 Original pulley set up and rear driveshaft; front shaft was missing.
|  Truck with body removed. Original engine had been replaced long ago. Front springs were flat and the driver's side had two broken leaves.
|  Governor control lever. It was mounted under dash, right of center.
|  Dodge 360 V8 with Thermoquad carb.
I welded up all the firewall holes(dozens) and sprayed the firewall, bottom of cab and interior(except dash) with Hippo liner. I drilled new holes as required.
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 My upper seat frame was completely rotten. The bottom was salvagable... I went with buckets and center console strictly for comfort.
|  The wood is Ash, I believe, which was very light. The stain was Black, applied and quickly wiped off. I tried different red stains but they did not compliment the color of the truck.
|  Spray on liner on sides only. Sides were pretty rough and pitted, liner saved alot of time and money that it would have cost to make flawless.
|  Another view of bed liner, wood and header panel.
|
 Bed / fender mock up.
|  The Maroon paint is a Mercedes Benz color. I dont remember what year. It is a single stage solid color paint, no metallic, no clear coat.
The other Maroon paints I looked at from GM and Toyota are ok, but have a brown hue to them.
|  These trucks are deceptively tall.
Cowl lights were converted to parking lights/turn signals.
|  Totally stock suspension and the hood is higher than the roof of my Challenger.
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 Tail lights not wired up, no tailgate chains, pintle hitch not installed.
Update: tail lights, brake lights and turn signals are now operational.
|  Roberts tail lights with nice glass lenses. The Roberts cups were ok but needed fabrication to mount a light socket inside. The cast iron arms were very very crude, so I fabbed my own.
|  I welded up a round tube to the top of a square tube to mount inside the cowl for the non-fuctional radiator cap.
|  I mounted my aluminum radiator in front of the core support for more room; thus I had to move the rear winch angle forward by 1/2 inch. I made my own frame extensions and moved the front winch angle forward also.
|
 Barely clears the garage. Good view of window tint.
|  Original speedo rebuilt; all other gauges rebuilt with modern internals. I swithed to white (obviously)faces, but was disappointed the gauge shop used generic lettering instead of the original style.
|  48 rim date. Blasted & powder coated rims and rings. I used allen screws in the axle flanges. I know the square bolts would be easier to use in the field....
|  Original Data Plate, only 74 h.p.
But with 5.83 to 1 differential gearing!
|
 One piece door windows. All glass has a light green tint, incl windshield. The glass shop can also make them with smoke or gold tint. Tinted windows are legal in Calif. if the glass itself is tinted.
|  I used a flat glass power window kit from www.ballsrodandkustom.com/ American made, easy to install.
Stock type door handle and window winders. The crank handles control the power/electric windows, just push down for down and up for up.
|  The black wood stain gives a weathered appearance.
|  Fold down armrest with cup holders on top. Seat belts were added at this point... I know seatbelts, cupholders, and armrests are for sissys.
|
 Pintle hitch added.
|  Reproduction rear fenders. I added the original reinforcing plates & brackets for an original look.
|  One piece power windows and electric door locks. I can unlock /lock the doors with a key fob (no chirp).
|  Good view of liner. I used "Hippo liner" tinted to match the paint. Hippo liner is fairly inexpensive $80 to $90 for a bed kit. It sets up/feels harder than Linex or Rhino liner.
|
 Removed this heater out of a 51 parts truck. I had the core cleaned and checked for $25. It was already 12 volt, and works fine.
The dash was color sanded and buffed like the exterior.
|  Reproduction plate for display only. From www.licenseplates.tv
Check their site, they will make just about anything u want.
Update: they no longer make California plates.
|  I drove it to the Spring fling, April 2011. It ran well and got lots of looks... I do think the expression "It drives like a truck" originated with these trucks.
|  Manual Trans Transfer case set up.
I will set this up with a hydraulic slave cylinder, and throw-out bearing.
|
 Small block bell, NP435 with dual PTO ports, T/C adapter, 23 spline coupler, NP 205 gear driven Transfercase.
|  Trans completely rebuilt with new bearings and seals.
|  Transfer case completely rebuilt with new bearings and seals.
|  This set up will replace the 727 auto and NP 241 currently in the truck.
|
 I located the battery tray on the back of the cross member. It keeps it up nice and high, and away from the engine heat.
|  View of battery from left front tire.
|  View of the battery box from the front. Well protected against rocks, screws and mud-balls.
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