1952 Dodge Pick-Up Truck

[w scott]

1952 Dodge Pick-up Truck Build

Well my son and I have started the 1952 Dodge over the past week after taking the first month just to get things organized around the garage so that we could work on it. We both talked about putting a 5.9 Cummins diesel in the original frame but we are going to go with a Dakota R/T with the 5.9L Hemi that should be enough hp and give a decent ride with disk brakes and newer steering etc.

The body is in very good condition with only one rust spot the size of a credit card on the passenger side front fender, the floors and running boards are solid the rear fenders have been hit a bunch of times and are not so great, may just leave them off at the end

We are going to leave the original paint on this as the patina looks great just wash it down and going to put a clear coat on it and that's it

this was a good start to the project this weekend, lots more to do !!

 

[skull]

plans

Dakota frame sounds good like a good plan[cl

leaving off the rear fenders may make it hard to attach the running boards. that is where the rear/back of the mounts are for them.

look around and see what you can find on line, you can use other makes than just dodge trucks being a stepside.

some trailer place haves single axle fenders that look like the ones on my truck and rear car fenders from the fat fender era and 20's/30's stuff may work with a little fabbing and give a total custom look.

http://dodgepilothouseclub.org/

PS l know about the rough rear fenders.

Later

 

[Burgerman]

Nice Project

This will be fun to watch. Hemi or diesel...I like that!

 

[willyD]

Looks like a good start! Will be fun to see how it goes.

 

[fourstrokin]

Looks so familiar. Killer! I know a lot of guys like the Dakota frames on these. I am running an S10 and had to space the wheels outward. I almost went with an R/T but wanted to run the 383 big block I already had. I seem to remember the front end width or the R/T setup cutting it pretty close, but wheels and offsets are easy to play with. Look forward to seeing the progress! [P[cl

 

[Torchie]

There is one of these down the road from me and I keep eye balling it.
Agree with skull in regards to the rear fenders. There are lots of options out there.
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[w scott]

ok I'm moving forward on this, I have just purchased a 2000 Dodge Dakota R/T 5.9L that I am going to be putting under my 1952 Dodge pick-up, the question that I have is what electrical ECU's etc. do I need to keep to make this engine run. I'm not worried about the cruse control / dash / I would like to try and keep the ABS working if there is an easy way of managing this.

Is there a wiring harness that I can buy or is the one in the truck ok to take out and overlay into the 1952

 

[Todd]

When I did mine, I left off the ABS. Hate that stuff. Oh, AD chevy truck on a '92 Dakota chassis. AD-kota is the the build title, it's on here.

 

[w scott]

Thanks Todd, spent some time on your build got a lot of great ideas thanks for the Link

 

[w scott]

so my son and I finally got to strip down the Dakota truck and sell everything off, the good thing by the time I sell all the body parts fenders/box etc. I should have gotten all my money back out of purchasing the truck,,, not a bad deal

We placed the box and fenders on the frame and it fit very will with the offset of the current rims, now the to center the front fenders and line up the cab to see how much I need to cut the wheel base down, the question that I have is when cutting the frame down is it typical to cut it at a 45deg angle and weld/fishplate the frame back together ?

 

[skull]

Z-cut and fish plating is the way l do it.

never had a problem doing it this way.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=123624


http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/901969-shorten-my-frame.html


http://www.ncspecialties.com/shop/dually/framemod.htm


http://www.ncspecialties.com/shop/dually/framemod.htm

Later

 

[hansgoudzwaard]

ok I'm moving forward on this, I have just purchased a 2000 Dodge Dakota R/T 5.9L that I am going to be putting under my 1952 Dodge pick-up, the question that I have is what electrical ECU's etc. do I need to keep to make this engine run. I'm not worried about the cruse control / dash / I would like to try and keep the ABS working if there is an easy way of managing this.

Is there a wiring harness that I can buy or is the one in the truck ok to take out and overlay into the 1952

There are a lot of Dakota forums where you can get your information.

I have a stock 2003 ; for wiring help I use this one for instance,


http://brianesser.com/dodge-dakota-technical-information/dodge-dakota-wiring-diagrams/

 

[w scott]

Well it’s been a while since I have posted anything here but with hockey season starting it sure limits your time that you can spend on a project like this. My son and I have been working on it when we can and we have made somewhat good progress on it, we have stripped and sold everything off the 2000 Dakota that we are using as the donor truck and was able to make back all the money that I purchased the truck for, so that was a bonus.

We have cut the Dakota frame down from 132inchs to 108 inches, with the way the frame is made from factory in two sections it was very easy, I ground down the welds and separated it measured back and cut it off and welded it back on, which took a bit of time as I use to stick weld a fare bit but had to go out and buy a Mig welder and practice a bit and watch a few U-Tube videos it turned out not bad

I was able to get the cab on the frame and just starting to measure up the height and location of the cab so I can get that done before it really gets cold and put the project away to March and it start warming up a bit

Take care happy New Year everyone

 

[w scott]

just some pics from my build

 

[Skip]

Lookin' good. Nice of Dodge to make frame shortening easy. [cl

 

[Burgerman]

Hockey is good

Nice progress. Very cool Pilot house project.