1967 Dodge D-100 (Isaacs truck)

[drummerdad]

I didnt do much electrical this week. I had started looking into the cooling fan, and hit a couple of roadblocks. I think Im not getting a good enough ground when the coolant switch closes, which causes the relay to chatter. The battery voltage is good, and the wiring is also good. Ill look more into it this week. I might buy a 2-wire switch from GM and wire it in. That would give me a better looking connection anyway.

I managed to get the fenders on. For those who dont know; its way easier to install the fenders without tires, and with the radiator support loosened. I have tried it every way imaginable, maybe even a few ways you couldnt imagine. Removing the wheels makes it a ton easier.

I love the way the wheels are tucked in on the front. This is without the 1-1/2" spacers I have. These wheels are from my charger, and you can see the corrosion in the pictures, which is why I took them off. They were leaking pretty bad. Anyway, the wheel offset is 24 mm, or close to an inch. The wheels are 20 x 8 front, and 20 x 10 rear. Front tires are 255/20s and the rears are 275/20s. This is the problem with modern wheels; the offset. I could get a wheel with a negative 24mm offset, and move the wheel out almost 2 inches, but those are expensive. I could run a spacer, but I dont want to do that either. I think Im going to drive it like this and see how it works. Its also very low, I know. It has about 2 inches from the top of the tire to the inner fender, and with coilovers, it will settle after driving. This is also the lowest setting, so I can raise the truck about 1-1/2" I think in the front if needed. The good news is, these wheels fit over the spindle of the Mustang 2 hub, whereas the factory wheels did not. Also the tires are toed in and cambered quite a bit because I havent adjusted the suspension yet. It will get slightly better after I adjust everything and drive it.

So some visual progress this week. I have a bunch of things to mount, and wire still. I was hoping for good weather from here on out, but we woke up to about 3 inches of snow, so I guess I still have a few weeks of cold weather left.

Top left; I like it when the fender line cuts through the wheel like this. It may have to be raised though.
Top right; 3rd brake light. This little sucker is bright. I worry about the factory lights not being bright enough, even though I switched to LEDs.
Middle left; Inside 3rd brake light mount. Ill add rivnuts and replace those super long bolts with something shorter.
Middle right; Sitting nice and low. I love it, but it might be too much. We will see. I have some adjustments I can make.
Bottom left; The wheels are tucked in about 3 or 4 inches. Ill drive it and see how I like it. It might have to come out.
Bottom right; Inside the engine compartment. The wheels are tucked well up into the fender. I still have some things to bolt in.

[wfo guy]

If you can't get a jack under it when you have a flat tire, you are too low. I'm concerned about my 51 in that manner. :)

[drummerdad]

If you can't get a jack under it when you have a flat tire, you are too low. I'm concerned about my 51 in that manner. :)

I can get a jack under it, but I bet it wont go up a set of ramps. And I cant get under it while its on the ground, I have to jack it up to do anything. I added a 3/16 steel plate to the front cross member as a jack point, because the next cross member was really hard to get to. The rearend is also kinda far away from the rear of the truck, so I added the rear cross member with the hitch/jackpoint.

It would be cool to install a set of pneumatic jacks like the race cars have, but I wont always have access to air, and it seemed a bit much for this truck.

[Vimes]

You could always have access to air. A small electric or engine driven air pump and a small tank would be enough. Run hard line to each jack, put an air valve on, and run a small line to the side for an air hose connection and you'd be able to check and fill each tire with a 2ft hose kept behind the seat. Probably be about 20lbs added weight, no more than 30lbs.

An alternative to the pneumatic jack, Mercedes used to use a jack hole through the rocker panel as a jack point. Don't know if they still do. A 1-inch nut welded to the frame on all 4 corners, with a bolt long enough to stick out and high enough to slide a jack under would do the job. When not in use, they're covered with a plug since you'd likely have to drill a hole through the body if the truck sits too low to get a jack under. I don't think Mercedes uses a bolt, they just use a metal bar, but I'd rather use a bolt to control sliding when the jack point is in use.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2022/03/96989d1320059236w124custommadebracketjac-1.jpg

[drummerdad]

I plan to make an on board air system in the F100 when I build it, but itll be for shop air, not pneumatic jacks. That truck wont be as low either. I have an old york air compressor thatll work great as an air compressor. The "theme" of that truck will be a shop truck, so its going to have air, and some inverters for charging tools and stuff. I also plan on having a folding pneumatic hoist in the back that mounts to the hitch and allows me to lift heavy stuff into the bed.

On Isaacs truck, I added the jack points front and back so I should be good. I hope to set it on the ground in a week or two to see how low it actually is.

[drummerdad]

No pictures, because nothing really interesting has happened. I got the 3rd brake light mounted, but not wired. I got the driveshaft loop finished, but it needs paint. I filled the factory gas filler hole with a metal plug, but it needs some filler, and primer.

Most of my weekend was spent at work, where the paint shop supervisor is helping me get the dash ready for paint. I look forward to seeing this thing in the color we have picked for the truck, which is Viper GTS blue. The body work will take me a few years to get done Im afraid, but the dash will give us some motivation. And I figured it would be best to just go ahead and paint it before the installation. That will give me the next week or two to get the wiring done before the dash is ready to go in.

I feel like I am close to starting it again. It needs; brakes bled, oil lines made and installed, wiring on lights and the coolant fan (Ill go ahead and do the windshield wipers too) and I have to figure out something with the gas filler neck. Otherwise, its just a few days of installing things to make it drive-able. I hope to make that happen by summer.

[drummerdad]

I didnt get to do a lot last week, so I didnt post anything. I spent all day doing maintenance on my mower, and weedeater. Then we did the yard, so not a lot of progress on the truck.

This week I have tried to get some stuff done. I wired the 3rd brake light, and the fuel sender. And I made the park brake bracket, and finished bolting it in. Then I dropped the bed and hood in place, and set it on the ground to get an idea of how it will sit. The pictures are actual ride height on its springs,almost full weight so this is where itll be. It is at the lowest setting, so I can raise it if needed. Ill probably have to to be honest. I like it this low, and it is still higher than my car, but the shocks and springs will settle a little, so it might get lower. Plus the front tires are very close to rubbing on the inner fender well, on the top and inside.

To get the tires on, I swapped the spacers around. I was using 1-1/2" up front, and 2" in the rear to make the factory 20 inch Charger wheels work with the cobbled job that existed on the junk frame, They are 8" wide I think, and have a +24mm offset. These rear wheels are wider, so they are 10" (I cant remember the offset, its been too long), and the fronts are the factory size. To make everything work, I figured I could use the 1-1/2" spacers in the rear, and the 2" up front, which will make the wheel base the same front and back, at 70 inches. I dont like the spacers at all, and I have been looking for a way to eliminate them, but everything is expensive. They make custom offset wheels, that I can get in any width, any backspace (offset) and any lug spacing. They are beautiful also, but they are $1500...each. I dont know if Im prepared or even capable of paying $6k for wheels. So the spacers might have to stay.

Top left and right- Thats about where she will sit. Ill add the spacers up front and do an alignment, but thats it. Its right where I wanted it, with the fender well line running through the wheels. I think it looks good.
Bottom left- Park brake handle. I went with the Lokar in black. It works well, and looks good. Ill have to adjust everything a little more.
Bottom right-Park brake bracket. Please ignore the weld on the inside of the bracket. I put another on the outside and it looks better. Also, notice one of the cables are longer than the other. Ill have to get back into the brakes and check them out.

[Peanut1959]

If you can get in your driveway without any drama, I'd say the ride height is perfect!

[drummerdad]

I have been avoiding this part for awhile. I decided to do the suspension adjustments. Im glad they are done, but man what a pain. I fixed the caster and tow in issues, and added the spacers in the front. I also raised the front suspension about an inch I think. Its still plenty low, but maybe ill be able to turn it now.

I think the spacers are just too much in the front. The wheelbase matches at 74-1/2" front and back with the wheels on, but the front wheels look like they might rub the outer fender now. Im not going to change anything right now though. Im going to finish it, and drive it and see. A conversation with a friend the other day has me a little worried. Basically, the distance from the center of the lower ball joint to the center of the tire is about 6-1/2". This will cause the tire to "swipe" in a large arc, whereas its better if it pivots as close to the center line of the tire as possible. I know the modern cars set as much suspension inside the tire as possible, and it wasnt an issue in the early days. Plus this is still a Mustang 2 suspension with a spindle instead of a hub, so its essentially from the 70s. But a hitting a pothole or a bump with just one tire might make it act funny, Im just not sure. Ill drive it and see. I expect a heavy steering wheel when going slow, because I have a manual rack. The plan was to upgrade to power steering later anyway.

Either way, here are the pictures.

I wont be able to work on it much over the next two weeks. I have a very complicated delivery to make at work, and its going to take a bunch of time to get it all right and worked out.

[Vimes]

Here's some reading for you in your spare time over the next 2 weeks - might help you figure out what to do when you get back on the truck. Ranger Mike, the guy doing the writing, goes WAY in depth on suspension geometry and if this-then that kind of examples. I have the link saved for when I'm fine-tuning my own project.

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/race-car-suspension-class.326355/

[drummerdad]

Its been a few weeks. I had a very busy work schedule. Then I hurt my back, and had to take a few days off to let it heal. Im still not 100%, but Im back at it.
We are close to painting the dash. I filled it, and blocked it. Then they painted it with a high build primer. We will block it again, add more primer, then paint. I got the paint in, and it is gorgeous. Im not sure if I posted about it, but the dodge paint was expensive, like $200 a pint or something. Plus its a 2 stage, and needs other stuff that I dont understand, to make it work. We talked about it, and decided to go with a similar color. It should look good.

So today, I changed the oil, and filled the radiator, and got the filler neck installed. We will bleed the brakes this week, and Ill keep working on the wiring. I got the windshield wipers working...sort of. They came on, but didnt park. Then they just went wide open and wouldnt turn off. Im thinking the rheostat inside the switch failed, and is letting it go wide open. I dont need wipers to make it run, but Ill have to work on them. I also still need to get the radiator fan working. The instructions called for a paste for thread sealing, but I used tape. Ill get the paste and try again. If it doesnt work, Ill buy one of the GM switches which have 2 terminals. Thatll fix it.

So, its ready to start, again, but Im going to wait until I get the dash painted and the brakes bled before I start it.

And Im going to have to figure something out with the tailgate. Ill post pictures, but Im sure its a common problem. I had to finally drill the screws out. But the P.O did a horrible job on the body work back here. What I need is new bed end caps, and I plan on getting those later. But for now, I need a quick fix to get the tailgate on. Plus he cut the tabs at the top where the tailgate closes. I might just have to run a net for a tailgate for awhile.

Top left- I ended up drilling them out. I have better tailgate retainers from the parts truck
Top right- Easy out wouldnt touch them. They were stuck.
Bottom- Temporary filler neck. Itll work until I get the bed floor in.

[drummerdad]

Ive avoiding posting the last few weeks because I was trying to get something big done. Well, its done now so I can post.

I spent the last 2 or 3 weeks working on the dash. I only spent 2 or 3 hours a day on it, just whenever someone was in the paint shop to watch me. But, I welded it, I filled it, I blocked it, and sanded it. Our paint shop supervisor sprayed the paint. And it is beautiful. The pictures dont do it justice. This was the dash with the radio hole in it.

I spent yesterday trying to bleed the brakes, and couldnt get them. I have fluid at all 4 corners now, and only had a few minor leaks ( like an idiot, I installed the flex lines upside down at the front calipers. They have a bevel on the bottom I failed to see...oops), but I think I know the issue. The brake booster is also new, and intended for this truck, but I used spacers at the firewall. The rod isnt long enough, I think, and so the piston isnt getting pushed in as far as it needs to be. Ill remove the spacers, and try again.

I also fixed most of the wiring. I got the cooling fan working, the windshield wipers (with the factory variable switch) working, and all the extra lights. Now I just need to work out the turn signals and 4-ways.

I took a long weekend in hopes of getting the truck moving under its own power. I want the brakes working first, then we can start it and let the clutch out. I also wanted the dash in because of all of the switches and stuff, so now I have it.

Top left and right- Wiring and trans tunnel done for the most part. Still need to fix the brakes before installing the dash.
Bottom left- Dash and parts. Pictures dont do it justice.
Bottom right- the glovebox door. Thats a cloud reflection in the lower corner, not hand prints or smears.

[wfo guy]

Keep going. We don't always have time or money to do what we want. My comment is to try to do things good enough the 1st time that there is no redo. I have done entirely to many redos. :) When you build something from ground up, it's surprising how many hours it takes. :)

[drummerdad]

Thanks. Ive been through every phase on this one. Ive been wide open, burned out, out of money, out of time, out of patience....It been a struggle, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Worked my tail off today. On top of mowing the yard, I got the dash in, and put it all together, including a new glove box. I pushed it outside and started it up. Tried setting the idle and doing a few things, but the transmission is giving me a fit. I started a post on another forum about it, and hope someone confirms my suspisions. Basically there is no neutral, and I cant find 3rd or 4th. And when I put it in 1st or reverse, it just bogs the engine way down, and barely moves at all. Im thinking I got the shifter plate and fork in the wrong spot. Ill look into it.

As far as the fluids, no leaks in the fuel, or clutch. I have a tiny seepage at one of my intake manifold sensors, but I was expecting that. And then the brakes have a few leaks and the rod issue. I still havent dealt with them. I think I will next weekend when my wife can help.

Im posting a few more pictures. I havent mounted the doors, because I need better access for the brake booster. And the steering wheel looks like garbage. I hate it. It HAS to go. Looks cheap and its way too small.

Top left and right. Old dash made new. New glove box too. It looks amazing.
Bottom left and right. Its dirty, but a bath will have to wait. If you look, you can see the F100 patiently awaiting its turn. I hope to install the 5 speed this winter.

[drummerdad]

No pictures, but Im still working. I had to temporarily weld the tailgate on with some angle brackets. I hated doing that, but the bed end caps are toast, and there is easily a 1/2" of bondo back there, so I cant hurt it any more. And I didnt want to cut up the tailgate parts I do have to make a temporary fix. Ill replace the end caps when I have the bed rebuilt. Thats going to be expensive. But I also finished the wiring, I think. Everything is in and working, except the horn and I cant test the brake lights until my wife is here to help. I dont care about the horn for now, Im going to replace the steering wheel, and I can deal with it then. I still have to work on the brakes and the transmission issue, and bolt the bed and cab down. Its getting close though. Short of a setback, it might be ready in a week or two.

[drummerdad]

Well it moved under its own power today!

I still have a ton of work to do. Ill start with what I have done; bled the brakes again, fixed the shifter, had to rework the rear drum brakes, worked on the wiring at the column again, I set the timing at about 8 degrees BTDC, which seems to be where it likes to be, and we hung the doors and washed it after we got it outside.

Problems;
1) The cheap ebay tilt column probably has to go. The switches are iffy, and I cant seem to make everything work at the same time. I can get brake lights and blinkers, but no 4-way, or the 4-way works but there are no blinkers. And sometimes the 4-way switch doesnt stop the flashers.
2) No Brakes still. I have fluid at all 4 corners, I removed the spacers, I even tried after it was cranked, but they got worse with the vacuum booster somehow. Ill have to really dig now.
3) My throttle cable is too short. This should be an easy fix. I have adjustments at both ends. Its idling high still, but the choke is also interfering, so Ill adjust that as well.
4) The fenders are interfering with the doors opening. There is a captive nut that holds the fenders at the front of the door, and both fenders are rusted through there. The passenger door hangs up on the fender.
5) Exhaust leaks. I think its at the header. I might also have a bad miss, Ill have to look into it further.
6) Water gets in when it gets wet. Im sure its coming in at the cowl at the base of the windshield.
7) The clutch releases way at the top. Im sure I can adjust it. It might need to be bled again.
8) The thermostat didnt appear to open at all. I waited until about 200 degrees and shut it off. The fan works though.
9) The park brake doesnt seem to work either. I mean, it appears to make the truck harder to push when its on, but it wont stop the truck from rolling downhill.
10) The gauges I bought have adjustable high and low warning lights, and I got them a little wrong. Its an easy fix, they are programmable, or I can turn them off.

The good news is I only have a tiny leak in the heater line, at the AN bulkhead fitting, so a good tightening should fix it. No oil, or fuel leaks. The brakes have a few leaks too, but I have much bigger problems to worry about with the brakes. And there is a ticking from the right side of the engine, and some white smoke on that side. Im thinking it might have a bad lifter, or the valves (lash) need adjustment.

Overall, Im happy. I still have things to fix, but it is working and running, and I can attack these problems one at a time and get through them. I love how it looks, so I just need to make it work better.

I couldnt have done it without all the good information on This and other forums. Thank you all.

[wfo guy]

The cooling system maybe air locked. See if you can bleed something from behind the thermostat. Look at your door gaps and see if you are tight at the front and loose at the rear. If that is not the case, you will need to move the fenders either forward or inward. Lay a straight edge across the door and fender and see if one is farther outward than the other. Many things can be problems with brakes. Have you bled the master cylinder? Is the push rod coming all of the way back when the pedal is released to allow fluid back into the master? Is the rod from the master to the booster set correctly? Any place that will allow air into the system when the pedal is released will cause it to not function. I think plum crazy purple would be a good color for that truck. :)

[drummerdad]

The cooling system maybe air locked. See if you can bleed something from behind the thermostat. Look at your door gaps and see if you are tight at the front and loose at the rear. If that is not the case, you will need to move the fenders either forward or inward. Lay a straight edge across the door and fender and see if one is farther outward than the other. Many things can be problems with brakes. Have you bled the master cylinder? Is the push rod coming all of the way back when the pedal is released to allow fluid back into the master? Is the rod from the master to the booster set correctly? Any place that will allow air into the system when the pedal is released will cause it to not function. I think plum crazy purple would be a good color for that truck. :)

Thanks. I didnt want to make a post a mile long, so I just skipped some things.
The thermostat was old, Ill just replace it with a 180 degree anyway. Ill watch for airlock along the way. It might be a 195 now, Im not sure.
I know the hood, doors and fenders are all WAY off. I didnt spend much time on it, because the rust is bad. The cab is not level, and needs to be about an inch higher. Ill fix these things as we work the body. It has tons of issues.

On the brakes, I did check the rod for the booster and removed the spacers, but that didnt seem to help. Its supposed to be a 4:1 ratio (according to the install instructions), and I did the math and measurements, and it was. I will revisit this, and check. Im thinking this is the problem; the rod still isnt going in far enough. Ill have to use one of the longer rods, or re-drill the pedal to increase the ratio. I bench bleed the master cylinder also.

The brake pedal feels normal-ish, in that it goes down and gets firm at the bottom. If anything it feels like it catches low. The pedal stops at about 2" off the floor. When I open any of the bleeders, the pedal doesnt move, and a stream of fluid pours out. Its not under pressure like I would expect, and there is no air. In desperation, I did jack the front of the truck up, and spun the tire, and my wife hit the brakes, and there seems to be movement of the brake cylinders, because the wheel stopped. But I could still move the wheel a little, and when I took the rear apart, I could see the cylinders moving also.

Its moving fluid, its just not enough. I have asked a friend to help me over the next week or two and we will see if we come up with anything.

[drummerdad]

Finally made a trip around the block. The brakes are still not good, but it stops. Im not comfortable taking it into traffic, but it went down our residential road. I have some things I noticed;

1) The thermostat does open. It appears to be a 195 degree thermostat. The fan kicks on, and keeps it at about 195. I think thats a little hot, so Ill get a 180 degree thermostat instead.
2) The steering is practically useless. I can barely even make a turn and it takes a lot of effort. Im going to have to install a power rack and a power steering unit. No questions on that. Its borderline undriveable. But no wheels rubbing!
3) I mentioned before the steering column has to go because of crappy switches. Im going to get a 30" unit, instead of this 28" unit. And iIll get a 15" steering wheel to replace this pathetically cheap 14" one. The reach to the steering wheel is a bit too much, and the tilt feature is useless with the column at this angle with the 2" drop mount. It will be hard to explain here, but this seems to be the way I need to go.
4) The brakes are better, but still not enough. The issue was the rod wasnt going into the master cylinder enough. We removed a few spacers, and it still wasnt doing anything. We removed the master from the booster, and the rod in between was about 1-1/2" too short. I sacrificed a screwdriver and made a rod, and it seems to work... a little. I bought a hardened stainless bolt (so I have adjustment) that Ill make into a rod, but they still dont work the best. There are leaks too. The front wheel cylinders, the master , and the combo valve all have leaks, so Ill work on them.
5) The gas tank will need a vent. I guess where it gets hot in the sun it swells. I plan on covering it, but it will need one. I went to remove the cap, and it had some serious pressure. After sitting in the garage for a few hours, no pressure, so its all good now. It just needs a vent.
6) While driving it, I slowed down and tried to down shift from 2nd to 1st, and it was nothing but grinding. Is the NP435 unsynchronized? I cant get fast enough to try the 3-2 shift. I had to completely stop to shift into 1st. This is the granny first gear transmission, but that might not work. Ill have to look into that. I might have to get another transmission.

Im super happy. My wife even moved the truck back a forth a few times. I have a long list of things to fix, and Ill be working on those throughout the year. If I can get the brakes working well, Ill start driving it to work and local shows and hangouts.

[Dodge383fi]

That’s cool. Forward progress. Yes, the 435 is NOT synchro. Need to pretty much stop to shift into 1st. A lot of people don’t even use 1st in those transmissions unless hauling a load.
-Ed

[drummerdad]

That’s cool. Forward progress. Yes, the 435 is NOT synchro. Need to pretty much stop to shift into 1st. A lot of people don’t even use 1st in those transmissions unless hauling a load.
-Ed

Thank you. I have had that confirmed on another forum as well. First is not synchronized, but 2nd, 3rd and 4th are. I guess I can worry about brakes now.

[drummerdad]

Success! Finally!

After looking and searching and scratching our heads, I got a call from Preston, the friend who helped me look at the brakes. The truck seemed to not have front brakes at all, and using the line lock proved that, but we didnt know why. He asked me a very simple question; are the bleeders on the front calipers on top, or on bottom? This seems pretty easy, and I admit I cant believe I missed it. Im chalking it up to being in a rush, and Ive never done anything this in-depth on a car. Simple rookie mistake, but Ill take it. I remade the rod that goes between the booster and the master cylinder, and tightened all the lines again. After swapping the calipers, my daughter helped me bleed the brakes and now they work.

Still have a ton of work to do, but she runs good enough I can start venturing out into traffic and getting used to it. Ill get a plate next week and might even drive it to work one day. Woohoo.


Left; Bleeders on top now. Oops.
Right; The rod it came with and the one I made. Big difference. It would have never worked.

[wfo guy]

Good news. :)