1947 Dodge WDX-31
- Thread starter poolmike
- Start date
Thanks! All I can say about the rust free part is this....find a fire truck! It spent most of it's life indoors getting washed and waxed after every trip outside of the firehouse. It surely helped it survive the last 20 years outdoors.
I know...just picked up a '53 dump truck for my father-in-law, and I don't know what to do about gauges.
A life disaster, major mechanical failure in another vehicle which is now occupying the rest of my garage and my funds, and lack of work has slowed progress a bit.
My '37 Ford pick-up(Flathead powered daily driver) decided it wanted to be a steam engine back in September. I found a good block, dropped it off at the machinist just before Turkey Day to get the ball rolling. December arrived and I pulled the cracked block out of the truck.
Mid-December, my wife's 95 year old Grandmother with dementia decided to take a walk, fell in a creek and drowned.
Holidays came and passed by. Here I am without an engine for the Ford. Sort of a hold up as it takes up all of my available work space. I should have the engine back next week and get this thing buttoned up and out of the way soon.
I will be taking the auto body class again. Starts Feb. 7th. The Dodge cab is the last major body project. Once the Ford is out of the way, I can get moving on chassis fabrication. Won't take long to do that.
Sorry for the loss of your wifes grand mother
now quit making excuses and get back to work
Thanks! I should have the Flathead for the '37 back this week. I will get right on that project and get it moving.
Then back on the Dodge full time!
apocalypse1812
Nailed It!
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2006
- Messages
- 6,180
Cool Project!
therabbittree
New member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2007
- Messages
- 529
Nice Build !!!, You may consider a Colw extenstion an dmove the cab back on the frame 6 -8 inches to make access to the engine alot easier, I would try that if it were mine, other widse its a AWESOME Job you've Done, Keep up the good Work, Do you have the whole hanress /ECU from the Allison 2000?...What about classic looking pyro, boost, trans temp guages?... a call to Autometer thems selves may help you, they have been know to do special orders for people. You will definately need those gauges with a Diesel Tow vehicle.
Keep up the Good work!
Thanks,
Deo
Keep up the Good work!
Thanks,
Deo
I am fabbing up a good size removable doghouse for E-Z engine access. I have the brain and harness for the Allison, and a good buddy that is a service tech for Detroit/Allison for the programming. I have not decided on the additional gauges, I would like the same style gauges, but I surely can't afford to have them custom made. I will cross that bridge soon...
Thanks for looking.
Quick update. The cab is moving along nicely at school. Even though it is nice and rust free, there was plenty of fire department damage. All kinds of stretched metal on the roof and backside of the cab. With my instructor at the controls, we did the best we could to get it back. But like every restoration, filler is inevitable. Lots of sanding, but it will end up being darn near perfect. I hope to wrap up the filler and sanding on Tuesday, then hopefully get the epoxy and hi-build primer on it Wednesday.
This corner had the fuel tank filler neck coming through it. I eliminated that, took a good bit of effort to lose the 'low' spot.
By looking at some 1950's photos of this truck, it is obvious that this corner of the truck took some abuse from a fire hose reel that was mounted nearby. The roof and corner were totally hammered.
Back to the chassis at home. Got the 'new' donor motor mated to the Allison and put back in between the frame rails. A/C compressor will be very close to the frame, so I will need to modify it before boxing it all in.
This corner had the fuel tank filler neck coming through it. I eliminated that, took a good bit of effort to lose the 'low' spot.
By looking at some 1950's photos of this truck, it is obvious that this corner of the truck took some abuse from a fire hose reel that was mounted nearby. The roof and corner were totally hammered.
Back to the chassis at home. Got the 'new' donor motor mated to the Allison and put back in between the frame rails. A/C compressor will be very close to the frame, so I will need to modify it before boxing it all in.