RSB Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 I picked up my 1952 Dodge B3B back in Novemeber. I had been wanting a truck for a while, and was originally thinking 78 chevy like I had in high school, except they are pretty wide and my garage is tiny. Then I saw an old international for sale in the next town over and got me thinking an old truck might be a better fit. After several months of sucessfully avoiding buying that international, my girlfriend found this Dodge for sale on Craigslist and the rest is history. It is a running driving truck, but it is in need of a lot of work. What exactly, I am not sure. I have been holding off on a close inspection until I get the rear suspension finished on my bug and the weather drys out a bit. At this point I just drive it once a week to keep everything moving. What I know about the truck at this point is that it has a late 1960's Ford 302 V8, 1970's Mercury automatic transmission, 1970's Dodge rear end, Lincoln springs, Chevy radiator, and a Pugoet heater core, on a 12 volt electrical system. -Brian Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Posted January 6, 2014 Cool truck, you found the best place on the web for pilothouse knowledge. Looks like it already has a bunch of mods done to it, Hows it drive in its current condition? I know from the title of this thread you want to go the rat rod route, you should post up a build on this forum, http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/index.php I bet those "rat rods rule" forum guys would also love to see the build up of this truck. I also have a build thread on my '52 PH on there even though im not building a rat rod. -Chris Quote
RSB Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks for the kind words. I figured Rat Rod sounded better than "rolling abomination"... Someone put alot of work into junkyarding this truck back on the road. This is my first experience with mixed makes or 50's tech. So I figured learning about what this truck was would give me the best idea of what it is now. I just hope to do my part in keeping it rolling down the road. That site you pointed out seems like a pretty good resource. My truck drives pretty good, accelleration and top speed seem to be pretty good. The speedo is out, but it was out-pacing my jeep cherokee going down the highway. It has the original single circuit master cylender, so stopping definately takes some forethought. The rear spring hanger on the driverside front is super sloppy so there is some interference between the chasis and streering as well as some unpleasant slop in the handling. The steering it self also seems really loose. The electrical also needs to be totally gone through, headlights and wiper motor are not exactly reliable either. It is pretty fun to cruise it around though! Quote
HanksB3B Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) The horn ring made it through ! Factory Ash Tray too ! Hi RSB good luck with your project. What engine is your truck running ? Hank Edited January 10, 2014 by HanksB3B Quote
ggdad1951 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 "rat rod" always makes me shudder...I think of the hacked up piles of crap I see at shows with exposed welds, welded on random stuff and basically rolling piles of trash...I hope that's not your direction for such a solid looking truck? Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Ggdad1951 I know that's your opinion on rat rods and everyone has a different one. But saying that they're cobbled together rolling piles of trash isnt true. I agree with you that I am not a fan of the ones with a bunch of random things welded on. They're tons of guys who build rusty looking trucks with a great amount of engineering and fabrication skill behind them. I see it almost like a piece of art and everyone has different tastes and likes and dislikes. I think the original poster of the thread should do what ever he wants with the truck. Since he's the one flippin' the bill for it. -Chris Quote
ggdad1951 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Ggdad1951 I know that's your opinion on rat rods and everyone has a different one. But saying that they're cobbled together rolling piles of trash isnt true. I agree with you that I am not a fan of the ones with a bunch of random things welded on. They're tons of guys who build rusty looking trucks with a great amount of engineering and fabrication skill behind them. I see it almost like a piece of art and everyone has different tastes and likes and dislikes. I think the original poster of the thread should do what ever he wants with the truck. Since he's the one flippin' the bill for it. -Chris yah, sorry if I came off too strong, hadn't had my morning caffeine shot yet. The ones I TRULY hate are the cobbled together ones, with all the randomly welded on bits. I have no problem if someone does a rod, but doesn't make it show room shinny. And yes, it is up to the person doing the job, not this kids opinion. 1 Quote
Young Ed Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 yah, sorry if I came off too strong, hadn't had my morning caffeine shot yet. The ones I TRULY hate are the cobbled together ones, with all the randomly welded on bits. I have no problem if someone does a rod, but doesn't make it show room shinny. And yes, it is up to the person doing the job, not this kids opinion. Yes to me there's kind of two types. The ones that are just meant to look like something somebody found and got running again but have some paint missing rust etc and the ones that are meant to be crazy over the top with random crap. My 40 plymouth pickup project will be one of the former types with all the original type body panels with old paint etc. Quote
Dan Babb Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Getting parts is the hard part...but guys here can point you in the right direction. New spring hangers and bushings can be found at www.rareparts.com. I used them when I replaced my hangers that were floppy, frozen or busted. There are wiring diagrams here to redo it, but it might just be easier for you to get a whole new harness and start over. I used a 9 circuit harness from Rebel Wire. Only really had to extend the horn wire...other than that, it was a great and inexpensive setup to start with. Looks like you have a rear bumper...if that's an original piece, it's nice because it was an option. The ram head on the hood was an option too (I think it was a dealer installed option, but could be wrong there). Have fun with it. As long as you don't have to replace any sheetmetal (hard to find), it can be a fun project. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 yah, sorry if I came off too strong, hadn't had my morning caffeine shot yet. The ones I TRULY hate are the cobbled together ones, with all the randomly welded on bits. I have no problem if someone does a rod, but doesn't make it show room shinny. And yes, it is up to the person doing the job, not this kids opinion. Haha no worries it happens to the best of us, im a coffee lover as well. But i agree the ones with a bunch of random stuff do look pretty ridiculous. I can understand not building a show piece but making it look like you decided to weld every old beat up license you found in your garage onto your ride is a bit to much for my taste. -Chris Quote
Jeff Balazs Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 yah, sorry if I came off too strong, hadn't had my morning caffeine shot yet. The ones I TRULY hate are the cobbled together ones, with all the randomly welded on bits. I have no problem if someone does a rod, but doesn't make it show room shinny. And yes, it is up to the person doing the job, not this kids opinion. Boy are you cranky before you get your coffee. You need to remember this moment......some people may ( ) give you grief for building a stretch cab. Might even be considered a shameful waste of two cabs. Jeff Quote
Don Coatney Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 This is a rat rod. This is my ratty rod. 1 Quote
Scruffy49 Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 Ratty? That car is way too clean and shiny to be called ratty. My raggedy, rotten, worn out 49 truck is a rat. Or more likely, a roach (dropping)... Until I get around to tinkering with it again, then it is a "jewel in the rough"... Quote
Don Coatney Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 Ratty? That car is way too clean and shiny to be called ratty. My raggedy, rotten, worn out 49 truck is a rat. Or more likely, a roach (dropping)... Until I get around to tinkering with it again, then it is a "jewel in the rough"... A lot of guys go almost postal if you call there car a rat rod. Makes for a good button pusher I have been known to push a few buttons in my time Quote
ruff1148kr Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 what ever direction you go, just make it safe and have fun with it. Too many people get hung up on making it perfect, it only has to be perfect for you. I myself am turning1948 into a Indian motorcycle tribute shop truck. as a dealer might have had it in 48 I guarantee that the person who had your truck before you, had a big smile on his face once he got it running. Just take it to the next level you want. Good luck Quote
RSB Posted January 12, 2014 Author Report Posted January 12, 2014 I was thinking more "Rat Rod Project" = "Daily Driver capable truck that is running on parts from a wide range of vehicles". I am not much for following a "look". My phoilosophy when it comes to cars is put your time and money where it counts. To me that is drive train, suspension, steering, brakes. The end result is something that looks about like when I started but is mechanicly sound. I am not really sure what you call it. Maybe "Hood Ride" would have been better. For starters I need to pull the mustand gas tank and replace it with a cheap universal that doesn't leak. The factory tank is long gone and someone had filled the original filler location in the cab. I will probably keep the same location at the back of the bed and make it a top fill, instead of having the filler neck between the bed and bumper. Also need to get the wipers and headlights more reliable. Long term I was thinking pick up a universal harness. Short term, I think if i just replace all the spots where the wire is just twisted together with actual connectors and tape up all the bare spots I should be able to get it to work reliably. I will also need to look at fixing that sloppy spring hanger before I can really start thinking of this truck as a driver. I also need to tear the astroturf out of the cab get it cleaned up, and see how much floor I have and how well the cab is attached to the frame. Also need to look into replacing the bed, it is just several sheets of plywood now. I am also unsure what is holding the bed box to the frame... definatel not the front panel. Quote
JBNeal Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 Dodge was playing with the idea of a "lifestyle truck" as a replacement for the Dakota before the economy tanked...kinda liked that term and the Rampage concept truck the rolled out. Anyhow, another option with the fuel tank is to check out that Tanks Inc. unit, I've heard good things about it. That way you can install it in the original location & reclaim the spot for the spare tire. As for the wiring, I replaced the entire wiring on my '48 cuz the insulation was falling off of the conductors. With the factory wiring diagram, you can replace each wire with hardware store conductors. I scratched out a modified wiring diagram that includes a relay to improve headlight performance. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 what ever direction you go, just make it safe and have fun with it. Too many people get hung up on making it perfect, it only has to be perfect for you. I myself am turning1948 into a Indian motorcycle tribute shop truck. as a dealer might have had it in 48 I guarantee that the person who had your truck before you, had a big smile on his face once he got it running. Just take it to the next level you want. Good luck Couldnt have said it any better! That Indian motorcycle truck sounds awesome, cant wait to see pics of that. -Chris Quote
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