Posted By: towguy76
1956 Dodge truck project - 11/10/10 02:17 AM
just bought a 56 Dodge truck that has been sitting for a few years. some one had previously customized the truck and added a 440 engine, tilt steering column, pedal assembly with master cylinder, 8 3/4 rear end and guage cluster out of i believe a 69-70 Imperial. I have yet to run the numbers on the motor, but the friend i bought it from (not the person who did all the work) said he ran the numbers a few years ago and remebers it being a steel crank motor. It also has the 3 speed pushbutton trans in it. i have had several late 60s and early 70s Mopars but this is my first 50s vehicle. it will be a learning experience. [image]
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Posted By: Randy..
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 11/10/10 02:58 AM
get rid of all them custom touches, put on some factory steels drive the crap out of it.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 11/10/10 06:10 AM
Got any more pics of that mustang in the back ground
Posted By: RUNCHARGER
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 11/11/10 03:15 AM
I thought big rear windows were'nt available until 57? I could be wrong.
Neat truck, with that 440 make sure you're on a wide, empty road before opening it up.
Sheldon
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 11/11/10 11:18 PM
Can anyone tell me what this speedometer came out of? Can't place it for the life of me. Not sure if it is even a Mopar part. I know it isn't original to this truck. Thinking maybe late 60s Lincoln?
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Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 11/12/10 02:47 AM
I would bet a case of beer that the wood face plate was home made.
Posted By: JDMopar
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 11/12/10 04:04 AM
That's a neat ol truck you found! I had a 56 with a 440/727 in it back in the early 80's. Mine had the big back window also. Sheldon is right about a straight,empty road! If it has the stock steering box in it.....it ain't any bigger than your fist and requires considerable effort to keep up with the steering. Good luck.
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/13/10 07:09 AM
Alright, finally got the truck to work. The 440 looks to be a 68 10:1 motor. I am starting to think the engine, p. steering box, tilt/ telescoping column, pedal assembly, brake master and 8 3/4 rear (with huge drum brakes and factory pinion snubber) came out of possibly a 68 Imperial. The trans is a big block push button 3 speed auto trans. I am not sure what year it is. They only made the push button 3 speed trans from 56 to 63 but unsure when they first had the big block bolt pattern.
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/25/10 04:19 PM
Brought the truck to work finally. Got the engine to spin over eventually. Haven't fired it up yet though. Don't know if i like the butterfly hood yet. It's cool, but it makes it a pain to work on the engine. Also it has no way of locking the hood to prevent theft of parts.
Posted By: 72blubird
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/27/10 05:20 PM
Curious what kind of exhaust manifulds or headers it has...a pic would be fantastic. I have a 56 with 400/727/8 3/4 in it
Posted By: JDMopar
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/28/10 01:11 AM
The 56 that I had, with a 440/727 in it had HP manifolds if I remember correct. Too much motor....not enough steering box!
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/28/10 02:01 AM
I will try and get a pic of the manifolds in the next couple of days. I know they did notch the frame on the driver's side for the manifold, but the pass side fits good.
Quote:
Curious what kind of exhaust manifulds or headers it has...a pic would be fantastic. I have a 56 with 400/727/8 3/4 in it
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/28/10 02:07 AM
The truck has a tilt/telescoping steering column in it with i belive the powersteering box out of whatever they yanked the engine from. The engine is running the 68 Federal powersteering pump. Truck does have a straight axle with leafsprings up front but not entirely sure if stock for this truck. The front wheels are held on with lug bolts that thread into the drum like a european car such as a Mercedes, but the rear end is a 8 3/4 with the 2 piece axles that uses studs for the wheels. And yes both front and rear on the driver's side are reverse thread.
Quote:
The 56 that I had, with a 440/727 in it had HP manifolds if I remember correct. Too much motor....not enough steering box!
Posted By: MuuMuu101
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/28/10 02:58 AM
Sometime later in life I would like to have a project like this. Hotrodding a truck seems like a fun thing to do because you have lots of options.
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/28/10 03:08 AM
Pics of the exhaust manifolds in the 56 for you.
Driver's side manifold:
Passenger side manifold:
took the hood off and blew off the engine.
The radiator. the core is only a 1/4 inch thinner than the tank.
Posted By: towguy76
Re: 1956 Dodge truck project - 12/30/10 12:42 AM
Parting out the truck. Look under the big block engines for sale thread for the engine and trans. Already pulled engine and trans out of truck. I only have 2-3 months to keep truck at work and i cant afford to get it roadworthy in that time frame. Plus the more i look over the truck, the more things i see that i will have to repair or replace because they are worn, or because the person who built the truck did a questionable job. Just more than i can invest into it at this time.
, New yorker or Newport i'd say.