Writer Resto: 1964 Dodge AT4 353 Part 3

Commence tagging!

A few weeks back I purchased a 1964 Dodge AT4 353 as a project to while away my spare hours (ha!); and after squeezing it into my suburban two-car garage, began the painstaking job of disassembling and cataloguing its many and varied parts.

It’s easy to get carried away at this point – like the renovators on TV with their 12lb sledge hammers blithely smashing out walls. But it’s crucial that every component is labelled clearly to know how it’s reassembled in the months (or years) to come.

I’ve restored a number of cars and motorbikes now and have learnt from experience that carefully tagging and photographing the assembly order of the myriad components a vehicle comprises is cheap insurance when you make it to the other end. It also helps to know which pieces go where once they return from the machinist, plater or powder-coater – and to make sure they’ve returned the right parts!

The other factor to keep in mind at this stage is to understand the sequence of your restoration. Again, it’s easy to ‘go the hack’ and throw the lot into a box for another day. But knowing which parts will follow one another come reassembly time is important to chart.

I spend a day (or more) looking over the vehicle carefully and mentally arranging the restoration beginning to end. I then note that order in an exercise book I keep in the vehicle. It’s a process I find not only helps the build run more smoothly, but gives you a reference to check back on. It also helps you to budget more carefully.

Where to begin?

Knowing where you want to finish is a great place to start. As the restoration here is relatively straightforward (in that I’m not modifying the truck in any considerable manner), I took time to note the original placement and orientation of mechanical components, and to note any body parts that had been affected by rust.

When you need to refabricate pieces of panel work or structural elements of the body, it’s vital that you know how these interact with one another. It’s important to maintain the original structural integrity of the body accurately to avoid issues later on – and to make sure you’re not doing it again in a few years’ time (we’ll focus more on this in coming updates).

From here it’s a relatively straightforward procedure. Remove any bolt-on parts (after a good soaking in Penetrene) and store them appropriately, and bundle any work together that will be carried out by like contractors. For any vehicle restoration that’s a terrific way to save money.

Sending work off in larger batches will usually secure you a better rate. For the Dodge, it’s electroplating in one batch, media-blasting and powder coating in another, upholstery in yet another, and so on.

To assist even further with budgeting it’s important to understand the costs involved, and to research reputable contractors to complete the work. Parts on older vehicles are often hard to come by, and the last thing you want is for these precious pieces to be damaged irreparably by careless or unqualified contractors. Research is the key here.

Don’t cut the red wire…

An often overlooked but critical part of any restoration is the electrical system. The Dodge AT4 has very simple wiring and comprises few of the conveniences found in modern vehicles. But it’s important all the same.

A lot of people go to painstaking levels of effort to restore a vehicle only to rely on the existing wiring to burden the load. Adding radios and seat heaters, etc. to a 55-year-old loom is a recipe for disaster. In my case the loom had been cut and joined repeatedly over the decades with in-line fuses and wiring of unknown origin (and gauge) left to shoulder the task at hand.

In short (ha ha!) it meant nothing outside of the ignition system worked. No lights. No wipers. No indicators. Nothing. And the back of the dashboard looked like a technicolour bird’s nest.

The original wiring diagram was a great help in understanding where everything was meant to route, and what colour wire performed each task. Unfortunately much of the existing loom was so badly damaged that it proved unsafe to repair, and as such a complete and professional remanufacture of the electrical system is in order – this time with the relays and fuses Dodge’s engineers never bothered with.

New switchgear and restored instruments (check-out Part 2 of this update soon for more on this) are also on the list, along with an uprated ignition switch to give the old truck some semblance of security. Provision will also be made for a radio and seat heaters (whether I decide to run them or not is another story), and upgraded under-bonnet wiring to accommodate an electronic ignition later on.

The order of things

Once the Dodge is stripped to reveal any rust and body repairs that might need to take place you can begin to piece together the order of your restoration. Obviously, the big ticket repairs take a lot of time and patience, while other peripheral items can be carried out by various contractors and as the budget allows.

For me, it’s all about visual progress – and incentive. Having a goal to work to is important, and seeing how some of the ‘end product’ will turn out is wonderfully encouraging.

While I grind and weld inside the garage, smaller components I can’t restore myself can be done elsewhere. Door handles, badges and mouldings can be away at the platers; the engine block can be sent away for crack testing and machining; and the seats, door cards and headlining can visit the upholsterer.

As each of these individual projects take different time to complete, it’s also a great way to manage your budget. As months tick by you find you’re not as stressed about waiting for components to return, and have them ‘ready and waiting’ as the body nears completion. Again, simply do things as the funds allow.

To others it might seem like I’m working backwards. But for me there’s no feeling better than having everything lined up and ready to go once the body returns from the painters. It helps keep things in order, and it prevents facing one almighty bill come assembly time.

As I said in the previous update, I don’t have a timeframe for the AT4 to be completed as much of the build will depend on the state of my bank balance. I will, however, endeavour to update the Writer Resto on trucksales.com.au as visual progress is made and look forward to sharing the journey with you over the coming months.

Related reading:
>> Writer Resto: 1964 Dodge AT4 353 Part 1
>> Writer Resto: 1964 Dodge AT4 353 Part 2