1962 dodge panel truck

[racingmodracer]

Hi: I Have Just Joined And Have Been Looking At Some Of The Post And Found It Very Interesting. I Have Just Started On Redoing A 1962 Dodge Panel Truck That Belonged To The Navy, I Picked It Up In Mississippi Back In The Late 80's And Drug It Back To Northern Michigan. My Father In Law Owns A Plumbing & Heating Shop That Both My Wife And I Work At. I Am Fixing This Up To Make It A Parts Delivery Truck For The Shop,but I Am In Need Of Some Info And Parts. I Have Rebuilt The Front End ( New King Pins Brakes Etc. ) And Just Pulled The Slant Six Out Today As It Smoked Pretty Bad After Sitting For The Last 20 Years Or So. I Need To Find Some Of The Glass ( Front And Sides ) One Rear Door, Turn Signal Parts Etc. Any Help With This Project Would Be Greatly Appreciated As I Am New To The Older Dodges. Thanks Again

[MoparNorm]

So you have a Town Panel like this?


Post a photo if you have one.
Welcome!
Gordo may want to move this post to the "W" section.
MN

[racingmodracer]

1962 Dodge Panel Truck

Hi: My Panel Truck Is Only A 2 Wheel Drive But Yes Looks Just Like That. I Will Try And Get A Picture On Here Soon. I Have Worked On Cars And Trucks Most Of My Life And It Sure Is Nice To Work On Something That You Can See The Engine, ( No Plastic ) Glad To See One Close To See What Is Original, Do You Have Any Other Pictures? Thanks For Your Reply. Thanks Again Mike

[MoparNorm]

Pictures? ha!ha! I'm down to my last 9,000 photos.
Go here http://imageevent.com/moparnorm

Album # 13 is the "Town Wagon" Album, that may be the only Town Panel that I have but there are many other trucks and many other pieces of information at the "Parts and Skematics" Album also, enjoy!
MN

[racingmodracer]

thanks moparnorm every little bit helps. have you ever used por15 for rusted metal i am wondering how it works and how long it will last thanks again mike

[MoparNorm]

POR-15 works OK for converting rusted metal. But it has been overused for other applications, such as painting frames, fenders etc. It has poor adhesion properties when used over non rusted metals. Depending upon the condition of the surface, it is much better to properly prep the part and use a suitable paint or powder coating rather than POR-15.
POR-15 is NOT an excuse to perform a lazy prep job, it has it's uses but it is not a catch all.
MN

[JimmieD]

Hi Mike, and welcome!

For the most part anything off of a 60's - 70's D-100 will fit mechanically. The body parts are the same on Town Panel [yours] or Town Wagon, which is the same thing but with side windows in rear. Also '57-'60 D-100 pickup body parts as hood and doors and latches are the same, with a slight difference in front fenders. Town Panels and Wagons usually have a wide lip on fron fenders which pickups don't have.

Start looking right now for door latch mechanisms, the part in the door with the little star wheels. If possible get a spare or 2 or 3. They're getting hard to find and are a very failure prone part, breaking without much warning. Even if yours are good, get some spares if possible, ESPECIALLY DRIVER'S SIDE!

Keep a lookout for the 3 bolt side mirrors with the sorta triangular base. Getting very hard to find and pricey. The arm and base is the hard part to find, as there's Chevy, Ford or generic mirror heads that can be used with stock arms, or you can get new mirror glass cut for them.

Side window glass in doors can be gotten from any glass shop, nothing special at all. They're fairly easy to pull by removing door panel and loosening the bolt in forward track. May be easier and possibly even cheaper to just have some cut at a shop. Windshields are still widely available, one of them [for the full tint which I prefer] is a DW-425. They run about $300 or so, and new rubber is around $90, still available. The rubber with the filler strip is slightly more.

Tip: Check with the local car lots and find out who they use for their glass work. Believe me, they don't pay the 'Street prices' we normally do! I found my windshield for 1/2 price that way.

Rear doors are also getting pretty rare, I've decided to just weld up mine and call it good! They do show up though. There's a Town Wagon Mailing List on Yahoo that many of us belong to, sometimes a good source for parts. Also Ron in Indiana, a VERY nice fella [don't tell him I said so, as it will only go to his head....] isn't that far from you and has loads of information. WARNING! Do NOT look at pictures of his truck, it will ruin you......! He's doing another Town Panel right now I think. Search these forums and you'll find him.

Turn signal parts used to be avilable in those 'Help' parts at auto supplies. Most anything from '59 to '80 will work with a little rewiring.

Enjoy yourself, and feel free to post questions!

JimmieD

[JimmieD]

Also, using the Yahoo search engine type in Town Panel or Town Waon and you'll get quite a few hits.....never know what will show up!

JimmieD

[racingmodracer]

racingmodracer

Hi: Just thought i would update everyone. I just bought a 1965 dodge panel in Maryland and got it back home to Michigan. Now i have lots more parts to work on my 1962 panel. This panel came with the back loaded with parts from i believe a 1959. Every bit helps. Hope to get photos on here soon. Thanks

[Ron in Indiana]

Mike glad you got another truck for parts, should help move things along. What parts are in the back and what makes you think they are 59 parts? How much bodywork is needed on your TownPanel? I have a 64 TW and have an on going resto on a 57 TW. I am currently working on a 61 Townie which you can see at http://www.stearnes.com/twrepair.htm This truck has some issues as they all do. I use Utiline (stepside) pick up fenders for the rear wheel lips and this is my fourth TW getting this repair. I'd like to offer any help I can in getting your Townie back in shape. How are the front fenders on either truck? I used a shrinker/stretcher combo to make the patch panel for the fender pictured. Keep us posted on your progress and consider attending the VPW rally next June in Fairfield Iowa. We are trying to assemble a large group of Townies and Power Giants for this rally.

[racingmodracer]

racingmodracer

Thanks Ron: The guy i bought the 65 from had a 59 and said he took all the usable parts off of it to keep for the 65, my 62 TW is pretty good except for the front floor by the cab mounts which i have repaired and the rear doors are banged up realy bad. The 65 i bought has really nice rear doors, all the glass, emblems etc. i will get some pictures in the next day or so. The parts from the 59 are all the glass, some window crank parts, gauge cluster, door hinges, wiper motor and arms, I will take some pictures. The body on the 65 has been bondoed up and hard to tell haw bad it is. where would you recomend for the rubber parts? also it appears that your townies are 4 wheel drive, both of mine are 2 wheel drive. what do you think about power brakes and steering as this will be a daily driver? Just got the 65 fired up and drove it around the block seams to run fine. Sure brings back memories. Thanks for all your help and info! Mike in Michigan

[splummer]

62 Townie

hello my 62 arrived yesterday and i do belive this one is a keeper good solid body ,some miner rust ,took her out on my road run good as soon as things slow down i will take some pics. not much histort but i know it came from some place in alaska and then to portage maine

[Ron in Indiana]

Racingmodracer Mike, sorry I haven't replied but my computer was down and I forgot about your thread. For rubber parts Vintage Power Wagons has some just go to their online catalog or request a new free one. Clester's makes a lot of rubber parts for TW's and other trucks go here http://stores.ebay.com/Clesters-Clas...QQftidZ2QQtZkm or ebay type in town wagon to go to their ebay store. As for power brakes and steering that's been done but it's on my to do list. Power steering on a 4 wheel drive involves a reverse rotation steering box and a fabricated bracket. I don't know about 2 wheelers but I'm sure it would be similar. The Townwagon list is at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/tw-list/ register there and ask questions of those who have done these conversions. How far up in Michigan are you located? Hope this helps. Merry Christmas to all.

[racingmodracer]

Hi all and again thanks for all of your help. I am still working on this thing but things are starting to look my way:) I have the inside painted and am starting to put the interior back together. I did end up using POR15 on the frame and the inside and aoutside of the body, i sure hope it holds up. I did run into one problem but will save that story for another day. ha ha what I am trying to find out now is the correct engine color for the slant six and what tires i should put on this as it is all original and I want to keep it that way (well it is except for the color). thanks again all you guys that have helped me with this FUN project.

[JW in Wa]

TW / TP factory power steering set up

racingmodracer,

I have a factory power steering (ram assist) set-up off a 64 TW D-100 for sale. You can e-mail me at rockey02@msn.com off the list for pics and info if interested.

Jared Weeks
Sumner, Wa.