Meet "The Dude" 1970 Dodge D100 1/2 Ton
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For absolutely everything you've ever wanted to know about the
"Dodge Dude" Pickup Truck... visit the OFFICIAL WEB-SITE:
To read about information & facts on this rare vehicle click here
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Meet "The Dude." A 1970 Dodge D100 1/2 Ton Truck! The Dude is an ultra rare truck made by Dodge in 1970 & 1971 only. It is figured that only 1000 of these beauties were ever built. The truck you see here is my pride and joy. It's obviously in dire need of a complete restoration. It has a 318 V8, Automatic transmission, and an original factory coat of one of the most wild colors Dodge ever created, "Sub-Lime Lime Green." Stay tuned for new information regarding the "Dude's" restoration! |
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At the beginning of April 2002 the "Dude," began it's restoration. The 1st order of business was to remove all marker lamps, trim pieces, the grill, bumpers, interior components and basically strip it down to the point where a sandblaster can be ordered in to remove all of the paint, down to the bare metal. |
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The cab is in rough shape. There isn't much left of the floor under the drivers or passengers side of the cab. Luckily, there is a pair of new cab floors and rocker/step plates available through "Autobody Specialties," in Middlefield, CT. |
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The entire box will have to be removed from the trucks frame. Then, a new bed will have to be installed since this one is rusted out completely. Hopefully the parts truck will have a decent bed. If not, then one will have to be fabricated. |
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There were six bolts holding the box onto the frame. Two came off no problem, two broke and two had to be cut off. The bolt removal took all of an hour, however I soaked the bolts with gas beforehand which is why I figure two came off without any problem. |
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Next began the long process of removing the paint off of the cab. This was helped a great deal by using a high quality paint remover. I recommend, "Morton," Aircraft Paint Stripper. It took a 1/2 gallon to completely strip the cab of paint. One lucky thing was that this was still the original factory paint, so the only paint under the top coat was the original primer. |
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After the paint was removed, the bodywork could begin. The first task was to grind down all of the rust pitting that had occurred over the years. This involved approx. 25 hours of labor. A high r.p.m., (revolutions per minute), grinder with a steel buffing wheel was used to get rid of the top layer of rust. In the particularly bad regions 50 grit sandpaper was used on an orbital sander to grind things back to metal. |
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Plans changed regarding sandblasting after I phoned several shops in the Yellow Pages. Doing a complete vehicle was a pretty major undertaking for most shops. But, a St. Boniface shop was more than willing to blast an entire vehicle and guarantee their work to boot! A huge thanks is in order to Carlson Decorating & Sandblasting Co. Ltd. Winnipeg, MB. (204)233-0671. They did an amazing job sandblasting the truck. On Sep. 10, 2002 the Dude was dropped off at their 1035 Mission Street facility for a comprehensive metal cleaning of both coarse and fine sand media blasting. It turned out amazing! |
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After doing a lot of work cleaning and testing the engine and transmission, replacing parts, etc., the motor was ready to go back in. New motor mounts were easy enough to purchase, however there was a problem finding an original transmission mount. The one from the truck was split near halfway through causing me a slight problem. |
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The box was the next phase of the project. There was a slight problem transporting the box around for sandblasting, but it was solved by purchasing a small utility trailer. |
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After the box came back from sandblasting it was clear that there was a ton of work ahead in order to re-new the cargo area. The floor was completely shot and the first order of business was to completely remove it. Then, I could determine how the box's frame condition was and I'd know better how to carry on from there. |
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Well now the fun really begins! It's finally time to begin the actual bodywork. I started with the cab, removing it off of the trucks frame. Since there was so much rust decay I decided to also remove the parts truck's cab and place it next to the Dude for constant reference. |
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Once the last elements of the interior were removed it was time to begin forming new pieces out of sheet metal for the total elimination of any areas of rust. Since we all know that rust will always come back to haunt us in restoration projects, every speck of it must be completely removed before sealing and painting. |
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Click on the image to the left to visit our Official Dodge Dude Website and see our most recent restoration photos. |