Well, our daily summer driver 57 Dodge truck has been joined by a 55 Dodge in pieces spread over two garage bays and the back storage shed. Guess this pushes us over the edge into the realm of New Hobby! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Although the 57 is original everything, the 55 is not. It has the rear end of a 62 Dart, and two engines -- a 225 slant six and a 318 V8 -- neither of which came with the truck. Lots of restoration needed and I have no idea where to start! Not sure if truck 2 will ever run, but the adventure is sure to be fun and at the very worst we can use some of the parts to make the 57 perfect!
It's just that Wifely look of utter faith in my (non-existent) mechanical abilities that has me worried... [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
I'd love to have an old car project like that. I used to dabble quite a bit in my teens, but never had enough cash to see the job through. Once the house is some kind of decent shape, it's something that I may consider taking on. My neighbor across the street has an old Dodge pick-up that was used as a "farm chore" vehicle. I believe it's a 52, and I think the model is a D51? Anyways, it has 20k original miles and the flathead 6 runs like a top. It needs a frame-off restoration to take care of the years of farmer maintenance (roller paint job, rough interior). I hope he takes it on as a project - it would sadden me if he just lets it sit there.
As to where to start, it depends what kind of shape they're in. Probably yank the engine and then start removing body panels - figuring out which ones you can keep and which ones need replacing. With everything off, inspect the frame and suspension. Sandblast and paint the frame and reassemble. Rebuild the engine and give it a paint job. Shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] .
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