1970 Dude - Field Find

[chief915]

Around the 8th of July I was chatting with a 70 year old guy who lives close by and is a friend of a friend. We started talking about old vehicles and he says "I've got an old 1970 Dodge truck sitting in out my field, I used to pull my lawnmower trailer with it until the transmission went out". I didn't think much about it until later on that evening when I figured I'd go take a look at it. I've been thinking about finding a project to get on the road for a while now and figured that this truck may be a good opportunity. I called him and he said that it had been sitting for 13 years since the transmission went out, but I was welcome to go look and he'd sell it if I was interested.

I drove over and here's what the "old dodge truck" turned out to be. Needless to say, I was interested and it's mine now!

It's a 1970 D100 "Dude" truck. It's completely complete except it's missing the dog dish hubcaps and trim rings, 79,700 original miles, and has a slant 6, 3 speed manual, and aftermarket air conditioning.

[wally426ci]

YES!! amazing find man. What are your plans? My cousin recently built a 70 Dude with similar colors except a white stripe.

They painted theirs on but I believe you can get the stripe from Phoenix Graphics now. Exiline has good sheet metal.

Let everyone know what parts you need when it is time.

[soopernaut]

That is a pretty good find. It doesn't appear to be too bad for sitting out in a field.

[Jhollett]

I'd get it out if the grass asap. It rusts them out really fast! Nice looking truck

[Cody100]

Not as bad in Kentucky as it is up here Jhollett, especially not as bad as you have it out near the ocean you are right of course
Wicked cool find Chief, please post more pics when you can

[chief915]

Thanks guys......I appreciate it.

I found the truck just after the 4th of July weekend and then pulled it out of the field and brought it home July 11. It's honestly in awesome shape for being 45 years old and sitting in a field for the past 13 years. Rust wise it needs front floor pans, the hood has some issues in the front bottom lip, and the roof has some pinholes just above the windshield.

I rolled it off the tow truck and into the garage on the afternoon of the 11th and got to work right away. A group of friends all have classic cars/trucks and had previously planned (long before I knew about the truck) a get together for July 18th.......My goal was for the Dude to make the show. I looked it over, put a battery in it, and poured some gas down the carb and it fired right up. It needed the things you would expect after sitting for years like brakes, fuel hoses, fuel tank cleaned out, carburetor, and tires. I completely went through the brakes, fuel system, plus it needed a clutch, transmission, exhaust manifold, tune-up, starter, radiator, some work on the lights, and I had the seat recovered while it was out. The truck made it's first test drive on July 15th and it went on the 140 mile round trip car cruise on July 18th, 1 week to the day after it came out of the field, without any issues at all. We drove about 60 miles and stopped at a restaurant, then another 10 or so to a car show, and then back home. I got a ton of looks from people on the way and while at the car show....... some looks seemed to be "why would someone be driving an ugly old farmers truck", and other looks were more like "holy crap....I can't believe it".

My future plans for it is to drive it the way it is. I may put a couple coats of satin clear on it to seal everything the way it is, but I am not going to repaint it. A lot of the "cool factor" for me is that the truck is a survivor after all these years..... still complete, stock everything, straight body, original paint, minimal rust for it's age, etc. Forget the fact that it's a dude for a moment, how many old Sweptlines do you see in the first place.....out of those how many are in this decent shape and still all original? For those reasons, I don't want to "restore" it at the moment.

[Hobcobble]

Welcome to the site. Your Dude looks pretty well preserved for
having sat in a field all those years. I dig the idea of driving and using
it the way it is too.... That alone will save you $2000
John

[chief915]

More pictures....I did decide to repaint the roof black, not sure if that was the right choice or not.

The picture with it backed into the parking spot is at the car show on July 18th...... The guy with the corvette I am parked next to came over and moved his car to another spot shortly after I parked there. Guess no one wants to sit next to the ugly kid

[Hobcobble]

The guy with the corvette I am parked next to came over and moved his car to another spot shortly after I parked there. Guess no one wants to sit next to the ugly kid

More like he knew he was outclassed by that Dude!
John

[dodgeboykim]

The guy with the corvette I am parked next to came over and moved his car to another spot shortly after I parked there. Guess no one wants to sit next to the ugly kid

Good thing he moved his ugly Crapette. Devalues your truck.

[wally426ci]

Great story so far. You are extremely brave for that long trip and glad to see it worked out well.

I also like that you are not painting. You will be surprised to see how well that paint will clean up. I'd try a clay bar on it and then hand buff it and wax it last. Maybe paint the wheels? Mine started out in similar shape but doesn't truly need sheet metal right now. I opted to paint the hood and bumpers while keeping the rest of the body paint original. I don't know why the hoods on these get it the worst.....

and maybe drive by the farmers to show it to him!

[wally426ci]

Did you paint the roof or remove red primer? Looks different.

[soopernaut]

Did you paint the roof or remove red primer? Looks different.

....I did decide to repaint the roof black, not sure if that was the right choice or not.

[wally426ci]

Missed it!! I like it Black.

[Jim100]

Love this story and truck. I like the no paint plan also.
Good work!!
jim

[ufo]

Cool find. Does the other side have a intact rocker step too?

[EGroscup]

Nice to see another one that is appreciated as is. Well done.

[Hobcobble]

Looks like your pedal shaft could use a bit of lubrication maybe??
John

[chief915]

Great story so far. You are extremely brave for that long trip and glad to see it worked out well.

Well, my earlier statement may have been a little misleading..... I drove it around home Thursday and Friday, probably 75 miles total, to shake it down after all the repairs and see if anything else needed ironed out before the trip. Also, I had been through the truck mechanically from one end to the other and fixed everything that was broken, worn out, or out of adjustment so there wasn't a whole lot that could have fell apart on the cruise anyway.

and maybe drive by the farmers to show it to him!

He's seen it once since I've gotten it back on the road.... He was pretty impressed.... He stared at it for a couple minutes and then turned to me, smiled, and asked "do you want your money back"? Overall he was happy that I was doing something with it and that it was back on the road again.

[chief915]

Cool find. Does the other side have a intact rocker step too?

Yep, both the steps are good..... it does need front floor pans however.