Gallery Page 110
Jimmy Smith's 1970 "Big Blue" Power Wagon Restoration
This 1970 D300 1 ton, flat bed, 4 door dually with a 160" wheel base was found in Bascom, Florida in a peanut field by Jimmy's best friend, Mr. Jimmy Hasty. The owner gave the truck and title to Jimmy.
They brought the truck home and completely disassembled it. The frame was sand blasted, painted and fitted with a 5.9 Cummins Turbo Intercooled Diesel, a 518 overdrive transmission, a divorced NP 200 twin stick transfer case, 355 gears and rear antilock brakes. The fire wall had to have 3" removed to accomodate the diesel. It has power steering, power brakes, cruise control, tilt wheel, intermittant wipers and air conditioning .The one ton fenders were replaced with 1/2 ton fenders. The fleetside bed was a 1992. Jimmy cut off the sheet metal and welded on the sheet metal from another 1970 half ton pickup truck. He redesigned the tail lights to fit the 1992 tailgate. The rear bumper also doubles as an air pig. The front bumper is 3" channel iron and diamond plate with a 10,000 lb. winch. The winch is just for looks, though it does work. This truck is Jimmy's baby so he'll never use the winch or take it in the mud.
All the rubber in the windows, doors, front and rear glass as well as the cab mounts have been replaced. The interior was designed for comfort with an AM/FM Cassette/CD player, CB radio. The truck is a pleasure to drive or just ride as a passenger (on a smooth road). "Big Blue" will handle a load as Jimmy demonstrated, coming home one evening pulling a semi flatbed trailer with a dolly underneath, another treasure he happened to "find".
Jimmy did a great job in restoring his "Big Blue" 1970 Dodge Truck. It took him 9 months to restore and 4 old rusty parts trucks to complete the job. Jimmy did all the work himself including completely rebuilding the diesel motor, transmission, brakes, cooling system, cruise control, cutting, welding , body work, headliner, lining the bed, painting the interior and exterior. The rear bumper is also an air pig, designed to hold air and disperse in case of a flat tire. Below is a list of some of the things he did:
5.9 Cummings Diesel
518 Transmission
NP 200 Transfer Case
92 Dash and Wiring Harness
Power Steering
Power Brakes
Air Conditioned
Cruise Control Tilt Wheel
1970 Sheet Metal Welded to 1992 Bed
1992 Tailgate
Jimmy's wife Shelley is proudly married to this man known fondly around this part of Florida as a "Junkologist". The many treasures he finds may be junk to someone else but he is able to see the potential and willing to do the work to create something great. Jimmy is currently restoring a 1992 Dodge 350 Power Ram Diesel Dually for Shelley. It is a very beautiful truck which she intends to use as often as possible to pull her 4 horse gooseneck trailer or for her work on the ranch.
Jimmy and Shelley can be reached at:
shelley1destiny@earthlink.net
Are you proud of your Dodge truck or car? Want to show it off? Please email me a pic along with a description of your vehicle and I will add it to the Gallery.
Joe Leonard 2007-09-03