Oh yeah, forgot to add it to my list. Picked up a couple from Mitchells years ago.

All of the 6v fuel senders I have were worn. I ended up using a 12v tank (has different sender & fitting to 6v) in the 6v 52 truck and had a 12v sender modified to suit. My gauge fella reckoned it was a pain as the sender internals at the top of the arm worked in the opposite direction, so he hand-made a small brass cog to suit. I installed a later model plastic float and have set the arm to read empty with an inch of fuel left in the tank.

I haven’t changed too much from stock on my 52 DeSoto truck or my 53 Dodge coupe truck... but I did chop the internal section of the oil bath air filter/s to convert ithem to a stainless steel cage which is covered by an oil-soaked sock. I have changed out the diff centre (from 4.1 to 3.54) in my 53 coupe truck but am yet to do the same with my 52 truck.

Our trucks are a little different here in Oz. My Canadian built (but Australian assembled) 52 DeSoto 1/2 ton truck has the internal rear vision mirror, passenger side door mirror, steering wheel horn ring, electric wiper, 802 radio, & under-dash ash tray. I pieced together my own set of 6v dual horns working from factory specifications... and I’m actually piecing together another 12v set for my 53 Dodge coupe truck at present (I have all of the parts but am yet to have them painted). I have another 802 radio which will be retro-fitted with all modern 12v components for the 53 coupe truck, and I will keep all of the old valve electrics for spares for my other fitted 6v (fully rebuilt) radio. i have fitted a USA internal door latch mechanism (which I picked up from Mark at the BBQ in CA last year) to my 53 coupe truck so I now have external door locks on both doors. i have changed out my 4.1 diff centre for a 3.54 for better highway cruising, but I am yet to install the other 3.54 in my 52 truck. I brought home a good set of bumper guards last year also... but your USA bumper profile is dirrerent to ours here in Oz, so my mate Hank will get a nice gift when I am back in CA for the BBQ in 2020.

I decided to fabricate a clip myself using .042 thick spring steel (1/4 in. wide) from McMaster-Carr. The .062 material seems too thick to me. I asked M-C about getting a foot or two of sample material (which they wouldn't do), but they did something even better; I had to buy the whole 25 ft roll but M-C promised to take back what I didn't use and refund the money for the returned part of the coil. Can't beat that. Trying to find a shop to make the clips just sounds too hard. Most shops want big jobs. Anyway, here are a few pictures to show my approach. I drew up a simple schematic of the clip with my best guess as to the correct dimensions of the clip. The end result isn't perfect, but I think it will be close enough to hold the door open and stop it from swinging too far.

I have seen one accessory fender step (similar to the one Reg has) for sale, back in 2010, mounted on a bed side panel on an eBay auction... the seller would not remove the step, only wanted to sell the entire panel, fender + accessory and all out of Colorado, for an exorbitant amount imo considering the rust that was included...the seller put me in contact with the eventual buyer, who was willing to sell me the fender step for the amount he paid for the entire bed side panel, so I passed on that generous offer...I have not seen one for sale since...but one has popped up on here unused on an occasion :cool:

Little button on the dash, push it and the cap pops open.

I like to see these old beasts close to factory original, but I've seen vintage pictures of trucks being used as workhorses and I can appreciate certain modifications made to optimize performance. So if a truck has mods that are period correct, such as dual carbs or even a 2bbl carb + a dual exhaust kit, I can live with that... I can also appreciate how important it is from a safety standpoint to keep these old trucks reliable and not causing accidents from stalling. I have stalled out from a blown condenser at the end of my driveway, which was durn lucky...years later, I stalled at a controlled highway intersection and things got dicey for a few minutes until I could get back underway because I did not have bright emergency flashers to get other drivers' attention. So improvements like electronic ignition and brighter signal lights with additional turn signals / flashers can be subtle enough to get a pass from me as they are intended for safety and not showing off. And with the advent of solid-state electronics, the factory radio option can be updated with IC board to replace the tubes, etc and even add an mp3 port...the look of the original radio with modern features that can be hidden from view

I've seen the electric gas cap on eBay a few times...how does that work?

That's a great suggestion. If I decide to try the thinner steel (.042) , I will definitely give it a try.

If ya need less than a full stick, ya might could call'm up and see if they could send ya a 12 inch sample for validation purposes...sometimes they do, sometimes they don't...

Jocko, if you want to split the rolls, I might be able to go in halves with you on the roll you bought and the next........ send me a PM if you are going back to "M-C" can you see if they carry the toe kick bolts? they are the 4 that go on the sides of the two upper floor boards I know I could use any bolt and nut but if I can get them I'd buy some

I found out that heating the spring material from McMaster-Carr until it's red hot makes it possible to bend into tight circles, but the bend has to be done when the steel is red hot. That means that I had about two seconds to form the steel after heating. As I'm sure you know from your experience, the hard part is duplicating the original shape, so I now realize that a jig like the one you made is essential. I'm a little concerned that the .062 thickness of the M-C material I bought is a bit too thick and I might try thinner stock. (I hate to buy another 25 ft roll.) In the meantime I'll keep looking for a shop that can make these clips new.

I always forget about McMaster..... nice find (you kids and your internet 😋) i suspect the market might not be red hot for these but who knows. If you end up finding a shop and need a sample let me know, I'll mail you my original and buy a few.... If it isn't cost effective to have them made but you think the product looks good, let me know, I might end up buying a 25' section to play around

Brent, I think I found a source for the right size and type of spring steel. I was poking around on the internet looking for a source of spring steel that closely matches the steel strips that Dodge used to make these parts. I got lucky and read something on the Practical Machinist that lead me to McMaster-Carr. Here's the spring steel strip material I found... https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/124/3809/=1cw6zul The McMaster-Carr part number is 9075K456. It's the first listing in the .062 section of the chart. Here's their description... "Wear-Resistant 1095 Spring Steel, 0.0620" Thick, 3/16" Wide, 25 Feet Long" First of all, it's spring steel. Second, it's close to perfect in thickness (I measured the thickness of the steel strip material Dodge used. (It's .060 thick as far as I can tell using a caliper). The width is almost perfect too...3/16". It comes in 25 foot lengths, but the cost is not high ($35.73). If my math is correct, there should be enough steel in 25 ft to make about 100 of these door stops if I can find a machine shop to crank them out. I wonder if there is a market for this part among Pilothouse owners. Luckily, I have a McMaster-Carr warehouse close to where I live and I can examine the material before buying it. Jocko

thanks jocko, so far so good..... yeah, I used oxy & acetylene got it red hot, the spring steel is much stronger/ harder than my first attempts. although I like to recycle, I need to find a source for the spring steel.

Looks good, especially the end loops! Does it hold the door open OK? Did you have to heat the spring material in order to bend it or was it easy to shape?

aww you caught me no they don't rub, I added a 1" spacer I made from an old brake rotors from a 2000 Mazda Protégé. cut out the centers drilled some 5/8" holes with 1" counter sink on both sides (for the "rim locks") replaced the wheel bolts (with longer ones) and prettied them up I knew that Mazda was good for something!

They don't rub on the duals?

The DOT 5 fluid in my '48 still holds pressure 19 years later... I replaced the draft tube with a PCV valve on the '49 and the engine compartment doesn't smoke nor does the engine drip oil there...I have plans to add the tube from the oil fill tube to the air filter to siphon off any other crankcase gases to further clean up the engine compartment... also added the ground stud to the fuel level sending unit to eliminate any guesswork and minimize any future surprise pedestrian activities

The tank unit in my 52 Fargo was hopelessly ruined. I had a nos tank unit for a 54 Plymouth so I cut the float arm from it and from my 52 Fargo. I welded the float arms together so it matched what the truck needed. My gauge now works perfectly. If fate intervenes I will eventually get another 54 Plymouth which will (of course) need a tank unit. Removal of the inner cover often knocks off the resistance cone which is well nigh impossible to repair.