Pilothouse

[Dave72dt]

Mar-K and Bruce Horkey both sell replacement beds and floor kits. there may be others as well. I don't know of anyone repopping sheet metal for cab, fenders or floor. There might be some 'glass fenders but I'm not sure. Maybe just rumors. Roberts, Steele, Bernbaum, Restoration Specialties may be able to help with some other pieces. A couple places do interiors as well a forum member who has patterns for sale for the DIY guy. Aftermarket support for the Dodges is nowhere near as plentiful as the Ford and Chevy trucks but it is getting better.

Edited December 3, 2010 by Dave72dt

[Dan Babb]

Getting parts is a real challenge. I've found some things I've needed from guys here, over at the HAMB (http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=5) and a couple of vendors (Roberts Truck Parts and Vintage Power Wagons)

[moparmonkey]

I think Dave listed all the major parts suppliers.

I also have a '53 B4B 108 (actually, 2 of them). There are no reproduction body parts that I'm aware of. There are interior parts out there, as Dave mentioned there are a few interior threads on here regarding members that have restored the interiors. But the interiors are pretty spartan (these were work trucks, after all, not like today) so you may not want to restore that to original.

As far as body parts, I watch eBay and craigslist, and try to keep tabs on older wrecking yards. If you need a part, it will probably have to come off of another truck.

[Jim Gaspard]

Horkey pops all new bed parts, bed sides, bed front, Dodge embossed tailgate plus all the strips, crossbars and wood for our B series. Pricey, but all new metal. They will also will weld on pocket supports if you send yours off your existing sides. They sell fiberglass fenders also.

[moparmonkey]

Horkey pops all new bed parts, bed sides, bed front, Dodge embossed tailgate plus all the strips, crossbars and wood for our B series. Pricey, but all new metal. They will also will weld on pocket supports if you send yours off your existing sides. They sell fiberglass fenders also.

Wow! Hadn't seen this place before. I'd seen the Mar-K site before. Lots of good stuff.

Here's the actual link

http://www.horkeyswoodandparts.com/

Also, I should have mentioned that for the '53's, the rear fenders are the same from 1953 all the way up to 1985, so you can probably find some steel ones pretty easily.

[John Mathias]

What parts are you looking for? I also have 2 53's and a 54'. I'm using one of the 53's for a parts truck. You cam PM me with a list if you want.

[Dave72dt]

Horkey's has a lot more pieces now than he used to but still doesn't have the high box sides and the picture of the front panel doesn't look like the original stamping pattern. Like I said, aftermarket is starting to step it up.

[318Pilothouse]

Wow Thanks so much!

So much help here. I love it! Ok so here i go again with some more questions.

What have any of you done about rear lighting on the truck?

What about interior gauges?

Is there anywhere to get replacements or should i keep what i got and restore them?

Is there any good advice on how to restore the original gauges.

Where can i get electric motors for the wipers to replace the vaccum motors?

My truck is the four window set up and i am wondering if there are kits to put in the six window set up or if anyone has advice on that one?

I have decided to go with a Mopar 318 with a 727 Torqueflight and would like to put a lokar shifter on it. If anyone has any leads on one i would appreciate it. The only thing that would change my mind on all that is if a 392 Hemi will fit in the truck i have a good lead on one and think it would be awesome any knowledge there?

Thanks Everyone for your Help for the Ameteur

This is my first complete rebuild.

[318Pilothouse]

I am kinda needing a few things.......

Running Boards

Floor Pieces

Heater

Tailgate

Maybe even a few other miscellaneous items depending on what is available. I have a ton of original motor parts and other miscellaneous for this truck so feel free to contact me if there is something you need

[moparmonkey]

No sources for reproduction gauges, you can have the originals restored. I haven't gotten that far though, so maybe someone that has had it done can chime in.

There are no kits to convert over to the Deluxe cab window set up. You'll have to find a donor cab and do the welding, or swap cabs.

The 392 will fit. It is the same block with a slightly taller deck than the 354 hemi, Dan Babb installed a 354 in his truck...

Vintage Power Wagons sells electric windshield wiper motors, I think they're generic though so you can probably find them cheaper elsewhere...

There are actually a couple sets of running boards on eBay right now for pretty reasonable prices.

Horkey's sells tailgates.

Floor pieces will probably have to be made or donor's found.

Heater depends on what you're looking for, there are modern set ups that can be purchased, or look for an old one on eBay...

Edited December 5, 2010 by moparmonkey

[Dave72dt]

I've found a couple of Lokar shifters for the 727 at Summit Racing and Jegs or just contact Lokar on their websirte.

I'm not at the tail light stage but in keeping with the frenched look I have up front, they will be frenched into the rear panel. Mounting holes in the stake pocket and bed side for wires and mounting have all been filled along with the holes for side reflectors, tie down hooks and the kerosine roadside flares that unfortunately were too rusted to be of any use. License plate will most likely be frenched in as well. My dash panel has been removed for a handbuilt unit and will be replacing the gauges with a modern Quad gauge and speedometer.

318 will fit as will the 392 but bear in mind, neither is a bolt in and can be a daunting task if you've never done this before. It's extremely easy to lose interest in a build with these kind of compexities.

[Dan Babb]

I got my tail lights (and one bracket) from Vintage Power Wagons. Their lights have a plain lens...not the correct one with DODGE in it...but Robert's Truck Parts sells that (if you want to spend the dough).

From the factory, these trucks only had one brake light...I added the pass side light. I'm not doing turn signals on my truck...you can buy an aftermarket turn signal from NAPA (a search here will get you the part number).

The 354 is the same size as a 392...so you can make it fit (see my post because you have to move the radiator forward unless you want to start cutting the firewall).

NOTE: If I were building this to be a street/strip type of truck, I think cutting the firewall is mandatory...I think you should have the engine sit lower and further back.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=20635

Also...the Hemi is a budget buster. You can pick up a rebuilt 318 with the correct trans for a whole lot less than you can do a Hemi for. So make sure your bank account can handle the stress.