It is interesting you say this. My truck is a 76 but it has a few options that weren't available until 77. Specifically the small chromed side mirrors and the 15x8 chromed steel slotted rims. The rims are original because the spare under the bed is also a 15x8 chromed steel slotted rim. I am hoping the Quick-Glo that I ordered will clean up the chrome on this truck, especially the rims.

Spent a few minutes perusing the factory service manual that arrived today. I discovered some interesting things.

(1) by 76 Dodge had abandoned the full-flow ammeter and was using a shunt-style ammeter. This is good. No more worries about a fire or total charging system shutdown if the ammeter fails.

(2) my alternator has two fluid ports on it! Alternator fluid is real! Seriously, it is obviously a misprint on the factory wiring diagram because the terminals labelled "fluid" on the wiring diagram are the "field" terminals on the alternator.

(3) I was dead on right about the weird vacuum operated lever on the throttle linkage. It was a rudimentary form of idle stop solenoid. However, when the previous owner ripped out the choke linkage and all the EGR hardware and wiring, he or she also remove electrical components to this system, rendering it no longer accurately operable. That plus the loss of the linkage piece on the drive from Oregon to my house means I will definitely be abandoning the single barrel carb and going to a Super Six. I have two BBDs and a 2280 to play with, one of the BBDs is a true Super Six carb, I just need to get an air cleaner sorted.

Factory service manuals are invaluable. If you don't have one for your vehicle, you should.

My package of Quick-Glo chrome cleaner arrived today. I had seen this stuff advertised on Jay Leno's Garage and wanted to try it out.

My test subject was the chromed steel slotted rim that is the spare tire on my truck. The spare on the truck is stored exposed under the bed, so it is subjected to just about the harshest environment possible for a piece of chrome. I figure that the rim had been under the bed of the truck since before 2000 since the tire on the rim was dried out and cracked and the date code on the tire is the pre-2000 method of tire manufacture dating.



I dropped the tire and scrubbed the front of it with some simple green and a stiff brush. This is what it looked like AFTER cleaning:



Amazingly, that is a big improvement. I originally thought someone had spray painted the rim a dark flat gray color. But no, it really is chrome under there:



You can clearly see the grime and rust present on the rim. I grabbed my new can of "original" formula Quick-Glo and an old microfiber towel and went to work. I was absolutely stunned at how well Quick-Glo worked:



The rust went away, the grime layer went away, and the old chrome actually shone again! Sure there are old scratches from someone trying to polish the rim with steel wool, sure there are still nicks and pits and little rust bits, but this is 1000% better than it was before and perfectly presentable for a daily driver.

I polished half of this filthy old wheel in about 1/2 an hour. This is pretty much a worst case scenario for an attempt at saving a chrome wheel. The next step of degradation would be for the chrome to actually start peeling, and fortunately that hasn't happened to this rim.

I will finish polishing it up and then try out the "fine" formula quick go to see if I can get rid of any of the old polishing scratches. I am thoroughly impressed and satisfied with Quick-Glo. I highly recommend it.

http://www.quick-glo.com

$15 a bottle isn't cheap, but it will last you a long time, is completely non-toxic, and is manufactured in the USA by a family run business. It doesn't get much better than that, in my book.

Hooray! The NOS driver's door latch mechanism arrived today. Now I can install it and stop having to open my door from the inside.

I need to get that installed and then get the door locks re-keyed to match my ignition key.

I decided to Super Six the engine since I am missing electrical components for the carb and there is an exhaust leak between the manifolds. I scrounged around in my garage and found a Super Six intake, a serviceable BBD, and a Lokar kick down linkage. I ordered a CarbsOnly choke kit. I am going to modify the one-barrel air cleaner to fit the BBD, fabricate a part to get the Lokar kick down to work, and clean everything and paint it all. All my exhaust manifolds have a significant "smile" to them, so I am going to pick the best of the bunch and run it. Eventually I will have dual exhaust manifolds, but I don't have the budget or time to do all the fabrication necessary to make the swap now.

Hopefully I will find the time to get all this work done this week and next.

Looks good. Congrats on the new addition to your car family.

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RvrDelta

The dash looks good in the photos. In south Texas the interior parts for these trucks can be very cracked from the sun.

Thanks! Yeah, I was very surprised to see such intact and supple vinyl and a decent condition woodgrain instrument cluster. The woodgrain is fading a bit and degrading, but it is OK for now. The rubber mat is toast and the reflection glued to the floor has retained water and caused some surface rust, but other than that the interior is actually in pretty good nick.

It will be fun to get wrenching on it, but work keeps taking up all my time this week. I have scored a vintage chrome tach and I should be winning an auction for a cool vintage chrome vacuum gauge. With those two gauges and the others I have squirreled away in my garage I should have all the basic instrumentation I need.

I even have an idea for the Super Six air cleaner. It involves a single barrel air cleaner and the base from one of those cheap little 5 inch chromed open element air cleaners you find at Autozone. Stay tuned!

No pictures, but I made some progress. I got the NOS door latch installed in the drivers door. After adjusting the striker and bending the link from the plunger to the latch my door now opens and shut from the outside again. Yay!

The CarbsOnly super choke kit arrived for the Super Six conversion. I dug around some more in my parts stash and found some gaskets, but I still need the head to manifold gasket and the exhaust manifold to head pipe gasket. Then I need to sort out the throttle return spring bracket and the Lokar kick down linkage. But THEN I can install the Super Six.

I have a mess of other parts to install, but no time right now. I will try and get a single small project done every couple days.

Made more progress today. I scrounged around and came up with a decent condition used head to manifold gasket, gaskets for under the carb, and a phenolic space and heat shield a board member made up a few months ago. I also dug up some carb studs and nuts to actually mount the carb on the intake.

I also drained the radiator and filled it up with leftover Zerex G-05 I had sitting around. Eventually I will flush the cooling system but this atlas drained out the cruddy rusty old coolant and puts something back in the block.

I replaced the belt weatherstrip on the driver's door and discovered that the weatherstrip around the door itself is shot. Basically every piece of weatherstrip needs to be replaced on this truck. There is a leak somewhere that get down behind the dash.

Speaking of the dash, I took it apart and removed the aftermarket stereo someone installed but that only had sound coming out of the right speaker.

I poked around bit behind the dash and didn't like what I found. The heater control cables need help. The selector cable for the air direction door is completely disconnected and the temp door cable is frozen solid. And the blower motor doesn't work. The dash lights don't work and somebody rigged p a pushbutton switch to honk the horn. Another switch was put in the dash I think to control a set of driving lights that are no longer present. Between the stereo, horn, and auxiliary lights, the wiring own the dash is pretty badly hacked up. I am going to have to basically disassembly the whole interior, replace the weatherstripping, and fix the wiring just to get this truck up to being a daily driver.

The faux woodgrain plastic dash has faded from a brown burl wood pattern to a purple and gray burl wood pattern. Looks pretty shabby. Plus the plastic panels are warping.

Still and all, no worse than I expected. Lots and lots of little stuff, but no major issues.

It rained today. I discovered that the wiper arm linkage bushings are totally shot. In fact, the driver's side wiper arm doesn't even move anymore. No worries. Rock auto has packs of two bushings for $1.44 per pack.
AND I confirmed the driver's side windshield washer nozzle is, in fact, missing.

Did this project start out with,"It just needs a little fixin' up."? Or "All ya gotta do is ...". My family rolls their eyes when I utter either of those two lines.

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"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

Careful. Perhaps not on a slant or a mopar for that matter, but there are indeed water cooled alternators.

Yeah, pretty much! It made the three+ hour drive from Salem, Oregon up to Tacoma, Washington OK. I am just finding evidence of 40 years of use, neglect, and baking in dry central Oregon sunshine. It runs and drive OK, it is just the little things like heating, wipers, and dash wiring. You know, non-essentials!

I am worried about tracking down the driver's side windshield washer nozzle for a 76 dodge truck. I have found a bunch on eBay for the 71 and earlier Sweptline trucks, but nothing for the 72-80 models. I am sure something will pop up.

As far as fluid cooled alternators, I am sure such a thing exists in big industrial machinery, or cruise ships, and the like, but I am pretty sure that my slant power 1/2 ton truck didn't get one. I will double check for hose fittings, though.

Great score Reed!
I think you got a great deal on that truck.

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"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Thanks Wes! I think I should have paid a little bit less, but I am still pretty happy with it. Lots and lots of little things to repair and replace, but still I like it.

I did manage to find a passenger side mirror on eBay last night for a good price. The last vintage pieces I need to track down are the three plastic dash bezels that are supposed to look like wood. Mine have been exposed to the sun for too long and are warped and purple. But worrying about aesthetics is not at the top of my list of things to do right now. First step is finding the water leaks. Water leaks are not allowed in Western Washington. Then I need to get the HVAC system working so I can defog the windows after they fog up from the water leaks.