1957 Dodge W100 Power Giant Questions

[Ron in Indiana]

Justin all the windshields in the 57-60 trucks are the same. The big back window was an option and the glass is hard to find. Restoration Specialties has the best fitting rubber products. There are several makers of lock outs, Warn being the most popular. Selectro has a large ribbed outer hub that's easy to turn. Denver lockouts use a special wrench to turn them and are identified by the large circular grooves in the face. Dual Matic uses two levers that are pulled out and rotated to lock and unlock. These levers are sometimes difficult to get out due to frozen detent pins. I have Superwinch lock outs on my 59 W200 only because I got them through NAPA. Removing small dents isn't that hard to do. A good body hammer and a dolly will remove most with a little practice. The sheet metal on these trucks I believe is a little thicker than the Sweptlines so they require a little more elbow grease to massage the metal back into shape. Filling and sanding are another thing all together and if you aren't comfortable with that a good bodyman will save you grief. The trick is to find one who knows HOW to work on this old thick metal. The fronts of your rear fenders can be saved with some hammer work and mig welder. I've saved some pretty beat up fenders worse than those. Thanks for the compliments on my 59 I call Stubby, which is another story in itself. Dave Butler who owns Vintage Power Wagons has a house in the Denver area. There are a few Power Wagon people out that way who might be of help to you.

[jddcarr]

57 power wagon

Ron thanks for the info. I think I have the dual matics. I didn't realize the owner of vintage power wagons lived out here. Very cool. I have bought parts from them for the other dodges I've owned. Thanks for the tip on window rubber. I have to look into them. If you ever hear about a good body guy out here please let me know. Thanks again for everything. Have a great day.

[Ron in Indiana]

No problem on the help. Give VPW a call or email them asking Dave if he knows of a good body shop who can handle your project. Go to car shows and ask around too. I don't know anything about the Denver area myself. Are there any community colleges near by that teach autobody? They may take a crack at your truck. I just had a 58, the Crispy Critter album, painted this winter at Maaco in base coat clear coat. They did a great job for less than I would have had in material. Maybe you have a Maaco out there? I had it already to paint more or less and they finished a small amount of bodywork due to my shop being to cold. Anyway not many 57s out there so you've got a good project ahead of you. Go to eBay and look for a factory service manual for a 57, it's a good book to have.

[jddcarr]

57 Power Wagon

Awesome, Thanks Ron

[jddcarr]

57 Dodge PW

I got the manual on my truck yesterday and I did call my local Maaco and asked if they had experience working on thicker metal old trucks. They said they did and then a few blocks over I ran into a guy with a late 60's PW with great paint and he said he had it done at the Maaco. Maye that is a sign. I hear it from Ron and then I hear it from this guy, that might mean I should pay attention. I will post pictures of the progress when progress is made. My son just dove into his football season and that takes a good bit of time but a lot of fun.

[horace]

jddcarr I have the nine 57 colors on page from the 57 Ross Roy Data book I can email. My 57 Power Giant power Wagon is Ecuador Blue(dark) & Mojave Beige from new on.. I think 2 tone makes an interesting representation on this body style truck It fits so well. I prefer Mojave over whit personally. The big back windows are really stylesome mine only has the small one Good luck

[Ron in Indiana]

Horace has a beautiful truck and he's right about two tone paint schemes. His combo works well together I don't care for the beige with Ponchatrain Green. But to each his own. Maaco can get the paint codes for any color. Just be sure you get it across to them what year and color you want. My local manager and I had a little problem at first "communicating". We worked it out once he started LISTENING to what I was saying. He now features the 58 truck on his wall.

[horace]

Thank you Ron, for the compliment. I'll tell you the story on my truck probably said it befolre. In 1957 my truck was @ the dealership my dad worked at. Come county fair time dealers showed their vehicles tractor companies displayed their implements. My Dodge was displayed along w/ other fine Forward Look automobiles @ the fair. I could never uderstand why no one bought this "attractive" truck. Finally it was bought by a resort owner who died soon afterwards, later a professional bullhead fisherman bought it using it for almost ten years. It plowed snow for 10 years @ the car lor. I bought it in 75 it is for sale @ my estate sale in ????.

[jddcarr]

57 Color Data sheet

Horace,
That would be awesome if you could send me the color chart via e-mail. My e-mail address is jcarr@warrantyprocessing.com That is great that you know the story of your truck. I'm so excited to really get going on mine. This Sunday the motor is coming out and will get opened up and I'll get to see what is needed there. I just bought brand new radial tires size 8 x 17.5 for what I think is a great price. They were $135 a piece. Ordered my carb kit and will start on the odds and ends. What are people doing to restore their beds? Are there kits out there or do I have to measure the wood etc. on my own?

The story on my truck is this. The gentleman I bought it from got it directly from his father-in-law in 1973. His wife's father bought it new in 1957 and left it to him in his will. The truck has been sitting in his garage since the late 1970's. It's been owned by his family and me and that's it so far. It was really complete minus the interior cab headliner. Such a small amount of rust on it that when I looked at it and knew I had to buy it right away. The only rust is on the front side of each rear fender. The truck has never been used to heavily and has always lived in 3 states. Colorado, Arizona and Montana. It only sat outside for 2 years when he lived in AZ. It was in his driveway because it didn't fit in the garage. Other than that it has been garage kept and it looks like it. Very straight original sheet metal with no accidents and the bumper in the front is dead straight. Truck has 84,000 original miles but the motor is smoking so it's coming out.

I saw a really nice green one sell on E-bay in July for 13K. That looked like a great truck. I'm hoping mine will turn out that nice. Great to hear from you and thanks for your input. Have a great week.

Justin

[jddcarr]

1957 Dodge PW Colors

Horace, Thanks so much for sending over the colors. Very cool original sheet you have. This is going to be fun. Hope to make some real progress over the next month.

[jddcarr]

Pictures of your Blue 57

Horace, I got the pictures. That is a great looking truck. WOW I love the blue. It looks really nice. I wish a had a software that I could look at my truck in all the colors available that year. That blue 2 tone is really sharp.

[Ron in Indiana]

Justin if you don't have the means or tools to mill your own bed wood go to Mar-K Products for the best wood out there. I've made my own on the last two trucks only because I have the tools being a contractor. Oak is the preferred wood, whether you finish it with clear or paint it black is up to you. If you use Mar-K you won't want to paint it since it is cabinet grade material. Just a tip be sure to "break" the edges before any finish is applied. A few rubs with sandpaper on the corner edges will go along way in preserve the finish you use. Hope you don't find any surprises inside the motor.

[jddcarr]

57 PG Bed

Thanks Ron,
I will definitely look into that as I don't have tools to do my own bed. Thank you SO much for the tip on where to go. I'll let you know if there are any squirrels in the motor.

J

[jddcarr]

1957 Dodge Power Giant Trim Pieces

I have all my trim pieces and they are in fairly good shape but the long chrome strips that go on the front clip have some minor dings in them. The V on the hood also has some dings. What can be done if anything to correct this? I don't do much body work, I love the mechanical side and the wiring but don't like the body stuff. If I just have it rechromed will it fill in better?

[Ron in Indiana]

The trim is stainless I believe and no the chrome will not fill it in. It'll need to be straightened. There are businesses that can do this type of work it'll take some research to find them. It's basically like bodywork but has to be metal finished. A small hammer is used to pound out the dings CAREFULLY and then it is filed and sanded with progressively finer paper. Then a buffer is used to bring back the real shine. If you have the trim chromed the same process is done before the chrome is applied. It's all about the prep work and the tools. The V is another story that will need chrome if I remember correctly. It's been a while since I've looked at one. I'll still stick to the bodywork and you can have the electrical problems haha.