The old 228

Well with a ton of effort and help I have the donor engine in my garage. And basic tear down has begun.

The pistons are .040 over sized so I'm not sure if that was a rebuild or factory decision? I'm guessing a rebuild took place at some point in the engine's history.

Keeping focused and staying on budget.

Like any project you need to have clearly defined goals and I've come up with a few. I'm keeping the patina look as much as possible. The power will be a flat head 6 slightly up graded with electronic ignition, modern carb, split exhaust and after market intake. Interior is getting completely done retaining the original bench seat and gauges. Transmission is likely going to be the T5 swap and a modern differential from a Jeep or suitable donor will be added. The front end is going to be updated using the Fatman Mustang II kit complete with front disc brakes. On near horizon is glass and weather stripping for the whole truck. Lots more grinding, buffing and Por15 painting.

Some history uncovered

I was looking at the driver's door in the harsh daytime light and I could see faint indications of some sort of painted sign on my truck. In the picture below I can see the word "Vegreville". Which makes since because Mundare is very close to Vegreville and the farm where I purchased the truck was only 10 miles or so away from Vegreville.

Rusty Roads

I think I shall call my truck Rusty Roads after all Rusty can still be considered a women's name... I still believe ships and storms should have a woman's name. Call me old fashioned it just seems more apropos.

Wood panels completed for truck bed.

Today we managed to get the truck box out of my garage and back on the truck again with the help of my family. At that point I could start test fitting the deck. Much to my surprise it fit nicely without any adjustments.

Wood preparations

In keeping with the family story line of this rod build my wife applied the varnish to the floor boards. Once they dry we will attempt to put the refinished pieces back together.

The red oak really came alive with the first coat of varnish. I can't wait to see how the finished product will look.

Frame & box preparation

I've been working my grinder pretty hard the last few days and the truck is starting to look happier.

The picture don't illustrate that I've subsequently removed the ratty old exhaust. Now I start the hunt for a new fuel tank and when the rebuilt 228 is installed I'll put on the new exhaust system. I'm fairly convinced that I will use the stock fuel tank position, but many builders move the tank away from the cab area at place it near the end of the bed between cross members. That position would seem to be good safety and weight distribution.

Getting parts from the donor truck.

Today I pulled the front clip off the 1950 1 ton. It was surprisingly easy to do considering how old the truck is.

Planks are milled and finishing will begin in a few days.

Box wood replacement is a lot of work but, the cost savings are in the order of $1000.00. I got a great deal on the planks and I had Vance @ Fine Wood Working thickness plane the planks down to the required 3/4". As I said, my Dad is providing the expertise on the board preparation. Thanks to his efforts the boards are now cut straight and true at the desired widths. The remaining tasks are cutting the boards to length, routing some small rabbits for the slide strips that will remain rough 1/16" proud of the board surface to reduce wear. Once that is done I've got to punch all the holes, test mount the boards and then remove it all for finishing.

The wood floor is in fabrication.

I lucked out and found a surplus lot of red oak planks. The are beautiful old wood recovered by Windsor Plywood. Also they were on sale so everything was in my favor. Doesn't hurt to have a retired carpenter as your Dad either.

The box is off.

Today I managed to get the box off the truck with the help of my family, really my sister, brother in-law and two nephews. It's great to have free labor at your beck and call.

My dad and I are going to custom mill some rough red oak into the floor boards for truck. It's so great to have so much family help in the project.

Adding a parts truck to the mix

I found and purchased a 1950 Fargo just before the owner had it crushed for scrap. I hope a bunch of parts will be inter-changeable with my 1951. My research indicates they should be, I just hope the 60+ year old information is accurate.

The doors, some of the trim and hood seem to measure up correctly. In addition, now I have another engine (228) and the option of a 4 speed transmission. I really hope I can reuse a ton of stuff off the donor truck.

My engine won't turn but, no need to panic yet.

My friend Siegfried the super mechanic looked over my truck and discovered lots of positive points about my truck. He also wasn't shy about telling how work it will be. In prepartion of his visit he had me do a few things before he arrived. I removed the spark plugs and put a few ounces of Dexron III in each cylinder to aid freeing up any frozen pistons. I also did a major clean up of the cab that had been mouse central for many years it was gross! Dust mask, gloves and elbow grease solved the problem.

Once Sieggy arrived we did a general inspection and then we tried to turn the old girl over, she wasn't having any of it. The little flat head 6 was locked in position. In order to learn more about the engines prognosis I have to do a cylinder head removal and send pictures to Sieggy. Too bad I had hoped I might be able to do minimal service to get the 218 purring.

The plan

I love the look of my truck, the patina was earned the hard way and it is a thing of beauty. Unfortunately the rust has weakened both doors around the bottom and the fenders at the mounting points those repairs will have to be done. The required work will cause the patina to be destroyed by new patches and welding. I am searching for replacement doors and fenders but, they would alter the trucks patina as well. The overall plan is to preserve the patina as much as possible and get the old girl running in stock form. If the stock drive train is too far gone then the project really might change but, for now it's far cheaper to get the truck running under it's original systems.

In addition the wood in the box is completely rotted out. My father has signed on to repair the wooden box floor as a retired carpenter / cabinet maker he is well qualified for the task. So off comes the box today which will expose a few other trouble spots needing my attention.

The fuel tank looks like Swiss cheese, the exhaust looks as if you sneezed it would fall off and the brakes will require repairs.

A case of mistaken identity

Things aren't always as they appear it turns out my truck's serial number is for a 1951 model not 1949. It's not surprising this error happened the truck staying the same from 1948 until 1953. Over time memory gets a little fuzzy I'll have to contact Henry to revise our bill of sale to reflect the year change. I actually found old Dodge, Fargo, Desota serial number manuals on the web in addition I found a web site that runs a data base of serial numbers and model information. The resources people have taken the time to post are quite impressive. I've found PDF copies of Parts, Service and Owners manuals for my truck.

What to do, what to do?

So once you have the vehicle in your garage you have to formulate some sort of plan. Is this project a stock restoration, hot rod, rat rod or survivor? Ultimately you have to do what is going to make you happy, but you also have to be aware of what you have before you go modifying a vintage ride. So I'm mulling over my options, taking expert advice and sole searching before I alter one thing about this little gem. I think I know what I want and it's pretty simple I want a drive-able, reliable and cool old ride. Initially I thought rat rod / survivor look with modern drive train and some creature comforts. Nothing too radical, but good brakes, modern suspension, automatic trans and a slightly lowered stance. That would permanently alter the vehicle and leave it forever changed. I'm going to do more digging before I start cutting.

Advice and sober second thought.

I left the farm pretty much convinced I was going to buy the Fargo. I resisted the urge to just buy the thing without talking things over with my wife (Marlene) and some of my friends with hot rodding experience. Marlene was on board from the beginning she knew how much I wanted a project to build. I called my good friend Codey who has tons of projects on the go all the time. He suggested I take time to make sure I was up to the commitment, both with the work and the money. So I actually did a bunch more research looked into other potential projects and I decided to pass on the little truck. The amount of work required, the price and few hundred in towing fees had me convinced to look at other options. I called Henry and told him to take other offers, I was out. I'm not sure why but, Henry called me back a few minutes later and asked me to reconsider. We chatted for a while reached a deal and I bought her. The next day we were back on the farm and I was the proud owner of a 1949 Fargo.

Getting lucky

After a couple of phone conversations with the owner (Henry) we agreed to a meeting in a public place with the potential to go look at the old truck. For some reason my teenage grand daughter (Leigha) asked to come on the trip, which was a little odd. But, what the hell it's spring break and how often do you get to interact with your teenage grand children for a few hours? We met in a mall parking lot where Henry told us all about the truck's history on his family farm and produces some nice snap shots of the 1949 Fargo. The truck looked great and my poker face was failing badly. In short order we all pile in my Chevy and head out into the country near Mundare, Alberta. The drive is an hour and Henry regales us with stories about Edmonton and the surrounding towns. It turns out Henry has been in the area for nearly 70 years. Henry kept Leigha engaged for the whole trip. When we get to Henry's farm it's classic Western Canadian homestead. The Fargo is tucked behind some out buildings and it looks just like the photos.

Somethings are just meant to be.

I normally never look at bulletin boards or take the time to read the ads splashed all over them. This ad was different, rough and unpolished obviously made on the spot. For some odd reason it caught my eye. The next day I was in the area of store where I'd seen the ad and it was like a little brain worm calling out to me. You know what I mean, you hear that song and it's stuck in your mind for hours. Some advertising technique must have been in play because I was hooked. I went back to CO-OP snapped a photo of the ad and made plans to call the owner later in the day. In this day and age a simple cell phone call or text and deals are made. Well not so fast the owner didn't have a cell phone, PC or any internet access. Now this has me really intrigued it's old school, imagine 2016 and you're doing something personal.

How it all began.

It all started with a hand written ad on a grocery store bulletin board in March of 2016.