Marriage of 1955 Dodge C series on 2000 Dakota R/T: Welcome to the wedding!

[Pastor Disaster]

Welcome to the wedding of my 2000 Dakota R/T to my 1955 Dodge C series truck. I plan to keep and use everything I can from the Dakota and sit the dodge body on top. Any guidance and/or encouragement will be appreciated.

I’ve never done anything of this magnitude before but here goes! I’ll start with a few pics!

 

[skull]

[P[P[P

Later

 

[Pastor Disaster]

Pics

Pics of bride and groom!

 

[Burgerman]

Nice photos. Terrific project. All mopar.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Welcome!

Are the rusty truck and the painted truck the same truck?

.

 

[Pastor Disaster]

Same truck. Just dusty and dirty from sitting and getting grass slung onto it from my mower for about 6 years.

 

[Tripper]

Same truck. Just dusty and dirty from sitting and getting grass slung onto it from my mower for about 6 years.

Haha... incredible what a lil car wash will do! Kool truck... keep us posted!!! [cl[cl[cl

BoB

 

[skull]

ya gotta leave the patina, it is spot on perfect[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl


https://www.facebook.com/groups/pilothouse/

great site for help & ideas. me and Alice belong to it.

meet Alice.

Later

 

[Skip]

Welcome to RRR/UDS, PD. Your Dodge looks like a great project. There is no shortage of good information to share here. Just ask.

 

[DozerII]

Cool I will follow along as well. [P [P [P

 

[kenny c]

Cool build. Looks like you've got two great helpers.[cl[cl

 

[05snopro440]

Cool

What is the wheelbase of both trucks? To start with, take lots of measurements. You'll want to figure out if the engine needs to be moved (likely back, if any), to get it closer to the firewall for clearance to the rad support. When it comes time to mount the body on the frame, it can be helpful if you have the means to do it with the cab and front clip (fenders, rad support) as one unit.

Do a thorough measurement of the track width of both, and figure out what you want as a finished product from the start (how low, etc.).

 

[BillM]

Welcome to the site, and I agree with Kenny and Snopro - looks like you have some good help there, but do lots of homework before you start. That and there's lots of good help around here. Just ask!

 

[05snopro440]

I just found these photos on Facebook, this one is for sale in Alberta. According to the ad, it's on a 2000 Dakota RT frame. He says the box isn't fully mounted but to me it doesn't sit right in the front either, and looks like the front track may be too wide (for what I like, your preferences may be different). He claims it's a 54. Just thought I'd share the photos for information sake.

By the way, your truck already has front disc brakes and looks like it may have had some other modifications already, what's done to it?

 

[skull]

wheels, mr. 05snopro440, notice how far the offset is? l think you are correct.

if tires and wheels on the front were narrower with different offsets it may correct the problem, but the fenders and all the parts pertaining to the sheet metal will have to be attached to get the true setting of everything to see how it fits together.

went thru with Alice, took apart and reworked things a bunch of times to get so the front fenders didn't rub when l turned.

Later

 

[zzrodder]

Looks like someone already did some parts swapping on the front of the truck since it has disc brakes? Should be a fun project, you just don't see many of these Dodges anymore .

 

[Pastor Disaster]

History of project and disassembly pics

Thank everyone for you knowledge and input already! I’m glad that I joined this group! I have learned a lot already.

History: I received this truck and a Mercury Cougar XR7 in a trade for a 1969 Mustang body! I thought the truck looked cool and I hadn’t seen many of them. Interestingly the seasoned gentleman that I traded with had already placed the truck on a 1st gen Ford Explorer frame with a 111.9 in wheelbase which is the same as the 2000 r/t. He was planning on implanting the 4.6l from the Mercury. He gave me some Lincoln continental seats with it. The seats barely squeezed into the truck. At the time, I had a few tractor projects going as well as a 67 Mustang that needed some mechanical work, so this truck fell on the back burner.

Disassembly: It has taken about 7 hours for me and the boys over the last day and a half to get both trucks stripped. I stayed up late last night and got some work going today. Going to degrease the Dakota running gear this weekend and fix a brake fluid leak, exhaust leak and other minor issues. Hopefully next week, I can sit the c-series on the frame and start to plan the best way to mount it. A friend of mine (old school paint and body man) is going to supervise me while I cut and fit the floor and firewall onto the c-series.

Posting a few pics!

 

[Pastor Disaster]

ya gotta leave the patina, it is spot on perfect[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl


https://www.facebook.com/groups/pilothouse/

great site for help & ideas. me and Alice belong to it.

meet Alice.

Later

Great Facebook group! Joined today! Thanks.

 

[Old Iron]

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[Pastor Disaster]

Trouble posting more pics

I’m getting a security token missing error. Sorry but I can’t seem to post more pics tonight. Sent admin a message. Hopefully it’s cleared soon.