This 1981 Dodge 150 pickup has gone from daily driver to treasured custom in less than four years. Both the truck and its current owners, Ryan and Bekki, were originally in BC. Bekki’s dad Don purchased it in 2000, and used it as his daily driver until 2016, when he bought a new Dodge pickup. He offered the 1981 truck to Bekki and Ryan for free, so they had it shipped, by train, from Kelowna to Toronto, then it was driven to Kingston. It ran fine, but had a couple of rust spots under the driver’s seat, and above the windshield. The paint was a very weathered mottled black colour, and the interior was in very dire shape.
In late 2016, Ryan took the truck to have the floorboard and windshield rust addressed, and he drove the short distance using a plastic box as a seat. When Tom called after finishing the metal work, he said there had been a problem with the truck. When he pulled the truck out of the garage, the driver’s side tire had collapsed inward at an angle, so he hadn’t moved it any further. The truck was brought home on a flat deck, and upon inspection it turned out that the upper A-arm had bent up and back because of rust. An inspection of the other side revealed the same issue. Needless to say, both A-arms were replaced. At the same time, lower A-arms from a Dodge van were installed, which lowered the front end about 3 inches. Also the brakes, shocks and springs were done. The entire frame, underside, and rear end were sanded and wire wheeled, then covered with a coat of DOM 16. The rear axle was flipped to lower the rear, and the lead springs, shocks, brakes and brake lines were replaced. The truck now has a mild rake to the front.
At this point, Ryan made the decision to try to do a full restoration, as so many small issues had been revealed when working underneath. Ryan began working on the cab, removing the big truck-style mirrors, then filling all the holes and dents. The bodywork on the cab consumed more than two years, as Ryan was working full time and also remodelling his 1950’s house at the same time.
Finally, in 2018, Ryan painted the cab inside and out, in a single-stage black urethane in his homemade paint booth. He bought a used 80 gallon compressor and paint gun, and got the paint from Eastwood. Once painted, he worked on the interior first, replacing the front bench with one from a Ford F150, which came with integral head restraints that alleviated his hitting his head on the rear window. He had to dye the fabric black to match his interior. The dashboard was painted black, and the gauges were detailed in copper, then the whole cab was lined with sound deadening and the carpet replaced. The doors were covered with black vinyl and patterned copper inserts, and custom fibreglass speaker pods were made for the bottom portion of the doors. A simple stereo was installed with an old school Pioneer Class A amp, subs and Bluetooth head unit. The ashtray was removed and replaced with a custom fibreglass pocket for holding and charging a phone.
Ryan then moved on to the truck bed, starting with bodywork on the two rear fenders. Next, the outside walls of the bed and tailgate were bodyworked, followed by the interior walls. When it was all finished, the entire bed was painted black. Ryan then used a two-part black bed liner to do the underside of the fenders and the inside of the box.
The fenders are attached with large polished fender bolts that are visible in the bed.
The front and rear bumpers have both been narrowed, moved tighter to the truck and painted black. The taillights are aftermarket LED units made for Jeeps, modified from their original housing into one made of wood, then painted black to match. The grille is essentially a customized stock Dodge one, all the openings enlarged and painted gunmetal grey to match the wheels. Ryan added black mesh behind the grille openings to provide a cleaner look. The headlights are aftermarket sealed LED units. The wheels were picked out by Bekki, since it was really her truck. They are TSW Fortier 20×9-inch, carrying 245/45’s up front, and 275/40’s on the rear. Custom spacers were made by Bora to change the bolt patterns to allow the modern wheels to work.
The only part of the truck left to work on is the engine bay, which will be addressed this winter. The 318 is stock, except for the four-barrel carb, aluminum intake and long tube headers. The dual exhaust empties where the step used to be, and is custom welded 2 ½-inch tubing with a dual in/dual out Flowmaster 50 muffler.
Hopefully, Ryan will be able to hit some car shows in 2021, since Covid-19 suspended this entire show season. The truck is stunning. It’s almost hard to believe that the work was done by someone who had never done bodywork, paint, or custom interior work at all. The fact that the work was substantially completed in his own modified garage, and to such a high standard, says much about his skills. Great work Ryan.
