Dodge A 100 thread
As I'm about 2 minutes out from leaving work at the resto shop on Friday, right before I leave to skate to the train station, my friend Jed finally got his '68 108 going and paid us a visit!
He was so excited to ride in the back, because he hasn't much yet, that I had the pleasure of firing up the left handed ignition and drove it for about an hour. What a pleasant experience. I would highly recommend one of these to anyone in the market for a classic that is road ready.
While I like all A100 series, I've got to side with Frankie on this one. After seeing it a few times this year and finally having driven it, the 108 van is the one you want.
My friend Jed, spent about a year locating a 108 and found one in Ft.Collins. He spent the end of spring and most of the summer, paying it off, while he was working at our shop.
He's started to disassemble the interior for a remodel. He wants to go very modern (1960's modern, not today!) and build a very comfortable, connected sectional seating, with a hide away kidney table to trim the seats in for easy seating.
Along with that, the 6k on the rebuilt 225 and non synchro 1st in the 3 on the tree are going to get upgraded with electronic ignition, Dutra dual exhaust with lakes pipes, a better induction system and an 833 OD with the better synchro 309 1st gear.
It's a riot to drive. Manual steering, with a near horizontal 19" wheel. You forget how different you move in your seat in a car, when you aren't sitting on top of the front wheel. It feels like a garbage truck. Super comfy to get in and out of, even for someone as tall as Jed and I (6'6" and 6'5")...
The entire drivetrain and brake system in his Sportsman is in great shape, but you have to be at a dead stop or a rolling stop 1.5mph to get it into first, making it tricky, going from a road into a parking lot and keeping it in 2nd. It's on it's way to torque abuse at that low of speed without being in 1st gear, that you can't get while rolling.
It's also about topped at 50-55mph, so the OD would help a bunch. I think it has 4.10 gears in the 8 3/4.
This one has an early pop top conversion that raises the roof about 18". It works and seals, but it's in need of some new, rubberized vinyl. It uses the original roof skin, with riveted extruded aluminum and weatherstrip to hold the pop top mechanism. Has a vent screen that the rubber unzips from and the swing under step is still intact and works for the rear passenger doors.
When he drove it down from Ft.Collins, he said he burned the **** out of his forearm, when he set it on the doghouse. The crummy fiberglass insulation had nearly fallen out completely. He tore it all out for some more modern, tar/ reflective sound/ temp insulation and it does get a little warm (warm enough to keep a coffee cup and breakfast burrito nice!) but it's nothing terrible, now.
We actually talked about making a non insulated, powdercoated cup holder for coffee and tray next to it, that had an insulated lid/flap to have the option of keeping food warm.
It had a fridge and propane stove, but he pulled them out, because he doesn't need them or the weight. He will be putting a cooler drawer under the seating on one spot to keep cold drinks, along with a new entertainment system that will be hidden when not in use and plans on using aluminum and carbon fiber for the seat base construction wherever he can to save weight.
He wants to paint it turquoise, but I'm trying to convince him to go with 1968 LL1 Surf Poly Turquoise.(<color example link) It's more like a metallic teal than it looks like a piece of actual turquoise, like the truck color that was nonmetallic. The truck turquoise is nice, too, but most of the A series that I have seen are that color.
Everyone who commented on it, in the duration that I drove it on Friday had a grin that matched ours. I'm convinced that these things just make people happy. It's not about going fast. Just having fun.
As I'm about 2 minutes out from leaving work at the resto shop on Friday, right before I leave to skate to the train station, my friend Jed finally got his '68 108 going and paid us a visit!
He was so excited to ride in the back, because he hasn't much yet, that I had the pleasure of firing up the left handed ignition and drove it for about an hour. What a pleasant experience. I would highly recommend one of these to anyone in the market for a classic that is road ready.
While I like all A100 series, I've got to side with Frankie on this one. After seeing it a few times this year and finally having driven it, the 108 van is the one you want.
My friend Jed, spent about a year locating a 108 and found one in Ft.Collins. He spent the end of spring and most of the summer, paying it off, while he was working at our shop.
He's started to disassemble the interior for a remodel. He wants to go very modern (1960's modern, not today!) and build a very comfortable, connected sectional seating, with a hide away kidney table to trim the seats in for easy seating.
Along with that, the 6k on the rebuilt 225 and non synchro 1st in the 3 on the tree are going to get upgraded with electronic ignition, Dutra dual exhaust with lakes pipes, a better induction system and an 833 OD with the better synchro 309 1st gear.
It's a riot to drive. Manual steering, with a near horizontal 19" wheel. You forget how different you move in your seat in a car, when you aren't sitting on top of the front wheel. It feels like a garbage truck. Super comfy to get in and out of, even for someone as tall as Jed and I (6'6" and 6'5")...
The entire drivetrain and brake system in his Sportsman is in great shape, but you have to be at a dead stop or a rolling stop 1.5mph to get it into first, making it tricky, going from a road into a parking lot and keeping it in 2nd. It's on it's way to torque abuse at that low of speed without being in 1st gear, that you can't get while rolling.
It's also about topped at 50-55mph, so the OD would help a bunch. I think it has 4.10 gears in the 8 3/4.
This one has an early pop top conversion that raises the roof about 18". It works and seals, but it's in need of some new, rubberized vinyl. It uses the original roof skin, with riveted extruded aluminum and weatherstrip to hold the pop top mechanism. Has a vent screen that the rubber unzips from and the swing under step is still intact and works for the rear passenger doors.
When he drove it down from Ft.Collins, he said he burned the **** out of his forearm, when he set it on the doghouse. The crummy fiberglass insulation had nearly fallen out completely. He tore it all out for some more modern, tar/ reflective sound/ temp insulation and it does get a little warm (warm enough to keep a coffee cup and breakfast burrito nice!) but it's nothing terrible, now.
We actually talked about making a non insulated, powdercoated cup holder for coffee and tray next to it, that had an insulated lid/flap to have the option of keeping food warm.
It had a fridge and propane stove, but he pulled them out, because he doesn't need them or the weight. He will be putting a cooler drawer under the seating on one spot to keep cold drinks, along with a new entertainment system that will be hidden when not in use and plans on using aluminum and carbon fiber for the seat base construction wherever he can to save weight.
He wants to paint it turquoise, but I'm trying to convince him to go with 1968 LL1 Surf Poly Turquoise.(<color example link) It's more like a metallic teal than it looks like a piece of actual turquoise, like the truck color that was nonmetallic. The truck turquoise is nice, too, but most of the A series that I have seen are that color.
Everyone who commented on it, in the duration that I drove it on Friday had a grin that matched ours. I'm convinced that these things just make people happy. It's not about going fast. Just having fun.