[Purcell69]

Last week, I finished shortening the frame down to the 123.5" wheelbase to match the 1957 body. When I first considered using the Dodge 1500 chassis, I knew that I would either need to lengthen or shorten the Dodge frame, depending on the configuration of the donor truck. A short bed, regular cab would require something in the area of 5" to be added to the wheelbase, and was least desirable to me. It would be far better to shorten a frame from a longer chassis. I had planned on cutting and welding, adding boxing plates where needed. It turns out, Dodge assembled these trucks with a rear subframe that was nested into the main frame and riveted into place. This made my work easier.

I was able to grind the heads off of the 14 rivets used, then drill and punch the rivets from the frame. The front leaf spring hangers used four rivets each and there were three per side for the crossmember. After I unbolted the rear leaf springs, I rolled the rear axle out of the way. I supported the subframe with my engine crane and slid it out of the main frame. I had to trim off the second set of pedestals that the bed mounts to in order to make room for the front leaf spring hangers. With the pedestals gone, I was able to trim 11.25" from the main frame rails and then re-insert the subframe and bolt up my leaf spring hangers. (I need to add pics in here)

Yesterday, I finished removing the dashboard, pedal assembly, brake booster and cab wire harness. I put the steering column back in to aid in moving the truck out to my shop framework for cab removal. My daughter's boyfriend, Michael, was recruited to help with the cab removal.

We moved the Dodge out to the "shop" after I loosened up the cab bolts. With all the cab wiring and connections removed, the cab with the help of my chain hoist and my 1951 Harry Ferguson tractor. The cab would not go high enough to pull the chassis backward, due to the engine. Instead, I pulled the chassis forward of the cab, set the cab down and dragged it out of the way. With the cab clear, I dragged the chassis back to the driveway to get ready for engine removal. The previous owner started to remove the engine after a perceived head gasket failure. All that was left to remove were the bell housing bolts.

The 360 has a little over 200k miles and was "bad" at the time of purchase. The PO stated he had hit a cow (hence the Frankentruck paint scheme), which damaged the radiator. Rather than replace the radiator, he opted to keep refilling it. One day he decided there was enough coolant, only to overheat the engine and possibly blowing a head gasket. The truck was parked and sat for roughly four years in the pasture. Looking underneath, there is one quickie freeze plug repair and one missing on the passenger side of the engine block. I am thinking worst case, the block cracked either from freezing or overheating. I expect to get the engine out this week to see what there is to work with.

-Joe
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