Starting to work on the '39 Dodge again

[donsrods]

Here is why I turned it off. The first picture was taken with a flash, the second with it off. The second picture is closer to the actual color and not as "faded" looking. I'm not sure why, but my Son and I have identical cameras but his pictures are much sharper than mine. I even used a tripod for the last few shots of my Dodge truck.

Don

 

[Neophyte]

Wow Don, your truck is coming along very nice. I like the three link suspension too.

One question on that setup though: Won't the fact that there's no Heim joints caused too much binding when one side lifts more than the other?

 

[donsrods]

Yeah, good point. I've wondered about that too, but these have been used on so many S10 trucks that I guess they somehow work. All of the bolted points have rubber bushings in them, so maybe that is where the give is.

I have personally never run one of these, so I can't comment, but my Kid is familiar with them and put me on to them. I will be interesting to find out.

Don

 

[Blue]

You guys do awesome work Don!

I am going to be trimming my skirts a bit too, once I get my final ride height...
(waiting on the front coil overs to show up on Tues)

Glad you go back to work on it, so that I can see how it's going to look before I do it..

 

[donsrods]

Thanks Blue. Oh sure, let me make the mistakes first, huh??? I see how you are.

Neophyte, I have been thinking about the thing you asked about the rear axle being able to flex up and down with the three bar setup. Last night as I was watching my Son work on his '29 I realized his four bar set up also will have no flex to it as the ends are not movable either. It is sort of the same situation, except one less bar, so I guess it is workable that way as so many cars are running four bars front and rear. You had me wondering though, and I guess I really won't know till I drive it. Good point though.

I did a couple more things on it a few nights ago. My steering arm was too close to the radius rod, so I heated and bent it out a little, and then I mounted the dash back in to see how my steering column angle was going to be. Works out pretty good, and even with the big wheel I am going to us (mid 40's Chevy wheel, 17 inch diameter) it is not in my line of sight or hitting my knees.

I also started making cardboard templates of the floor tin. My Son Dan did the subframe for me as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and it really made making the templates easy. It is nice and flat and all the contours are defined so all I had to do was measure and cut cardboard. Now I can transfer those to 18 gauge steel, cut it out, bend it up, and roll some beads into it for strength. I have to be in the mood to start on that project though as it will take some time and I want to be pretty exact so I get a good fit.

Here are some pictures of the stuff I got done.

Don

 

[onemintcaddy]

How tall are you Don?

 

[RUSTY50F1]

Speaking of metal; what gauge should be used to make a new fire wall on a 50f1. And do I need to cut the old one out, or can I put the new one over the old, for more stability.

 

[donsrods]

How tall are you Don?

5'9", but the funny thing is, my Kid is taller than me but was able to space that blue seat higher in the cab than me. I guess I am taller from the waist up or something. He had head room, but when I sat at the same height my head was almost touching the roof, and I have to leave room for a headliner.

Rusty, I like to work with 18 gauge, but 20 would be fine too. 16 is a bear to work with as it is so thick. Not sure, but if you are only going for cosmetics, just make a new firewall on top of the old one. Is that the reason you are doing that?


Don

 

[Neophyte]

TNeophyte, I have been thinking about the thing you asked about the rear axle being able to flex up and down with the three bar setup. Last night as I was watching my Son work on his '29 I realized his four bar set up also will have no flex to it as the ends are not movable either. It is sort of the same situation, except one less bar, so I guess it is workable that way as so many cars are running four bars front and rear. You had me wondering though, and I guess I really won't know till I drive it. Good point though.

I don't know all that much about 3-link and 4-link rear setups. The bit I have read about it so far just made me wonder. I put Heim joints on the front of my parallel 4-link but will also have to wait and see how it handles.

I like the way you keep the steering column safe by putting the plastic bottle over it. Did you learn that from experience? (LOL)

 

[donsrods]

Hehe, yep, I've got lots of scars on my bald head from poking it on protruding stuff. I looked at the stub of the steering shaft sticking up there as I was working and saw a trip to the emergency ward coming, so the bottle seemed like a good cushion. That steering shaft looked like it could poke my eye out.

Don

 

[Gastrick]

That steering shaft looked like it could poke my eye out.

Don

It's all fun and games till someone gets an eye poked out .

 

[24dodge]

that cardboard floor brings back some memories , it works great tho , did I miss the engine pics ? ........I`m gettin old

 

[donsrods]

It's all fun and games till someone gets an eye poked out .

You're right Bill, this car has turned on me once already when I injured my arm a couple of years ago and had to have surgery. I better not find out it's another Christine.


No 24Dodge, you didn't miss the engine pictures. I built it before I was a picture taking ho so I have no shots of the build up. Essentially it is a '64 Olds 394 that is 30 over with very minor mods and topped by three rochesters on an Offy manifold.

Right now it's backed by a '59 Olds tranny but somewhere down the road when money permits I am going to use one of the adapters from Bendtsens Transmissions to either put a turbo 350 behind it or a stick tranny. It's a thousand or fifteen hundred I don't have right now, so that will have to wait.

I've never fired the engine since I built it about 3 years ago but I have lubed it pretty well before storage so it should be ok. Still have to prep and paint it but I'm not sure of the colors yet.

Don

 

[sakustoms]

Some of you have asked about the rear suspension. We had very little room fore and aft to work with because of the short bed we are going to run, so a conventional suspension would be hard to engineer in that space. What we used was a setup made by Suicide Doors that they designed for lowrider pickups that are bagged. We had them make the arms to our specs, and basically they are a three bar setup with the top bar being like a wishbone and the two lower bars being just like a conventional four bar setup.

The idea is that the top one not only moves up and down but locates the rear side to side too. We are using 180 lb coilovers to complete the setup, and the rear axle is out of a 97 S10.

I took some better shots tonight so that you can all see how it is set up.

Don

looks good don. as soon as I saw it I knew it was a suicide doors kit. I used to use their stuff but it's too expensive for me. I get my airride stuff cheaper from a wholesaler I deal with for my business.

keep up the work and keep the pics coming. I love to watch your builds.

Eric

 

[donsrods]

Thanks Eric. I enjoy your truck builds as well. BTW, we had a '70 Caddy like yours, only ours was a Sedan DeVille. Those 472/500 engines are terrific.

Today Dan and I went to the shop and he worked on his rear suspension some more, and it gave me some time to work on my Dodge. One thing that has been bugging me is that the front was sitting higher than I wanted it. We thought we nailed the right spot for the front perch, but it didn't settle down as low as I had hoped, so I took the sawzall and modifed the front perch today and dropped the front 1 and 1/2 inches. I also cranked down the coilovers another half inch in the rear and now it sits so much better. We will have to add some gussets to the front perch to make up for what I chopped off, but for now it is ok.

I think I may have figured out the look I will go with. I am considering making it a drag/altered looking pickup. I think I might run just a 3 gallon Moon tank and two small headlights up front (no grille shell) and put the radiator in the bed. Of course the Moon tank would be only for looks, with no gas in it. If I go with that look I will have to run some slicks on the back, and am considering Hurst slicks on this one. They make some neat piecrust slicks that would look pretty oldtimey. I'm also considering weedburner exhaust pipes with a baffle in each pipe.

Here is a picture of the truck before I lowered it, and one taken today. It isn't a huge change, but I think it looks a little sleeker this way.

Don

 

[Gastrick]

The new ride height loks real good Don. Are you going to have to change the rear mounting location of your hairpins now?

 

[donsrods]

I haven't checked the caster yet Bill, but if it is off all I have to do is drill the rod end mounting hole a little higher and trim off the bottom. I'm sort of finding these Chevy axles like a little more caster anyway, I think. From playing with the one under Don's T it seemed to handle better when we dialed in more caster than the 7 degrees we initially put it at. It's at 9 now and seems to be about right.

I still have a lot of metal to bolt back on the car, so all of this weight will probably drop the car down a little more. That's ok, I'm starting to like em low.

Don

 

[Blue]

Man.. I am jealous Don..
I LOVE that intake setup!
the whole truck looks great!

 

[donsrods]

Thanks Blue. That intake was one of my Ebay finds. I had a two four intake that I had been hording for years (I bought it at a swap meet.......the guy didn't know what it was for but said " I know it wouldn't fit on my Chevy engine!" I KNEW what it was for and paid $ 50 for it. ) But then I saw this trip intake on Ebay and no one was bidding on it, so I think I got it for something like $ 150 and it was still in the box. I started buying up all the Rochester 2 G carbs I could find on Ebay, and ended up with 6 of them, all small base, side inlets. I plan to rebuild 3 for this Olds and the other 3 for my T someday.

I realized I didn't need the second 2 x 4 manifold so I put it on Ebay a while ago and got rid of it. I think the trips look better anyway.

Don

 

[falconvan]

This truck is bad ass lookin, Don! I've always wondered how the radiator in the back does as far as keeping the engine cool. Have you ever set one up like that before?