1955 12 Valve NAPCO Clone

[Luther Grimace]

Hey guys. I have read this board alot and wanted to start a thread to possibly contribute and maybe get some questions answered. I have a 91.5 W250 that I bought last September. I think it is a good truck because you get a 12 valve/5 speed/NP205 and a 60/70 axle combo. I rebuilt the 5 speed, added 52" springs to the front, and then shortened it by 16" and added a short bed that I bobbed. I hated the wiring in the dodge because someone made a mess of it and removed all the gauges out of it. I always like the look of NAPCO 55-57 trucks and thought how cool it would be to find one and swap the bodies. I ended up finding one when I was turning the corner at the scrap yard and saved it from the crusher. Here are some pics of both trucks.

The W250:





1955 3100


















"Perfect fit"


I haven't got much done yet. Just started swapping the beds so hopefully the cab swap goes smoothly.

[wayne4252004]

Interested to see how this turns out. Keep the pics coming.

[meter swinger]

Looks like that will be a beast when youre done.
I kin dig it.
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[Russell Ashley]

That 55 doesn't look that bad, I'm surprised that it was in the scrap yard. I've seen worse on EBay. Interesting project, keep us up on the progress with plenty of pics.

[mknittle]

Looks like fun! But I would swap cabs first. The front is the hardest to get the wheels centered in the wells the rear end is eaizer to move if necessary. I am going to do a 72/69 the same way(when I can get the guy thet has some of the parts moving) and the front has alot of little things to work out. my engine needs to move back 4"or the front wheels will be way off{eventhough both trucks are the same wheelbase}. I think your front is a bit shorter keep that in mind. i would bet you end up moving the bed if you mount it first.



P.S i am not trying to be a know it all just trying to save you some work.

[mknittle]

I almost forgot You may have to make a step up in the backof the cab to fit the cab to the dodge frame because of the drop on the dodge frame under the cab.

[Luther Grimace]

Thanks guys. The truck is in very good shape. I wish I could've paid what the scrap yard paid for it but I have seen truck in much worse shape for two times what I paid for this one.

mknittle thanks for the advice. I am not mounting the bed on yet. Just trying to get both the bed and cab swapped and then start positioning them. I am worried about fitting the intercooler in the engine bay with the radiator and 6BT.

Here are some pics from last night. It shows where the step supports have to be trimmed alittle. I think it is sitting good like it is right now. I will be able to put the bed floor in without raising it.













I'm off tomorrow so I hope to get the cab removed from both trucks. Gotta figure out how i'm gonna move em. I need to bribe someone I know with a backhoe!

[buggy5872]

I am interested to see how this turns out. The axle witdth looks about right for the bed. Is the front axle wider? If it fits good.....this might be a good option for a Suburban my wife wants. It would make a nice tow vehicle for me....I mean her.

[Luther Grimace]

The front is 1 inch wider than the back. I think the front fenders are a alittle wider.

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by Luther Grimace

Thanks guys. The truck is in very good shape. I wish I could've paid what the scrap yard paid for it but I have seen truck in much worse shape for two times what I paid for this one.

mknittle thanks for the advice. I am not mounting the bed on yet. Just trying to get both the bed and cab swapped and then start positioning them. I am worried about fitting the intercooler in the engine bay with the radiator and 6BT.

Here are some pics from last night. It shows where the step supports have to be trimmed alittle. I think it is sitting good like it is right now. I will be able to put the bed floor in without raising it.



I'm off tomorrow so I hope to get the cab removed from both trucks. Gotta figure out how i'm gonna move em. I need to bribe someone I know with a backhoe!

Cool I will be worth the effort I like the first gen Dodge running gear but the bodys are pretty bad. my 90' has had a pretty easy life and is falling apart you will end up with a nice look as well asrunning truck

[Luther Grimace]

I've been working on the truck slowly between other projects. My Dad and I got the front clip pulled off the Dodge on Sunday and I strippped most of it last night. The thing I am worried about the most right now is the clutch and brake pedals and getting the booster and slave cylinder on the firewall. I was going to use the pedals out of the Dodge but they are a firewall mount so I have alot of drilling out spot welds and making it bolt on. I hope to have a friend of mine come by with his backhoe to swap the cabs.

[Luther Grimace]

Here are some pictures from Friday when I swapped the cabs. Still have alot of work left but getting closer. The Chevodge is born.









I now have parts of Dodge and Chevy scattered in all corners.

[Luther Grimace]

I have been chipping away on the truck. It has been depressing cause there is so much to do but i'm gonna take it one day at a time. I removed the core support last night and I plan to remove the inner fenders and the transmission inspection cover tonight. I am worried about fitting the engine in there. The firewall is going to have to be cut so I have that to look foward to. I also threw the seat out of the dodge in there. I will recover it to fit the look of this truck.



Note to self: Leave 5300lb truck inline with shop door before you disconnect the steering and go pedals.

[mknittle]

Yeap, frame swaps aren't for the faint hearted!
It always seems to me anyway that i am not getting anywhere then all of a sudden I am almost done! keep pecking at it and you will get there!

[Luther Grimace]

Thanks mknittle.

Last night I finally got the inner fenders out as well as the the transmission inspection cover. I lucked out on the inner fenders and only one bolt wouldn't come out. Can't say the same on the inspection cover. I'm gonna have some work there. This allowed me to sit the truck down on the frame and get my axle centerline and fender centerline right.



The tires do not stick out too far. It looks like it will be ok. I am going to cut and knock out the old rivets holding the body mounts on the old frame tonight and I think I'm going to remove the dodge mounts from the frame. This will be a big step to getting somewhere. I'm thinking once I get the cab bolted down, then I can move on to the bed and start the process of moving the engine back into the firewall. Baby steps....

Also I forgot to mention the truck is nose high now because the 52" springs I put up front were sitting high before so I will address that later with a rear spring swap.

[OrrieG]

Good progress. In an earlier photo I noticed a 65 Chevelle 4 door lurking in the background....??

[Dieselholic92]

That thing looks awesome!

[mknittle]

looking better every day! Wish i could get back to my 72 swap! maybe lhis winter.
Those dodge cabs are pretty cheezy my 90 is falling apart and it is 2wd with a easy life.

[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Good progress. In an earlier photo I noticed a 65 Chevelle 4 door lurking in the background....??

Yeah it is a 65 Chevelle 300 Deluxe 4 door i bought back in March. It's a great car and gets the best mileage out of all my vehicles. It's a 194 ci with a air cooled powerglide. It became my only vehicle while my 92 Z71 was down for transfer case and trans work.

It is a bit loaded down in the picture...

[Luther Grimace]

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. I have slowly been working on cab mounts. I was off last Friday so I got some extra time to work on it.









The front cab mount I made is ugly but it gets the job done. Now its onto cutting the firewall and moving the engine back. What fun...

[48ChevBagged]

Blows my mind what people will haul off to the crusher. Awesome that you saved it.

[Luther Grimace]

Well last night I finally finished the last body mount and the cab is sitting on its on! I know this isn't a great accomplishment but to me it was hard to get the cab level and positioned in all the X-Y-Z planes.



Now onto the task of moving this mammoth back into the firewall so I can install the radiator and intercooler.

[Luther Grimace]

Originally Posted by buggy5872

I am interested to see how this turns out. The axle witdth looks about right for the bed. Is the front axle wider? If it fits good.....this might be a good option for a Suburban my wife wants. It would make a nice tow vehicle for me....I mean her.

Just wanted to show you the picture of how the front tires look next to the fenders.




And that is with some old 70's C20 16.5" wheels and used Humvee tires which are too wide for the rim.

[FrankieD]

Originally Posted by Luther Grimace

Just wanted to show you the picture of how the front tires look next to the fenders.

And that is with some old 70's C20 16.5" wheels and used Humvee tires which are too wide for the rim.

the front tires don't look to bad the mis 90's Chevy 4X4's were a lot worse when they didn't have flares on them. If you change wheels you can change the set back

[Luther Grimace]

I need yalls help. Does anyone know of a company that sells the firewall booster brake pedal assembly and a clutch pedal assembly. I know CPP has the brake pedal assembly but they don't have a clutch pedal. What have you folks done for putting swing pedals in these task force trucks?