Rat Salad

Hey guys! Man, am I glad to be here! Just got a Dodge W150 4 x 4, and working away on it as time and the wife allow. I have lots of questions and hope to be among an active Mopar enthusiast community. I don't have much special tools, and don't know much. But, I'm on the level, and have had quite a few nice cars and trucks in my time. My last truck was a nice '82 F 100 2wd, with Warn 4-speed, and the Great 300 inline 6 ! My best truck ever was a '73 GMC Super Custom 30, that is until now, lol! I just love this Dodge truck! No, no winter driving for this classic! I also have a vintage IH Cub Cadet 1450 build on the back burner. I pretty much love the vintage machines, and tools. Now I'm a Mopar fan for life! I'm married to this truck!

Thank you so much!!

RacerHog

Welcome to the site... Jump rite in..

Rat Salad

Thanks Bob ( RacerHog ) ! My name is John, and I hail from the north east region of Ohio. I forgot to mention that my truck is a 1971 Dodge, lol! Around my parts of the country, these trucks were the first to rust up and vanish, and I'm willing to wager that being in the Great Rust Belt of America did nothing to prolong the life of these trucks. So, to say that these are kind of rare to see around here holds some truth. Typically I'll see 20 Fords, and 20 Chevys before I see 1 or 2 of these trucks. Anyway, you bet, I'm jumping into the forums to learn and discover as much as I can about my truck. Story on it is that it was bought in Oregon, and I bought it from that person. That person said he got it from a guy in his 60's, needing money. That reflects in a lot of what I see in my truck, as there is a lot of cobbled up messes, incorrect bolts being used, and just an over-all farmer's fix. But to credit the guy, the truck runs pretty good. I don't figure this to be a fast fix-up project, as pockets are only so deep. Plan for next summer to get it on the road as lots of small, yet important things need addressed. So, the first problem I just fixed today was a bad transmission fluid leak. Searched around the forums and found information about the rubber seal on the trans fill tube in that they harden up and like to leak right from the mating point of the fill tube and transmission. Napa had the exact rubber seal, and I went ahead and replaced the filter and pan gasket. Had to clean and paint the pan, fill tube, and dip stick. I made a nice aluminum coil bracket, repaired the battery tray, made a aluminum throttle bracket, and a aluminum piece that holds the ignition mod., and starter solenoid together, they turned out pretty good! Has a Offenhouser 360 intake manifold, and some big Eldelbrock carb. My truck sits on a 4" suspension lift with a nice set of aluminum American Racing rims on BFGoodrich 31"x11.5"x15 tires. Right now, I'm looking for a gas tank that mounts behind the cab seats. The truck also has a very nice twin set of custom steel side tanks that look like a dealer option from back in the day. Needs every rubber cab seal you can think of. Water would make it down under the black rubber floormat and resulted in rusting out the floorboards. That black mat was never a good idea in any truck as far as I'm concerned. All it does is heat up, cool down and cause moisture. Don't have to tell ya I removed that matting stuff and it went right into the garbage, lol! So, like I said, needs a lot of work. Thanks again!

Iowan

Welcome to the forum , it sounds like you have your hands full of old mopar.

Rat Salad

Thank you! I got to say, if that's your car, it sure looks fast! I bet I don't have what it takes to hold the peddle to the floor on that one, but oh, would it be exciting! My 62' Falcon would get up and take hold, even against the newer 'stangs,...but nothing serious, lol! Yes, I never thought I'd even consider a Mopar truck. I don't recall ever seeing one in my parts, and when I did it was quite a mystery. I had another nice old truck that was a 66' Chevy short bed/fleetside that was nice too. My father had a 70' Chevy 4 by at the same time, so I had always been familiar with the early Chevys and Fords of the late 60's through the mid 70's. I also had a 71' F100 with a 302, and some clean body lines. But, I only knew that I liked these trucks of these years the most. The Chevys 67' - 72' seem to be bringing in the most money right now. Fords too, and through the late 70's even. I got rather a deal on my Dodge because it needs a lot done. I'm handy, so I figured as long as I had a solid frame and body, I could fix it all up. If I'm lucky, I will have around the same amount of money in repairs as I gave for the truck. I'm told the 318 and Torqueflite 727 were a great engine and transmission. I finally found the transmission numbers today. They were on the driver's side behind the kick down linkage ( if that's what it is ) bracket, lol! The only other Mopar I ever had was a 79' D100 that was so rusted out I had to scrap it after a summer of driving it, and a Dodge Omine that could drive all over creation on just a tank of gas. Oh, then there was the in famous K car that broke in half on us ( like the Titanic ) going down the road in which I nearly was killed. That's it for Mopar. But I always liked the cars of the 60's and 70's and fancy that into my 71' Dodge truck that I have a good truck as they come, lol! I suppose I should ask any questions in the appropriate forum concerning my truck. This truck is a joy!

ZEN357

Welcome to the forum!!!

Rat Salad

Thank you ZEN357! My 1971 Dodge W150, or so the title says. Engine, trans, front and rear axles from an 84' Ram Charger. My truck has front disk brakes now, but the booster is shot, lol! Got to find some new seats once I get the floorboards repaired, and I plan to paint the side tanks, and plumb new line. Looking like I'll need a custom rear drive shaft made as well. The front driveshaft needs all new u-joints installed. Not sure how these Dodges work, but I don't see any front lock out hubs on this rig, lol! Lots and lots to do, lol! On another note, I have a lead on a nice, solid 71' Power Wagon in my area at a used vehicle dealership if it sparks anyone's interest! So far, I found an awesome salvage yard in Oregon by the name of Wildcat Auto Salvage, which is an amazing collection of nothing but Mopar and the gems and amount of parts is staggering! I'm hoping in the future to inquire about a few parts such as a front grill, and a heater control unit just to name a few. Whew, what a tall order, lol!

Rat Salad

So, in my quest to learn more about the Dodge truck I have, I discovered that I have an Original D Series truck, that began in 1961 and ended with my truck in 1971. At this point, a second D Series evolved in 1972 through 1994, I believe. You can read it for yourself here: http://www.allpar.com . I was amazed to read about the '64 D 100 with the 426 Wedge engine, something the article said about this truck was that it preceded the Lil'Red Wagon a good 10 years. Man, what a tire fryer this truck must have been, at 365 hp, and 470 torque, I don't think this performance is much less than the '17 5.7 Hemi Dodge truck, respectably. Yea, nearly all of us now drive Dodge/Mopar to work, lol!

RacerHog

Sure like old trucks.... Yes I do !!