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Last weekend started teardown on my 1949 Dodge 1/2 ton. Engine swap, 230 cubic inch flathead 6 in place of a 218. Two springs being removed from each corner. 2 tone paint, dark blue and cream. White wide wall tires I traded a set of chrome valve covers for. Period correct spotlights and foglights are coming from a local friend who has spares.
Truck has been in the family since new. It's gonna take a couple years to redo how I want it.
Will haul one or more of these:
The orange one is my Savage, the teal one is Lisa's 800 Intruder, the oddball is my 1963 Honda 250 Scrambler with CB pipes. The snow didn't harm any of them. The Savage is now two toned with a different seat and floor boards. Should be back on the road this summer. The Honda is currently in a zillion pieces for paint, upholstery, engine overhaul, new pipes, rewiring...
after leaving those bikes to rot in the snow you're gonna need a truck to move them around. maybe spend a couple hundred bucks to build a shed of some sort.
They got caught in a freak storm. They are usually stored in the barn. Where they keep my 72 Super Beetle company. I can fit a couple hundred bikes in the barn...
I've got 6 trucks. 1992 and 94 Rangers, 85 C10 short wide, 87 C60 bucket truck, 1949 and 69 Dodge 1/2 tons. And a late 60s D600 or D700 based motorhome.
Between the garage, barn, greenhouse, pool house, forge building and other outbuildings the bikes have plenty of cover. The Savage is usually out in the weather year round, but, I've been modifying it for a couple years. That pic of them in the snow is 2 years old. All 3 were already downed for repairs or modifications, the snow didn't hurt them. I did bring the Savage and 450 Rebel in the house during hurricanes when I lived on the gulf coast.
The toys are all on a fit them in as I can schedule. Most of my time is spent running the plantation. Yep, I said plantation, been a working farm since 1793, main house has a hand hewn floor beam branded 1841... I think you can see the old carriage drive in front of Max the mini horse...
Guys, snow is jut frozen water, does your bike disinagrate when rain gets on it, and a tarp traps the water and makes shit rust faster.
Nice place and the truck will be cool as hell when done. Nice it is a family member. Lovely property. My bike is stored indoors to but has been caught in the snow a fe times as I ride it until the roads freez solid.
Nose is pulled off to start cleaning the frame and get ready for the engine swap...
And I've started painting the rims and swapping tires... traded a set of cheap chrome small block Chevy valve covers for 5 wide white bias ply tires, repainting my original equipment truck rims...
Swapping that not original 1948 Plymouth 218 that croaked years ago with a cast in 1955 230 L6 out of a 56 or 57 Plymouth Savoy. Which is getting a dual carb intake, hopefully a pair of finned aluminum valve covers (passenger side of block), cast iron headers or split manifold with true dual exhaust, and hopefully an aluminum cylinder head. 12v conversion, one wire alternator, modern HVAC and controls from a wrecked 92 Ranger... Ranger rear axle, maybe a 5 speed conversion, trying to adapt the Ranger steering box to the 49 frame and get power steering...
Bed floor is completely gone, have to straighten the rear bumper (panel truck sourced) and rear valance. Need to put some lights back on it (off for paint work). The little loop deals on the valance panels are where a set of cattle loading ramps hooked to the truck. And that hitch is welded, ball to plate, plate to bumper, bumper to truck frame...
The seats in the bed are Taurus SHO I picked up for the frames. Will either make them fit or adapt the Ranger seats. The factory bottom frame fell apart and the replacement has too many broken springs to be worth the effort.
Not very often I see one of those anymore, I happen to own a 1950 that I rebuilt and drove in high school 15 some odd years ago. Poor thing is 4 states away parked in my dads barn waiting on me to come get it. Life and the army happened so it stays put. Hopefully it will come home this year once I can get a few more finances worked out and a decent out building put up so I can store some of my crap including it.
I always loved the sound of those flat head 6's. Mine was bone stock aside from the three speed with electric overdrive that I swapped in from a Plymouth belvadere. Made 70-75 comfortable for cruising speed, and I rigged it so I could engage it anytime so more or less could split gears and get 6 speeds. Engine will do well if you make it breath better, get the exhaust seats refitted for hardened ones if they haven't already so it can run unleaded. There are some pretty neat speed parts if you can still find them.
I miss mine but its not going anywhere so some day soon.....
33-60 L6 engine came with hardened valve seats. Mine tops out at 50 mph, 3 speed top loader and 4.78:1 rear axle gears. With an axle swap they'll do 70 up all day long. Speed parts are easy to get, several companies making heads, intakes, exhaust, dress up, hot cams, PCV conversions, etc.
Started cleaning and painting the frame this weekend. Too wet to do any farming, the tractors would get stuck, 3+ inches of rain Wednesday night into Thursday. Didn't get far enough to bother with pics of the chassis yet. So far all the shackle mounts, gas tank mounts and exhaust hangers can be reused.
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