Finally after 10 years. On the road

[fargorat]

well after 10 years of blood, sweat and swearing i was finally able to take my truck for its first drive on the road in 36 years. it came off the road in 1984. Bought it from a farm in saskatchewan and had it trucked to ontario where i live. i received it labor day weekend 2011.  with only having pictures to go by on the purchase it was amazingly complete. of course the usual badges and other small pieces that were  picked off it i still had a good start to work with. 

a couple of years in and all apart in pieces had a setback with a head on collision while at work that delayed putting it back together. i was going to sell it a couple of times frustrated that i couldnt work on it. my son talked me out of it every time because he was a big help in this build also. glad i listened to him. lol. and of course other things get in the way.

what i have found with dodge fargo trucks around here is that there arent any. lol. there seems to be a good supply of ford and chevys but not so much with fargo. i have made contacts on this forum that has helped locating that piece i needed.

when i retired last year i made a point of getting this thing done by labor day 2021 and here we are. just installed rear fenders yesterday to complete. still little things to do

just wanted to say a big thank you to the members of this forum for the abundant knowledge you guys provide to get people in the right direction. its funny that i didnt have to ask a lot of questions because the answers were already on this forum. and boy do i ask a lot of questions.

some of you guys  like pictures and i took hundreds over the years with things apart and back together and could have offered that to someone asking about something but i was broken into at my shop and got cleaned out of tools, computer, cameras. all pictures were on my computer. hope the bad guys enjoy the pics.

anyways, hope the pics show up so you can see. 

thanks again

Don

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by fargorat
wrong format

[fargorat]

hope pics showed up now

Edited September 5, 2021 by fargorat

[fargorat]

and again

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by fargorat

[JBNeal]

Congratulations on reaching this milestone...hope ya enjoy each mile ya put on that buggy!  My software doesn't know how to open the .heic files, but the jpg looks good...what color blue is that?  Looks sharp

[fargorat]

yes my apologies for pics. i just seen that. im changing settings and maybe take new pics. diehard dodge guys wont like this but i took it off a 92 blazer we had years ago. Indigo blue

[greg g]

Good for you.  Now enjoy.  Can't get your pictures to open, hope others can.

[fargorat]

41 minutes ago, greg g said:

Good for you.  Now enjoy.  Can't get your pictures to open, hope others can.

hope you can see them now. not good with some technology. lol

[greg g]

Yep see them know.  Nice job.   It's almost too pretty to use as a truck...

Edited September 5, 2021 by greg g

[greg g]

Which part of Ontario are you in?  Asking cuz we put on the p15 picnic tour in September and are hoping our North of the border cousins will be able to join in when we gather in New Hampshire Next Year.

 

This year we are in the new york Fingerlakes  but the borders still aren't open,

 

[fargorat]

7 minutes ago, greg g said:

Which part of Ontario are you in?  Asking cuz we put on the p15 picnic tour in September and are hoping our North of the border cousins will be able to join in when we gather in New Hampshire Next Year.

 

This year we are in the new york Fingerlakes  but the borders still aren't open,

 

im about an hour from niagara falls border. yes that would be something we would be interested in. very doable. sidenote we have tickets to nascar race martinsville va oct. 31 and border is closed. fingers crossed

[David A.]

That is a beautiful truck. Nice job, and thanks for the pictures. 

[greg g]

Hope that works for you at M Ville. We has some some folks from .London and Brampton who have been on our list for the last three years, perhaps one more from the Toronto area.  So there could be a group travel deal for next year.  We are just outside Syracuse where there are 4 of us that will travel east together you could join up with.  Keep the third weekend of Sept 2022 open.  Get on the e mail list by contacting

 

mark@rdusaclassics.com 

[wallytoo]

1 hour ago, greg g said:

Which part of Ontario are you in?  Asking cuz we put on the p15 picnic tour in September and are hoping our North of the border cousins will be able to join in when we gather in New Hampshire Next Year.

 

This year we are in the new york Fingerlakes  but the borders still aren't open,

 

 

NH?  do you have the dates yet?  since i live in central NH, i’d really like to make it.

 

edit, i see in your post just above that it is the third weekend in sept.  ima put it on my calendar.

Edited September 5, 2021 by wallytoo

[Worden18]

Congrats!  It looks fantastic!  Thanks for sharing ?

[greg g]

Projected 2022 picnic dates are third weekend in Sept.beginning Thursday 15th through 18th.

Edited September 5, 2021 by greg g

[LazyK]

very nice

[TravisL17]

Your truck turned out amazing! Great work and congratulations! Now drive the heck out of it and have fun!

[billrigsby]

That's one very pretty ride, maybe one day here. Enjoy

[Rodney_Hamon]

Man, nice job on that Fargo ! You are successful in making me miss my ‘48  dodge truck and that blue is awesome!

[Radarsonwheels]

Gorgeous 

[48Dodger]

SA-weet!

[old fargo]

Hi just had to say excellent resto on your fargo. Good to see im not alone lol. Im also from Ontario with a running 52 fargo waiting for restoration. 

[White Spyder]

Hope you enjoy many miles I that work of art. 

[fargorat]

thanks for all the nice compliments. yes very happy how it turned out. i say finally done but dont believe these things arent really ever completed. still need a few things like temp knob, the 4" fresh air intake duct. have the original duct but it has seen better days and not going on. after putting about 60 miles on this rebuilt motor im hearing a little tappet noise. they were set up cold when rebuilt and has just ran for short spurts over the years.  will have to get in there and set them hot to try and quiet them down a bit. just want to break the motor in for a bit. any advice on break in period? was going to get to  about 100 miles or so before i started pushing it a little bit

thanks

[JBNeal]

Someone posted awhile back about using some sort of aviation grade ducting and even the aluminum dryer vent hose for the fresh air intake.  After 100 miles, re-torque head, manifolds, etc, change oil, and drive it like ya stole it to really heat up them rings...OK maybe not that harsh, but I delayed upshifts and downshifted often to keep the engine rpms up for the first 1000 miles.  Them flatheads ran plenty strong after that

Edited September 18, 2021 by JBNeal
revised information