Start of a wonderful thing

[PRWFAB]

Hi everyone from York Pa
here is a Pic of my pile of rust as my wife calls it. Shes a 54 panel
I'm sitting her on a 92 dodge dakota 4x4 running gear. I know why not a chevy running gear well the price was right and I have a limited budget. Anyhow I'm chopping at the bit waiting for the weather to break to get started on her.

[NONHOG]

Looks like fun ! keep us up to date on progress and add to the panel/burb picture thread !

Oh and

[xpickup]

I also have a panel and also am in York Pa. Its a small world! This is great website for info. Shannon

[53GMC]

Good luck man! can't wait to see your progress!!

[pugs]

looks like a start of a cool panel. welcome from Hamburg Pa

[PRWFAB]

CALL ME SIMPLE BUT I'M SO EXCITED ! My girl is in the garage. After sitting outside as seen in the pic. I rented a tractor dug out the ground floor in my garage concreted the floor ran 220 out the 200 ft driveway and tonight SHE GOT PUT INSIDE ! And now the fun begins .I only have a few hrs a week to work on it but I will update with pics as I go. My wife things I brought Christine home LOL never know she'll be bad to the bone lol never mind my minds going a mile a min. now that shes inside

[pugs]

yup nothing getting her inside for the real fun to begin. cant to se it sitting on the new chassis and updated pics

[T Hilde]

Cool, and lots of pictures. My son wants an AD on his Dakota.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Cool project. Keeps us updated on progress of Christine.

[Dan Bowles]

I have a similar thought only 2wd for our 1 ton panel. I need 137" wb. What wheel base Dakota did you find? I don't know what they all came with. I've seen a guy on the HAMB do a Dakota AD swap and it turned out great. I've got 2 S10 frames but am seriously thinking about the Dakota just to get away from the wheel spacers and the steering issue. I had a 2wd Dakota frame but sold it last year. It was kind of rough...time to start over!

[mr48chev]

Well, it did get you stepping and putting a floor in the garage so that is a real plus to the project already. I just wish I had a garage/shed to get my projects in with or without a floor. Right now a slab of concrete in front of or beside the garage would be a real blessing to work on.

[T Hilde]

The one my son has is an extended cab short box. Can't remember the WB for sure but it is long. I was thinking it would need to shortened for a 3/4 ton box.

[PRWFAB]

I don't remember what mine is and the frame is not at my house. I know it was a ext cab and short bed and i need to take 15 inches out of the frame .I didn't have my welder or garage ready and a friend said he would take it to work and shorten the frame. He manages a frame shop only thing its been there since Nov. But as you can see I think I can keep busy for month or 6. the frames are close dakota is a lil wider but I can work that with making the frame mounts. I saved everything out of the dakota it was just a tin pile when I got rid of it

[PRWFAB]

Here's a couple pics . The insterment panel out of the dakota .

[T Hilde]

Cool, I was just playing with the tape measure on that and the steering column at noon today.

[54 jimmy]

looking good. i,m a little fatther from you than you think. i live near wilkesbarre. i just realized that my location says hanover and not hanover twp. if you are looking for parts pm me i know of a yard near my place that has a few of our ad there to get parts off of.

[PRWFAB]

SO SLOW 1.5 TO 2 HRS A NIGHT IS A KILLER. But if mommas not happy no one's happy.
This is the first of a few mock ups. i needed to see if the fire wall and floor needed altered. it should be good. This is the height it will sit. Remember its 4x4.I may have to move the motor & trans back and I really dont want to do that. That means getting 2 drive shafts done and like a lot of other guys here I'm on a very limited budget

[PRWFAB]

Had the frame under looked great front end on hood on looked great. But that was just a mock everything is back off the frame the frame is outside . Now it looks like I got nothing done. they wont meet again till the work on both are complete. the good news is the firewall is complete no more giant hole. and i removed the seel plate off the floor in the back and there is a great wood floor in it . why would u cover it . well I get some pics posted soon as I down load them

[PRWFAB]

Well its spring and I'm finally work on my girl again. After 22 years I get stuck on 2nd shift. only good thing come out of it is I can work on my truck a few hours a day with out Momma getting mad. I got most of the plating done. Now that its warm I am going to weld my mounts up on the frame and it will be ready to slide under it for good. So excited. Here are some updated pics ypu wont think it changed much but If you seen the beginning she come a long way.

[PRWFAB]

I thought it was called March winds. 2 days I wanted to finish the welding on my frame ( outside and its windy both days. !/2 hour of welding paint the frame and their ready to be joined permenently. Its killing me so close.

[xpickup]

PRWFAB, you are getting there. It is looking good. It looks like your needed as much metal as mine did when I started. Are you bolting the back fenders on or are you welding them on? I welded mine on because dumba$$ me cut them off with my plasma cutter because I was going to buy glass ones. Then it ended up that they had not made panel ones yet.

Shannon

[PRWFAB]

Mine are off a pick up I read somewere that you can cut them down to fit. Which I think would work. my problem was my area as you can see was so far gone there wasn't much to go on so sticking them in the whole way to the one time wheel well still gave me plenty of fender so I put a couple bolts in holding them to the inside wall took the plazma cutter and cut them off even with the outside then plated the outside and formed it down into the piece of fender that was still on the body. Short story long I'm going to weld them on because the "wheel well " is not perfect and I can fill with small pcs of scrap if needed then mud it over. I'm putting 33x12.5 tires on it so I can't put them on till I get the frame under so I can adjust them out a little to cover the tires. We both know how Pa laws are with such things LOL

[PRWFAB]

I know this is a pick up but this is the look I'm going for. Also I'm really thinking hard about the color with some shadow graphics

[xpickup]

PRWFAB, That will work. I know what you mean, mine was like that also. That is going to look neat when you are done. I also like them lifted too. I really like the green truck.


Shannon

[PRWFAB]

The wind Gods have been good today. As Paulie Jr use to say tomorrow it goes to paint then we start assembly. I'm like a kid with a bike on Christmas.