53 pilothouse barn find. what to do with it

[bencrandab]

Hello all, Im new to this forum but I have been reading it for a while.

I have come across a 53 pilothouse truck that is a one owner and has been stored in a barn since 1979. I was used as a farm truck but other than a couple little dimples in the body it is in great shape and it has ZERO rust. I did a tune up and it fired right up. In the picture you see it as being blue and a green cab, the green is dirt, I just cleaned the front.

Im confussed what to do with it. I want to drive a old truck as a daily driver but I want it to be comfortable so I was going to take this one and make it a modern truck but Im having a hard time molesting this truck when it is in such great shape. Does anyone believe this truck has any value as is and I should just sell it to someone who would like a original truck or should I go ahead and make it a modern truck?

What do yall think?

[Dave72dt]

Welcome to the forum. You may need to define what you mean by "modern". A rear diff swap for comfortable highway speeds is getting fairly common as well as disc brakes up front. The flathead is as reliable as any modern engine but it's not going to acelerate like the modern one. I'd at least rebuild all the suspension/steering components, brakes and wiring and give the engine a good tuning and solve any oil leaks that may develop. After that, you'll need to define exactly what direction and how far you want to go.

[48Dodger]

You're asking me????

Ok, don't molest it. For pete's sake sell it to someone who promises to properly restore it with all original parts, original paint and upohlstrey. That said person must also promise not to re-sell it to someone who will try and hot rod it or god forbid, rat rod it. And if they don't start the restore project in 6 months, or put it back in a barn, or have obviously forgotten about it, envoke the repo clause so you can get it to someone who can live up to those standards set forth in said agreememnt with the first guy.....and during that time go find a less then restoreable p.o.s. that you can do with whatever you want so as not to feel quilty about it.

Its yours....build what you want. What you will enjoy. Somethig you are proud of.

48D

[Dan Babb]

If you do decide to keep it original, doing some simple things will help it a lot. Finding the parts is the hard part, so here's where I got some of mine.

Front disc conversion from Rustyhope.com

If new shackles are needed, you can get those from rareparts.com

New springs can be had from St Louis Spring for a lot less money than other places charge. I needed new front ones and had them leave out the second shortest one to soften the ride a bit. Took the same one out of the rear springs.

I used a 96 Jeep Cherokee rear axle with 3.55 gears. Other than cutting off the brackets and welding on new spring perches, it's not a hard project.

You can also put in a modern transmission...do a search for what guys have used.

New radial tires are a must too.

Some guys do a new front suspension swap using a Volare front end. Do a search for details if you want a more modern front end.

I also did an engine swap on mine, but it was a lot of work. Not sure how much you want to do.

[Plymouthy Adams]

if you have no clue what to do with it why are you bothering with it at all..any old car/truck is usually bought and worked because it means something because of a past event, relative etc...or somehow "spoke" to the builder..another thing I like to mention is that if you have not already seen this truck in the final paint and glory of a completed job in your mind..pass on it and move along..its most likely not for you..

[52b3b Joe]

Make it safe and drive it....it was used daily before, so there's no reason it couldn't be used like that again. Maybe just put a different rear end or just swap out the center pumpkin for a different ratio. Just think a while before you do something, don't do it on impulse and realize you can't. In my opinion the truck has more value original and not "modernized". Now if were rusted out and would be hard to restore back, then do what ever. They're only original once. Its made it this far original so save it.

[JBNeal]

if you want to drive this beast everyday, I hope ya live in a rural area or a small town, cuz these ol' trucks do not get in a hurry, even going downhill, nor do they stop on a dime. I've worked on enough older machines to know that parked vehicles can have surprises that could be big $$$ for repairs if not dealt with properly. The original wiring may look okay now, but its age + some heat-cycling from use and that insulation may start falling off. The original brakes may be prone to failure from rusted out lines or pitted cylinder bores. And then there's that flathead...the engine could have sludge or internal corrosion from sitting up for so long. The seals may be brittle and could blow out in no time. The water jacket may be full of crud or the distribution tube could be fouled or crumbling. If the distributor has a vacuum advance, the diaphragm could be shot. The fuel pump diaphragm might be on death's door also...the list goes on & on. Ulitmately, it all depends on your budget & skill level as to what you want to do with it. I cringe when I see a good survivor truck butchered to make it modern. On the other hand, when the truck is wore out & needs a lot of bodywork, making it modern might actually be cheaper

[B1B Keven]

Update the front and rear brakes, then restore it.

Too good of shape to modify.

[ggdad1951]

I'm always for saying full resto!

[buds truck]

you don't even want to know what I would do........

[B1B Keven]

you don't even want to know what I would do........

[pflaming]

I would suggest that you think two ways at once. What do you need to do to SELL it and at the same time what do you need to do to make it what you want. That way you do not lose much time or money. If you start to 'modernize' it, you just eliminated a whole lot of buyers.

I have been looking at a 1940 Lincoln Contenental, i.e., a fancy Ford until I visited with Tim Adams. Two big challneges: parts to finish may be very difficult to find and the buying audience is VERY small. I deleted all ideas on that very quickly.

Good luck and you are in the best forum on the net for this truck.

[Plymouthy Adams]

before I feel the wrath of the forum...the part Paul left off is that it was that or another project..the discussion as to popularity and parts were weighted in favor of the other vehicle..so as it was to be an money/time investment for resale..the choice was most obvious..

[51 Fargo]

You're asking me????

Ok, don't molest it. For pete's sake sell it to someone who promises to properly restore it with all original parts, original paint and upohlstrey. That said person must also promise not to re-sell it to someone who will try and hot rod it or god forbid, rat rod it. And if they don't start the restore project in 6 months, or put it back in a barn, or have obviously forgotten about it, envoke the repo clause so you can get it to someone who can live up to those standards set forth in said agreememnt with the first guy.....and during that time go find a less then restoreable p.o.s. that you can do with whatever you want so as not to feel quilty about it.

Its yours....build what you want. What you will enjoy. Somethig you are proud of.

48D

oh give your head a shake they look cool as a street rod

[Geekay]

Hey Ben, found his old post when I was searching for info on fuel pumps.

 

What did you do with the truck?

[ruff1148kr]

As you stated you want to drive it for an everyday truck I thinks that's cool, every truck that is not sitting in the garage or in the scrap yard or in the hands of some collector who never lets anyone see it and is just wanting to make money off it, is better off, as far as I'm concerned.  These Dodge trucks are really not seen enough. Half the younger people think Dodge trucks came out in the 60's. Even the people who collect these trucks have the old mopar mentality of  only buy for dirt cheap and hold everything forever or ask for the moon when  they sell. By driving it daily you increase the future sales market with every smile and thumbs up   by many people a day, so when you finally want to sell it you will have a pool of local people who have seen it running for years and always were envious and may be willing to buy it. (good luck in what you do)