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Redoing my modified 37 Dodge 1 ton original fire truck


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18 minutes ago, Rodney_Hamon said:

How’s the truck coming along?  I think bigger trucks look awesome on the road tooling along. 

VERY slowly. He got it blown apart and the rust cut out,and then seemed to keep finding other things more important to do than work on the truck.

 

Seems like  EVERYBODY does this crap. They will tell you anything you want to hear to get the work,and then once they get you torn apart so it is almost impossible for you to bring it home or take it somewhere else,they only work on it when they have nothing else to do.

 

The Cab is almost done now,and it is sitting on the 79 Dodge 1/2 ton chassis. He was supposed to have the 4brl intake and carb on it,and have the new 318 crate engine started yesterday,but I blew my left knee out again,so I have been mostly staying home. Going to try to see it again tomorrow.

 

I do have to give him a little slack on the rust repair,though. I  honestly had no idea it was that rusty under the paint until he blasted it. Truth is,it was bordering "keep or throw away",but since I had a clear title for it and pretty much everything needed to get it redone,I told him to go for it anyhow. Hell,the chassis was even rusting in half behind the cab. That's why I now have it on a 79 Dodge 4x4 chassis.

 

BTW,if I seem a little steamed,I took him the truck last June with a estimated finished delivery time of "No later than the end of August".

 

Starting to get a little steamed. I am 74 years old and have cancer,so it's not like I have forever to wait.

 

Plus,I need to get it finished so I can sell it to finance paint and other work on my stock 31 Plymouth coupe and my late 40's original 32 Ford channeled coupe hot rod,so I can sell them. Trying to get my estate simplified with some cash flow,and to find good homes for some of this stuff with people who appreaciate them for what they are.

 

Last time I stopped there a few days ago,he was finishing off the cab repairs by making new "lips" for the windshield rubber to seal against. Even they were almost rusted away. Still has to replace the rear window surround. The only plastic going on the truck is a skim coat where sheet metal repair sections were welded in.

 

Do it right,and it doesn't matter if someone buys it or not because it is a pleasure to own and drive. Not worried about it selling,though. Dennis Anderson of "Grave Digger" fame has his shop just a couple of miles away,and has his own mud track to have races on. When he has an event,the field is packed with cars. I figure all I will have to do is park it near the entrace with a For Sale sign and telephone number in the windshield,and it will be sold by the end of the day.

 

After all,what are the chances of the buyer running into someone who has a 4x4 truck just like his?

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1 hour ago, Rodney_Hamon said:

Dang. When it’s done, you might not want to give it up because it looks and drives so goood. I understand the wait frustrations though 

Doesn't matter. I am old and sick,and can no longer work on them myself,so I have to hire the work done.

 

I will need to sell the Dodge and the 31 Plymouth coupe to get the cash to finish the 32 Ford coupe,and to get my 48 Plymouth coupe rebuilt. The 48 Plymouth coupe is a keeper.

 

 After that  is done I will sell the 32 Ford coupe and should get enough money out of that one to get my "survivor cars" on the road so I can enjoy driving them,and so they will be ready for sale when my estate is being wrapped up. This is a channeled steel coupe originally built in the late 40's. I bought it to sell and got it about 80 percent done when I started getting sick,and it has just sat since. I will NOT sell it until I get it on the road and have a chance to drive it around for a month or two,first. Has a 10 to 1 350 Chevy in it dummied up to look like a 283,but has Dart-2 heards,a roller cam,"long rods",Keith Black flat top pistons,and will be running dual quads. The block was put togther by a friend that works in Richard Petty's engine shop,so it should put out plenty of power for a car weighing less than 2,000 lbs.

 

BTW,the engine in the photo IS a junker 283 I pulled out of the woods to use as a dummy to build the headers,motor mounts,radiator mounts,etc,etc,etc.  The 6x2 intake was one I just had laying around in the shop,so I sat it on the engine to freak people out that had never seen one.

 

The chassis was bent and twisted when I got it,so I had to cut it off and build new rails from the firewall forward. A previous owner had extended the wheel base to 112 inches with an original "Dago" dropped suicide front axle,and then "boxed" the frame with sheet metal and body plastic. Seriously. Kinda makes you wonder why it twisted,huh?

 

 

I am determined to not leave anything undone that might be sold for scrap.  Even if they are unfinished,if they are running and drving,someone will want them.

 

Everything gets sold when I die,and half goes to Feline Hope and half goes to St.Judes Children Hospital. I have two guys I know pretty well that don't really know each other personally picked out to handle my estate sale. Both are VERY familiar with antique cars and know the values. They get to keep 10 percent split between them for handling the car,parts,and tool sales.

L Side.jpg

Edited by knuckleharley
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Dang. And you were on such a good run. I read a lot of stuff on this forum while lurking way too long and when you were on the old Plymouth forum if I’m correct. Nice vehicles man!! Btw, I think you mentioned that you got poisoned by agent orange. Is that correct?  I’m only 65 and the war was winding dn by ‘73 when I graduated from HS. But, my cousin is 75 and he is sick from agent O as well. He was a jumping paramedic in the 101st as I remember and then he got dusted. Bummer. 

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3 hours ago, Rodney_Hamon said:

Dang. And you were on such a good run. I read a lot of stuff on this forum while lurking way too long and when you were on the old Plymouth forum if I’m correct. Nice vehicles man!! Btw, I think you mentioned that you got poisoned by agent orange. Is that correct?  I’m only 65 and the war was winding dn by ‘73 when I graduated from HS. But, my cousin is 75 and he is sick from agent O as well. He was a jumping paramedic in the 101st as I remember and then he got dusted. Bummer. 

Yup. I was a career Special Forces weapons man. Ran recon and Hatchet Force missions into the mountains of Laos and Cambodia  with SOG in 68-69. Got medi-evaced in late 69 due to "Tropical Acne" all over my torso that wouldn't allow me to wear web gear or a rucksack. Still had problems when I got back to Bragg because I couldn't wear a parachute harness,so I had to leave SF for the conventional army.

 

The conventional army and i did not agree on much,even though they offered me a promotion if I would re-enlist. I saw that as more of a jail term than an opportunity,so I got out.

 

Stomach and legs started swelling with fluids within 2 years,and I was finally diagnoised with Stage 4 Lymphoa last year. Chemo and radiation wiped out my memory and caused a lot of confusion. I have no problem remembering things that happened decades ago,but a lot of the stuff that happened days ago is pretty vague.

 

After being told it was incurable,and "we have pills we can give you that will help with the pain",l started taking PET Scans once a month to monitor the advance of the cancer. After 5 months,the 6th one showed no signs of cancer. Even my surgeon was shocked and ordered another one right away. I am now getting a PET scan every 3 months,and the last 3 were still showing me cancer-free.

 

You are not considered to be "cured" until you have been cancer-free for 5 years,so I can't say I beat it. in fact,I have no freaking idea what is happening with it. The sympthoms are worse than ever,but the PET scans show nothing.

 

Still,I am 74 years old now,so even without the cancer I wouldn't be making any long-term plans other than to get and try to keep my estate in order.

 

 

Edited by knuckleharley
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Wow. That sounds bleak and yet hopeful. My cousin Doug was a Screaming Eagle and jumped into that mtn top outpost in the northern part of S. Vietnam. A lot of firefight there. I think the orange occurred there. Name...?  Anyway, pardon the sailor language, he’s fucked up but he acknowledges that. I feel for you so hang in there. I got some paint on the bed valleys this morning and the paint looks off in the direct sun but I moved the bed into the garage where the light is different and it seems to match. Dunno. I’m cleaning the 7 wood strips that fit into the valleys. I figure I can make the mistakes where it gets covered. Ha. And btw, your storage area looks fascinating 

CD6764E3-56BD-45AD-9C08-C235D6EBD389.jpeg

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