That's some very nice and clean work Tom.
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That's some very nice and clean work Tom.
Thanks. I was just re-reading up a few posts about your wheel choice. I have been thinking the same thing. I have a nice pair of 15x6 stockers on the front that have 235/75 rollers on them. I'm thinking 235/60s then on the rear 255/60s on 15x8s with a 4 inch backspace in the original style to match the fronts. I have also kicked around 15x10 for the rear with 275/60s. Lot of guys running them without any rub. Then again I like the painted smoothies too.
Tom
I sent most of the week getting the wiring finished off to include adding some circuits to the engine compartment (electric choke, warning light in addition to the gauges, tach, brake controller etc). I also got the dash wired. The stereo is a latter one from a latter Chrysler it’s AM/FM/Cassette/CD. With 2 dash speakers and the door speakers it sounds pretty good.
I decided to fill the tanks yesterday so I could also check and see how the gauges read. Filling it with cans a few gallons at a time makes it pretty easy. The gauge reads both tanks properly. Buying 40 gallons of 94 octane is enough to make you want to :CRY: , but I don’t figure it’s going to go anytime soon so it was probably cheaper to buy it yesterday than it will be next week.
I also got the tires and wheels on it. It sits a bit high in the back but there is probably a couple hundred pounds still to go back there with the bed cover, toolbox, spare etc. I may go a size up on the front tires later, but for now I’ll wait and see how it sits when I’m done. The big thing about this picture is that the truck moved out shop under it OWN POWER (it even drove back into the shop). I got the engine fired this morning for the first time. It sounds really good admittedly a bit loud with the glass packs. The transmission has a small leak at the fill tube O Ring, which I’ll take care of tomorrow. The only other problem I’ve encountered was one I was afraid I would have. With the HD fan clutch and big fan the single belt slips at higher RPM. Looks like I’ll be going to a double belt setup on the WP after all.
I wanted to keep a pretty stock appearance so I used stock rear tail lights at least people shouldn;t have rouble seeing them :D .
Here's a picture of the front with the grill, bumper etc. It sure needs the pinstriping to off set all the white :D
lookin good!
Looks awesome, Mike! That 440 should surprise a few would be street racers.
Moving under it's own power. I'm green with envy.
So what size tires did you end up with?
Tom
Looks great Mike! When you going cruizin'? Got some primer on the box of mine today, might get the old dog done yet!!!!!!
"....might get the old dog done yet!!!!!!...."
I have no doubts Dave.
I ended up with 31/10.5/15s rear and 225/70/15 fronts. I may up the fronts to 235/70/15s at some point but I'm going to let the suspension settle and get the rest of the weight in the bed before I make the final decision.
yeah, once you take it out and bounce it around a bit the suspension will settle in a bit.... That's some really tall rubber on the back!!!!!
The truck was aligned Friday so I finally got a chance to drive it. What a slug!!!!! It idled great but when you gave it some gas it would hardly get out of its own way. I know it’s high geared and has a pretty tall set of tires but damn. :mad:
I played with the timing a bit and it helped very little, so I figured this morning I’d play with the jetting on the new 750 AFB I bought. I pulled the step rods and guess what I found……one of the rods had not been machined (stepped) at all. It was like a big cork in the jet. That made a bunch of difference.
I guess I’ll set the step rod with the Craftsman stubby Phillips screwdriver I got in a set at Christmas……the one they forgot to cut the flutes into to actually make it a Phillips.
What ever happened to quality control?????
Hmmm.... That probably isn't going to work real good, is it Mike???? So anyway, the truck probably runs fine considering only 1 side of the primaries is working!!!!!
Don't know about the quality control issues... I've had a lot of parts out of the box bad the last few years... I suppose price has become such an issue with all the manufacturer's that they cut a few positions in QC in order to lower their overhead.... I'm sure Edelbrock will make it right, just the time wasted fixing THEIR problem that a guy never gets compensated for....
".......I've had a lot of parts out of the box bad the last few years......"
Yeah me to. Used to be when I was doing it for a living I'd get maybe one bad part a year. Now just doing my own stuff I normally run into 4-5 a year now. So far on the truck it's been.....
Bad new back up light switch (lasted one shift)
bad new oil pressure sending unit.
Bad Ign switch (a NOS unit)
and the step rod.
I actually kind of figured with a build this extensive that I'd find about that many bad new parts. Anymore I don't just automatically assume that a new parts is good.
I did manage to get the bed cover on. After looking at everything that was out there this is what I decided wanted. A regular tonneau cover only lasts a couple of years out here and I didn’t want all the screw holes on the bed rails. A hard cover is too much of a pain, if I find something I want but that is taller than the bed, it’s take the truck home, remove the cover (by myself) and then reverse the process when I get home. This one powered coated aluminum and rolls up into the canister at the front of the bed, I lose a bit of bed room but for most of the stuff I’ll haul it’s not big deal.
The outfit I bought it from did not make one that was specifically for this truck but with some mixing and matching parts from a couple of different applications I was able to put together something that will work. It’s about 5” short but making a filler plate is no problem. It was one of the more expensive ones out there but I figure that I’ll be keeping the truck for a long time and if I didn’t do it I’d always wished I had.
Here’s a picture of it closed……..
And opened.
Mike those roll back covers are nice didnt make one for my truck in 04 ended up with a hard cover . The adds i seen on them they will hold over 300 lbs and the pics showed a guy standing on it .
This is gonna be too nice to drive! :-)
".....This is gonna be too nice to drive!......"
Naw, me and the 5 year old grandson even took it out for a few miles today. :3dSMILE:
Don't forget to break it in good before ya start "black trackin"!
The last couple of weeks have been putting some miles on the truck and working out the little bugs. The speedometer has been corrected, I fought a pesky transmission filler tube leak (after the second O ring change it got a new filler tube), dialing in the carburetor, charging the AC etc.
My favorite was the backup light/neutral safety switch. When I had the truck inspected and title changed before I tore it down last fall I had to get all the lights working to pass inspection. I didn’t have working backup lights and traced it back to the switch. Went into town and picked up a new one (I believe it was Bosh, but not sure anymore). Turns out it was made in China and lasted 1 time before the internal spring broke. I was a little grumpy and pulled a 30 year old used one from a core tranny I had laying around. It worked and got me thru inspection. Well the TCI tranny I bought came with a new switch so I used that. It lasted about a week and it stopped working. When I pulled it out it was stamped made in India. Anyway the 30 year old used one is in it now and working great.
I did have the local upholstery guy re-do the sun visors and stitch and install a headliner in it. I’m really happy with the work (it was the same guy that did the interior in the 57 Plymouth).
The stripes are supposed to go on next week which I’m really looking forward to as will just about complete the truck.
Looks great Mike! I like the red color and stitching too!
He does some real nice upholstery Mike!!! Better make sure he's on your Christmas card list!!!!!:LOL: :LOL:
Looking good love the interior.
BradC
Thanks guys, I've been using Manny since he opened and have also seen a lot of the work he's done for other people. I've haven't seen a bad job from him yet. An added benifit it his shop is less than a mile away.
Well I guess it’s time to stick a fork in it and call it done. The stripes were done yesterday. I’ve got a couple of other little projects lined up will but the big effort over the next year or so will be putting up a new garage.
A couple more
Very very nice, Mike. Well done....but after seeing your Plymouth, I never doubted it would be.
Nice job Mike! The red pin stripes sure set it off! It's like new!:D
Thanks guys. I really wished my camera would take decent pictures of red. These just do the stripes justice. I need to put a new camera on the to do list next time I go into town.
Looks great
BradC
Looks great Mike, time to go enjoy it!!!! The pinstriping looks really first rate!
Sure has come a long way in a relatively short time, just great!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
NOW......................is the new garage to house a "slightly" older Dodge truck refurb...........................................PLEASE????:3dSMILE:
Thanks everybody. Complements from the guys on this board. especially the old timers means a LOT. Thru the forum I've seen a lot of your abilities and projects I sometimes there is NO shortage of talent around this place (it keeps me humble).
".......NOW......................is the new garage to house a "slightly" older Dodge truck refurb...........................................PLEASE????....."
Yes it is Bob :LOL: matter of fact I laid out the outline of the building with stakes and tape this morning and then moved some running cars around to make sure I'd have "enough room" (oxy moron when talking about a shop).
I already know which bay(s) the 37 will be built in. A couple of the "little projects" I refered to while the shop is being built is to get the HEMI on the run stand and broken in and the transmission built for it.
I know I am getting to this party late but this truck turned out awesome.
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, I always kind of thought the red on the birdbath hood needed the engine callouts on it so i finally ordered a set decals for it. I may still add some pinstripe flourishes to the ends of it (to kind of match the rest of the pinstriping) but I think it came out pretty good.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...tom/Hood1B.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...tom/Hood2B.jpg
Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thats a nice looking ride, you can be proud of it. On the other topic You know your new shop will not be big enough.
Looks great, Mike!