1937 1.5 ton pu rebuild/modify

[knuckleharley]

Well,I was putting off the rebuild on my 37 Dodge 1.5 ton pu for as long as possible,and finally managed to put it off for so long I am now  unable to do it myself,and had to hire a pro shop to do it for me.

 

The first photo of the truck is what it looked like before it was torn down. It was originally sold new to the city of Newport News,Va as a fire truck. Had a pumper unit sitting in the bed. Still has the pumper tag riveted to the bed,but the pumper is long gone.

 

It was pulled out of a junkyard and slopped together by the previous owner. The chassis was shot,so he put the body on a 72 F-250 4X4 chassis,complete with the 390 V-8,4 speed truck trans,and 4x4 running gear. It was a real hoot to drive,but only once it was moving because it did not have power steering. Didn't have power brakes either,which didn't make it a whole lot of fun to try to stop in a hurry if you were running at any speed.

 

OOPS! Just discovered I don't have those old photos on this computer,so I will have to post them tomorrow. Below are 3 photos I took today.

 

When we pulled the truck apart to redo it,we discovered the 72 F-250 chassis was shot. No real surprise given how the original 4x4 truck was probably ran on the beach for surf fishing.

 

The chassis you see under it in these photos is the 78 Dodge 1/2 ton 4x4 chassis that is going under it now. The engine is a Mopar crate 318 that has never even been started. I am using the front and rear differentials from the F-250 because it is stouter,but using the disc brakes up front from the 78 Dodge. 

As you can see,the cab rear and floor had some rust issues once we blasted the plastic and paint away,so it was cut out and new panels made. Not finished yet,but on the way.

 

As you can see,my attack cat Sylvia is on guard duty

 

 

 

 

The stock bed is either 9 feet,or 9.5 feet long. I forgot which.

 

Eventually,hopefully,the truck will end up painted the lime green you see on new Jeeps.

 

It attracted a lot of attention while driving it around before we blew it apart,and with any luck at all it is going to look a lot nicer this time.

I will try to copy and paste the photos of the truck before we took it apart from my shop computer to this page tomorrow sometime.

Edited December 10, 2020 by knuckleharley

[knuckleharley]

Here are a couple of photos of the truck before it was torn down to rebuild.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by knuckleharley

[T120]

Nice to see your progress. Thanks for the  update and photos. ?

[Frank Elder]

Once again order has been restored...........The malignant pandemic of ferd has been 90 percent excised from the Celestial body of Mother mopar! I forgive you for the sin of ferd axles and bless this build.

What windy old illegitimate child I am.....LOL! Good luck with your build Knucks. 

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, Frank Elder said:

Once again order has been restored...........The malignant pandemic of ferd has been 90 percent excised from the Celestial body of Mother mopar! I forgive you for the sin of ferd axles and bless this build.

What windy old illegitimate child I am.....LOL! Good luck with your build Knucks. 

Thanks!

It was a real hoot to drive with the 390. People would freak out when I would pass them,cruising along at 70-75 mph.

 

The 318 (stock engine) isn't going to have the torque or HP of the modified FE,but the truck will now have power steering AND power brakes,and they will more than make up for it.

 

Look at the size of those tires and the length of that truck with the 9.5 foot long bed,and now imagine trying to park it in a parking lot space with manual steering.

 

Then imagine having the bed loaded with plywood siding,and cruising along at 70 mph when some clueless fool pulls out right in front of you,and immediately speeds up to 45 MPH. I was inches away from his rear bumper before I got the speed down,and I still don't think he had a clue I was that close.

 

A friend teased me by asking me if I was going to also put AC in it,and I told him "Don't need it. The windshield cranks out".

 

BTW,I intended to rebuild this with the Ford running gear because I am going to sell it when it is done,but then I discovered the chassis was just about rusted in half behind the cab,so I found and bought this 78 Dodge chassis with the crate engine from a guy restoring a 78 Dodge truck who had lost his storage.

 

Going along with the philoposy "If it ain't broke it don't need fixing",the drivetrain is staying in it.

Edited December 12, 2020 by knuckleharley