OK, I figured this may be a good place to start my search. I have been thinking about a project and looking through papers and such when today I was mowing my lawn and realized that there was the perfect project. My neighbor has a 57 Dodge 1 Ton sitting under cover. It ain't pretty, folks, but it runs. I know that it is a 57 body sitting on ... I believe it is 70 or 71 running gear. I have never dealt with this kind of a project, though I am a Heavy Equipment mechanic by trade, so I know which end of the wrench to use. But I am completely ignorant about what I should consider if I decide to jump in and take on this project.

Things I know:

It runs. The owner has driven it on the road, but the steering is lose and the brakes need lots of attention.

57 body on 70 or 71 running gear

Lots of different colors, but the interior looks like it was a light green.

It has a flat-bed.

Tires would need to be replaced eventually... all six of them.

The owner is a body man and the body is pretty straight.

I think it has a manual trans.

It hasn't run in at least a year, I would guess.

2WD

Drivers door handle missing.

It has spent it's entire life in Central Oregon which is a very dry climate. (though you wouldn't know it from this Spring)

My goal for it would be to get it one solid color (maybe John Deere Classic Green?) with all parts operational. Drive it occasionally just as a fun truck to drive. I wouldn't be in it to make money.

So, I guess my questions would be as follows: Am I really stupid to want to tackle this? Any Wild guesses on what would be a reasonable price to pay for the truck? Are their replacement parts readily available?

Probably more questions, but lets start with those.

Thakns for any help.

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my biggest concern would be whether or not it was put onto the 70/71 chassis properly or just slapped together. plus, how is the running gear condition? i think it would be a very cool looking cruiser with the old front end and a dually...[8D]

 

Thaks. So what do yo umean by what condition is the running gear? Are the engine/trans/axle all in decent shape? I just remembered it has a 318 Wide block... I think.

Everything runs and it has been driven on the road recently, so I figure that it is in good enough shape that nothing is going to require complete rebuild, though bearings and seals in everything would probably need attention eventually. Before going out on the highway for more than a quick, 20 mile trip, I would take a very critical look at them.

I don't know who did the body swap. If it was the current owner, it was done well. So what would be some clues that it was a slap-job?

 

well, i knew a guy who made a 4wd firebird...he took a 1979 firebird body and set it on the chassis of a similar era blazer...everywhere that touches, he welded. everywhere that almost touched, he welded in plate steel. it looked like crap..lol you should be able to get a light and check the mounting points on the frame...and check to see how the mounting job looks.

do you know the guy well enough to ask about it? well enough that he would let you take a good long look at the under carriage? maybe look around where it is parked to see if there are any pools of fluid under where it is parked? maybe pull the plugs and check for oil, or one that looks especially fouled...you know the ususal warning signs of a big problem.

 

Heck, the truck is closer to my house than it is to his, and he wouldn't have a problem with it, but I should ask first regardless. Or just wait until he isn't home.BUt then, I odn't htink he would see me anyway.

So you are saying that the main point to look at is how the body is connected to the frame? It seems that he said that it bolted right on, or that there were frame mounts moved. Since it wouldn't be a working truck, I wouldn't have a problem with that as long as the welds look decent.

Any place in particular to shop for parts? I noticed an advertising section on board here, does anyone have a good source for something like this, or would it be scratch and search?

 

that depends on exactly what parts that you need. if it has an A or Rb engine in it, you can find parts anywhere, and i mean Anywhere. this site has a vendor who, in my experiences, can get just about anything, fro parts for my mirada, to parts for my RT. their name is moparpartscenter. im not so sure on the manual tranny though. i have not had an old chrysler manual, so i dont know about the availability on parts, but i dont think that those parts should be that odd anyway. i woudl check to see what rearend housing it has. 8 3/4 mopar would be the best, or an older dana, but for a while (like on my ramcharger) mopar made a sort of dana knock off, and it is impossible to get aftermarket gears for them, or at least i havent found any. i would ask him exactly what the running gear came out of, check the mounting points, things of that nature. mostly to make sure that she wont fall apart on you. if you know how to weld, it would not be as big of a deal because you could fix the issues yourself. i think this would be an awesome restoration project, just because its SO weird, especially the dual wheels. is it a wood inlay flatbed with iron or steel frame? or all wood?

 

I just went over and looked at it with a bit of a critical eye, though I didn't really look hard, I noticed a few things.

The drivers door is wrong. The two doors are different, but the pass. side door has the same paint as the rest of the interior. BUt the Drivers door doesn't have the wing window.


The interior looks like all of the stuff is there for the dash, but there is a three guage set bolted on so maybe the gauges don't work?

The seat has a POS seat cover thrown over it, so the seat would need to be recovered, probably. All of the interior panels are gone. no headliner, no door panels, and whatever else is supposed to be in there.

Manual Trans, so that's coolness. Probably has a Three speed with a granny low is my best guess.

I didn't crawl underneath to lok at how it was put together.

From this quick look, the only thing that is of any concern for me is the door. There is an extra Drivers door behind the shed and if he has two wrong ones, why couldn't he find the right one?

Maybe because he doesn't have the right internet connection?

Time to start looking at prices of some stuff, I guess. Next week, though.

 

Hmmm I have been looking at pictures of trucks of that era and they all have wing windows. Now I'm really concerned. Or maybe I need to look a bit closer at what is going on since there is no glass at all in the door.

Does anyone know if any of these trucks came without wing windows?

BTW, the bed is metal frame with cheap lumber inlay and plywood headboard. [:'(]

 

im not sure why youre so worried about the doors? things like headliners and door panels can be made with some cheap material and some sturdy cardboard. my dad made his own for the old motor home. if the driveline is out of a 70 or 71, i woudl guess it would be a 4 speed, but i could very easily be wrong there. im also afraid that i dont know what a wing window is..? if the bed is a metal frame, i could see some nice stained wood laid in there...[8D]

 

You don't know what a wing window is?

Was that a turnip truck that just went by?

Sorry, one of us is showing their age and it may be that I need a walker.

A wing window is the little window that they used to have on cars and trucks. It was right in front of the door window and was an integral part of the door.



Here is a decent photo of one. It pivots in the middle, so that half of the window is inside and half is outside. It's a good way to blow off the dashboard while driving down the road.

Anyway, After more research, I'm sure that there was never a door without a wing window, so what I am seeing is that the door is entirely gutted. So yeah, it's not a big deal.

On a separate note, how many photos can I put in a post before it starts to cause troubles for people opening the post? This is my first time on a board where we can post thumbnails.