1949 Dodge PilotHouse Ute from Australia.
- Thread starter wendle
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rods Rule:
Been slow going lately, but we are down to the little things. Have a friend coming to town in the next week or so to help me wire it, so I have been trying to get everything ready for that.
Got battery mounted.
LPG is all plumbed in and ready to fire.
Brakes plumbed and full of fluid, throttle done, column done, seat and seat belts in. I'll either get this seat re-covered or find one from the same model in better condition.
Got battery mounted.
LPG is all plumbed in and ready to fire.
Brakes plumbed and full of fluid, throttle done, column done, seat and seat belts in. I'll either get this seat re-covered or find one from the same model in better condition.
The door latches never worked right on this car and I needed captured latches for registration, so I fitted the bear claw style latches off my donor car.
Fitted a 5/8" threaded block into the door jamb reveals that used to hold the door aligner, then I welded a plate over the top to cover it all up and threaded in the striker.
For the latches, I cut out part of the door to allow the mechanism to fit inside, then made up a plate to fix the whole lot together. They came out really strong and neat.
Kept the stock inner and outer handles, just had to make my own control rods and weld a little lever tag onto the inner part of the outside handles.
I had to get rid of the key lock fitting on the passenger door. The drivers door never had one.
I haven't fitted the new key locks to the doors yet, but I have it all planned out and there is heaps of room for all the bits needed to fit inside the door.
Fitted a 5/8" threaded block into the door jamb reveals that used to hold the door aligner, then I welded a plate over the top to cover it all up and threaded in the striker.
For the latches, I cut out part of the door to allow the mechanism to fit inside, then made up a plate to fix the whole lot together. They came out really strong and neat.
Kept the stock inner and outer handles, just had to make my own control rods and weld a little lever tag onto the inner part of the outside handles.
I had to get rid of the key lock fitting on the passenger door. The drivers door never had one.
I haven't fitted the new key locks to the doors yet, but I have it all planned out and there is heaps of room for all the bits needed to fit inside the door.
ratchet041
Well-known member
that is really cool how hard is it to convert from gasoline to propane? i have been watching this build for a while it is cool to see it come along. again that is good work.
moparcowboy
Well-known member
Truck is getting there slowly.
Nice job, looks like would be a nice hauler to pull my 24' enclosed trailer to swap meets.
Really easy.
Basically for carb engines with a mechanical fuel pump, you remove the fuel pump and blank off the hole, then either block off the fuel inlet in the carb and mount the gas mixer to the top, or make up a throttle body with the gas mixer mounted to it.
It's pretty basic stuff, the line from the tank to the convertor moves liquid LPG at about 350psi, then the convertor reduces the pressure to the point the liquid becomes a vapour (uses heat from the engine coolant to stop it freezing), then this vapour is drawn into the mixer and pulled through the throttle with the air.
Really easy to tune as the mixer has a vacuum sensitive diaphragm in it which meters out the vapour depending on engine demand.
It's a great fuel, runs about 105 octane so you can run lots of timing and compression without detonation. Heads and valves made from poorer materials tend to suffer though as it is a very dry fuel and doesn't offer much valvetrain lubrication.
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Yeah, I might put in a local show with my rock crawler hooked up to the back of it?
ratchet041
Well-known member
thanks
Thanks for the info. The truck looks good hope to be able to get back on mine soon. I have to work out in the drive way no garage and the temp. Here has been in the mid twentys to 30 degress fariehight. Just doin little stuff in the basement lately. Guess I'm gonna have to tough it out and get to work on it.
Thanks for the info. The truck looks good hope to be able to get back on mine soon. I have to work out in the drive way no garage and the temp. Here has been in the mid twentys to 30 degress fariehight. Just doin little stuff in the basement lately. Guess I'm gonna have to tough it out and get to work on it.
FlatbedAndy
Well-known member
wendle; [IMG said:
Realy enjoying this thread.... Here in the U.S. we don't see Holdens and don't know anything about them.I realy like the "Trayback"
Thanks man.
It's pretty much done, hopefully my next update to this thread will be a video of a burnout in my driveway
Latch
Member
Fellow Aussie Pilothouse owner
Hi Wendle
I have been inspired by watching your pilothouse build to join this forum. I'm another Aussie pilothouse owner located in Victoria. Loved the look of your truck after the chassis swap, really liked the idea as a way to modernise the running gear. haven't had time to look into doing something similar to mine, however that might be much more difficult as I have the full ute back. Look forward to your thoughts
Latch
Hi Wendle
I have been inspired by watching your pilothouse build to join this forum. I'm another Aussie pilothouse owner located in Victoria. Loved the look of your truck after the chassis swap, really liked the idea as a way to modernise the running gear. haven't had time to look into doing something similar to mine, however that might be much more difficult as I have the full ute back. Look forward to your thoughts
Latch
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If my truck started out as nice as yours there is no way I would have gone down the path I have with it.
The chassis on mine was toast, so I just used the method that is easiest for rego.
Your truck is really nice man.
Got some of my wiring done, I drove it for the first time last weekend.
Not much left to do now.
Latch
Member
If my truck started out as nice as yours there is no way I would have gone down the path I have with it.
The chassis on mine was toast, so I just used the method that is easiest for rego.
Your truck is really nice man.
Got some of my wiring done, I drove it for the first time last weekend.
Not much left to do now.
Thanks for your comments. looks can deceive though. I've got big problems with rust and suspension that I need to sort out, but this will happen as funds permit. Can't wait to see and hear your truck in action, hope you post a small video of the big launch day.
Latch
If the chassis is still good and solid maybe look at 1990's Falcon's for a donor?
I believe the front end of them comes out in one piece with the wishbones and rack without any cutting? If you can pick up a wagon or ute you should be able to get a good rear end out of the deal with the same stud pattern.
Rust is pretty easy to deal with in these cabs. Everything apart from the dash and the bonnet parts seems to be at least 16-gauge, so it's all pretty easy to weld and work with.
Good luck with it, I'd really like to find another one the same size as yours and do a bit of a modification project, rather than a remove/replace project like this one.
Got any more pics of yours?
[ddev
Latch
Member
Thanks for your thoughts.
The front end of my truck is OK as I've replaced the king pins for new ones that I was lucky enough to find and it already has disc brakes off a Valiant, I also had a power steering box fitted which was recycled out of a Toyota Landy. It's the rear end that needs attention and I'm thinking I'll have to replace the rear shackles, mounts and possibly springs with a modern type.
I would love to put some of the ideas used on my first truck into this vehicle, gear box in particular.
My first truck was a matt black 51 Desoto tray back with a 360 ci balanced and blueprinted, slightly lumpy cams, high rise manifold topped by a Holley 750. It sounded awesome as it had extractors which went into a hotdog muffler and then into riser pipes just behind the cab. It also had one of the toughest (push button) auto gear boxes ever built, out of a Chrysler. That gear box was so good that I could roll start so long as I got to about 15kmh or if I wanted to be a hoon you could sit in neutral, rev the motor to the red line and just bang the 1st gear button and it would just light up and then continue smoking the rubber into second and third. It also had the split windscreen replaced with a single screen but lost the bonnet air vent in the process. Its bucket seats were obtained from an American Ford LTD Galaxy. It had 10" of rubber on the front and 15" on the rear on custom made chrome rims. But all that was back in 1984 when fuel was about 50 cents a litre, I would not like to think about the running costs if I had it now.
I think I've got a couple of photos somewhere of the Desoto which I'll try to find to post them. As for the Fargo I could only find one other photo. The truck is in storage in a mates shed and is not in a position to take any other decent shots, but next time I get it out I'll take a few more.
For now this is the other photo I have.
Latch
PS The video of your Dodge was short but it looks and sounds sweet
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ronnysplymouth
Well-known member
That thing sounds badass
