New guy with dodge rv seeking knowledge

[EnglandStGarage]

Hello every body,

New guy here looking to gain some knowledge.

I recently purchased an old RV to restore and customize. It's a 1970 Dodge Starcraft powered by a 318. They only made 12 of these and I cannot find any info on this. I'm new to Dodge/Mopar and this is my first RV. I usually stick to building old Harley's and I was a Toyota and Porsche tech in my late teens-mid 20's. So I am pretty mechanically inclined but I could definitely use some help from die hard Mopar guys.

I believe the chassis is on a W200 or 300?? Still trying to figure it out by comparing pics online.

It has dual rear wheels and leaf suspension all around.

My biggest problem at the moment is finding wheels that will fit 5/8 lugs and getting away from these split rims. I talked to one guy who owns one and he said he got some steel rims off a 02 ram 3500 and drilled the lugs to 5/8. Does that sound safe to you guys? I believe the lug nuts are tapered. He also mentioned that the lugs on the drivers side are reversed thread. Does this make sense to anybody?

If anyone out there is familiar with these or can point me in the right direction as far as some cheap wheel replacements or solutions it would be much appreciated!!

I hope I'm in the right place. All the RV forums are full of $100k+ hotels on wheels.

I'm just trying to build a cool hot rod surf bus and thought this might be the spot where I belong.

And now for some pics:

[Sprinter]

I really like that party bus. That would be the perfect tailgating rig. You have definitely come to the right place for information. There is an amazing amount of help and inspiration from the people on this site. I'll let someone else answer your question on which wheels you need. As far as the left hand threads on the left wheels, that is correct. A lot of people get rid of them when they are doing work or changing axles/ drums. I myself enjoy watching the poor tire guys struggle to get them off, but then, I do amuse quite easily. The chassis is probably a D series. W series is four wheel drive, D series is two wheel drive. There are quite a few good RV web sites to help with the coach.

[dodgeboykim]

Guessing that rig has 8 bolt rims. 3500 rims from 1994 forward are hub centered and the ones you have now are lug nut centered. Drilling out the holes in the 94 and up may work as long as the holes are angled for lug nuts. Have you checked if rims are available new from rim suppliers. Possibly from a truck repair facility.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

It is definitely a D300 chassis. It has a 69-71 instrument cluster, a pre 69 steering wheel, column and shifter. Looks like 8 lugs (hard to see), if so they are 69-71 axles. If u drill out later rims, simply get a a 90 degree counter sink and bevel the holes to accept the tapered lug nuts for centering. Simple, easy, done! I think I have at least 4 of the 8-lug non split rim dually wheels in my yard, on one of those axles. Would sell it all.
Now getting drums - that's a whole 'nother deal...

[soopernaut]

Find the plate with the VIN on it. It will tell you if you have a M300 chassis or larger. It is not a 200. M is motorhome and D would be 2wd truck. The M and D may be very similar but the M was specially built just for motorhomes. The wheel studs should have a L on the end of them if they are left handed. They could have been changed, but being that is a low mileage vehicle, they probably haven't.

[EnglandStGarage]

I definitely came to the right place.

You guys answered all my questions in 4 replies.

This is awesome. Can't thank you guys enough. I will start a build thread so you guys can keep up with the progress.

[my5thmopar]

There are some vintage RV sites on the web. One is goodoldrvs but, I don't know how active it is. I looked in my 1970 Discover America in a Dodge book. It says 5 wheel bases and states chassis are especially designed for motor homes. Your chassis looks like the others in the brochure. There are 11 brands in the book but, not StarCraft. I'm guessing that's because StarCraft was so brand protective. The book says Dodge builds chassis for nations leading body builders. It is a cool RV. Good luck with your project.

[712edf]

Go here:

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/Pages_ ... coder.html

I hope there is something of use for you there.

Bucky

[PwrWgnDrvr]

I've got at least 8 16" coined dually rims, with tires, on 2 axles. Looks like there are 2 front drums also.

[digdoug]

Any dodge 300 or350 series 8 lug wheel up to 1993 will bolt up without modification. There are a bunch of 89-93 dodge trucks being parted out as people are after the 5.9 litre 6bt Cummins engine residing in them. These wheels can be had for $50 each in a 16" one piece wheel all day long.
That is a nice looking machine!

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Are they coined Doug?

[digdoug]

Yes. 93 was the last year Dodge used coined wheels. In 94 they went to the hub centric flat mount wheel with smaller studs.

[Kaegi]

that is a great looking RV!. left hand threads were used on lots of trucks for decades. nothing wrong with it. even cars had them until the early 70s on mopars. I think its a total waste of time and money to change the our to right hand thread. any good truck tire shop will se the L on the end of the stud. if worried about it just tell them when you bring it in. all the studs and nuts are still made. not a rare feature. I think Ford super dutys ran left hand on the rear axle well into the 80s. Medium duty trucks even longer.

[66patrick]

Diggin' that RV! Are you going to gut it completely for a full remodel, or take care of things that just need attending to? You have an "M"-series chassis, more than likely. The "M" motorhome frames are very flat along the top of the rails, unlike the pickups, which definitely are NOT flat! Other than that, I'm 97.4% sure the D300 trucks share most of the suspension components.

[EnglandStGarage]

Been busy guys.

I bought a carb off craigslist and she runs a way better than when I got her.

Scored some Alcoa aluminum wheels and new tires on Craigslist as well. They were pretty crusty when I got them. About 5 hours of buffing and polishing and they are looking pretty good.

My taillights and brake lights are now working. Thanks to whoever "rewired" them in ONLY red wires. They also never used solder or a even 1 connector. Literally just twisted wires covered in electrical tape.

I also got all my furniture in. Its temporarily screwed down at the moment. I will do flooring next.
It goes in the shop this week to replace the old sagging leaf springs.

I finally took it to the beach with some friends and went surfing. I got stopped 3 times by different people wondering what the heck it is.

[712edf]

Good Job!

Bucky

[digdoug]

The toaster is looking good!

[riffraff]

Great looking rig!

You might look through the 1969 brochures I scanned for download, specifically the RV one. Might give you some insight into available options, etc.

1969 Sweptline brochure scans for download:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=37948

[66patrick]

"The Toaster"...your rig now has a name! Damn, I like that!!!

[dodgeboykim]

Very cool looking old RV. Never seen one like that before up in my neck of the woods.