(Chuck66) 1966 d200 military utiline rebuild

[Chuck66]

OK so last few busy days...

The frame is now done, except for little things. But the painting is done. So next is to get the cab out of the shop and on the frame.

So the center already has a coat of silver POR on it, and now time to get all coated..

Thats the first coat of POR 15 going on.

OK so this is after 2 coats of POR, one coat primer, and the 2 coats of Commercial Coatings gloss black...
Should be rust proof for a bit i hope.

So we took it off its dolly and put it back on the lift. First time it has been right side up for a year. Oh and funny bit after almost a year and being moved ALOT in the shop.... as we go to put it on the lift all the little wheels gave out and we had to drag it. they all just cracked and broke. not realy meant for the weight,...

Is it done? hck no, but it is on the frame and attached. The engine is 90% built and 90% painted... going to try and install it next week I hope.

[wally426ci]

Looking great!! What color is it going to be?

[Chuck66]

I have not decided yet.. It is going to be while.. Once i get it mobile it is going to sit for a few months as we build up a bit more cash in the truck fund.

[Chuck66]

A bit more progress...

The engine is painted...

Yes colors are mopar, but not right for engine.
The wife tolerates darn near anything and does not ask much so she wanted those colors I said SURE!!!

Painted engine is in frame...

Nothing is really tied down yet, the cab still needs to get in the exact spot and I had to find some hockypucks as cab mount washers.

But it is in, still need to add the clutch and finish the wiring and little things.

A shower curtain makes an awesome tarp and people do not keep taking it off to look underneath..

List left till we touch it off is, clutch, tiny bit wireing, fuel line from tank, and tighten everything down. Oh yea add starter in too...

[wally426ci]

You are making good progress! But Blue head on Orange block??

[Oldguy]

Hey, if that's what the wife wants, that's what the wife gets! I have a grey glove box lid in the middle of my black dash because that's what the wife wanted. If you've got a good one, you cater to them!!! LOL Mike

[peet]

Hallo,
I just read the whole built
If i may ask, what do you do for a living?, are you
doing something in the auto trade?
i would not be surprised if you do something like
brain transplants as a hobby, just to relax a bit,
now and then
Although i don't know when that would happen,(2 in the
morning? )
If all old car people were like you, the auto industry
would take one hell of a knock, and you would only see
real cars on the roads

Well done, you make me feel ashamed for being so
slack

Regards,
Peet

[Chuck66]

OK well I guess I should update...

The engine is running, but not tuned yet. The rad had a few big holes so waiting till it is repaired. Would love to replace with new but best price so far is over 500$ and that is just insane.
Brakes and fuel lines are done, but not right. I am planning on redoing both with Nickel, but it was out of stock everywhere so I just slapped crap lines in for now. And well it can wait till I get it home, a pretty easy job to do.

Do have a few issues, not huge ones but issues. First of is the Emergency brake. Somehow I neglected to take pictures of it well, and since it is all new steel.... I have no idea exactly where it should be mounted, thinking of being radical and putting it on the transmission hump, but prob should go close to where is belongs. Anyone have a truck close... and a few of you do, I would love a few pics of where it is mounted and where it goes through the firewall.
the other thing that kinda is pissing me off is I am missing a piece. The cover over the flywheel/clutch that bolts on to the bell housing bottom is just gone. Either I never had one (????) or it got stuck in scrap and used for something else. Anyone got one to fit a 225? I can make on but if anyone has one in a spare parts bin let me know.

Had a heck of a time starting it first time and was both surprised and not... with a complete rebuild, including carb and Dist and well everything basically new I figured I had screwed up, but turns out after 10 mins of troubleshooting a bad starter relay.. a bad brand new one. Arrggg. Luckily had the old one in a pile and prob solved for now. Annoying when brand new parts are junk. Other than that is fired right up. Can not wait till we stick the rad back on and can let it run for more than a minute.

[beastman]

nice job on the floor pans. i got the same ones a while back and are a giant pain. definatly not worth the money. i would of made my own if i new what they were. but still awesome job.

[Chuck66]

Well my radiator turned out to be complete junk. Closest price i could find for a core rebuild was 500$ so I got pissed and went searching. Found something close that no one has a clue what it went to, but was a dodge and stuck that in. Handy to have a plasma cutter and welders to make a bracket in 5 mins or less.... Pretty sure it is from a 318 but it was not the best thing in the world. Fixed 6-7 big leaks and still has a few small ones but it mostly holds water....
But it still is no where near right so I just got lucky and scored a 1966 318 rad off ebay for 50$ including shipping.. If it is as tight as they say I will pull out the no clue (but I think it is a 318 in it now) and put this in. From the asking around and searching a 318 rad that holds water has to be worth far more than 50$ so I am happy.

Still lost on my emergency brake, no clue how I never got a pic of it.. But the gas tank is in, the seat is mostly in and I let it run for 45 min and tinkered and it is doing good. Still not chargeing, but that is prob a simple fix, just didnt get it going till midnight and decided troubleshooting was not worth the effort at that point.Has to be a simple fix cause everything is new cept the fuse box...

[Chuck66]

Well a major frustrating week.
For the last week or two my truck has had to be put outside, space issues at the shop. So I was putting it together quick... real quick as is to get it home to my garage till time was avail and space.

And I had it about ready to come home. not looking good at all but ready to drive, and then, poof, space issues went away and now it is back inside and I am taking off, again, all that i had just put on... ARRGGG... But a good arrggg.

So this weeks jobs... Redid the rear brakes, they had 1/8 inch of sandblaster sand coating them, was badly needed. Also replaced the seals while axles were off. New shoes, springs and well, everything but hubs.

Finally tied down the cab. Ended up using a combination of the rubber I bought a while ago and some hockey pucks. Thinks is good, might have to fine tune it a bit but it is about right. Hard to get perfect when the frame is a bit lower on drivers side... that fix soon.

Wired the lights up, the rear just dead ends till I stick the bed on but the wires are in place and ready. Got the front all rewired and then added 2 horns and got them all set and then, literally 3 hours later drove it inside and parked it and took the nose off, removing all that was wired. Really glad I used plugs not just hardwired everything.

Had to remove my fuse box and sand blast it, was just so much rust it was nasty... But now it is nice and clean and as of now everything is working. While I was at it I replaced all the lighbulbs in the dash, for the small price of a box of bulbs well worth not opening it up again soon.

So now I have finally started on the body work and interior.. Body work is already driving me nuts... One of the first things I put on I now have to take off, did a poor job so fine, but arrggg...

As you can see the piece angles down, and well, it is IN there. But no problem, 7 welders and a plasma cutter, I will get it straight. Also got the hood to get about flat on the cab, but it is still way forward, almost 1/2 inch and I can not get it to move in... that is going to need more work.

Anyways, progress and now we are finally thinking of colors... Cause I can almost see paint booth time coming up...

[Oldguy]

Ah, come on, admit it, you're having fun! Looking good. Mike

[PatS]

I just found your thread...great job of saving a rust bucket!!!
You could make a few bucks fabbing up those front body mounts...I would take a set
Or maybe a set of templates for us not as equipped for that.

I'll be sure to check in on your progress often.

Good pictures and good explanations, very well done!!!
Thanks alot for sharing

[Kneeco]

I have a 66 D200 I'm working on if you need pics of emergency brake. Let me know what shots you need and I'll take them and post tomorrow after work.

[Chuck66]

Would love some of where it attaches and where it goes through firewall. No old bold holes, its new steel and guess i forgot to mark it.. duh