Hodge Podge Rat Truck

More dismantling today. Doors off, seats out, steering column out, AC compressor off, and things like wiring and cables. I like tearing cars apart!

Tempted to cut around the firewall to keep the throttle, brake pedal, all that wiring crap and the dash pod in tact. But will probably disconnect it all and fab it onto the "new" body.

Speaking of that, having a little trouble coordinating getting the cab. No worries, though. If that falls through, there are a few '50s Chevy cabs around.

Got a '49 Ford cab here with doors and hood for sale for $500.

earthman said:

Got a '49 Ford cab here with doors and hood for sale for $500.

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Hmmm... Problem is, me and Fords don't really get along. Will keep it in mind, though. "Budget" is $300, and that is if I skip paying the bills this month.

Found this '49 ratty with quick search:

you SW guy slay me! Not a speck of rust anywhere on your "junker" for parts! All the bolts probably just turned right out too! Lol[cl

Up here you need to PB Blast your mail box door every day just so it doesn't rust shut on you...

jfg455 said:

you SW guy slay me! Not a speck of rust anywhere on your "junker" for parts! All the bolts probably just turned right out too! Lol[cl

Up here you need to PB Blast your mail box door every day just so it doesn't rust shut on you...

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Yeah, but anything rubber or plastic disintegrates into dust!

To be honest, I needed Blaster to get a few bolts out here and there, and underneath, it is plenty rusty, though mostly surface. Seems we get this thing called rain once in a while. But it's a dry rain. (parody of the summer saying - it's a dry heat - kinda like opening your oven door when you go outside)

Finally got the dually rear end out of the Suburban today, and the wheels and tires, but not able to get the old I-H cab yet. It's no wonder this guy hasn't sold it in two months; it's nearly impossible to coordinate time-wise! So, looking at tri-5 Chevy cabs for the same price ($300). Maybe I'll just stick with good ole Chevy stuff after all ...

Oh, and another thing I should have thought of before dismantling the pickup: it sure is a heck of a lot easier to carry stuff in that than inside the trusty Suburban! Now I have to try and find a buddy with a truck to go get anything, and HE is a busy guy.

"Dagnabit Luke !!!" (who remembers that one? Haha)

jfg455 said:

you SW guy slay me! Not a speck of rust anywhere on your "junker" for parts! All the bolts probably just turned right out too! Lol[cl

Up here you need to PB Blast your mail box door every day just so it doesn't rust shut on you...

Click to expand...

The first time i took an exhaust bolt off with my fingers i said "hallelujah, i have found the promised land"!

Yep, the '49 cab wasn't what i wanted either but i settled for it and regreted it.

On that Freight Shaker grill, could you take the middle set of grill bars out of it? That would give you about 30 to 32 inches wide.

kenny c said:

On that Freight Shaker grill, could you take the middle set of grill bars out of it? That would give you about 30 to 32 inches wide.

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Interesting idea, but not sure I would even attempt that. Could end up completely botching it. Then again, might just discover a new skill I never knew I had. LOL

Going to look at a '56 Chevy cab with doors and all the trimmin's later. [dr

Another thought I had for the I-H grille was to throw it on the front of the Suburban. As mentioned previously, it is currently my parts and junk hauler. I know I should "leave well enough alone," but don't really like the look of that '88 front end. Found a '74 front clip I could swap out and might just do that. Or ...

Darned if I don't come up with the goofiest ideas sometimes. Sure could use a pickup truck to fetch larger parts with (like the cab for Hodge Podge), so I have this hair-brained idea to cut the top off the 'Burban behind the second doors, throw the dually setup on it, remove the front clip and put the I-H grille on, and ... Which would be a whole other Build thread, I suppose. God help me! LOL

Maybe I should put the pickup back together (easy) and mod the 'Burban? Argh ...

Not much actual "work" done today, unless you count hunting down and purchasing a 1956 Chevy cab and doors as work. I consider it fun!!! It's been sandblasted and primered and in pretty good shape with the usual spots to repair (rust in AZ? Wow), but overall I am VERY happy !!! Let's see the pics:

Looks great from the back:



The custom mounted 3-way adjustable Sentra cloth seats are REALLY comfy!



Cowl has been sealed up for a nice clean look. One less thing to do:



Dash is ... well, okay I guess. Probably cover up the extra holes (why do people do that?):



Doors are pretty good and will get inner and outer handles and mechanisms:



Lower driver latch mount is the second worst spot on the truck, but easy fix:



The guy was asking $375 and we settled on $200. So yeah, I am VERY happy indeed!

He had a really nice '56 that came with this small rear window cab I bought. He replaced it with the big window cab that he wanted. I am now thinking of finding the rest of the stock body parts and a bed and do a resto-mod rather than rat truck. Still trying to get the I-H cab too, so we'll see how it all pans out ... eventually. [S

Also leaning more toward putting the dually in the Suburban and the '74 front end or Freighty grille. Who knows. The "plan" seems to change daily!

Thinking clean, low, a little bit loud and simple:

Nice cab. Great price.[cl [P
Torchie.

Thanks! I think so too!

This sort of throws a wrench into the Hodge Podge project although I am still going to try and get the I-H cab somehow and carry on with that. Sure do like the look of that RestoMod '56 and if I can find all the other body parts, I'll have to start another build!? No problem. I have plenty of time, but plenty of empty in the wallet, sadly.

Research day. Getting frustrated with all the crap running through the firewall, so I did some poking around here to see what other people have done with the 4.3L V6. Mine is a '94 TBI with an ECM and all kinds of emissions crap running rampant. Found some good info on these engines, especially the older '80s models that run a simple carb, so it sounds like I can ditch all the Atari 800 junk and vacuum lines and go old school. I like that !!! Less wiring, less crap all over the place, and a clean simple look. Thank you RRR !!! Once again.

Heading out to do some more dismantling and have more of a plan in my head. Hodge Podge is going forward as originally planned: '49 I-H cab with dually rear end and probably a wooden flatbed and some sort of open front end. Also going to dually the Suburban and have been finding a lot of really cool pics of tri-5 Chevy hot rod trucks, so going to save that body for something like that and collect parts as I go. It's all about money I don't have, so selling two BMWs and whatever else I need to collect parts. The nice thing about Hodge Podge is that I have most of it already! So, project 1 continues...

One nice thing about Arizona is that everything plastic or rubber turns to dust after a few years. So I put on some heavy gloves and started ripping the dash out of the donor and now have access to all the wiring and heater, etc that I am not going to be re-using. I think I have everything disconnected or removed and ready to yank the body off! Couple more bolts...

DONE !!! Well, the body removal part anyway. Now have to clean up the chassis a bit and fetch the body and start building! Hooray !!!

Also did some measuring, and the dually setup I have will not just bolt onto this chassis without moving the springs inboard of the frame rails. However, it WILL bolt right up to the Suburban, so that is where it will go !!! Going to find out about that other dually soon and hope it will go onto this little toy ... For right now, just happy to be rid of the old body!

Well if you aren't using the chevy cab I'll double your money and give you $400 for it![cl