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

[skull]

in my build thread somewhere there is pics of my firewall idea, l used a cut drown wheelbarrow.

Later

 

[DozerII]

You made quick work of tearing done the R/T [P [P [P

 

[05snopro440]

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

According to what I found, those RT wheels are 17×9 with a roughly 6" backspace. So you can go narrower and slightly more positive offset, but you won't gain much. There's a reason the Dakota isn't a common choice, they have a significantly wider track width than the other mid/mini trucks.

 

[05snopro440]

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.

What's the reasoning for using the Dakota floor and firewall? I've always found this an unnecessary step and amount of work when doing a frame swap. It saves you a little on not mounting other things, but only if they don't need to be moved. That's just me though, I prefer the stock vintage truck floor and firewall personally.

 

[skull]

mine

05snopro440 ]What's the reasoning for using the Dakota floor and firewall? I've always found this an unnecessary step and amount of work when doing a frame swap. It saves you a little on not mounting other things, but only if they don't need to be moved. That's just me though, I prefer the stock vintage truck floor and firewall personally.


on mine the people who had it before me butchered the front of the stock frame, so a mid 197O's sub-frame was grafted on which moved the engine back into the cab, so that is why mine has the modified firewall.

Later

 

[05snopro440]

05snopro440 ]What's the reasoning for using the Dakota floor and firewall? I've always found this an unnecessary step and amount of work when doing a frame swap. It saves you a little on not mounting other things, but only if they don't need to be moved. That's just me though, I prefer the stock vintage truck floor and firewall personally.


on mine the people who had it before me butchered the front of the stock frame, so a mid 197O's sub-frame was grafted on which moved the engine back into the cab, so that is why mine has the modified firewall.

Later

Yeah sometimes there's need to modify the stock firewall, that's not what I was referring to but thanks for the info. I was referring to when people do a frame swap and use the floor and firewall from the donor. It's hard to make it look good.

 

[Pastor Disaster]

More disassembly pics 1

pics..

 

[skull]

the bed looks in real good shape,

Later

 

[Pastor Disaster]

More dissasembly pics 2

pics 2

 

[Pastor Disaster]

more disassembly pics 3

pics...

 

[Pastor Disaster]

More disassembly pics

Under hood...

 

[Pastor Disaster]

Stance on previous Explorer Frame

Stance on Explorer frame. No drive-train installed in these pics. Rear axle crude measurement is 70” from tire edge to tire edge. The Dakota real axle measures 72” from tire edge to tire edge. The Dakota frame will add 1” to the width of I use a wheel and tire with similar specs.

 

[Pastor Disaster]

Vin Decoder Info: I thought it was a 1955

Serial Number.................84652073
Year..............................1954
Make............................Dodge
Model...........................C-1-C8
Engine..........................241 V8
Wheelbase....................116
Rating..........................3/4 Ton
Engineering Code..........VT336
Plant...........................Detroit, Michigan
Build Number................2073

 

[05snopro440]

Serial Number.................84652073
Year..............................1954
Make............................Dodge
Model...........................C-1-C8
Engine..........................241 V8
Wheelbase....................116
Rating..........................3/4 Ton
Engineering Code..........VT336
Plant...........................Detroit, Michigan
Build Number................2073

When the previous owner did the frame swap, did he shorten the bed to account for the 4" difference in wheelbase?

 

[Pastor Disaster]

I’m not certain if the bed was cut or not. He didn’t say and I didn’t ask. The frame doesn’t look shortened. I’ll try to determine the dimensions of an original bed to see if this one differs.

 

[joedoh]

I like what is going on here for sure!

 

[Pastor Disaster]

Sat the bed on between rain showers this evening.

Working between thunderstorms here in NE Georgia. Got the bed sat on just to see what she looks like. Trying to measure some mounting points and bed supports. Gonna try to make some mock ups. Maybe I can get the cab set on the Dakota frame tomorrow after church.

 

[Pastor Disaster]

Got cab set on frame for measurements

Shouldn't be too bad!

 

[skull]

nice

loooooking gooooood[cl

seems ya don't have to much to trim outta the firewall, is that a rear distributor motor or a coil pack one? mine having a distributor in the back caused lots of mods to make the cab fit correctly.

[P[P[P

Later

 

[Pastor Disaster]

loooooking gooooood[cl

seems ya don't have to much to trim outta the firewall, is that a rear distributor motor or a coil pack one? mine having a distributor in the back caused lots of mods to make the cab fit correctly.

[P[P[P

Later

It’s a rear distributor! Gonna need to cut and trim a bit to get it in. Or trim in the Dakota floor. Weighing the options!