Merle Coggins

Let 'em in... Let 'em in... I like beautiful nude girls. :D:D

I think a 3.54 is overkill. I have a 3.73 diff in my truck, and with the nearly stock 218 CID engine it works well. It'll do 75MPH down the freeway if I want it to, and it still has decent power for the hills around here. (except for when my points were out of adjustment) I'd be afraid that a 3.54 may be a little much for the hills in Pennsyltucky, where Dave lives. Although if that's what readily available, then give it a try since it's only my opinion with no hard facts. Merle

Only the 1/2 ton trucks were called "Pickups". 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with a "pickup" bed were called "Express" trucks. Merle

I have a small slide hammer tool that has a sheet metal screw in the tip. I just drilled a hole through the seal, screwed in the slide hammer, and popped it right out. Piece of cake. Merle

Well Dave, I did over 7 hours in mine when I drove up to Mopars in the Park. And even though I have 8" on you my truck is also a 3/4 tonner with even stiffer springs. It does get a bit choppy on rough roads, but I'm not expecting it to ride like my '06 F150. And even at 116" wheel base there are roads that are "perfect" for that length. There's a road that I travel frequently between my home and my work. It's a littlt bumpy in my modern truck, but when I take the Ol' Dodge up that road you'd swear that the tires turned square. It'll beat you to death. It's a concrete road with seams at regular intervals. I suspect that they are 116" apart. Merle

Looks good Ed. Atta boy. Merle

My garage cleaning day gave my driveway a different look. This collection has changed a bit since then. Otherwise, this IS my old vehicle collection. Merle

One more opinion... 1.) I wonder if you possibly have an intermittent key off draw. I"ve heard of cases where a voltage regulator sticks and causes a current drain even after the key is off. This could cause an internittent problem like you describe. Or, maybe a sticking dome light switch that keeps the light on, but you just don't notice it? 2.) I am reading this question as long to start, not slow cranking, yes? I experience this same thing because the gas evaporates out of the carburator when parked for extended periods of time. It will take a bit of cranking to get gas back up into the carb before it'll start up. The only way I know of to get around this problem would be to install an electric fuel pump to "prime" the system before starting. Merle

You should not have to remove the drums to check axle end play, although it would eliminate any brake drag resistance. When the drum is tight on the axle shaft, the shaft should still be able to float back and forth. As for the shims... too few shims makes the bearings too tight (no end play), and too many shims makes the bearing too loose (too much end play). If you tighten up the nut and the drum locks up, you need to check to see if the drum is contacting the backing plate. If this is the cause of the drum not turning then I suspect that your replacement drum has a worn out tapered bore. This causes the drum to go onto the axle shaft farther before becoming tight. In which case the drum now contacts the backing plate and drags or binds up. A worn bore can happen when the drum was left loose on the shaft, allowing it to work back and forth and wear against the shaft. Merle

I overheard a couple of skeeters talking the other day... One said, "Should we eat him here or carry him back to the nest?" The other replied, "I think we should eat him here. If we carry him back to the nest the big ones will get him."

I've often thought about putting up a bat house in an open area back behind my house. The land is owned by a limestone quarry and is buffer zone between them and my residential neighborhood. I don't believe anyone would even know it's there, or care if it was. But how do you attract the bats to it once you put it up? Or does it work like "Field of Dreams... "If you build it they will come." Merle

I did a little research on the history of the Diesel engine a while back. I found it interesting that Rudolf Diesel created his engines to run on peanut oils and other vegatable oils. He had a great vision of changing the fuel industry and supporting local farmers by producing biofuel engines. However, after his death in 1913 his engine design was changed to run on petroleum based fuels. And now almost a century later the push is back on for biofuels. Hmm. http://www.dieselenginemotor.com/diesel_engine_history.html Merle

You may have your float too high now. Modern gas is a little more volitile and will expand with the heat soak when shut down hot. Also, check that your heat riser is in the horizontal position with the counter weight in front of the shaft. I've also found that my truck needs just a little throttle to start when hot. Either step on the gas slightly with the left foot while cranking with the right, or pull out your throttle cable a bit then crank it up. Merle

Dave, Have you checked with Antique Auto Parts Cellar? http://www.maritimedragracing.com/then_and_now_automotive.htm

I think I just saw one on ebay

Maybe give these people a look. It might help with the red tape in Madison. http://www.broadwaytitle.com/index.htm Merle

Yes, it was originally 6 volt positive ground. When you get new cables be sure that they are heavy enough. Off the shelf cables made for modern 12v vehicles won't be able to carry the current necessary for your 6 volt system. Look for battery cables in the 2 gauge or heavier. I have 00 gauge in my truck and I couldn't be happier. Merle

Yesterday, as I was dismantling my parts truck, I had to make a quick run to Farm & Fleet for some screws to assemble a quick engine stand. I jumped in the Ol' Dodge for this errand. When I came out of the store I saw a guy standing in front of my truck just staring at it. When he saw me coming over to it he asked if it was mine and what year it was. I told him it was a '50 and he tells me that he's restoring a '50 Dodge truck too. Apparently he's doing a frame off restoration of his '50, and he also has a '48 frame that he got from someone. I found out that he lives in Dousman, which is about 15 miles west of me. As I'm talking with this guy another guy comes in and parks near by. He walks over and asks, "What year?". I tell him and then find out that his grandson has a '53 Dodge truck that he's turning into a rat rod. Guy #1 expresses his disaproval as I try to remain neutral. Guy #2 trys to reassure us that it was "too far gone to restore", plus his grandson is only 15 and doesn't have enough money to restore it. He also mentiones that he's been throwing away parts and offered to give me anything I want. He says that he's got a good gas tank. Although I don't need it, I figure that there's always someone here looking for one, so I exchange phone #'s and emails with the guy. I'll see what he has and offer it up to the forum. I wanted to get guy #1's info too, but he left before I could get it. Then Guy #3 pulls in, parks, and walkes up... "What year?"... "What color is the engine?" After some discussion I find out that he has a 40something Buick that he's trying to sell. He also tells me he was asking about the engine color because he just saw a chassis on a trailer heading towards a scrap yard and it had a 6 cyl flat head engine painted red. He was trying to figure out what it was. Guy #2 tells him about his grandson's rat rod project, to which he replies, "He's the rat..." I guess he doesn't like rat rods either. Anyway, after chatting with these 3 guys for a while we all finally got on with our errands. What fun... Like I said, Old Dodge trucks are so Cool. Merle

When it comes to cab removal, I cheat. When you have access to the right equipment it's a piece of cake. I was working on stripping down my parts truck yesterday, so I borrowed one of our spare service trucks from work. The crane makes easy work of things. Merle

Thanks Bob for all you do for the club. I just received my renewal packet in the mail with another interesting DVD. Good work Bob. Where do you find these old videos? They sure put that Power Wagon through hell, and it performed perfectly. Loved it. :) Merle

Yup. 5 on 5" hubs with 15" wheels on 3/4 ton trucks. 5 on 4 1/2" with 16" wheels for the 1/2 ton trucks. Not sure why they used different patterns. The term Pilot House was a marketing term refering to the "all around visibility" of the new cab design, like in the pilot house of a ship. By the way... Welcome aboard. Tell us more about your truck. Merle

Here in Wisconsin they have it written that if you can't move over on a multi-lane highway, or if on a 2 lane road, you must "slow down to a safe speed for traffic conditions" until past the emergency vehicle.

It's not an urban legend according to the web site links to IL DOT. It sounds like they may be adding more vans. Adam, I've been meaning to ask a Germantown cop that I know what he'd do if he saw me in my truck without a seatbelt. Even though I have installed seatbelts, it didn't originally have them. So unless he/they knew that I had them installed, how could they pull be over for not using it? I tend to use it if I'm heading out on the highway, but when I'm putting 'round town I usually leave it off. However, in my daily truck I wear it all the time. I guess I just got into that habit, and don't like listing to the seat belt alarm. Merle

I just got the following message from a lawyer friend of mine. It looks like Illinois is getting serious about speeding through "work zones".