Newbie with lots of questions.

[Captain_Awesome]

Hey I'm J. I just inherited my grandpas old service truck which is a 48 Dodge. I'm not sure if it is a B1B or anything. I'm not even sure if the year honestly. It had a wooden flatbed on it when I was a kid but that is gone now. Basically all I have is the body which I'm going to put on a late model chasis. One of my big issues is I'm missing major door components namely the glass runs and one glass channel. I have one of the channels that hook to the regulator by that I was able to figure out this truck has the one piece door Windows. Is there anybody that sells these parts or could get me some pictures so I at least know what they look like so I could make them? I know I will have more questions later but I do appreciate any help I can get.

[Fargone]

The window components and weather stripping can be purchased from a few places but Clester's seems to get the most good feedback. http://www.clestersauto.com/Pages/DodgeTrucks.aspx

[Young Ed]

If you're going that much of a custom why not do aftermarket power windows. 

[Dave72dt]

Check the classifieds section. Mark has(had) a bunch of doors at one time and probably has some of the hardware you're looking for.

[Captain_Awesome]

Well. I hadn't really thought about power windows. I just hauled this home two weeks ago and I'm still at the point of taking inventory of what I have. Lol do they make power window kits for these trucks? I have one regulator that is all there and with some live it does work and the other one has a broken spring. I don't have any of the channels that the glass runs in once it's inside the door.

[Captain_Awesome]

Well. I hadn't really thought about power windows. I just hauled this home two weeks ago and I'm still at the point of taking inventory of what I have. Lol do they make power window kits for these trucks? I have one regulator that is all there and with some live it does work and the other one has a broken spring. I don't have any of the channels that the glass runs in once it's inside the door.

[NiftyFifty]

I made my own window channels out of 3/4" tubing that I cut in half, and then I glued the actual rubber/felt channel into them for my power window set-up. There is no power window kit for these trucks, you have to just buy a universal and mount them inside the door. I got mine through gearheadworld.com but their definitely the cheapest set and sometimes work like it too.

[Captain_Awesome]

Ok. Thanks for the info about the tubing. Can you tell me how the door lock cyl comes out?

[John U]

Small screw on the inside edge of the door by the latch and lock

[Captain_Awesome]

Is it through a hole in the inside edge of the door? There is a hole there and what appears to be a screw with no head.

[Plymouthy Adams]

these screws are usually very very hard to get to turn after all these years...do ensure that you soak them all but good with a penetrant oil and even then you may be in for a surprise..damage the heads and your are now in for an adventure.   IF you are now working the doors and will be prepping for paint and such...I suggest a couple heat cycles with the ole torch to disintegrate the rust between the housing and screw

[NiftyFifty]

Yes, you can just barely see it through that hole, but don't attempt it without soaking it a few times with PB blaster or WD40 etc....they are not usually a fun screw to take out. Best if you have a good solid screwdriver with a hex shaft and a small pair of vice grips, then push in hard with one hand, and turn the screwdriver with the vice grips....even then, mine would never come out...but I just installed a drivers door handle with a locking key, the psgr side can be locked from inside

[Captain_Awesome]

Really? Where did you come up with a drivers side lock cyl latch? I hadn't been aware that any of those were ever made. What would I need to do to install one of those?

[John U]

I have never seen one of those either

[Young Ed]

these screws are usually very very hard to get to turn after all these years...do ensure that you soak them all but good with a penetrant oil and even then you may be in for a surprise..damage the heads and your are now in for an adventure.   IF you are now working the doors and will be prepping for paint and such...I suggest a couple heat cycles with the ole torch to disintegrate the rust between the housing and screw

Be careful with that too. You can melt the lock itself... 

[NiftyFifty]

Really? Where did you come up with a drivers side lock cyl latch? I hadn't been aware that any of those were ever made. What would I need to do to install one of those?

I got a locking door handle from Spaenaur, not just a lock cylinder, they look great and work very nice..just had to cut the square shaft to match the original length.

http://spaenaur.com/catalog/#L7

[ruff1148kr]

wish I had seen this before I brought my new roberts handles

[Jerry Roberts]

wish I had seen this before I brought my new roberts handles

 You can still get what you want ... order the locking handles and then sell your other new handles . 

[Captain_Awesome]

So another question. Engine swaps. Any tips? Best kind of engine for the room I have? Anything I need to consider as far as radiators accessories or just plain fitting the engine to the truck?

[Captain_Awesome]

Also pedal hangers. My truck had been swapped out for a ford inline six and three speed out of a car. The original through the floor pedals are gone and a very crudely homemade firewall setup was put in it. Any suggestions on what to put there? I would love to put the original pedals back in it but not sure of a feasible way to do that with the frame swap and engine swap I plan to do.

[John U]

My brake pedal assembly is for a model A I got it and the booster master and pedal assembly from master power brakes fit well very little modification to make it fit pedal is close to original location

[Dave72dt]

You've mentioned late model chassis and engine swap a couple times now.  A bit more specific on what that might be would help.  Many later model truck chassis are going to be a lot wider than the cab, most of the smaller trucks will be a bit narrow.  What kind of a budget, what kind of skills do you have, what's the primary purpose of the truck.  Floor mounted pedals can be built if needed.  Finding alternative engines that will adapt to an original bellhousing may be a bit difficult.  Almost anything can be put into one of these trucks.  it all depends on your or you fabricator's skills and the size of your pocket.  Do a search on frame swaps and engine swaps for some input on what's been done here already.

[Captain_Awesome]

Well. I want it to be a four wheel drive work truck with a flat bed. I don't want anything smaller than a 3/4 ton. I have done some frame measurements on 97-00 dodge 1 ton frames at my local pick and pull and compared to the Dakota frames I measured the 1 tone is about 1/2 inch narrower than Dakota frames. I will have to widen the back of the cab just a little bit where it straddles the frame. My fabrication skills are good, however my dad's are excellent. He is a welder and fabricator for a company that builds clean air systems for factories. It's a German owned company and he has been employed there since the beginning and I'm the same building with the company before that. Totals years in one building 30 between both companies. He's the old fart that also gets to fix everybody else's mistakes. Lol he's going to be a big part in the fabrication process. I want to put this truck on an already complete running chassis. I have another truck that I have had since i was 15 that I have built for a show truck. I still have to do paint and bodywork on it. The Dodge was used in military service and also used for hauling asphalt. The frame and body is covered in asphalt. As far as I can remember it always had a flatbed on it. It belonged to my grandfather. I want something I can haul my show truck with, pull a camper trailer, and just be an all around work truck that I can enjoy everyday and not feel under powered using it. Basically all I'm starting with is a shell. I already have to build floor pans. The motor had been swapped out to a ford motor so a very crude home made fire wall pedal setup was made and welded to the dash brace. I don't want to use that I need something better.

[NiftyFifty]

I would look at cutting out the firewall on the donor vehicle and fabricating that into your Dodge firewall...and as for the pedals,..if you do that, you also solve the pedal problem, you likely will have to source a different booster tho, that might be much too big to fit under the old hood. The original pedals/mounts are basically apart of the bell housing and rear engine support..so using that would be a nightmare on a custom build and virtually impossible. The more of the donor you can use, the better off you will be

[austinsailor]

Is it reasonable to use a remote booster, like the ones on some big trucks, located under the cab? It just goes in the line in a remote location, then on to the wheels. It would leave only a simple master cylinder under the hood.

I'll have to admit all of them I've seen are single systems, though, so that might kill the idea unless there are newer ones that are duals.