1938 Dodge RC Pickup Build

[vikingminer49er]

Hey!  Hey!  Hooray!  May have discovered how to load photos onto the website!  Look out now!  I have a lot of photos of Dodge Trucks.

 

Might as well start out with the earliest.  1938 Dodge RC Pickup found in Greely Colorado on March 20, 2016.  Photos is as-rolled-out of the shed in the background on an old farm that is being surrounded by new subdivisions.  Outbid a guy in Wyoming who failed to realize that whatever he bid, I was going to bid more.  Most potential buyers are light weights with thin pockets.  True Dodge truck lovers will pay what it takes when they find what they want.

 

On a deal like this one, couldn't tell what was there until I got it home and unpacked it.  Grill was on the bottom in the bed.  Brought it to the top and wrapped it for the 300-mile ride home.  After the truck made it home, the parts were laid out for an inventory.  Missing one headlight bezel, two hubcaps, one outside door handle, and of course, the rare and elusive crank hole cover.  Flathead-6 engine was from a 1952 Plymouth according to the engine number, transmission origin has not been determined.  The truck has been resting in my barn waiting it's turn.

 

Decided this year it's turn is due.  Purchased a 2014 Dodge 5.7-liter hemi engine, transmission, and rear end from a wrecked Charger.  Plan to build a street rod this coming year.  Surprise to some of you, but the wife is insisting on this truck as our next build, including being willing to invest her own money in the project.  Now that I think I know how to load photos, might as well start a website build thread on this excellent forum.  Thank you.

 

Tom Anderson

Paonia Colorado

[vikingminer49er]

One more photo of the hood ornament before we started home.  Here's how the truck looked after I got it home for any inventory on April 12, 2016.

[vikingminer49er]

Safely tucked away in the barn.  Next to the 1952 B-1-D-126, first Dodge truck that I bought that wasn't new.  Both trucks waiting for their turn for restoration.

[vikingminer49er]

First meeting of the 2014 Dodge 5.7-liter hemi and the 1938 Dodge pickup, June 19, 2019

[vikingminer49er]

Start with removal of the shiny special pieces.  Usually long lead time for restoration by specialists.  Last year for the Dodge Brothers enamel emblem.  Sent to Karla Maxwell of Maxwell Enamels, http://www.maxwellenamels.com/Home_Page.html, for restoration.  Upon receipt, Karla wrote:  "Your UNIQUE badge just arrived.  Did not see it in the photo but your badge is the rarer USA version.  It is my understanding that the USA only showed on vehicles meant for export.  Those badges don't show up very often."  Certainly can't explain that, since the truck was found in Colorado.  Continue to remove bright shiny objects.

[T120]

Great project. Thanks for posting the photos.Looking forward to more as you progress. ☺️

[Dodgeed]

Very enjoyable and informative to read and see your pix. Keep 'em coming. ?

[vikingminer49er]

Leaping or charging ram hood ornament removed.  Was necessary to cut the bent bottom bolt for removal.  Shows typical pitting from 80-years of weather.

[vikingminer49er]

Next removed the grill pieces.  No way to safely remove the rusty screw-head bolt fasteners without doing damage.  Was necessary to cut the nuts off from the inside.  Grill pieces are in reasonable condition.  Plan to have these horizontal-slat grill pieces sandblasted and powder-coated locally at C&R Kustom Powder Koting in Delta Colorado.

[vikingminer49er]

Next challenge revealed the rusty clips holding the chrome-plated grill trim.  22 total clips, 11 around each outer side of the grill trim.  One clip was missing.  One clip was loose enough to remove by hand fairly easily.  Asked on this forum if anyone had any experience with removal of the clips, and where replacements could be found.  The post was deleted, and was told to post in the classifieds for Parts Wanted.  After some internet searching, contacted Restoration Specialties in Windber Pennsylvania.  Mr. Jeff Mihalko is sending some samples that may work as replacements.

[RobertKB]

Restoration Specialties is great to work with. I have always had great service from them ordering specialty parts for at least four different projects. A company well worth supporting. I have no affiliation with them, only great parts and customer service.

[vikingminer49er]

Started at the corner with the thin-bladed knives to gently pry on the clips.  Worked from one clip to the next as the clips let loose of the grill trim until the piece came off.  Inspected the clips and the underside of the trim.  Clips held on one side of the trim.  Reversed the knives to pry the clips loose on the second piece.  Both trim pieces removed without damage and recovered all 21 clips.

Edited December 15, 2019 by vikingminer49er
Added text and photos.

[vikingminer49er]

Forgot to show the grill centerpiece removed earlier.  Screw-head bolts on the back were not too rusty to remove.

[vikingminer49er]

Grill parts removed and ready for shipping to be restored and re-chromed.  But wait, there's more.

[vikingminer49er]

Removed the interior door handles.  As typical on the old trucks, door handles are often replaced over the years.  None of these handles match, and without further research, it is difficult to determine which, if any, may be original.  Same with hubcaps.  Find there are three different kinds in the four that came with the truck.  Obviously the Chrysler hubcap is not original.  Of the two Dodge styles, the two similar ones are probably correct for the truck.  Just a guess at this point, based on the green paint on the hubcaps and other body parts.  The truck would have come with five hubcaps, including one for the spare visibly mounted on the right front fender.

[vikingminer49er]

Found more once-shiny items.  The hand brake handle was shiny, but is in poor condition, including enough build-up to make it difficult to adjust without cleaning.

[vikingminer49er]

Love this feature.  Fresh-air ventilation with the tilt-out windshield.  Hand-crank on the center of the dash extends and retracts the windshield with a gear-driven stainless-steel strip.  Years of use has caused work hardening and breakage of the strip.  Similar to bending a wire back and fork until it breaks.  Could be very difficult to find a replacement, and may have to resort to trying to re-manufacturing the part.

[vikingminer49er]

But wait.  There's more.  This is going to take a bit to carefully remove the gauges, speedometer,  and controls.  Will send these items out to a specialist for repair and restoration. 

 

Safety pitch for this dash style was no protrusions from the dash to prevent injury in a collision.  Better than not, but no mention of lack of seat belts and safety glass.  Breakage of the original single-pane glass results in large, sharp pieces, unlike modern two-pane, laminated safety auto glass that shatters into small fragments held together by the laminating film between the panes.  All the glass will be replaced with safety glass.  Glass panes are flat, and can be cut to fit by any auto glass replacement shop.

[vikingminer49er]

No work on the 1938 today.  Hauled steers to the butcher n Hotchkiss with the 1974 Dodge W100 Pickup.  Hauled wheels from the 1967 Dodge D500 Pickup to C&R Kustom Powder Koting in Delta to be sandblasted and powder coated.  Worked on the trim for the 1989 Dodge W250 Cummins Pickup to finish the restoration by Christmas, but don't tell my wife.  It's her Christmas surprise.

 

No, Judy didn't let me keep the hood ornament from the Gunnison Colorado Car Show in 2017.  https://www.gunnisoncarclub.com/

[RobertKB]

That's about the best looking hood ornament I've seen!! Why wouldn't your wife let you keep it?

[vikingminer49er]

Probably thought it would interfere with my view while driving.  Here's a photo of my sweetheart behind the wheel.  She normally drives the candy-apple-red Chrysler convertible in the background.  She prefers her convertible so she can ride around topless.  ?

[Radarsonwheels]

I love seeing the full on restoration effort on the body and trim and the modern hemi is gonna haul the mail! 

 

Keep up that momentum and keep posting pics I’m droolin’!

[vikingminer49er]

Finished the last of the trim for the 1989 Dodge W250 Cummins Pickup today.  Hoping to have it all on the truck to complete restoration by Christmas  Plan to restart work on the 1938 tomorrow.

 

Never volunteer to refinish trim on a vehicle this large.  Can't remember when I started on this.  Before starting to refinish, all dents must be removed.  Any defects will show through the refinishing.  Refinish starts with the coarsest sand paper that will remove the scratches and any blemishes quickly and leave a relatively smooth surface.  Then progressively finer sand paper is used to remove the previous marks from sanding at the coarser grit.  To make the parts shiny again, sanding continues by progressively finer grits up to 2500.  Then the part is buffed with three progressively finer grits with cotton buffing wheels.  The side moldings, as shown in a previous post, required hand sanding and lots of time.  The wheel moldings were done with a vibrating, electric-powered sander, and went much faster.

[Worden18]

Looking good man!  Really enjoying your thread.  You have a nice variety of trucks ?

[vikingminer49er]

Tying to help answer this post today.  https://p15-d24.com/topic/51657-38-dodge-pickup-window-regulators/  Wrestled with the doors working on removing the hardware to get the window regulators removed.  Got most of the door hardware removed, but held up by some rusty fasteners.

 

Photos of the window regulator handles and mounting.  Appears to require a square attachment and not splined.  The handles removed from my 1938 are obviously not the same, and at this point do not know if either, or neither, is correct.

 

Passenger's side window glass is broken and the window regulator was difficult to operate.  Finally managed to get the window down.  Was able to remove both door latch mechanisms, but still working on removing the window regulators.  Removed the interior window frames from both sides.

 

The 1938 has two door strikes per door.  One on top and one on bottom.  Unlike the single door strike near the latch on the B-Series trucks.  Missing one door strike.  Soaking the rusty hardware before attacking with the screwdriver.  Last photo is getting late in the day and into the afternoon sun.