SugarRay8
Well-known member
May be a pain but it’s looking great. 
My 1941 Dodge Truck Build
- Thread starter Motorhead
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rods Rule:
Update time!
I pulled the cab off the frame and put it on some jack stands. It's nice to have enough room to roll around the cab on a mechanics chair without bumping into stuff. I found the pieces of the firewall that I had cut out (like a complete moron) and tacked them back on. I don't know why I cut such a HUGE hole in the firewall. It was big enough to drive a bus through it. I trimmed the bottom of the cab, under the doors, as well as the rear of the cab (so it would clear the frame). I threw the cab back on the frame, laid it down and everything clears! What a relief!! It's sitting just the way I wanted it to.
Took the cab off the frame:
Found the missing pieces of the firewall:
Tacked one of them in place:
Trimmed the bottom of the cab:
I don't know if I were drunk when I first cut this or what. Good thing I didn't cut too much the first time.
Nice and straight!
Cab's back on the frame:
There's just a tiny bit of frame showing. Perfect, it's just what I wanted!
This is right around the ride-height:
I pulled the cab off the frame and put it on some jack stands. It's nice to have enough room to roll around the cab on a mechanics chair without bumping into stuff. I found the pieces of the firewall that I had cut out (like a complete moron) and tacked them back on. I don't know why I cut such a HUGE hole in the firewall. It was big enough to drive a bus through it. I trimmed the bottom of the cab, under the doors, as well as the rear of the cab (so it would clear the frame). I threw the cab back on the frame, laid it down and everything clears! What a relief!! It's sitting just the way I wanted it to.
Took the cab off the frame:
Found the missing pieces of the firewall:
Tacked one of them in place:
Trimmed the bottom of the cab:
I don't know if I were drunk when I first cut this or what. Good thing I didn't cut too much the first time.
Nice and straight!
Cab's back on the frame:
There's just a tiny bit of frame showing. Perfect, it's just what I wanted!
This is right around the ride-height:
Here she is all laid out! I really dig this look. When all the way down, the top of the cab is 51" off the ground. There's plenty of room inside the cab for me to sit comfortably and I'm 6'3".
That's it for now! Thanks for looking!
That's it for now!
Thanks for looking! 
Z.Z.Rat
Well-known member
Your getting there! The size of your pics is nice as it inspires one evan more. I must say that I would lose parts in there just buy the size of the place!LOL
I can't remember if you were chopping it or not? It's going to look good either way. Painting the frame or letting it take care of it's self?
I can't remember if you were chopping it or not? It's going to look good either way. Painting the frame or letting it take care of it's self?
zzrodder
It ain't grey hair, it's chrome!
Motorhead, you've really nailed the look 
SugarRay8
Well-known member
Looks awesome! [dr
Just curious, what is the clearance at ride height?
Just curious, what is the clearance at ride height?
Thanks man!
The thought of chopping the top has crossed my mind several times, but at this stage, I have no plans on chopping the top. The frame will be painted or powder coated. I've thought about a dark shade of gun metal grey. What do you think?
Thanks man!
Bummer, my spot is blown.... Thank bud!
Thanks dude!
The minimum clearance at ride height will be around 4". It's the bottom of the frame. Since it's air suspension, the car can be raised another 3" or so to get over speed bumps and driveways, before the suspension is maxed out.
CORPO
Buildin' it his way, one piece at a time...
looking good man.. got to love the aired out shots.. sometimes I think to myself... "why did I choose to go with full air suspension?" then when I look at it layed out.. I know why..
keep up the good work
keep up the good work
Neverdone
He's not done yet...
Gotta ask.... Going to leave the old cab lights on it? I think that they look good. I am probably going to throw some on mine.....
ratchet041
Well-known member
i love this truck good job that is amazing gun metal gray would look perfect i think.
ruggs
Well-known member
Inspiration
Motorhead you are an inspiration, love the truck. What I was going to sell isn't going anywhere. Here is what I'm working on (not mine)
What I'm building for myself
And what you inspired me to build
Thanks, keep posting........ruggs
Motorhead you are an inspiration, love the truck. What I was going to sell isn't going anywhere. Here is what I'm working on (not mine)
What I'm building for myself
And what you inspired me to build
Thanks, keep posting........ruggs
Last edited:
Thanks a lot guys!
Thank you, thank you very much! I'm very happy and humbled to hear that I have been a motivation. As far as I know, I'm just a mad man who has gone wild with a welder and grinder, hahaha. You have quite a few nice projects, but the Dodge is my favorite! ;-)
--------------------------------------------
Update!
I've been super busy with life. I've gone on several business trips and haven't had too much time to work on the Dodge, but I did manage to get some work done over the past couple of weeks.
I finished the steering cross link. I made the actual front suspension pushrods, and much to my dismay, I made a panhard bar for the front suspension. I've never been a fan of panhard bars, but it was the easiest and quickest option at the moment and I needed to make some progress.
Panhard bar and the front suspension push rods:
My temporary pieces for mock up. What an ugly piece!
I ripped the front suspension off to gain more room to weld the panhard brackets.
Panhard welded in!
I also started working on the steering box and drag link. I bought a rebuilt reversed Corvair steering box from eBay a while back. It's got a smooth 5/8" shaft with a flat machined onto it. I haven't been able to find a u-joint that would work with it. What I'm going to have to do is make an adapter sleeve like shown below. The solid portion of the shaft is 3/4", so that I can weld a weld-on 3/4" u-joint. The hollow part of the shaft has a 5/8" ID along with three 1/4" holes so I can pin it to the shaft coming out of the box. I think it'll work very well.
I also enlarged the hole on the pitman arm to accept a 5/8" heim instead of a ball joint. All I now need to do is to mount the steering box and make the drag link. Then I can move to the rear suspension.
Thanks for looking!
Thank you, thank you very much! I'm very happy and humbled to hear that I have been a motivation. As far as I know, I'm just a mad man who has gone wild with a welder and grinder, hahaha. You have quite a few nice projects, but the Dodge is my favorite! ;-)
--------------------------------------------
Update!
I've been super busy with life. I've gone on several business trips and haven't had too much time to work on the Dodge, but I did manage to get some work done over the past couple of weeks.
I finished the steering cross link. I made the actual front suspension pushrods, and much to my dismay, I made a panhard bar for the front suspension. I've never been a fan of panhard bars, but it was the easiest and quickest option at the moment and I needed to make some progress.
Panhard bar and the front suspension push rods:
My temporary pieces for mock up. What an ugly piece!
I ripped the front suspension off to gain more room to weld the panhard brackets.
Panhard welded in!
I also started working on the steering box and drag link. I bought a rebuilt reversed Corvair steering box from eBay a while back. It's got a smooth 5/8" shaft with a flat machined onto it. I haven't been able to find a u-joint that would work with it. What I'm going to have to do is make an adapter sleeve like shown below. The solid portion of the shaft is 3/4", so that I can weld a weld-on 3/4" u-joint. The hollow part of the shaft has a 5/8" ID along with three 1/4" holes so I can pin it to the shaft coming out of the box. I think it'll work very well.
I also enlarged the hole on the pitman arm to accept a 5/8" heim instead of a ball joint. All I now need to do is to mount the steering box and make the drag link. Then I can move to the rear suspension.
Thanks for looking!
Ah, I figured I'd post this too since it was in the background of a couple of pictures. My buddy bought a reproduction 31 RPU body and a 32 frame that he's going to be building. It'll be powered by a 2009+ spec 5.3L (variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation), mated to a 4L65E and finally to a Ford 9". It'll be powered by CNG.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
zzrodder
It ain't grey hair, it's chrome!
Nice work and great pics! Is a Panhard bar so evil? Or is it that it just adds more stuff in a tight spot...... could you have mounted it as a diagonal link across the trailing arms?
Your buddy's rpu looks like it's off to a great start though that new fangled electronicly controlled aluminum mouse is beyond my caveman tech abilities. The biggest thing I don't like about the new small block is those hideous coils on the valve covers, I mean, how much horsepower would you really lose by having longer plug wires and hiding them say, behind the firewall?
Is CNG widely available there ? For a while here in the 80's they started putting in pumps for it at service stations and there was even talk of allowing home filling stations but it never really caught on, now it's pretty much dead for passenger cars. (big oil conspiracy ??) Propane is everywhere though and at 89 cents a litre you'd think more cars would be using it.
Your buddy's rpu looks like it's off to a great start though that new fangled electronicly controlled aluminum mouse is beyond my caveman tech abilities. The biggest thing I don't like about the new small block is those hideous coils on the valve covers, I mean, how much horsepower would you really lose by having longer plug wires and hiding them say, behind the firewall?
Is CNG widely available there ? For a while here in the 80's they started putting in pumps for it at service stations and there was even talk of allowing home filling stations but it never really caught on, now it's pretty much dead for passenger cars. (big oil conspiracy ??) Propane is everywhere though and at 89 cents a litre you'd think more cars would be using it.
ozspider
Member
Love your truck. I am a Fitter & Turner and i do general engineering, fabrication, hydraulics and pneumatics. And I am VERY IMPRESSED.[dr
I'm a bit of a "suspension geek" and I want to build everything like a high end race car. A panhard bar is fine, but the fact that the roll center isn't on the same vertical plane as the centerline of the vehicle doesn't sound too appealing to me. I realize that this truck is still going to corner like crap with a solid front axle, but I'm just fighting my inner demons. LOL
I agree with you on the coils. I think he's going to switch to MSD coils. It will also have a hood.
CNG isn't widely available in Arizona; it's not a native fuel here. The state just to the north of us, Utah, has a ton of CNG. They sell it at $1.27 per gasoline gallon equivalent and it is widely available there, while gasoline sells for almost $4 per gallon. CNG is making a come back. With the new emissions laws and all the political issues with oil, we need to use a cleaner-burning fuel that is locally available. We have a TON of natural gas that'll last us hundreds of years.
Thanks a lot bud!
Mac
Well-known member
Thanks for the updates and thorough explanation of everything you are doing to this awesome truck. It really helps a noob learn and get some knowledge and inspiration. Although I have nothing to build yet, the more I read these builds the more confident I feel in being able to tackle something in the future. Keep up the great work and I am looking forward to more updates and to see it completed.
Mac.
Mac.
ruggs
Well-known member
Motorhead,
Thanks for looking at my projects. I admire your chassis work. I love RatRods but nothing says you have to build your stuff with a torch and bailing wire.
After studying your build, you gave me alot of ideas. I won't copy your build but, you may see shadows of yours in mine. Keep building.........ruggs
Thanks for looking at my projects. I admire your chassis work. I love RatRods but nothing says you have to build your stuff with a torch and bailing wire.
After studying your build, you gave me alot of ideas. I won't copy your build but, you may see shadows of yours in mine. Keep building.........ruggs
