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First Old Dodge. 1965 D100 Stepside

Choochoo

Choochoo

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Aug 19, 2013
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Location
berlin Md
Greatings this is my First Post and Id like to Learn a little About this Old Truck I am now the Custodian Of. Its a 1965 D100 Step side. The Truck is Rough, But Runs actually very well and Has a Pretty interesting History. Its a 3 on the Tree and a Slant 6, She is a Ex National Airport FAA Luggage Truck. I have all the Documents since 1973 And has had a Fun and colorful history since then locally. This Old Girl Needs Rockers , Floor Board, Possible Fenders and A Hood if I cant sort the Original out. Well this is where im at a little Lost. I restore old MG's and such so this Girl is a little out of my Norm. Im having Issues finding anything other then the Rockers and floor panels and various little trim pieces. Is there and good Aftermarket Sheet metal suppliers? or other Options for trying to get things like the fenders and hoods and such? thanks for reading im a Total Noob at Dodges but I Love this truck and Refuse to let her get any worse. Please feel free to drop some knowledge on me. lol 130813_009.jpg130815_004.jpg

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Welcome to the site "Choochoo" . Nice 65 you have there ! Unfortunately Your not going to find much for aftermarket body panels for her . Your going to have to work with what you have or find good used one's . I sell parts for 72 threw 93 Dodge trucks but if you want me to keep my eye's open for anything for your 65 then feel free to ask . But just to let you know shipping on stuff like that wont be cheap nomatter were you get it from . But from what I can tell from the pictures you posted yours look like there workable . How are you with metal and body work ?
 
Noy sure if my reply went to you but Thanks Bear. the Rockers and floor are no problem. ill sort them out soon. the Hood and door I gues ill buy time on with welding and a little body fill. I did find a front clip on Ebay so its a start. Linkage is my tackle this week seems easy. this baby seems like a tractor with a roof I love it its so easy compared to my MG's im use too it a nice change. the inside cab is still the FAA yellow from the original build sheet for the contract so im leaving it for historical sake plus it kinda cool. being in OC Maryland its the ultimate SurF Mobile . lol I got plenty of long boards the will be hanging out the back. Please keep a eye out any parts will be welcome. I definetly need from the doors Forward . thanks again and Anybody with More info please let me Know.
 
Thanks . Yeah I like the Old look I want to keep it with its Old Charm. Floor rockers next. Fixed Shifting Issues. Mocked up new exhaust. Went with a side Driverside exit in front of Rear wheel under Stepside. I had this odd Cylinder on the wall Had Vent Systems Inc. written on it. I tried to google it and didn't find anything but a slight mention. Nor have I seen any other Slant 6's with one mounted. Upon inspection it was filled with about 47 years of Funk. I figured it vented fumes and so forth .and with the smell that came out of it it did a good job. I removed it from the firewall and made a small K&N filter work on the breather spout and made a small cap for the Carb. Truck actually runs smoother. I saved the Part incase it was rare and worth something. Questions I do have What Baby moon caps work on this truck? and Carb setup ? im not trying to go wild or can I loose the oil bath filter for a newer style Aircleaner and what size will work best for the BBL carb?. Thanks again and I look forward to any Advice :]
 
130825_006.jpg First stage of hood fix. I have a couple more places to sand out but im Happy. im so not a Bodyman so be kind.lol

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Man, the only thing that ever followed me home was the ugly chick from a few houses down the street...nothing as cool as that truck, though.
 
LOL ..The More I Dig Into the bodywork the more I find this truck is more like a vette then a Dodge. Not a lot of steel under this paint.
 
I Have a 391 rear Axel how can I get my top end up from 55ish to 65ish? new rear end or just buy gears? im on a shoe string budget. Im willing to actually change formats from 3 on tree to something else if need be.
 
You could always go from the three on the tree to a four on the floor except use a trany with fourth gear being an overdrive . Those trany's are a little cheaper then a true four speed . That would give you your first three speeds for driving around town and you'd have the fourth gear (overdrive gear) for the highway .
 
Sharp little truck! There is one guy that makes patch panels for these trucks: http://www.exlinecustomauto.com/custom-services.html You have an 8 3/4 rear end in your truck, which Mopar used for many years. It uses a drop-out style carrier, so gear changes are a sinch. A more highway friendly gearset should be available on craigslist for cheap. An overdrive 4 speed is a very nice conversion, but not exactly cheap or easy as it was never offered in the trucks until the mid 70's.
 
I thought of a gear swap already but I figured for bottom end he'd be happier with the 3:91's . So that's why I recommended the trany . If you think about it , it's not a bad swap because he's already got all the hard parts on his truck already . The trany I recommended is really a three speed with a forth gear that's an over drive . Nobody around here wants those tranies so there not that expensive . Everybody want's the A833 that's a true four speed like that came factory in the Mopar muscle cars . So if you think about it , all he would need really is the trany , floor shifter , boot , and shifter linkages .
 
I guess the market must be different in your area. Around me, an 833od goes for $250 as a core, but a good used 3.23 or 3.55 open gear is $50-$75. He mentioned budget concerns, so that's why I went that direction. But like you say, the overdrive 4 speed is a great conversion! I've done it in both my '68 D100's, and have all the parts gathered to do it in my '65 next.
bear said:
So if you think about it , all he would need really is the trany , floor shifter , boot , and shifter linkages .
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Also a bellhousing, and to custom fabricate a floor hump.
 
Nice. sounds like a good option. Torque is very good now just need another gear for local driving. Those are great points from everyone. Im on a tight budget on this for now. but this I figure is a must change for practical issues . This Girl will be driven a lot.
 
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Ty . Im Thinking of Getting a Super 6, 2 barrel manifold and a good Carb ,Cam Swap and so forth . Any Setup's that work good for this truck for fun daily duties? Also Id like to Drop it a little. I have seen the site with the guy that does the drop axels , very cool. Nostalgia something. I was thinking of just popping out 2 leafs each. Not good? Im not trying to go crazy on the drop for now im going to get accuair bags next year so I want to keep it cheap. Any little tricks for these classics is well received .
 
A super six is a nice addition. Do some reading on http://slantsix.org/forum/index.php and you should be able to put togeather a good combo for the truck. Keep it simple, a super six with a Carter BBD or even a Webber or a Holley 2300, and new ~ 2.25" exhaust will help a lot.

Nostalgia Sid's does great work, but it comes at a price! A lot of guys remove the second and fourth leaves for a small drop. If you go much farther than that you run into bump-steer issues. I would someday like to try 4wd front leafs and also pitman arm, that should lower it around 4". The rear will need a longer shackle (and maybe more) to match. I have the parts, but not the time.
 
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