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1978 Dodge W150, Club Cab, Short Bed RestoMod

10K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  Canadian country boy 
#1 ·
Good afternoon everyone,
I have been on and off this forum for years.
My very first vehicle was a 1979 Dodge PU with a slant six.

I have now found myself with yet another project.
This one was purchased from Michigan and shipped to me in Austin, TX.
I have always liked the 77 and 78 look with the turn signals in the grill.

The thing I want to do with this truck is to make it a driver and looker.
I will plan to keep the original vibe of the truck, but update it to a more modern and comfortable ride.

The plans may change, but here are my thoughts.
- Body off and blast down to bare metal.
- Rebuild the 440 engine (maybe stroke to 512)
- 4 speed auto
- Swap Xfer case (NP205 or Atlas)
- Dana 60 swap
- Interior sound deadening and A/C
- Wire upgrade

I am a Mechanical Engineer, have access to a machine shop, have tinkered with cars for years, and want something to put my mind into for fun
This will no doubt be a long journey and an opportunity to learn.

I will post pics as I go.
 

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#2 ·
Got her shipped and delivered.

Started right up.  440 sounded good.

Steering was VERY loose, horn did not work, brakes were soft, reverse lights were not working, and all the electrics seemed "slow".

I got her in the garage, put up on jacks and started to look into the brakes.  The master cylinder was leaking like crazy.
 

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#4 ·
That's in good shape for being a rust belt truck.
 
#5 ·
I gotta agree with the rest of the guys. Awesome find and funny seeing a truck shipped from up north to down south. Kidding aside I would love to have that pretty bench seat for my Club.
 
#10 ·

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#12 ·
I like that silver and white 93!
 
#14 ·
Very nice,

May need to check out this guy's renderings.  He have a price on them?

Neil
 
#16 ·
Started working on the brakes.  A few weeks back when I discovered a leak master cylinder.  That led to a hairline crack/leak in the brake line, broken bleeder valve on the caliper, which led to a full brake repair.

I brought it over to a local shop to use the lift.  I already bought pads and caliper brake hoses.

Starting to buy parts now.
New Rotors - Autozone Duralast P/N 5312
Flex Brake hose - Autozone Duralast P/N 77171z
 

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#20 ·
Very sad update.

I delivered the truck to a shop during the Pandemic to start the rebuild process.
They pulled apart the whole thing, did not bag and tag the items, and then went out of business.

the truck has been sitting outside for almost a year.

I am torn on what do next.
 

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#23 ·
What happened sucked for sure. But it could be much worse.

If it were me, I would buy a donor and spend a few weekends and nights getting all the little stuff the shop may have lost. Document and photo everything. Take what you need and sell the rest. You'll probably turn a small profit on the parts you don't need or want. Boom, you're back on track.

Move on with the build brother... Big ugly must ride again.

 
#22 ·
Save it of course. I would spray some rust mort or even used engine oil on all of the exposed metal for now and stop that rust. That's a cool truck and very much worth saving. 👍
I'm sorry that happened to you.
 
#24 ·
That does suck. Main things I would be looking for are glass and engine/drivetrain parts. As well as interior. Lots of that stuff is getting hard to come by. Trust me from your initial post of being an engineer you can do the work yourself and take pride in it. It will take time but its worth it.

Neil
 
#25 ·
Bring it home and build it yourself. I am also in the mechanical engineering field. If you have the space to do it, tools can be bought, and time can be carved out. You can do this. If you don't want to do it yourself, then find another shop, or sell it and buy one already done. But that will cost ya.
 
#26 ·
Bring it home and do it yourself.
 
#27 ·
Any updates on this?

Maybe a little encouragemen? RestoMod to me is a current engine in a great, classic body. No shortage of donor trucks/wrecks out there. Bought one on Copart 2013 Ram 35k miles but too nice to cut up now my daily driver. Found a second Second donor 2015 Ram 1500 5.7 4x4 8 speed with 32k miles.
 
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