1957 Dodge D200 Pickup

Paul & Barb Wagner’s 1957 Dodge D200

“For 43 years it was our Every-day farm truck. Today it is our car-show truck”

1957 dodge d200Back in 1967, we decided to purchase a truck to support our small family dairy farm in Methuen, MA. The search led us to a gentleman who had a sewing machine business, and a 1957 Dodge 3/4 ton pick-up with 59,000 miles on the odometer. The truck sold for $1,750 brand new, he was asking $200.00 for it. I countered with $175.00 and drove away with the truck.

It was put into use on the farm immediately. We used it to haul milk, cattle, sawdust, manure, it was a great, all purpose vehicle.

1957 dodge d200 interiorIn 1969, my father and I bought a larger dairy farm in Bridport, Vermont. That was 200 miles away from Methuen. The Dodge was a godsend for hauling furniture and farm equipment to Vermont, and then take hay back to Massachusetts to feed our animals there. I would load sixty, forty-pound bales on the truck (2400 lbs.) and drive the 200 miles on ten gallons of gas. Not bad mileage with that kind of a load. Once the move to Vermont was complete, we put 700-800 ‘farm’ miles on the truck each year. The transmission was not right for slow field work so we rode the clutch a lot. After 11 years of this, we had to replace the clutch and when we did that, we put a four speed transmission in. The move from 3-on-the-tree to 4-on-the-floor made it a real farm truck! It was parked in the shop in 2003 when a gale wind came through and knocked the shop down. The shop roof landed in a tree across the road, while the old Dodge just sat there, with only the scratches it had when we parked it there. The truck did its work until 2005 when it would not pass inspection any longer. For the next five years it sat in the machine shed getting dusty. I started it up a couple of times a year to make sure the engine did not seize.

I sold the farm to my son in 2010 and entered semi-retirement. I had talked so much about fixing up the truck, over the years, that my wife, Barb told me there would never be a better time, than now to do it. I guess she had heard it enough….so I did. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

Three miles south of here, my friend Kevin has a body shop. I pulled everything off the frame. All that was left was the engine, transmission and wheels, which I pulled to Kevin’s with my old John Deere. This had taken me about fifty hours at this point, all my labor and no money. I soon found out this would get reversed! Just finishing the prep work, Kevin had used eighty-five, 100 pound bags of blasting sand.

When I removed the cab from the frame, I found it was set up for both left and right hand drive. There are pop-outs on the floor for the clutch and brake pedals. The dash is the same on both sides. There is an aluminum plate on the right side where I thought was meant for a radio. When I removed it, I found framework for the speedometer and gauges. I considered changing to the right side but then I thought, “Who is going to drive it?”….Not me!, so I left it the way it was.

1957 dodge d-200 pickup

The next challenge was finding body parts. In 1957, 340,000 Ford pickups were made and GM made 360,00. Dodge made 50,000 pickups that year. So, finding the parts I needed, ended in very short phone calls…no we don’t have any. Then I heard about Desert Valley Auto Parts in Arizona. They had three corpses! My luck had changed, I found the two rear fenders, the right front fender and the grill that I needed. It took three months to get the parts but the wait was worth it. Being a life-long New Englander, I was utterly amazed at the condition… no rust at all! I found two box sides in Rhode Island and used Hickory boards for the floor. I chose not to use oak, as I wanted something with knots, but pine was too soft.

There were two safety problems with vehicles from this period that I wanted to correct with my restoration. The single reservoir master brake cylinder and no seat belts. I went to the ‘68 Dodge split system and had to add a regulator to balance the pressure. Lap seat belts took care of the second problem. The paint color is forest green with two coats of epoxy primer, two coats of filler primer and two coats of enamel. The paint alone was $2000.00…welcome to restoration.

The whole process took ten months to complete. Kevin had 300 hours, I had that many and more, but no charge for me, it’s a LABOR OF LOVE! I kept a notebook of the expenses, even after being told not to because ‘I did not want to know’. The project ended up costing $23,380.00. the high-level break-down was $13,000 in labor, and $10,380 for parts ( I did not rebuild the engine or drive train).

In May of 2014, the steering shaft broke in a restaurant parking lot. The steering wheel was in my hands not attached. I decided it was time for power steering, my age demanded it! Driving is much more enjoyable now. My friend, Ed James, did some research and found the steering system from a ‘79 to ‘86 Toyota pickup would work. I added a pump from an ‘84 Camaro and I was in busi-ness.

The old Dodge gets a lot of attention in parades and car shows. We were at the local soft serve ice cream place when a fella came up and said, “ I bet you think more of this truck, than you do your wife!” I replied, “The only thing I can say, the truck does exactly what I ask it to do.” I always say, there is high tech and there is low tech. My truck is NO TECH!

1957 dodge d200 pickup truck

1957 Dodge D200 Specs:

  • Engine, Chrysler 230 cu. In. L-head (flat head) 6 cylinder.
  • Horse power, 110
  • Wheels, 16 inch split rims-8 lug (750X16)
  • Rear-end, 3/4-1 ton set-up for duals
  • Present mileage, 111,028

Editor’s notes… Paul told about his daughter slinking down in the seat, out of view of her friends, in the old days when he would leave her off at school. She recently asked if she could possibly get the truck when he made out his will. Thank you Paul for letting us feature your truck and your history with it.

Sounds Good – A Bright Idea

led headlightsOne of the headlights recently burned out on one of my Saabs. No big deal, this happens every so often. A set of premium brighter bulbs costs almost fifty bucks, and I have noticed they do not last as long as the regular bulbs. A pair of LED bulbs is only fifteen dollars more, and these will outlast the car. I decided to order the LED bulbs and try them. They are a direct fit replacement for the standard halogen bulb. Unlike many LED bulbs on the market, these bulbs are an engineered replacement for the incandescent bulbs.

On some vehicles, like my Chrysler minivan, the headlight needs to be removed to replace the bulb. This requires removing five bolts and takes time.

In addition to lasting much longer, the LED bulbs do not generate heat, takes far less energy, and you can actually touch the bulb without destroying the bulb. Interestingly, I noticed both old headlight bulb pigtails were partially melted when I installed the LED bulbs.

I will drive with these bulbs for a few weeks to make sure they work, at least, as well as the incandescent bulbs.

I bought these bulbs from superbrightleds.com. I am very impressed with their quality, selection service and price. They list replacement LED bulbs for virtually every bulb in the car.

A Page from “The Willy Chronicles”

As I was rummaging among our winter coats the other day looking for something to wear to run errands, I was thinking how winter clothing has changed over the years.

50s pea coatWhen I was young, a hundred years ago, I remember pea coats, knit mittens and galoshes. Gael still has a coat from the ’50’s that must weigh a ton, corduroy with some kind of fur collar. Our first trip to Freeport, Maine to the LLBean store in 1969 when it was on the second floor of an old building with creaky floors, I purchased a great coat which I wore for years and then our oldest daughter took it over. It was heavy, but not as heavy as Gael’s coat.

My mother knitted the kids hats and mittens to match their winter coats and snow pants, and they wore bread bags over their feet, inside their rubber packs to keep their feet dry. Down filled jackets probably had been around for quite a while but they arrived at our house in the 1970’s. Gael still wears one our son discarded, many years ago. It is looking a bit worse for wear and there are feathers everywhere when Gael wears it, but he isn’t ready to give it up yet. It must be on it’s second zipper by now.

LL bean great coatI’m not sure when fleece arrived on the scene, but it changed my way of thinking. Gone is “the heavier, the warmer” phrase and jackets now are light weight and as warm as their predecessors and good for washers and dryers. I have so many heavy sweaters that I hardly ever wear anymore. Were our houses that much colder back when? I can’t part with them, some I spent hours knitting and have fond memories wearing them. I must admit I do really like the fleece jackets, vests, hats and mittens that are hanging on our coat rack. Most of the time they are adequate, for most of our weather and with good heating systems in cars these days, who needs a heavy, bulky coat to drive in.

Winter footwear has changed over the years too. Gone are the days of heavy leather boots. We’ve moved on to lightweight winter shoes, LL Bean boots and Muck shoes. Moriarty (sp?) hats, remember them? We probably have a few still kicking around in back of the cupboard, along with the knit hats and mittens the kids wore many years ago. I just can’t get rid of them yet.

Another kind of coat that we have is the waxed jacket. I bought several of these on one of my trips to England many years ago and they are great. I happened to visit England a few years later in the Fall and picked up liners for the jackets. Queen Elizabeth even has one of these. Hopefully, by the time you read this, you will have put your winter jackets, etc., away, all cleaned and ready for next fall, perhaps with a few moth balls thrown in for good measure. You might even have left a dollar bill in one of the pockets.

1930 Chrysler CJ Roadster

Wendell & Mary Noble’s 1930 Chrysler CJ Roadster

A Lot Of Money Goes A Long Way – from Wendell Noble

1930 chrysler cj roadster wendell nobleA funny thing about my doing a car restoration, although I’m working toward a goal, when I get there, it’s a bit of a let down. I am happy with the results. If I weren’t, it wouldn’t be done yet.

It all started back in 2010 with a call from Dave Maunsell. He had been assembling an inventory of parts for a 1930 Chrysler CJ roadster for years with the intention of ultimately turning it into a completed car. However, I think Dave had become skeptical about ever getting to it, and came to feel some money, would be of more use to him. He was concerned that the project car go to someone who would complete it to his satisfaction. Dave had familiarized himself with my 1929 Plymouth and the work I had done on it. Structurally, it’s very similar to the Chrysler CJ and I think this satisfied him that I might do right by this project.

I’m told that “CJ” stands for Chrysler Junior. It was the smallest Chrysler at the time and, in fact, is the same size as the Plymouth but has a six cylinder engine instead of the Plymouth four.

Once the deal was struck, Gael Boardman, Gary Olney and I headed over to Dave’s place in Greensboro. We pulled parts from all corners of his garage and loaded up Gael’s truck, my truck and my trailer. Upon arrival at my place, Gael asked if I had any doors on my load. None of us remembered seeing any car doors. I gave Dave a phone call and he assured me that there should be two doors. A day or two later, he called back to announce that he had found the doors… in his hall closet. I can’t understand why it didn’t occur to us to look there in the first place.

1930 chrysler cj roadster restorationThe restoration has been enjoyable. The frame and drive train were in good order and required very little attention to fundamentals. Electrical system, brakes, and steering needed to be done from the ground up. The big efforts were needed on the body and upholstery. The body had to be built completely, starting with the interior wood skeleton and then a lot of “tin knocking” to get the sheet metal patched, smoothed and properly aligned. Many parts had to be made from scratch. These included seat cushions from seat parts of other cars, mounting hardware for the side-mount spare tires, top irons and bows for the folding top, door hinges, bumper clamps and correct running boards. The car came with an original front bumper, but no rear bumper. I discovered that model A Ford bumpers are the same width and length, but are not curved like the Chrysler’s. Bailey Spring in Essex Junction did a great job of perfectly arching the Ford bumpers without so much as scratching the Chrome. I think I know my skill limits, so the finish painting was done by Mountain View Auto Body of Enosburgh, upholstery and top were done by Coggio Upholstery of Richmond and plating was done by Anthony Cook of Shaftsbury.

The car is now ready for it’s debut, just as soon as the frost is out and our road is dry. I’ve concluded that the secret to a decent car restoration is to spend a lot of money on it. I’m not talking about a rattle can and pop rivet job here. Once you’re prepared to do that, you’re on your way.

1930 chrysler cj roadster frame restoration

Sounds Good

sounds goodI recently lost the radio in my every day Saab. I went to crutchfield.com to look at a replacement stereo. I wanted something inexpensive that would simply replace the radio in my car. I was surprised to see the many options and reasonable prices.

For less than 200 dollars, I can fit a replacement radio, with a CD/DVD player, Bluetooth, a video screen and a touchscreen. For a couple bucks more I can add a back up camera.

A unit with all of these features and GPS is roughly the same cost as a stand alone portable GPS unit. Of course, buying the unit from a place like Crutchfield includes plug and play wiring and all hardware needed to make the installation look factory original.

I am amazed at how many features these aftermarket stereos have, and at how much the cost has come down. Now, if I can figure out how to add side curtain air bags, collision avoidance and adaptive cruise control I would never need to buy a new car again.

EASY OIL SEAL INSTALLATION TOOL

easy oil installation toolAnyone who has replaced oil seals without removing the shaft that seals against the seal knows what a struggle the seal installation is. Think of replacing the front main crankshaft seal in place without removing the timing cover or the crank shaft. This job requires applying equal pressure around the circumference of the seal, or it will warp or bend.I have taken several pieces of scrap PVC Schedule 40 drain pipe and cut it in lengths of three inches or so. Interestingly, the diameter of many grease seals is the same diameter of PVC drain pipe. The thickness of the PVC pipe is the perfect thickness to use as an oil seal installation tool.

I have diameters of inch, inch and a half, two inches, two and a half inches, three inch, etc., sitting on my tool shelf, standing in the ready to use for seal installation.By placing the appropriate diameter pipe over the seal the seal can be easily tapped in to place with a mallet. For larger diameter seals, and pipe installation tools, I have a piece of 2 by 4 to place over the pipe before tapping with a hammer.

A Page from “The Willy Chronicles”

‘Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…..’

No, this article isn’t about who sang this song. If you know it was Janis Joplin you are probably about the same age as me and you would know that I just turned 70. This isn’t bad, but it is when I’m sure that I don’t look a day over 69!

Sorry I’ve gotten off track.

Willy, if I haven’t mentioned him before is a cat that used to come to our door at 6 AM and would scratch for food. He started this about 5 years ago. We would put food and water out twice a day for about 6 months. He wouldn’t have anything to do with us and would even wait to eat until we had gone inside. Once he thought Gary was too slow putting his meal down and he raced forward, bit Gary, and then raced out of reach! That is another story: The Rabies Watch.

the willysWith winter coming on, we started encouraging Willy to come in the house. After several weeks of moving his food closer to the inside (and the fact that winter had arrived, and he was living under our car trailer) he finally came in. Willy would eat, bed down for the night, wake up, eat and demand to be put out for the day. After, a couple more weeks, he would let us touch him but never hold him.

He did get used to us enough, so one day, armed with a big towel, we caught him, stuffed him in a cat carrier and we all went off to visit the Vet. He had an infected tail and it was amputated. The doctor said it had gotten broken (probably in a fight) and his ears had been torn. We brought him home with a 2-inch stub, all his shots on board and decided he would become an inside cat. But Willy had other ideas, he begged to go out almost immediately and as ‘good’ parents, we let him. Several hours later he returned, well after dark and wanted to come in. He was soaking wet and had a head injury. We figured his friends, who were still enjoying their freedom, had laughed at his shaved butt and stubby tail and he had to defend himself.

That did it, we did not let him out no matter how much he begged. It took months, but he seemed to settle into a life of tasty food, treats, and a warm place to sleep. I should mention he has 2 servants who cater to almost every wish and go out of their way to please him. And he stopped begging to go out. About 3 months ago when Gary didn’t realize Willy was near by and the door was open about 5 inches, he scooted through and out on the porch. He walked around the porch and went right back in. Hallelujah! I was close to a panic but could now calm down.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, same scenario, door open a bit and gone! He sure can move fast but this time he explored about 15 minutes before he decided to come back, I’m in panic mode this time!

Now 3 days ago, someone came to the door and Gary answered it. Willy snuck through and again gone! We watched him taking his old route from years ago, across the front of the house, under the car trailer, to the first neighbor’s house, around the shrubs in front of neighbor #2 and out the back (which takes him to the next street). Full panic mode!! I couldn’t stand waiting to see if he was Gone-Gone, so I told Gary I was going out. I needed to exchange some of Gary’s clothes and get his medicine. In about 45 minutes, my cell rang, and Gary says, ‘did you find Willy?’ and I said,’ no I am not looking for him, I am at Tractor Supply’. Gary thought I was so upset that I had gone out on a search, but I was doing errands! Gary said Willy was in the kitchen, muddy and wet, but home! Hallelujah!!!

We have been trying to figure out why after the plush life we have given Willy, he would want to escape and the only thing we can come up with is that he has seen a former friend (namely girlfriend) and is willing to throw it all away for Love! Gary has noticed a lot of cat prints in the yard lately.