1953 Dodge 'coupe' truck project

[Desotodav]

8 hours ago, ggdad1951 said:

lookin good mate! did I read that correct?  You are casting new emblems?

You talk like an Aussie mate. I reckon you'll be wanting to throw a shrimp on the Tim's barby next April 

I was playing around with Desoto and Fargo hood emblems as I have a friend who works at a foundry. Those are a little rarer than the Dodge hood emblems here in Oz, so I thought I would look into having a supply made. I'm still waiting on my Chromer to tell me how much they will end up when finished, but I expect that they will be too pricey as chroming is not cheap here - DCM has the Dodge hood emblems listed at $52.50 there in USA so maybe I need to send him some good samples and he could forward them to his supplier for manufacture? We did a couple of samples (see photo). The casting metal they use comes out gold-colored, but they should look quite close to the original ones when chromed.

8 hours ago, 48Dodger said:

Dang Dav, I thought I had some gas tanks.......or do you need those to make it through the Outback????  48D

I was messing around with some of my gas tanks at the shed. I already have tanks repaired for the 52 and the 53 trucks, but I still need one fixed for the 55. I have a friend who said that he could repair them, so I was looking at having them repaired (if the price works out ok) and I might sell a few of them off. They are quite hard to get here in Oz and I suspect that they will fetch a good price once repaired. Wifey keeps telling me that I spend too much on my trucks so I need to sell off some parts to recoup some outgoings. My friend (Kenny) who is looking to repair the tanks was thinking of widening one of them for his V8 Dodge truck as the extra gas capacity would be good for him out west there. I must check back with him to see how he's getting on.

Edited December 7, 2017 by Desotodav

[Desotodav]

It's been some time since I last posted progress on the coupe truck. Not much has changed since then and we are still nearing panel work completion. My bank account has been well and truly drained, and I am fast nearing the point where I have just about had enough. I am told now that there is just some minor messing around required to get the tailgate fitted, and then they are ready to resume blocking and sanding. I may bring the truck home for a few months for a bit of a break yet. I am happy with the work to date, but the amount of hours and dollars that have gone into this project are absolutely ridiculous. We live and learn hey!

Here's a few pics of where we're at for now..

 

[TrampSteer]

On 12/7/2017 at 2:26 PM, Desotodav said:

You talk like an Aussie mate. I reckon you'll be wanting to throw a shrimp on the Tim's barby next April 

 

 

Think I'll maybe bring shrimp in two weeks. Just for you D.

[pflaming]

Is the name DE SOTO or. DESOTO?  Hate to see you go to all that work and get it wrong. I don't know which is correct but I think it is DESOTO! 

 

I also think the letter spacing on F ARGO is incorrect. 

Edited March 31, 2018 by pflaming

[Desotodav]

2 minutes ago, pflaming said:

Is the name DE SOTO or. DESOTO?  Hate to see you go to all that work and get it wrong. I don't know which is correct but I think it is DESOTO! 

 The chromed hood badge is the original. There eems to be a distinct gap in between the De and the Soto. I must ring my Chromer as that was quite some time ago when I put that emblem post up.

 

Wish that I cpuld make he BBQ this year... but I won't be back until 2020.

[pflaming]

Well, I'll tip a bitters in your absence! 

[The Oil Soup]

Wow Paul, I didn't realize kerning was an avocation of yours. 

[Frank Elder]

7 hours ago, pflaming said:

Well, I'll tip a bitters in your absence! 

When I was visiting Glasgow it twas a pint of Heavy! I also tried nutty brown ale.

[pflaming]

Oil soup, only for medicinal purposes, like "wrenching frustration" . 

[Desotodav]

 I guess that I finally reached breaking point as I had the (unfinished) 'Pop' coupe truck brought home today. I’ve had constant ‘chats’ with the Panel Beater over the past year of how I seemed to be receiving ridiculously high bills from them yet very little work seemed to be getting done. It is really sad when you trust someone, who you think has the knowledge and skills to attend to a high quality rebuild in a timely manner, and then you find that they have just been doing what little they need to do in order to drag out time to get as much money from you as possible from their hourly rate. I have already established who will be finishing the project off for me, but the Pop truck can rest in my shed with some of his friends for now.…

[Jeff Balazs]

Davin;

That is a shame. I know this project means a lot to you. Hopefully when you start up again things will go smoother.

Jeff

[59bisquik]

That’s too bad! I think this is a really cool project and like seeing the updates. Hopefully it will be back out soon and moving forward again!

[Brent B3B]

That's a bummer Davin but, good for you for pulling the plug.....  crooks suck!

[48Dodger]

You're a gifted man Dav......time to add to your abilities....time to put another feather in your cap.....time to buy a paint gun and learn the ways of Automotive Pigment.

 

Fill a pint, point and shoot. Happy to help mate.

 

48Dingo

[Desotodav]

I'm hearing you 48Dingo... I might have been a rich man by now if only I had the gift of hammer on dolly and some reasonable paint shooting skills  I had actually considered undertaking a course many years ago. My biggest issue now is that I am very time poor these days with all of my work and also charity efforts going on.

 

I am very committed to the project and we will move forward. We are actually shooting a primer coat on the truck this weekend (weather permitting) to prepare it for sitting for a few months. I'm hoping to pack and send another couple of shipping containers full of charity medical/educational items before it comes to pulling the truck out again as my shed is getting more crowded by the day. I am well satisfied that the truck will be finished to the high standard which I expect... it might just not happen now until sometime in 2019.

[ggdad1951]

don't listen to him mate...leave the paint to those who like the look of a mask!  Now the hammer and dolly...that I advise you learn.

[RodFru2u]

Davin,

 

   Sorry to hear after all the  time & money invested so far the low life bums  have not finished the job. You did right by yanking it out of there . I have no doubt you will finish this project in time and it will be spectacular .  Good luck & look forward to seeing you in 2020 .   Rod

[pflaming]

You might give it a layman's paint job, then put the truck in an abandoned building, set the building on fire and thereby give it a heat treated original patina finish!  LOL

 

Just last week I drove mine, with such a finish, to a prestigious truck show and came home a theophy winner'!

 

[48Dodger]

I hear ya Dav....I just think, "If there was ever a guy who should paint..." It'd be you. You're a guy who cares about these old trucks and your eye for detail is outstanding! I realize it takes time to develop skills, but I believe you could fast track those skills better than anyone....so in the spirit of the American way of getting someone's resolve up...." I dare you...I double dog dare you!"...:D

 

48D

[Desotodav]

Some things are just better left to the experts in my opinion  

At least the old Pop truck is almost back to one color all over after a sand and a quick squirt of 2-pack primer this morning.

[Dave72dt]

Some guide coat and sanding blocks and you're on your way.  Doesn't all have to be done at once.  Do some, let it sit and come back to it at your convenience.  Reapply primer or filler as needed.  The longer and flatter the panel, the longer the block needs to be, sanding in an X pattern.  Practice spraying technique on the primer.  You can always sand out the mistakes.  Base /clear color is actually very forgiving also.  Mistakes can be sanded out in the base coat as well as the clear.  No painter ever started out as an expert.  Whatever work you can do on your own keeps money in your pocket.

[Desotodav]

My old 53 Dodge coupe truck is still resting under a car cover in the shed for now and is surrounded by charity items (hospital beds and wheel chairs etc.) which I am yet to load into shipping containers and forward on. I'm packing another 2 x 20 foot shipping containers at present, so I might even be able to get to the coupe truck again soon.

 

I have been working in my other shed in my spare time of late and decided to sort out some differential and transmissions. I refurbished a 3.54 diff for my 52 truck recently, and have just sent the guys another 4.1 diff centre as they will be refurbishing that diff for my 55 truck. We tested the speedo for accuracy after the conversion from 4.1 to 3.54 and it appears that I have gained 10mph. I have already done this diff centre swap in the 53 coupe truck, but it seems that it may still be some time before I get to enjoy driving that truck on the road.

I found that most of the diff housings in my shed were rusted through on the underside where the shock absorber mount bolts on with the u-bolts, so I removed the diff centres and took the housings off for scrap metal as this will create a little more room in my small shed. I found some old leaf springs to add to the load for scrap as well, so I ended up with $80 back in my wallet.

 

I cleaned up a few of the transmissions in my small shed and dropped them down to my transmission fella down the Gold Coast yesterday. I've asked him to pick two of the best column shift boxes and work on bringing them back to life. I think he was a little surprised when I dropped down to his shed with 7 transmissions. I will use one of the refurbished transmissions for the 53 coupe truck, and the other one will be done for the 55 truck. I'm not sure how good the transmission is in the 55 truck, so I might get to pulling that out and dropping it to down to my mate as well. I'm a little hesitant to discuss the 55 (C series) DeSoto truck as wifey told me that I'm not to build any more trucks ?

[Jeff Balazs]

FWIW my friend....?...I think it is best to stay focused on one project at a time. By the time you get it done she may have forgotten the no more trucks order. Or......you may just have done something so wonderful she can't say no.

Jeff

[Desotodav]

I have struck a small hurdle with the 2 transmissions (which I am rebuilding here in Oz) which I am seeking advice from my forum brothers across the pond.

I am unable to find a supplier here in Oz for the 'main shaft rear bearing oil seal 21-22-2' that fits in the rear part of the transmission which houses the emergency brake assembly on my 3-speed manual column shift - the part number is listed as A600420 (see attached photos).

Is it possible that someone might be able to suggest a supplier for this transmission seal?... or provide a NAPA part number? as we now have a NAPA store in Australia ? 

[JBNeal]

additional information - 3spd Transmission Output Shaft Seal 

Edited October 17, 2019 by JBNeal
revised link