Redoing my modified 37 Dodge 1 ton original fire truck

[knuckleharley]

Ok,guys,I am starting a thread in the truck section to show the work being done to my 37 Dodge 1 ton pu.  The photos I am putting up there tonight are from before the teardown,and after the tear down. The after the teardown photos are a little scary. I had no idea the cab was so rough and rusty,but I am happy  we were able to save it.

 

Take a look if you are interested in non-stock rebuilds. It was sitting on a 72 Ford F-250 4X4 chassis when I bought it,complete with a modified 390 and 4 speed truck transmission. When we pulled the body and bed off the chassis we discovered there were sections of the chassis too thin from rust to be able to reuse it,so I bought a 79 Dodge half-ton 4x4 chassis to use instead. It came with a crate 318 that had never even been fired,a rebuilt auto trans,rebuild brakes,new brake lines,power brake booster,brake hoses,new master cylinder,radiator,starter,and alternator.

 

I decided to use the differentials from the Ford to get the 8 lug wheels and bigger brakes,but MIGHT stay with the stock brakes.

 

If you are going to do it,do it once and get it right while you are messing with it.

 

These are tear down and repair photos. I hope to be able to start posting assembly photos soon.

 

The  photos in bronze are of the truck before we tore it down to give you some sort of idea what it will look like when done.

 

If you look,you can see the "Champion" fire truck tag above the running board in the next two shots.

 

The bed and fenders were pretty good,but the cab was borderline. Since I already owned it,had driven and enjoyed it for 3 or 4 years,I decided to bite the bullet and see if we could save the cab.

 

Ended up having to replace a whole section of the rear of the cab,as well as make a new floor and new cab mounts. Hope to have photos of them soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by knuckleharley

[MoparCowboy]

Nice start thanks for sharing.

[JBNeal]

that cab's condition could be that it's well ventilated and has plenty of drainage ?

[knuckleharley]

I was shocked that the cab was so bad. The bed is almost pristine,and it is always the beds that are the first things to go in trucks. Still,we are cutting away all the rust and replacing them with new panels using an English Wheel and welding. When it goes back together,it may be better than new.,

 

Kinda stupid on my part since I have a parts truck with a better cab,but my plan with it was to use what I had to use from it,and then sell it to someone wanting to make a rat rod. How cool would it be with no front fenders,dropped front axle,turbo Cummings,2 stacks running up the back of the cab,and a 6 food wooden stake body over a Z'd chassis?

 

I even have a clear title for the parts truck. Figured I could probably get 500 for it,which also pays me back what it cost to go get it and bring it home.

 

If I were 30 years younger,I'd give it a shot myself.

 

BTW,I will be posting some progress photos in a day or two. The ones I already posted are old ones.

 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by knuckleharley

[knuckleharley]

Took some new photos today. Work has slowed since the shop owner came down with Covid-19.

 

I do have to admit they are doing first class work. I made it plain to the owner before I brought it to him that "Fixing rust" with body plastic was a BIG time Bozo-No-No for me,and he wouldn't get paid if I caught him cutting any corners unless they needed to be cut out and replaced. He must have taken me seriously because he went ahead and bought the English Wheel he has been talking about buying the last few years.

 

Besides,his shop is less than 5 miles from my house,so until I got the flu,I was stopping by every day and busting his balls about "when are you going to be done with it?" I think he's working so hard on it now because I have irritated him to death with it. Seems like every shop in the country is anxious to get hot rod/restoration work like this,but once they get it in and take it apart,the crap just sits there for years being untouched. The shop owner also understood this was unacceptable to me before I ever took it to him.

 

I know he is serious now about getting it done because when he came down with Covid he hired a retired old school body and fender man to come in and just work on my truck. Of course,he is also doing minor body work or welding on regular cars and trucks when needed,but this is a guy that knows what he is doing and is making the patch panels from scratch and enjoying himself while doing it. You can see him welding in a  new cowl patch panel in photo #5,and see the hole he is filling in photo #4.

 

I have no idea who is going to buy the truck once it's done and I start driving it around with a For Sale sign on it,but I don't want them tracking me down this time next year and being accused of lying about "rust being fixed".

 

I think the best part may be that I really don't care if anyone wants to buy it or not because it was an absolute blast to drive when it didn't have PS,PB and AOD,so I can only imagine how much fun it will be to drive when it is done.

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by knuckleharley

[Young Ed]

Now what color will it be when completed???

[Plymouthy Adams]

Fire Engine Red......maybe?

[knuckleharley]

50 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

Now what color will it be when completed???

Not good with colors,but am going to have it painted a greenish yellow,or a yellowish green. Sometimes it looks more green to me than yellow,and other times it looks more yellow than green. No,you do NOT want me painting your car.

 

I like the color because it doesn't show dirt and is not seen often. I also like it because the guy that is going to do the paint bought it to paint another car with,and the guy backed out,so he sold it to me at half-price. Half-price AND I like the color is a hard combo to beat.

 

You can count on my posting some photos once it's painted

[knuckleharley]

To: Plymouthy Adams:

 

Oh,man! If it had still had the pumper in the bed when I bought it,you can believe I would have spent the bucks to buy a 37 Dodge  chassis and drive train,and restored it.

 

I did think about bright red for a moment,but was then told how much more expensive bright red was than the color I will end up using,and that make the difference. After all,I am rebuilding it to sell it as well as I am to save it. Can't afford to spend more to fix it than I can sell it for.

Edited February 9, 2021 by knuckleharley

[Veemoney]

Nice project, well worth the effort. Reds and golds as I recall were the most expensive colors to purchase at the auto paint store by me. Looking forward to seeing this 1/2 price greellow  or yelleen color you speak of. 

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, Veemoney said:

Nice project, well worth the effort. Reds and golds as I recall were the most expensive colors to purchase at the auto paint store by me. Looking forward to seeing this 1/2 price greellow  or yelleen color you speak of. 

Me,too! Haven't driven it in a couple of years,and want to drive it for a month or so before putting it up for sale.

I only live a few miles from Dennis Anderson's/The Grave Digger mud race track,and when I get ready to sell it I plan on driving up there early when he having a race,and park it close to the driveway with a "For Sale" sign in the windshield. His races pull in thousands of spectators who are into that sort of thing,so I don't expect it will last long before getting sold. If you are a mud racing fan and have a chance to buy a 30's street ready version to drive around and impress all your friends,it will be a rare chance to do that.

Edited February 9, 2021 by knuckleharley

[knuckleharley]

Do any of you guys know what model my truck is? I am trying to find and buy a glove box for it because it doesn't have one,and the only supplier I have found so far sells  glove boxes for 1937 Dodge MC & RC trucks. Does anyone know which my truck is,or what it is if it isn't one of them?

[JBNeal]

I've seen guys make glove boxes out of metal and plastic waste baskets...I can tell ya them cardboard glove boxes are real nice, but only for a few days

[billrigsby]

 

My original cardboard one was in sad shape,

re-made one of heavy cardboard, better las more than a few days.?

 

[knuckleharley]

12 hours ago, JBNeal said:

I've seen guys make glove boxes out of metal and plastic waste baskets...I can tell ya them cardboard glove boxes are real nice, but only for a few days

I dunno about that. My 51 Victoria and my 51 Ford biz coupe both still have their original cardboard glove boxes in them.

[knuckleharley]

47 minutes ago, billrigsby said:

 

My original cardboard one was in sad shape,

re-made one of heavy cardboard, better las more than a few days.?

 

I have never had one in my truck to use as a model,and am trying to get the truck back on the road ASAP withough cutting corners. I see new ones with metal inserts for the screws available on ebay for 74 bucks including shipping,and I can't have one made that cheap.

 

My problem is they are listed for  RC and MC 1937-39 Dodge trucks only,and I have no freaking idea what the code is for my truck. If it is RC or MC,I am golden,and will order one immediately. If not,I am going to have to find out what the code IS for my truck,and keep looking.

[Young Ed]

37 is the M series and 38 is R. Then it went T V W and in 48 they started back at B. The C on both of your examples would be a 1/2 ton. I would guess your truck would MD model. 

[knuckleharley]

20 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

37 is the M series and 38 is R. Then it went T V W and in 48 they started back at B. The C on both of your examples would be a 1/2 ton. I would guess your truck would MD model. 

Thanks! 

Looks like I go back to looking for a glove box for a MD,and hope my truck was originally a 37 like the title said,instead of a 38.

 

The body was sitting on a 72 F-250 Chassis when I bought it,and I suspect you all know about some of the title problems that pop up in some states due to clueless butthole inspectors. Had a hell of a time getting it registered,and ended up with an entirely new number unique to NC because the butthole inspector "lost" the 72 title as well as the 37 title,along with the other paperwork from the Virginia DMV.

 

Had trouble with this same cretin getting a NC title for my 51 biz coupe. The numbers on the 51 bodies are stamped on the passenger side of the firewall instead of the drivers side,like the 49's and 50's,so he was refusing to recognize my title. He even insisted I remove the radiator so he could verifiy the "secret number" stamped in the front crossmember. I then  handed him the Ford factory manual that shows where the factory numbers are stamped,and he refused to accept that as proof,so I told him to kiss my big red ass because I wasn't pulling my driving car apart to please some ignorant ass that doesn't know how to read,and that if THIS title got lost or I didn't get a new one from NC with the right numbers on it,I WOULD be driving to Raleigh to the DMV there,and knocking on his bosses door to raise hell about him.

 

He agreed he would send it forward and give it a "try".and I got my new clean 51 Ford title in a few weeks later.

 

Everybody has trouble with this SOB. He is the "slow child" of a prominent political family,so his daddy got him lined up with a state job even a cretin could hold on to.

 

Don't know if I will have trouble with him again or not the next time I apply for a new title,but my patience with this fool is GONE and I WILL be getting in his face if he gets pushy,and his Glock doesn't impress me at all.

Edited February 10, 2021 by knuckleharley

[Young Ed]

1 minute ago, knuckleharley said:

Thanks!

 

Looks like I go back to looking for a glove box for a MD,and hope my truck was originally a 37 like the title said,instead of a 38.

I would guess 37and38 cabs are the same and a glovebox for either would fit. Can't confirm for sure though. I wonder if a call to DCM would solve that?

 

[knuckleharley]

15 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

I would guess 37and38 cabs are the same and a glovebox for either would fit. Can't confirm for sure though. I wonder if a call to DCM would solve that?

 

Who is DCM,and what is their phone number?

 

I,too,suspect they are the same,but I have been wrong with my "suspects" so often I have lost faith in them.

[Young Ed]

8 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

Who is DCM,and what is their phone number?

 

I,too,suspect they are the same,but I have been wrong with my "suspects" so often I have lost faith in them.

https://dcmclassics.com/

 

[knuckleharley]

11 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

https://dcmclassics.com/

 

Thanks,going there now,and will update you all when and if I find the right glovebox.

BTW,they only have one listing for all 36-38 Dodge trucks,so it looks like I have a winner,thanks to you!

 

Not only that,but it is less than half the price of the one on ebay.

 

I have sent them an email to verify it fits my truck,and will update the board when I get the answer

Edited February 10, 2021 by knuckleharley

[JBNeal]

6 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

I dunno about that. My 51 Victoria and my 51 Ford biz coupe both still have their original cardboard glove boxes in them.

I live in an area blessed with high humidity and scorching heat 6-8 months out of the year, so paper products sag from the moisture then disintegrate from the oven environment...metals and plastic interior parts last longer, but the plastic, not so much if in direct sunlight ?

[knuckleharley]

3 hours ago, JBNeal said:

I live in an area blessed with high humidity and scorching heat 6-8 months out of the year, so paper products sag from the moisture then disintegrate from the oven environment...metals and plastic interior parts last longer, but the plastic, not so much if in direct sunlight ?

 Spray them with a sealer.

[ggdad1951]

13 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

 Spray them with a sealer.

yep, all the carboard I Put back into FEF (to be as original as possible) got a dose of sealer lacquer on both sides when possible.