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The Dakota radiator is too wide for the nose of the Plymouth. I used a Hot Rod radiator that I got from Speedway Motors. It was narrow enough to fit in the nose opening. We had to move the motor back so that the accessory drives would fit behind the radiator. I am using an electric fan in a...

I opted to keep the Dakota firewall primarily because I knew that the shape would work with the V8. The Straight 6 is actually a slightly longer engine, but the 40 firewall is indented in the middle to account for this. We had to move everything back a bit so we would have enough room for the...

Thanks for your interest and the questions. We primarily moved the cab back so that the front tires would line up with the opening in the 40 fenders. We then moved the engine back to fit the firewall and give us enough room for the radiator, although I did have to put the radiator ahead of the...

Such a nice day we had to roll her outside for a bit. OK, really we needed to put my son's Dart on the two post lift.

Just got the running boards back from getting the tops sprayed with Line-X. The intent is both protection and function. Originally the boards were just painted, and over time the paint would wear off with foot traffic in and out of the truck. I wanted to use this truck and not worry about...

This is from a 48-52 Ford F-1 and I got it from LMC Truck parts. http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fa/full.aspx?Page=39 Pretty decent price. There is a guy doing repro dodge bumpers for the 40's, but he wants around $600 and the LMC one is $140.

I also got the bumper and trailer hitch in place. These trucks did not come with a rear bumper, so I used one from another early American truck. The brackets had to be modified. I shortened them and had to move them outboard slightly. Took some cutting and pasting. And yes, I finish welded the...

And the controls for the seat heaters. This is the wife's truck after all.

Good point. It looks closer than it is and will have a rubber strip so there can be some movement.

More progress to report. Got my driveshaft from Driveshafts Northwest installed. I've also been working on the running boards. The originals were beat to hell. My son did some patch work to repair the rust where they sat on the supports, and I did some patch work to replace the badly damaged...

Since my last posting, I have installed a cable drive windshield wiper kit which took a bit of massaging. The cable drive runs in an aluminum tube and the tube attaches to the motor on one end and the wiper post on the other. I had to run the tube from the inner firewall, up the right A pillar...

After things have settled down from summer vacations, I have accomplished a few things on the truck. I took the cab off the frame one more time so I could do the manual transmission swap. I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't work as the ring gear for the manual flywheel is bigger than the...

Been awhile since I posted. I have put turn signals on the headlights, installed bed roll lights and figured out the steering connection. I had to use a combination of the Dakota steering shaft coupled from a donor older Mopar as I needed a bit more length since the new firewall is back farther...

We brought the truck back to my dad's shop and I am working on installing the wiring harness from the Dakota, hooking up the Vintage Air A/C and getting the bed attached to the frame. These pictures show the tail light stands I made so that the wires run internally and the lights are a bit...

Josh, that is a sweet ride you have there! My wife is really looking forward to cruising in her pickup, so we have some good motivation to press on and get her done!

Yes, the bed is going to be higher than the stock 40 placement. The wood will be sitting on the rear frame member. I have not measured yet to see just how high the bed will be raised. We are going to try it with the wood where it is right now, and if the bed sits too high, then we can remove the...

I bought the bed sides from Horkey's instead of messing with the old bed sides that were all goobered up and patch welded with rebar. Starting to come together.

We got four spare tire steel wheels from a few trips to the junkyards and are going to run 1950, "Plymouth" script dog dish full caps. For anybody wondering, the Dakota uses 6 lug wheels, so the normal 5 on 4 1/2 won't work. We are going to use the tires that came with the truck and are sitting...

No key fob for a truck this old. I am using a kit I found on E-bay that I used on my daughter's Scamp. Comes with a fob, unlocks both doors and also has a sensor so if one door is unlocked or locked with the key, it does the other one for you.

Sorry, these are all cell phone shots, so not the best quality, but here is some more progress. Ross got the yoke fitted which required cutting the front frame rails and welding in a U bracket that supports the yoke for both the radiator and the front fenders. It will also be the connection for...

Here's some with the Tach hooked up and the oil pressure through a resistor so it at least shows a non pegged reading. I also need to get the proper temp sender as I am still using the original mopar unit and it is not calibrated to these gauges.

I got tired of the unreliable gas gauge, the jumpy speedo and the super dim instrument lighting. I bought a blank instrument face from Redline Gauge Works http://www.redlinegaugeworks.com/products.asp and put in some VDO Vison gauges. Hopefully this will cure all ills. I think they look pretty...

Yes, she loves it, even though it was not done for her birthday. She already has plans to tour the country in it!

More hacking and welding going on. Doors and bottom of cab.

More cutting and pasting. Some of the door work was difficult as it included character rolled beads. The bottoms of the doors where pretty much swiss cheese, which is not unexpected.

Making slow but steady progress on the truck, although it is in the stage that takes quite a bit of time - cutting and pasting and fabrication. Here are a few pictures of the new bear claw door latches I bought that Ross installed. The latches don't leave a lot of room for a key, so we are...

We finally put up a used VBM Automotive 2 post lift. This sucker is American made, heavy as all get out and has already lasted a lifetime. I bought it a year ago, and finally got around to renting a forklift to get her into position.

They are a brand new style of Autometer gauge called American Muscle. I liked them because they are back lit and the needles are lit also. VDO made some similar gauges they called Vision, but these have the old school look.

The day of the great unveiling arrived, and although the truck is not done, we were able to get it together enough that it looks like a truck and not just a bunch of rusty parts. My wife was shocked and at first, but after the shock wore off, it was obvious she loved it! Now to send it back...

The option of A/C remains, but it is not a critical thing as we live in Seattle and don't have much use for it.