New Sweptline Owner

[JohnnySLC]

Hey All, I am the proud new owner of a 1963 D100 w/318 ci V8 with 77,000 original miles! It's great to see so much info in one place and I hope I can contribute in the future. I have some work to do in order to make her road worthy, mainly: get turn signals operational and fix her rough idle (she wants to die at idle). I was able to make it the short trip home after buying a new battery and replacing the plugs but now the real fun begins. I'm stoked to get going and any resources/info would be greatly appreiated. I'm wondering where to start, everything looks old/original so any tips on where to begin would be helpful.

[behindthebadge]

Welcome and look forward to seeing and hearing more about your truck. On my truck, which had sat for a number of years, the first few things I did was "tune-up" stuff. Plugs, plug wires, changed points to Pertronix set up, new cap, belt, hoses, carb rebuild, battery, battery cables, etc, etc etc... Oh, also took the radiator out to a radiator shop to be cleaned and leak tested.

I guess the main thing is (if you plan to keep the truck and enjoy it) is to go slow and enjoy the process. I am finding there is no end to the things I'd like to do to my truck, but as always, money and other priorites of life slow me down.

Pictures are always a big plus on this forum - so share 'em if ya got 'em!

Thanks, and good luck,

Randall

[Jims68]

to the forums!! Ask any questions you want as guys here are always willing to help out! You may want to check out the Restoration CD I made. Click on the globe under my avatar, and/or you can PM me for info.

Just remember to have fun with your truck!

Jim

[Txas2step]

, you will find a home here. Great people and lot's of valuable information. I would suggest you look on line for a factory service manual for your year.Chris.

[Hobcobble]

Welcome to the forum! There are a bunch
of folks here who can help you out.
John

[mopardwh]

to the forum!! Start with compression test, tune up, check timing, etc. Let us know how it goes.

[vroc4507]

Welcome aboard! I'm very new to the group also, but I can tell you there are some great folks on this board and tons of useful info! I bought my '66 with just short of 62k miles on her.

truck speedo 2.jpg (42.44 KiB) Viewed 785 times

Fortunately for me there don't seem to be a lot of vintage dodge truck enthusiasts in my area. I found her sitting about 55 miles from home and drove it home that same evening. She ran but I took it real slow, (like 45 to 50 mph) all the way home. The tires scared the heck outa me and the king pins were toast so it was like trying to herd a buffalo down the road. I made it home safe and sound but the very next time I drove it fuel filter plugged solid. I stopped at walmart and bought a half dozen filters to keep in the truck with me. After 3 filters and ruining the fuel pump I figured it was time to clean up the tank. I boiled it out, resealed it and life is good again.

I also did pretty much the same things that the others have listed, carb rebuild, plugs, points, cap, rotor, belt, hoses, as well as shocks, king pins, and all steering linkage parts. She runs like a top now! Next on the list will be brakes but she stops okay for now.

Good luck with it and mostly, enjoy!

[PwrWgnDrvr]

What makes u guys think the odometers have not turned over?
EVERY new swepty owner shows up here and claims their truck has just XX,XXX "original" miles when they get it. Yet they always beaters that have not been running for years. Who would park a truck and leave it unused if it was that new? Unless u have a mileage log documenting use since new, u really cant tell how many miles are on a truck.
U can't have beat to hell kingpins and have less than 100,000 miles on the truck....

[Txas2step]

What makes u guys think the odometers have not turned over?
EVERY new swepty owner shows up here and claims their truck has just XX,XXX "original" miles when they get it. Yet they always beaters that have not been running for years. Who would park a truck and leave it unused if it was that new? Unless u have a mileage log documenting use since new, u really cant tell how many miles are on a truck.
U can't have beat to hell kingpins and have less than 100,000 miles on the truck....

Come on Terry...they may have driven over this for many years.

[1965w200crew]

Nice to see someone else from Salt Lake!

[JohnnySLC]

Thanks for the welcome guys, I super stoked to be here! Plugs, fuel line/filter, and new fluids and shes running great! Now for the wiring

[Papac3]

I have a 62 with only 64,000 miles the king pins are trashed from driving country roads, corn fields, etc. It was my father in laws farm truck and was parked for several years after he pasted away.

[soopernaut]

What makes u guys think the odometers have not turned over?
EVERY new swepty owner shows up here and claims their truck has just XX,XXX "original" miles when they get it. Yet they always beaters that have not been running for years. Who would park a truck and leave it unused if it was that new? Unless u have a mileage log documenting use since new, u really cant tell how many miles are on a truck.
U can't have beat to hell kingpins and have less than 100,000 miles on the truck....

When these trucks were new they were rarely used as daily drivers and people didn't drive as much as they do now. Now, a car or truck with 200,000 miles on it doesn't seem that unusual but back when many of these were replaced or parked it was unusual. The 66 above would look nowhere near as good as it does with 162,000 miles on it. Anything that came from an area with salted roads rusted. Engines wore out faster without overdrive transmissions. I figure there are very few sweptlines that survive today with over 150,000 miles on them.

I had a 68 with 89,000 on it. It belonged to one owner from 68 until the 90s and was pretty much all original. I figure the original owner took pretty good care of it, keeping at long as he did. Eventually it was parked in a barn. Before I got it, it was rusting, especially the rocker panels and they had already been replaced once before. They paint was fading badly and worn through in many spots. It had a transmission overhaul, new king pins, new brakes all the way around and none of this stuff lasted for 100,000 miles.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

I bought my first swept in 78. It is a 70 W200. I bought it at a GSA auction for $2352 and it was a USFS truck. It had 64,000 miles. It was driven off road, by govt employees. It has the lighter duty 3000# front axle, which has brass bushing kingpins. It was NOT worn out until several yrs and many miles later. As a W200 it was not babied on paved roads. I personally have turned the odometer over twice in that truck.
I do not agree with the idea that swepts were babied and driven lightly back in the day. MOST were used as work trucks. The few that were babied, were never left to rot in a field with low miles.
That all being said, unless u can document the miles on a truck, there is no way to prove the actual miles on a beater.

[WD]

Sure there is... just say "Too f'n many"...

Mine was a farm truck, woods truck and 'shine hauler before I got it. Had tons of receipts in it when I bought it. Under 100K on it and it was flat out beat to pieces. Except for the whiskey tank, a dummy saddle tank with fake fuel lines and fake transfer switch, the switch actually was the drain control.

My 49 Dodge truck has been around the clock a few times, was parked in 1974 when it was ready for engine #3. Been in the family since new, my Dad says that the truck had 338K miles on it when it was retired. It is in considerably better shape than my 69 D100 with 1/3 the miles on it.

[RussRoth]

Terry,

I had a '68 D100 with less than 32,000 miles on it. Service documents, hand written notes and other receipts with dates/mileage to prove it and when I bought it from the original owners niece and her husband it turns out I knew her uncle. He was the Fire Department Chief when I was first hired. I put about 20,000 miles on it before I used it for the greater good. That would be my W200.

[behindthebadge]

I tend to agree with the idea that IF one of these trucks survives today - largely unaltered from stock and shows low mileage - it is probably the truth. I have docs on my truck back to day one and on up through the years - service records - registration cards, etc. etc. I can't account for EVERY mile, but it seems unlikely that mine was 155,xxx. The man I bought it from picked it up from the local Dodge dealer on Octoberber 16, 1967 and I have the dealership paperwork to prove that. Based on what he told me, the truck never went more than 50 miles from home. It was finally retired from the family run "Mom and Pop" grocery business - not because anything was particularly wrong with it - and replaced by a newer vehicle. Old Dodge trucks in the early 80s were not worth anything as a trade-in, so the old truck just sat around mostly, sometimes used as a hunting / fishing truck, but that's about all.

Typical story - the man had hoped his grandson would want to "fix up" the old truck, but he was not interested. Finally the wife said, "Fix it -or- sell it".

I just happend to be the "next sucker" coming down the road so to speak....

So, I say all that to say - I guess I can't PROVE it in a court of law, but I believe the truck really is a 55,000 mile truck. It makes me feel better and makes for a better story....

[PwrWgnDrvr]

But it wasn't beat, worn out and rotted, was it....

[JohnnySLC]

Terry, I know the history of my truck as it was a wedding gift from my best man, who's family were the original owner's. It was used as a grocery getter for many years, thankfully the grocery store is just down the block. There are also dealer service records backing up the mileage. At the end of the day though I could care less, it was free and it's a project that my bro and I can work on together for one reason:FUN!!!! Relax dude, I may be a new Sweptline owner but I've been a car enthusiast most of my life and own other vehicles, I'm not a moron

[wally426ci]

You couldn't care less