52? Dodge Pickup

[CowboyUP]

Ok, here's my story. Been working on cars for most of my young life, I'm 25 now. Never really built a car. Been looking for a project for a long time, with no real luck. Turns out, my girlfriend of 2 years has what I'm told is a 52 Dodge pickup sitting in the back. It's got a frame and as far as I can see, all the body is there, albeit not together yet.

I've been told I can clean out the big qounest (no doors on it), and pull the truck in there to start working on it. My plan is (and I'm very open to ideas) to buy a dodge pickup with a good drivetrain, and steal the engine, trans and rear axle setup. For the front i'm not sure what to do. I was told to do a velari(sp?) swap, but no amount of research yields any answers as to what that is.
Let me know what you guys think. Pics to come asap.

 

[skull]

dodge truck

look up my 50 dodge truck build.

if you sub frame the truck, chances are you will have to modify the firewall. l have seen several done, both with chevy and dodge motors and both had surgery done on the firewall and inner fenderwells to make every thing work out on the 1948-1955 pilothouse trucks.

post pics soon[P

later

 

[CowboyUP]

Sorry for my ignorance, but if I subframe the truck, the purpose would just be to hold the new drivetrain? The original frame is still good, I had planned on just using it. I'll charge up the camera and take some pics today or tomorrow.

 

[skull]

frame

my truck has the oringal frame from about 6'' behind the the firewall back.

when these trucks are sub framed it usually moves the motor postion 6'' to 8'' inches back. the firewall on these truck are fairly flat, so when the motor is installed in the sub frame, the motor hits the firewall and will not allow the motor to sit or fit all the way in the engine compartment. most sub frames that is used will move the motor position enough to hit the firewall. the sub frame also has A arms and it will lower the front of the truck so it sits about 4'' off the ground in the front. with the complete oringal frame, the truck has leafs and a sraight axle so it sits higher.

the oringal motors are very flat in the rear, unlike a newer motor that has the round mounting place for the tranny.

look at the pictures in my thread with the nose off. the truck sits low in the front and l did not cut the springs to achieve how low it sits. in that same set of pictures, look at the way the motor mounts are even with the cross member. when the sub frame is installed, in order to line up the tires in the wheel well the sub frame cross member moves the motor mounting position back.


what ever car you take the sub frame out of, make sure you get the same make of rear end. this way the truck will have the same bolt pattern front and rear. also the stock rear end will not hold up to the power and torque of a modern engine.

the other thing to be aware of is drive shaft angles. on the stock truck the rear end sits on the bottom of the leaf springs. when its sub framed, the lower mounting position of the motor and tranny will change the angles enough to chew up U-joints fast. use a angle finder and set the pinion angle down 1% to 4%. on mine l had to sit the rear end on top of the leafs and C-notch the frame to have enough clearance so the rear end housing does not hit the frame and get the angles corrrect.



sorry about so wordy,,

hope this helps,

Later

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

or just find a wrecked dakota and do a body swap.

 

[skull]

ya

or just find a wrecked dakota and do a body swap.

ya, what rev said

Later

 

[CowboyUP]

Don't apologize for being wordy, I love the description. I've been debating the Dakota swap. At least it would still be mopar. I wonder if I can basically just flip the body over, or would it take a fair bit of fabbing?
Thanks a LOT for the help, now I'm gonna go listen to some wolfman Jack and get some inspiration.
Rob

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

there is always fabrication...and always alot of it

 

[CowboyUP]

Haha, that's half of the fun though! I think I'm going to go on ahead and swap the body onto a Dakota frame. Just for reference, would anything else work? Ie a half ton frame? Or is there a reason everyone suggests a Dakota?(which I assume there is)

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

frame width. Mini trucks (like s-10s and rangers) are narrower framed than full sized ones and that is why they are popular for this kinda thing. A Dakota may actually be to wide and you may need to look for the D-50, Mis-bichy/dodge

 

[CowboyUP]

That makes sense. I just knew the Dakota has a very thick frame, which is why I was thinking that.
Took pictures finally, then realized I can't upload them off of my phone. I will get on that though.
Thank for all your help everyone!

 

[R Pope]

If the truck has a front axle under it, just use it. If not, then look for a different setup. Lots of Mopar cars used what is called a Volare platform. They use torsion bars and the x-members are bolted to the chassis. If you find a whole rustbucket car you can salvage the 318/360, trans, and rear end, even the seats if they are any good.
For a first build, I would stick with the stock front end, don't bite off more than you can chew. Lots of unfinished projects out there that just got too big.

 

[CowboyUP]

Thanks pope,
that's a big help. You wouldn't believe the trouble I've had figuring out how to spell volare. I will get pics up, hopefully tomorrow, so y'all will have a better idea of what I mean.
Would the stock frame be strong enough to hold up to a 318/360?
Thanks again

 

[skull]

frame

the stock frame will hold up if it is boxed. my frame/truck when l got it had a 44O/727 combo and the frame was totally stock. it flexed all over the place, ya stepped on it hard and you could feel the frame flexing.

Later

 

[CowboyUP]

Pics

Finally got some pics. Maybe not the best, as I had to take them with my iPhone, and then send them to facebook to get them on the computer. But here they are...
Cab...Of course, I will clean the junk out

Cab corner, looks solid to me!

Pile of junk, which is actually my doors, box sides, etc. The hood parts are in another trucks box at the moment.

More stuff...

 

[CowboyUP]

More pics

More pics...

Backside frame, looks in pretty good shape. not the best pic

Front end...

Axle setup

Shock setup

Suspension

Just another front pic

Now... it looks like this whole was cut wider aftermarket. I wonder why?

 

[CowboyUP]

Now. My debate is whether to box the frame and use it, or find a dakota somewhere and swap. I don't know what would be less work but I'm leaning towards boxing the frame, getting new leafs and shocks and doing it that way. Does the front suspension look useable and viable to you? I think it does, but what do I know? I'm just a youngun.
Thanks everyone!
Rob

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

ok, heres what i would do, i would start by asking around the salvage yards for the dakota frame, and take a tape measure. Find out how much they want for one. some are reasonable at around a couple hundred for a roller, if the measurements were good, then id jump on it for that price. If not, or if it costs more than that, Then Id box the frame you have. It would just be more economical. Yes your front suspension looks useable, and in better shape than most, but with it your ride hight is gonna be tall, I know cause mine is. The downfall to the dakota frame, at least the newer ones is they have a tiny 6 lug bolt patern, but since some came with v-8s they have a strong rear end, the rear end you are using now wont last a year with big ponys.

 

[CowboyUP]

Thanks a lot reverend. I will definately look into the Dakota frame. My plan eventually is to have a 360 with a 727 and an 8 3/4 rear with 3.55 or 3.73s. For now though, I'll take whatever I can get and then work on acquiring what it is I want.

 

[wendle]

Here's a Pilothouse Dodge on a Dakota chassis - http://www.autoartistry.com/1949 Dodge Pickup.html - looks like a pretty easy fit.

I know from my own build that they can take a pretty wide pair of frame rails. Up to about 55/56" before you have to split and move the door reveals.