47 Dodge Turkey Truck Build

[Young Ed]

Fwiw......We all have different takes on this. I can't speak for these narrower cab trucks.......but the seat in my Pilothouse feels great to me. Hits me just right. I had it overstuffed and raised the front slightly to give it a slight tilt back.......and then added a horse blanket cover over the vinyl. Does the job fine and I think looks the part as well. Honestly I think all that is needed is a few little tweaks like what I have done. I can't imagine ever changing it more than I have. Oh yea.....I did add 3 point belts too.

 

Jeff

Seat construction is one thing that changed drastically between 39-47 and the pilothouses. Mine is just a cushion on a platform that is welded to the floor. 

[JBNeal]

That's not much better than what ya might find on a buckboard...I recall a Dodge Pilot-House ad that touted the seat comfort that would reduce fatigue, now I know why they brought it up

[Young Ed]

That's not much better than what ya might find on a buckboard...I recall a Dodge Pilot-House ad that touted the seat comfort that would reduce fatigue, now I know why they brought it up

Here's my 46 with the first seats I had in it. You can see the base on the cab floor. 

 

And with the seat. The back is attached to the rear wall of the cab with a hinge. Moving the bottom forward is the only way to adjust the angle of the back. So if you are tall you have to deal with an almost vertical seat back.

 

[Jeff Balazs]

Ah-so Ed

Interesting how it evolved. Wonder if there is a significant difference in leg room and the fore and aft measurements? A lot of times an adjustable mock up of the seating can suggest what mods may work best for you.

 

Jeff

[Plymouthy Adams]

Ed, that set up is the same as the 41 Dodge truck I built back in '91  bottom seat had the air vent control for the cushion built into the base.  I never cared for the seat in that truck from day one but left it as stock configuration due to the entire perimeter of the seat sat in the built in metal box.   I did however change the steering column out to an 80's Plymouth style.  

[pflaming]

 if there is a significant difference in leg room and the fore and aft measurements?  Leg room, I have always liked the rounded look of the '50's Studebaker so I bought one several years ago. It was a "driver" so I did a quick 'tune-up" and went for a ride.   I only drove three city blocks and I turned around and sold it. My son's 54 Chevy is similar, no leg room. The Stude was horrible, it just confirmed to me how much better the Pilot House truck is. But we need to recall that these trucks were seldom driven more than 25 miles in one direction. 

[Jeff Balazs]

Well I do know there can be quite a difference in creature comforts with any of these old trucks. Sometimes though a few subtle changes can make all the difference......and that is what my earlier comment was about. Often a slight change in the angles the cushions sit at or how they are stuffed can result in a lot more comfort. Bench seats do not have to be uncomfortable. I know they don't work for everybody......especially those that require lots of lumbar support but for a lot of folks they can be made to work just fine. And they keep the look of an old truck to my eye.

 

Driving a Pilothouse truck on a daily basis has been an enjoyable experience for me. It has been a year now since I put mine back on the road. All in all there is little about it that I would change. Creature comfort considering it is over 60 years old is excellent. But it didn't get that way without a lot of thought being put into the refit. I made a lot of subtle improvements and changes. Most of them would only be noticeable to someone who really knows these trucks. I have ridden in a lot of vintage trucks built by all sorts of folks and I have to say I am really happy with my old Dodge. If you start off with a good design and refit it carefully it can be more than a match for a lot of later trucks.

 

Jeff

[John U]

Ed I mounted my seats to the riser covering the rest for storage disk changer jack lug wrench cup holders it's worked for years

[Young Ed]

Little more progress!

 

[Young Ed]

[Plymouthy Adams]

Ok  Ed, I see the pile of stuff the wife finished....show us what you have done...

 

 

 

nothing beats making a bit of progress on the project..

[Young Ed]

Engine saw daylight for the first time in years. Started prepping for paint. Scrapped and then sprayed with degreaser and power washed it. Discovered the front plug for the oil galley is broken. Also a broken stud in the side of the head. So decided to pull the head. Engine was installed with 2 studs 1 proper headbolt and the rest hardware store bolts. Will be put back to all proper bolts. Also discovered it was running an external and internal bypass. Going to remove the external setup. 

 

[Young Ed]

Broken stud easily removed. Welded a washer to the stud and then a nut to the washer. Turned right out! Then the bad news. Cleaning the surface for the head and glanced down at the side of the block. There is a crack between the center and rear frost plug!!! Gotta hope it's not a leaker....

[Merle Coggins]

That's the engine you got from me? Sorry. I don't think I ever put coolant in it. I just hot wired it to fire up long enough to check the oil pressure and shut it down. 

Edited September 6, 2016 by Merle Coggins

[Young Ed]

2 hours ago, Merle Coggins said:

That's the engine you got from me? Sorry. I don't think I ever put coolant in it. I just hot wired it to fire up long enough to check the oil pressure and shut it down. 

It is and I know you didn't have it long. I'm not too worried about it. I've seen other cars/trucks run successfully with a small crack.

[Young Ed]

Got the head put back on tonight. Put the heater output directly into the water pump. Just need to find a water outlet to finish deleting the external bypass. 

And the dreaded crack. Doesn't look like it was leaking too much though. 

Edited September 7, 2016 by Young Ed

[RobertKB]

I would want to do something with that crack. I have seen lots like that that have been welded. Easier to do it now rather than later.

[Young Ed]

43 minutes ago, RobertKB said:

I would want to do something with that crack. I have seen lots like that that have been welded. Easier to do it now rather than later.

This engine was rebuilt but not very well from what I've seen. So I am going to verify that it is a runner before putting any money into having it welded. When the head was off I did see the pistons are marked .040. So hopefully more attention was paid to the internals than the external stuff. The head was put on mostly with hardware store bolts. The front three behind the water pump were 2 studs and one actual headbolt. The manifolds were also on with a ton of mismatched improper hardware. Could be those items were done by the owner not the shop that built it.

[RobertKB]

OK. Makes sense now. Good luck with the project. 

[ggdad1951]

On 9/6/2016 at 10:12 PM, Young Ed said:

 

And the dreaded crack. Doesn't look like it was leaking too much though. 

looks vaguely familiar

[Young Ed]

1 hour ago, ggdad1951 said:

looks vaguely familiar

Did you look into having it welded? Or did you avoid that because your truck was already assembled?

[ggdad1951]

On 9/8/2016 at 0:13 PM, Young Ed said:

Did you look into having it welded? Or did you avoid that because your truck was already assembled?

for now "patched" it...requires a new patch every other year or so...when I do some work on him in a couple years, I'd call Adleman's and see what they can maybe do (assuming he's alive still)...

[Young Ed]

Got the front springs back on and the axle back in. Snapped one Ubolt off..... will have to clean up a replacement today. Axle left as is for future removal for disk brake upgrade and king pin replacement. 

 

[Young Ed]

Did a little swapping today. Kinda changed paths with this build earlier this summer. The frame I've been building is for a 47 dodge so we went and switched the 40 plymouth cab for the 47 dodge cab. I'll paint the bottom of the cab and probably the interior before putting it back on the frame. 

One old truck doing some work hauling the other!

Home next to the frame. Don't tell Paul I'm going to clean off all that moss and shine it up.

[pflaming]

love that moss!  What do you use to pull a truck that has no brakes?  I have a 2" pipe with a chain pulled through it. Then connect tightly to both the pulling truck and the roller. The pipe provides the brakes, not recommended for a long pull but works great fo short ones.