Greetings,
I am new here and a fairly new owner of a 1960 D100 pickup. I am working on on de-rusting parts a few at a time. This pickup has been parked under a tree in rainy western Oregon for the last 40 years so a lot of things are froze and don't want to move. This project will take years to put back on the road. I would like to know if any one out there has one and knows if the knurled lever end for the hand brake should turn? I know on some of these styles of brakes the end turned to lock in the brake in place at least on larger vehicles. After soaking the lever in Evapo rust for several days, its difficult to tell if this one should move or not. I don't want to try to force it and leave plier marks. If any one out there knows I would appreciate the help.

 

If I remember correctly, the 1960 was the last year for the Power Giant styling. Does your truck look like a 1959, not a 1961? I seem to remember an adjustment **** to take the slack out of the rear brakes. Brakes back then were manually adjusted, not self adjusting. I'd dragged a bunch of stuff out of fields and barns over the years. I have a GMC I'm working on now that sat for 5 or 6 years and I'm finding unusual problems.

I never get rid of repair manuals as I work on a lot of old stuff. While I don't have a problem undoing a bolt, they are handy to specifications. Some of the stuff from the 1950's and earlier have hidden bolts at times. What engine does your unit have? Are you going the stock restoration route or just putting it back on the road as a fun driver? Bed type? Got any pictures? The Power Giants are pretty scarce around here. A lot went out your way for the logging industry.

 

Yes it has the same body style as the 59 and after looking up the Power Giant series it has the same body lines and etc. It has a straight side bed not the step side and looks almost identical to this one. https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/0...60-dodge-d100/ https://www.allpar.com/trucks/1960.html page also has some good info. Mine has 3 on the tree and is not in as good as shape. Interestingly enough it has the same exact camper shell which makes me wonder if it was a dealer option. It has had a hard life. The Odometer says 31 thousand but the peddle pads say other wise. I have not yet tried to start it but I could not get any compression in any cylinder with air pressure. The clutch and brake peddle is also stuck and I can not move the gear selector so I am working on that first before I can attempting to start. The ebrake work was because it was in the way of getting the brake and clutch peddle assembly out.

I found out through another source that the knurled end of the hand brake should turn so I might try heating it up then giving it a good bath in WD-40 then attempting to turn it. When I started it was quite rusty and it would not move what so ever. The joints now move freely after a bit of work.

I do have some pictures and will put some up soon. I also plan to put some documentation vids up on youtube but I also work full time, have a family, have property to maintain… So time is at a premium. I was kind of planning on accumulating them for a while then posting. I also did not want to deal with people complaining that they wanted to see more updated vids p.

The pickup is probably pretty rare and is defiantly worth saving. I have a short term goal and a long term. The long term is a complete frame off resto but short term I want to getting it rolling and operating under its own power. My budget is also pretty tight right now and I want to do as much as inexpensively as possible. It has the straight 6 230ci. It was defiantly a working truck. It has the long 116” WB and the fluted steel bed bottom that is pretty beat up and rusted through. It will need to be replaced. Also needs some floor pans and and other parts for the cab including door bottoms.

I like the GMC’s also and was wanting a 5 window but drove past this Dodge for several months and it kind of grew on me and needed to have new life put back into it.

 

Ah!!!! A man after my own heart. It might well only have 31K on the clock. If it's geared really low and was used in an industrial application, it might only have a top speed of 35. My old 1952 B-3-PW had 5.88 gears. It would run all day at 30, start to complain at 35 and at 40 you were about to throw a piston through the block.

Let's see what we can do to get it moving. I'm assuming you just want to move it around a bit. Right? Does it have a trailer ball on the back? I have a little thing called "Mr. Thingie". I use it for moving dead equipment. All I need is a trailer ball on each vehicle.



Now, to loosen the brake handle, WD-40 is good but I've had better luck with PB Industries B'laster penetrant. It mostly a matter of choice. The clutch pedal is probably stuck because the clutch is rusted to the flywheel. You'll probably have to separate them to even start getting it loose. The brake pedal is stuck because the master cylinder is stuck. I think yours is on the firewall, but the older ones were under the floor. Rebuild kits are available and the only special tool for that will be a cylinder hone. If the parking brake is stuck, the shoes are on the tail of the transmission. You can get the truck rolling by removing the drive shaft. BLOCK THE WHEELS as you will have NO brakes. I'm pretty sure your wheel cylinders are shot or locked up too.

Is the engine stuck? Can you put a socket on the bolt on the balancer on the crank and rotate it? If the engine will crank by hand, put a little oil in each cylinder. This will seal the rings and give you compression. If it won't turn over, fill the cylinders with transmission fluid. It's a super thin oil and setting with it in the cylinders may loosen rust holding the rings. I'm betting the engine was a skeeter beater and that was why it was parked. As to the camper shell, that's just how they were made back then. You can get new ones made similar if you want. They're just lower because truck cabs are lower.

My advice would be to put the truck somewhere out of the way. Get a master cylinder and wheel cylinder brake rebuild kits. Get your brakes working first. While you're at it, remove the fuel tank and clean the rust out of it. That's if it's still solid. The wheel cylinders will be fun but I know some tricks to get the job done without too much trouble or expense.

 

Mr Thingie is a good idea. I bought parts to build Mr. Thingie 2. I all ready have the clutch and master cylinder out and they were filed with rust and air. Any fluid is long gone. They are garbage in my view. The bolt that holds the lid on the top of the master cylinder snapped off when I tried to open it. I plan on replacing the entire clutch and brake system. The front passenger tire was locked up. I pulled it off to investigate why and some one had force fit the wrong shoes on. Whom ever S bent the retainers to keep the shoes in place. I had a look at the piston in the brake cylinder and it used to be aluminum but now is aluminum powder. I suspect they are all that way. So a rebuild of the brake system is in order including all the tubing.

I just got the e-brake handle apart further. Came up with an imaginative way of getting it to turn with out damage and will share in case it helps some one else. I took a piece of scrap 3/4” oak flooring and drilled a hole through it just smaller than the e brake knurled handle. Then took it to the band saw and cut it in half so there was half of the drilled hole on each side and trimmed it up some. I then put a pair of channel locks on the oak on the out side and worked it back and forth until it broke free. Unfortunately once I got in deeper it was all tore up inside and some one had glued it all back together with brazing. I could fix it if I had a lathe but made a deal for a NOS part.

I have not yet attempted to turn the motor over from the outside. I did however poor in a mixture of half diesel and half trans fluid several weeks ago and have been letting it set and do its magic. I did not think about taking the drive line out. The gas tank has rusted through so will need either to be fixed or replaced. It did not have a gas cap so there probably not much danger of doing some welding on it. None the less I will take precautions. I also have to rebuild the carb. I was off and has been off some time and was probably off for a reason. The rebuild kit was fairly inexpensive.

Pictures


Fresh out from under the tree.

Moss grows well here.

Engine bay.

After some quality time with the pressure washer.


Condition of the bed.

The End!

 

That truck is definitely worth saving. I can rattle on for pages about what you need to do. I've brought many Mopars, some worse than your truck, back over the years. I'll stick with brakes right now. It sounds like your master cylinder is toast and may not be worth rebuilding. Chrysler used that master cylinder with manual brakes on its cars from 1956 to '61. Some '61 cars had different brake light switches.

On your wheel cylinders, here's a tip to get the front ones apart. They are closed ended. Once you get a good master cylinder on it, remove the shoes and brake hardware. Place a C clamp on the upper wheel cylinder to hold it together. Leave the bottom one open. With both feet, press the snot out of the brake pedal. This should blow the wheel cylinder apart. Now remove the steel line between the two cylinders and remove the C clamp. Plug the hole from the line with a steel plug and repeat. You may be able to hone them out and rebuild them. A rebuild kit will service one wheel. On the back, you have the dual piston units like most cars and trucks. The front, is two single piston cylinders.

By the way, your camper shell is for a different bed size. It's been modified to work on your truck. I've seen that done before. Your truck is more solid than I expected. Your rear drums will be a booger to get off. There is a specific tool to remove them. It may be available for rent. I know some tricks that will work on a running and driving vehicle, but they won't work on yours. I think my puller cost me around $100 back around 1980 or so.

This truck will be a long term project but I think you'll be happy with the end result.

 

Thanks ol' grouch I appreciate any advice I can get. I agree its worth saving and know it will take some time. My number one goal is to get the brake and clutch peddles broke free. I have the nut off but the bolt wont budge nor will the peddles. They are froze together currently. I even put some blocks under the clutch peddle and and put some heavy pressure on the brake and it did not move. I am thinking water ran in from the engine bay around the master cylinders and into the clutch peddle bearings. The assembly is loose but currently blocked by the steering shaft so that will be then next to remove. I have the one with the clamp near the gear box so I think it brakes free there but I need to spend more time in the service manual. I also have yet to disconnect the shift linkage and remove the steering wheel. If you have tips for both of those please feel free.

Once I get the peddle assembly out I figure I can clamp it up the vice and apply some selective heating to get it to brake free. I think there were needle bearings in there which are now probably rust. After getting it all free I kind of had the idea of 3d printing some ABS tubes to replace the bearings and maybe add a grease zirk or two.

The adventures will continue.

 

I found one of my old interchange books. Your front wheel cylinders are shared with 1959-62 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks. (2WD) Your rear wheel cylinders are 1 1/8 and are shared with 1957-62 light trucks. 2WD and some 4X4. Also, some Fords, GMC's and Chevy trucks used it as it was a Wagner part, not brand specific. Just be sure to get kits or cylinders that are for 1 1/8 as there were 1 1/4 used those years. The book doesn't list the bore on the front cylinders.

Some suppliers I used years ago are Kanter.com, Andy Bernbaum and Hamburgers Auto parts. I know one went out of business and possibly another. Kanter is still around and your truck is the era they specialize in. There also used to be a fellow in Ohio by the name of Murray Park who has fields of Mopars. He might have something you can use. There is also a yard in West Fork Indiana that is mostly Mopars but he's been running out of the old stuff recently.

 

Update and another question: Since my last update I have had limited time and money so not a lot has happened but there has been progress and thought I would post an update for those that are interested. I have since removed the old clutch and break master cylinders. They were completely dry of any fluid and full of rust. Replacements seem to be not to hard to come up with. I now have have a new clutch master, slave and new tubing (not yet installed). ol'grouch. I took your lead and have reproduced Mr Thingie so I can move it around. I was a handy way of doing so!

I was able to get the Steering wheel out with out breaking it and got the column loose enough to get the break and peddle assembly out, broke free, de-rusted and restored to operational condition. See the pictures below. As you might be able to tell it took some heat with the torch to break things apart and get them moving again.

Before

Clean de-rusted and ready for paint.


Ready for install.

I did have to change the pad size on the clutch and break peddle to 70s versions as I could not find reproduction versions at a reasonable price. I cut the old pad supports apart and made new plates. Probably not to many people will notice the difference. Also added a couple of zirks to keep them going for the next 60+ years. To the side you can see part of the shifter mechanism also freed up, cleaned and repainted.

I also tried my hand at re-plating a few parts. I nickle plated the blinker switch rod and the shifter ****. Shown below is the shifter ****. They were both quite a challenge as they had many rust pits. Not shown below is the blinker switch rod. Not to bad for my first attempt, I guess.


Next comes some rust removal and control where the peddle assembly installs and then installing the new clutch master and slave. After my current mower project gets out of the shop .

I have been looking into what I have for block numbers, what transmission it has and what rear. I have learned the rear is a 741 8.75" 4.10 : 1 ratio. The transmission is a T85E -1B. I have no idea yet the condition of the transmission but I can imagine that I will need at least seals, maybe some bearings and sycros. Any body know where I can get them? I have been looking around but have not found much yet. I wont order any thing until I get it out and see what it needs but knowing where to go is an important thing.

Also the engine block is dated 8-3-59 so I imagine its the original. I really hope it salvageable.

Edit: I think I found a basic transmission rebuild kit here: https://www.drivetrain.com/borg-warn...kit-dtsbk345ws

 

Wow! I wouldn't worry about modifying the brake and clutch pedals. This isn't a high value, one of two, Hemi convertible. Dodge built trucks back then to be modified to the end users need. On the engine, it may take some work due to sitting so long but I used to get engine parts from a place called Egge Machine. It's been 10 or 20 years since I used them but they may still be around. The same with Kanter Auto parts. I think Andy Bernbaum retired but a web search might find you something to source parts. There also used to be a salvage yard in Tiffin Ohio although I don't remember it's name. The fellow used to advertise in Mopar Collectors Guide.

From what I've seen, your truck will be standing tall and looking good down the road. I have a design in my head for an improved "Mr. Thingie" made from metal that will be easier to hook up. The kids husband said he's make it for me when he's up here on leave the next time. Right now he's on deployment and it's been extended a few months.