Vintage Eaton Rear End

It took a couple of years, but Bob finally scored a highly desirable mid-'40's Eaton rear end for the '47 Ford dump truck. Thanks for that goes out to our friend and fellow '40's Ford dump truck enthusiast Chris Swenson.

By the way, Chris and company should be putting the final touches on the Washington State Eastside vs. Westside Reliability Run this coming weekend. Is it still on? There doesn't seem to be current information on the H.A.M.B. Are you going? The Skirt is disappointed, the driver of the car she was going to ride in has to go to California.

Just A Fool For Small Town Parades

To indulge The skirt's fondness for small town parades, we scheduled a pick up of the '47 Ford dump truck from its home in Ritzville on the day of the Ritzville Community Parade, which was part of the Wheat Land Communities Fair. It was just our kind of small town event. The wheat truck was actually part of the parade and won a first place ribbon in its category. We were as proud as a country cock. Rod Builders did an excellent job restoring that truck. Click here for how it all started and click on the label for the full story. Here are a few things that caught my eye: Bob, and our dog Trevor, visiting with folks before they line up for the parade. Bob, looking over this fabulous horseless carriage, and 1950 split window International pickup. The skirt liked the rotating pink spangled pigs and Molly, Ritzville's oldest resident. Here RBI customer, Martin Deeg, shares his beautiful '55 Merc with the crowd. Click here to read the story on this car.Everyone, including the dogs, had mixed feelings about the musket fire from the civil war reenactors.

It's voting season. God bless America!

It Takes A Team of Suppliers To Build A Car and We've Got Their Numbers

It takes a team of professionals to build or restore your classic car or truck. You need to buy new parts and and have the impossible to replace ones restored. You need things sandblasted, chromed, and painted. You need new tires, hoses and belts. You get the idea.
When you hire Rod Builders you get an experienced crew who can do the modifications and restoration work you want, and project manage the whole thing if you need it. We track down and buy the parts, schedule specialized services and keep the project large or small rolling along. RBI uses a network of local, professional and dependable suppliers with whom there is mutual trust to provide the goods, if you know what we mean. Need more proof that we get things done? Just look in the gallery section of our web site or click on any of the car labels on the right-hand side of this blog to see the beginning, middle and the END of things people have paid us to do.

Spokane Car Builder

Dump Truck Debuts At Hometown Festival

Sunday we drove the '47 Ford dump truck 75 miles south of Spokane to Ritzville, WA in time to make the Ritzville Classics at the Park Car Show. Local farmers remembered seeing the old truck parked next to the courthouse and were amazed at the transformation. The day had everything going for it. The truck ran great, the weather was nicer than anyone remembers it ever being on a Memorial Day weekend, the people were friendly and the Ritzville gun club served a big plate BBQ lunch. So, we ate in the shade of a grand, old walnut tree, and answered questions about the restoration. It was a good day.

Dump Truck back home. For a complete pictorial of the restoration click here and scroll down.

Dump Truck Back From Paint

Truck's back from paint. This big, old, pig is starting to look cool.

Here's the hood and fenders.

Watch Video of Big Green '47 Dump Truck - St. Patrick's Day Treat

It is day 110 on the restoration of the '47 dump truck. Yesterday the guys took the truck for a test drive around the block. Everything checked out fine, so they headed back out to drive it the few miles to Scott Motorsports where they'll paint the dump bed glade green to match the cab. Blessed with the luck of the Irish they didn't attract the attention of the police. Listen to that engine. All they did was tear it apart and clean it up.

'47 Dumper Cab Back From Paint

The dump truck cab is back from Scott Motorsports paint shop. The color is Glade Green. We were looking for a fresher version of the original color. Looks pretty good don't you think?

Working Truck Bed

It's not what we do every day, but reconditioning this '47 Ford dump truck involves going through all the hydraulics and dump mechanism. It's nice when it actually works likes its supposed to.

Re-firing the ABA Flathead - Day 73 On '47 Dump Truck

Larry, the previous owner of this beautiful '47 Ford 2 Ton dumper stopped by with the current owner to see how the restoration is progressing. They got to see the re-firing of the ABA flathead motor.

The Ford flathead is one of the most produced engines in history and is very distinctive sounding when they're fired up without exhaust. Check out this video

Soon, this beautiful old workhorse will be resting in a nice warm shop waiting to be taken out every spring an summer for garbage runs and parades.

'47 Dump Truck - At Paint

Bryce Scott at Scott Motorsports sent us some pictures of the progress they are making on prepping the '47 dump truck cab for a glade green colored paint.

Santa Loves the Snow

Santa loves the snow, but us mere mortals in Spokane not so much. Yes, it's pretty and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but all of us in the Inland Empire are still weary from the over 90 inches we got last year. Meanwhile work goes on in the hot rod shop and it's looking like Santa's place out there.

It's Week 4 for the '47 dump truck.

The dump bed on this truck was a WWII surplus unit that was a monster relative to the truck. We cut 36" from the length and 12" from the width to make it better fit the proportions of the cab.

Dustin is back to work on Paul's Model A pickup. This week we made water hard lines, installed bed wood, finished column drop, finished the hood and tie down straps, installed exhaust, built seats and installed the fuel tank.

Greg is working on the Mach 1. As usual, what loked like a little rust ended up being most of the back panels of the Mustang. We were able to save the rear quarters, but that was about it. This will go to Dan Rennick on Friday to begin paint and body work.

It is definitely looking like a white Christmas at Rod Builders. Next, the slaves (elves,guys) will have to move snow so we can move cars around. We have taken away all the sharp tools because we're going to be on suicide watch pretty soon with all this snow. HELP US!

Day 18 - Work On The '47 Dump Truck

Taking the engine out - of course the old bolts are holding firm.

Cutting loose the bed rails makes a great photo. Earlier this week Eric did a little rust repair on the cab before we hauled it up to ScottMotorsports for paint.

So Much To Be Thankful For

Admittedly trying to make a living from a hot rod shop in beautiful, but off the beaten path Spokane, Washington hasn't always been a romp on the beach. But sensible business practices, a terrific crew, dreamy customers, and trusted suppliers has brought us to this place where we have a solid little business, and we are thankful. We know for some people money is tight right now, some experts are predicting the economy may take a sharp nose dive next year. But if you're in a financial position to have work done on your car project, give us a call. We're here, we're staffed up, we're really good at what we do, and we are fair and square on our pricing. If you have found this blog entry via a search and you would like to see our work, check out our web site. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog and Happy Thanksgiving, USA.

Slice the pumpkin pie already, will ya!

Day One - Tearing Down The Dump Truck

Martin Deeg couldn't resist giving this '47 Ford dump truck a second life. This truck has lived most of its life on a wheat farm in Eastern Washington. It was very well cared for. The dump bed is a '40 military surplus. Martin really felt that anything that has come this far deserves some love.

For some of us, tear down is the most enjoyable part of a restoration. We take hundreds of photos to document what goes where and keep track of what the painter claims he never got.

Asses and elbows is what you expect to see at RBI. There's no meetings to discuss plans for exploration of options for scheduling. We tear it down so we can get it back together. This particular truck is going to be returned to as original condition as can be done. We may add an overdrive to get her down the highway at more than 45 mph.

This truck was in amazing condition. The farmer that owned it kept it under cover for most of its life. There is virtually no rust, and the original rubber parts are still functional. Yes, that's the original ABA flathead with 35k miles on it. We'll freshen it a bit and stick it back in! Bob

1947 Ford Dump Truck

This cool old dump truck came into the shop Friday. It was used to haul wheat to the grain elevator in Ritzville, Washington. The new owner wants a complete restoration. The army truck bed is not original of course, but the guys think they can make it look more proportional.