1957 Chevy 3100, meet 1994 Dodge Ram 1500

[Purcell69]

The frame is now painted and the hitch plate is back on. All the brackets are back where they belong and the spring hanger is torqued down. I also mounted the under-bed spare tire carrier back in position, the first time since the truck was disassembled in 2013.

Yesterday, I began relocating the oil to water transmission cooler. This is a Cummins part that uses engine coolant to regulate the temperature of the transmission oil. The copper and brass truck radiator for the 1957 doesn't have a built in transmission cooler since my original plan was a manual transmission back 25 years ago.

The Cummins cooler was mounted on the core support at the top, next to the radiator when I first put it in. The problem is that it holds an extra quart of transmission oil which wants to bleed back to the transmission when the engine isn't running. The extra oil seeps past the o-ring seal between the dipstick tube and the transmission case over time. Obviously, the seal issue needs to be addressed, but moving the cooler to a lower position will help as well. The original mounting position had it about 2' above the transmission pan.

I found a spot that is about the same level as the transmission pan and is protected from debris. It will now be under the valance, behind the front bumper. It has free air all around it and will get additional air flow when the truck is moving.

-Joe