1937 Dodge PU

[Mike P]

15 years after the 37 Dodge came to live with me it’s finally driving !!!


As photobucket decided to hold my images hostage and they are gone from the original thread I was doing I figured I’d just do a brief recap.


This is what I brought home in 2002.


37 Dodge PU by M Patterson, on Flickr



The previous owner had already put a Mustang II front suspension , and then pulled the Drivetrain from a Mustang II that had had an engine fire…..2.8 V6, C3 transmission and 8” Ford rear end. There was no floor, the fire wall was butchered, and no steering column, or shafts for the rack and pinion.


As I had an old Hemi sitting around I decided to mock it up and see if it would be feasible for the truck (it sure wasn’t going to stay a V6)


6X2 by M Patterson, on Flickr



With that decided the poor old truck became a back burner project over the next 15 years, it would get moved back into the main shop in between other projects (I built 12 other cars/trucks from the time I got the 37 home until now).


When it did get back into the shop there were several mockups.



37 MU by M Patterson, on Flickr



Building a floor and firewall.


fc by M Patterson, on Flickr




and a bit of body work including removing the spare tire well


tirewell-1 by M Patterson, on Flickr



welded1 by M Patterson, on Flickr



The drive train evolved into a 1955 331 Hemi. with .060 Jahns NOSR pistons (current displacement is now 341 CI), PAW Cam, and Weiand Drag Star intake with 6 Rochester 2G Carburetors. The transmission is a 46RH Torqueflight (basically the overdrive version of the 727 Torqueflight), rebuilt with heavier duty 47RH/48RH internals.


Hemi 46RH by M Patterson, on Flickr



The rear end is a Dana 60 from a 68 Road Runner and has 4.56 gears in it.


dana 60 by M Patterson, on Flickr


I ended up upgrading the front brakes to 11” and added manual ride height adjusters.


IMG_20170311_132933012_zps7isb8rvk by M Patterson, on Flickr



I had to put a bed in it and used a 60s era 15 Gallon beer keg for a gas tank and an old Western Auto tool box for a battery box.



bed by M Patterson, on Flickr



It’s all registered and insured and I’ve found excuses to drive it daily for the last week or so.



37 Road test by M Patterson, on Flickr


I still have a bunch of stuff to do on it (body work, paint and interior) and if I don’t end up selling it first it will probably be torn down at some point for the paint. For now I’m just enjoying it.

 

[DRIVEN]

Very, very cool little pickup. Glad to see it on the road...finally.

 

[Longroof79]

Cool truck... Gotta love the '30's body styles. The old Hemi was a natural choice, especially being a MOPAR truck.
Filling the spare tire wells makes a huge difference in appearance. I dig the old keg fuel tank and tool box for a battery box.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[1evilregal]

glad to see that being enjoyed, got a soft spot for that era of trucks(though I have no idea why-no personal ties). I'd leave it as is, as long as it's safe, as I dig the weathered and hot rod look it has!

 

[ItsnotaGN]

That's cool! I just sold my 47 Dodge pickup when we moved. The neighbor across the street here at the new house just drug home a 52 vintage 331 Hemi.

 

[carnutjw]

Paint my *ss, looks great as is! I understand safety and comfort upgrades, but I love the looks.

 

[TURNA]

Oh man that's awesome!!!!!!!

Very nice!!

 

[joesregalproject]

That thing is awesome! Very cool project!

 

[olds307 and 403]

Agree, very cool. I think RH series overdrive was much better than the later flakey RE series. I have project nightmare using two toggle swiches to just ge all gears and converter lock up on the 42RE. With 4.56 gears, it must lay serious rubber and the .70 OD would make it decent on the highway. And the 6 2bbl carbs is beyond cool and hopefully function fine.

 

[Mike P]

Thanks guys.


“….Paint my *ss, looks great as is! I understand safety and comfort upgrades, but I love the looks….”.

Yeah it has kind of grown on me a bit over the years too. I figure doing body work on and off over the next few years while still keeping it together and drivable. I’ve got some red oxide primer I’ve been using on a few of the spots I’ve worked on already (like the front fender) that when it’s scuffed a little really blends in well with the original paint. First thing I need to get done is to fill the hole in the cab where the original gas tank fill was.

I figure it will have the patina look for a good while yet. A few years ago I actually decided to go ahead and kind of go for a “built in the 60s, parked in the 70s” kind of look on it for now. With the fenders on it you can’t tell it’s got a Mustang II front suspension or disc brakes on it, or a later transmission. That was the reason the choice on the beer keg gas tank and old chrome Lakewood traction bars and Mexican blankets on the original seat. The engine was actually built 10 years ago and put on an engine run stand. At least every 6 months it would be run and brought up to operating temperature. As a result even the engine paint and chrome has an aged look to it.


“…….I have project nightmare using two toggle swiches to just ge all gears and converter lock up on the 42RE. With 4.56 gears, it must lay serious rubber and the .70 OD would make it decent on the highway. And the 6 2bbl carbs is beyond cool and hopefully function fine…….”


Yeah, when I decided on the 46 RH I looked up all the stuff on what electrical and pressure and vacuum switches I would need to make it work, and finally bit the bullet and bought a Compushift controller for it. It was a bit pricy but sure made dialing the transmission a snap.

It actually hooks up rather well considering all it has are the old slapper bars and no weight in the back. The carbs work beautifully, it’s set up on progressive linkage (picture 2 Tri-Power progressive linkages and then tie the together and synchronize them). Basically until you punch it your only running on the 2 center carbs (and it’s set up at this point where the end carbs really don’t tip in that much and only at WOT.