70' W500 Dodge

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offroadrolls

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Messages
1,333
Location
North side of Deer Mountain
I picked this beauty up a while back and other than research have not had more than weekends to work on it. Last weekend I pulled the pump off the front. It ran directly off the front of the crankshaft. I also pulled the pump primer and the hot water unit out from under the hood. As far as I could tell, the hot water unit was plumbed to and used to heat the pump on the front bumper. I'd imagine to keep it from freezing. The primer was plumbed to intake vacuum and had a lever sticking out of the front grill to engage it. Again, I'm not sure exactly how it worked but it looked like engine vacuum was used to draw water up to prime the pump for filling the tank on the back out of a pond or something. This weekend was used to change up and remount the front bumper. I kept it sticking out a bit as it makes a great step for working under the hood.
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Here's the pump, primer and heater. Man I hate this! It's on a pallet 20 yards from the dumpster and I can't make myself throw it away. It's just too cool.
It's one of those things I'll dream big plans for and end up keeping with all the other cool junk I've collected over the years. Anyone want it? Say the word and it's yours!

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That's a big pump. The truck likely had a 500 gallon tank on it originally. Killer fire rig.

I'd have a hard time throwing it away, too. :D

The new bumper set-up looks great.
 
That's a big pump. The truck likely had a 500 gallon tank on it originally. Killer fire rig.

I'd have a hard time throwing it away, too. :D

The new bumper set-up looks great.

Good news, I think I found someone that wants the pump

Cool truck and project, I've seen those cab lines somewhere before :rolleyes:

Yes, it could easily be your Fargo's big obnoxious cousin. BTW I'm new to the Sweptline craze, what exactly is a Fargo?

Nice job on the front bump!

Thanks! Sometimes I surprise myself.

What a beast; I'll bet that thing is a blast to drive.

It is! And it's amazingly easy to drive too.... but the slow steering will catch you by surprise. I almost nailed a parked car in the parking lot the other day.
 
Replaced all the hoses along with the thermostat and gasket. Installed a new fuel pump and then picked up an electronic ignition conversion kit and a set of wires from Summit. I also replaced the valve cover gaskets while I was at it. I almost bought a new set of valve covers from Summit for 33.00 to avoid cleaning the originals but decided against it and spent 20 minutes in the solvent tank. Next, I think I'll throw a kit in the carb for 28 bucks just because and then I'll be done under the hood for a while. It's going to be a lot of work removing the bed of the back of the truck.
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I've been trying to bank enough to get some new tires and rims for the Dodge this summer but it's been slow going. It has old bias ply 7.75 x 20's running on snap ring rims and tubes. These are antiquated and choices are limited so, I decided to upgrade to military super single type tires that are tubeless 14 R20's that run about 44". The 7.75 20's are about 40". First though, I had to get some rims @ 400 each.:eek: I bought these plain steel rims a couple months ago and this week finally found time to put them in the CNC Mill and fancy them up a bit.
Next, the tires I want are 400 each plus freight. I think I'll send them an interest free credit card check and spend a year paying for them.

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Below is what I'm shooting for

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Yesterday we got all the boxes and such stripped off the bed. Now its time to order tires. After the tires are on, it will be easy to see what the final width of the bed should be. It already looks 100% better IMO

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Got my tires today!![cl 365 85 R20 Michelin XZL. Brand new but the date code's too old for the DOD to use so they sell them surplus to a handful of outfits around the country that then resell them to dummy's like me. Or at least I think that's how it works.
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Got 3 of 4 tires mounted. Was kind of bummed that the front fenders needed to be cut for clearance but, it turned out pretty good I think.

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