http://www.dodgedude.com

There is a sheet metal guy at Carlisle that makes repair panels for these now

Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

super cool,,

I would be tempted to,, fix all the mechanical's to A1 condition, but leave the body- exterior, especially all the junk- debris in the cab as is,,well maybe not all the cab junk, but certainly those sun visors with the split covers..

make it a Dodge Dude rat truck,,,,that Gomer would be proud of,,

Love that color! Please keep us posted with pictures.

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Tom
'86 Alfa Romeo Spider, red "Dinsdale"
'10 Corvette, red "" (no name yet)
'95 Ferrari 348, red "Zoom"
'04 Maserati, black "Evil"
'05 Aston Martin DB9, green "Bond, Treasury bond."
'82 Dodge W150 Power Ram, yellow "E. Valdez"

I would restore it as nice as possible. I am not a fan of rat rods, and that truck is so rare that it deserves to be restored to new condition.

I think the plan for now is to get it mechanically good to go and leave the body / paint the way that it currently is. I will probably scotch brite it and give it a couple coats of satin clear coat to lock everything in the way it is. But that's about the only "changes" I plan on making to it looks wise. I think it's pretty cool the way it sits..... How many 70 Dodge trucks do you see, out of those how many are in this good of shape? Forget the fact that it's a Dude..... just being a 45 year old Dodge pickup, all original, and completely complete, pulled out of the fence row and in good shape is cool enough!

I've cleaned out the cab already, you should have seen it before the previous owner "cleaned it out" when I picked it up. The bed was almost level full with straight junk......and the cab was a storage space for more stuff. I think I have a picture somewhere lol.

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1970 D100 "Dude"
SL6 / 3 speed manual

UPDATE:

I've been inspecting/working on the truck pretty steady since Saturday afternoon. It's actually in surprisingly good shape for being 45 years old. It's been sitting since 2002, so of course it needs everything related to sitting for years like brakes, tires, fuel system cleaned, etc.

So far I've inspected the truck from one end to the other and began working on getting it on the road. A group of my friends all have old cars and get together to go on a cruise to a scenic restaurant on the ohio river and then to a car cruise in after that. That event is coming up this Saturday, July 18th. I plan on having the truck ready to go on the cruise with them.

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts so far! Keep them coming, it motivates me to get back to work!

More pictures and updates coming soon

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1970 D100 "Dude"
SL6 / 3 speed manual

Hey, I'm with you on the satin clear. That will make that truck even cooler, fix the mechanicals and drive it. I have a 1972 D800 ex fire truck that needs sills and cab corners if anyone knows of a source.
Good luck with your project, thanks for the rescue. 1500-2000 Dudes is as rare as my friends 70 AAR Cuda.

What a score, my 2 cents
Derek

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70 Duster 238'', four speed ,3:91's, 500 Elde, Hookers
68 Dart 4 dr 225, completely original

If you get some CLR product, it really is good for removing surface rust...just use it with a scotch scratch pad.

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65 Dart Vert

Thanks for the tip!

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1970 D100 "Dude"
SL6 / 3 speed manual

UPDATE:

Well, 5 days since I pulled it out of the field and it's on the road. It's been a busy few days and some long nights, but it runs and drives amazing. I had to find another transmission, the original had a gear chewed up and a broken syncro. I found another 3 speed, different model but the exact same dimensions everywhere as the original, on craigslist and it works perfect. That was really the biggest hurdle.....everything else came apart and went back together fairly easily.

Since I brought it home, mechanically I've: cleaned the fuel tank and replaced all the rubber hoses, replaced the fuel pump, filter and carb, done a complete tune-up, new brakes all the way around including lines, wheel cylinders and master cylinder, new clutch kit and transmission, new intake and exhaust manifolds, repaired the radiator, had the seat redone, new tires, new shocks, repacked wheel bearings, replaced the starter......that's all I can remember at the moment!

It's been a lot of work, but after going on the test drive and everything working perfectly......it's all worth it.

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1970 D100 "Dude"
SL6 / 3 speed manual

I like it! And you know, that truck shows signs of very little use, all the paint is still on the pedal levers, steps, and on the top of the interior door where you rest your arm. Usually all those are wore bare in '60s trucks.

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Wow, you have been really busy. What a great example of a field rescue...awesome. That is such a cool story, I wish I could get half that much done in that amount of time. This inspires me to get moving on my own truck project. Many, many miles left in that Dude

Regards Derek

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70 Duster 238'', four speed ,3:91's, 500 Elde, Hookers
68 Dart 4 dr 225, completely original

excellent progress,
maybe you can bring it to the slant six races at Clay City Ky later this year,

Thanks!

It's possible, Clay City is about 135 miles from me. When are the races?

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1970 D100 "Dude"
SL6 / 3 speed manual