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Jeff Balazs

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Everything posted by Jeff Balazs

  1. This country will never truly switch over. It is not in our genes. Just look at all the things that work against this.....from legal descriptions to common plumbing and it is obvious that centuries from now the old measurement systems will still be in use here. And I say that is OK. Makes it that much harder for anyone outside to try and take us over. Jeff
  2. Glad I saw this. I was thinking that I could do the Rusty hope conversion on my 3/4 ton....but it has 5-5" bolt pattern wheels which have been powder coated and have new rubber on them. I think this may be an issue doing a Cherokee rear axle swap as well. Nothing ever seems to be straightforward on this old truck. Jeff
  3. Hi Hank; Thank you......it run's good too. Don't worry I will be careful. I just about have it ready to hoist out. You are right a lot of engines have lifting points attached this way. I am going to ask Jon to make me a pair. We started working on straightening the frame Friday. I have to say that these frames are much more "pliable" than I ever expected. We made some decent progress but were hampered by the engine and transmission assembly. Jon thinks we can get it straight and back to spec's. To be honest when I lifted the cab off the other day I was thinking no way. I about threw up! It was obvious that it got T-boned a long time ago. Must have happened shortly after the engine was rebuilt. While someone did a decent job on the body work the frame was a mess. And it was almost entirely hidden under the cab. A note to all: If your frame has taken a heavy side impact then the way it is built both sides will surely be affected. No if's, and's or but's. I have taken before pictures and will post them later with after repair pictures.....if we are successful. Trust me it was ugly. Again..these frames are of lighter construction than they look. If they have taken a big hit then you really need to look closely at the entire frame. There is a very good chance that there is damage several feet from the actual impact point. Fortunately Jon builds and repairs off road trucks for a living and knows' how and what to do to repair this sort of damage. I would never attempt something like this on my own. Jeff
  4. Thanks Guy's; Turned out to be too easy for a change. Thank you PB Blaster!. I'd swear I read somewhere about a potential problem at this location....I must of been imagining it. Jeff
  5. Hi Guy's; Is there a trick to removing the speedo cable from the transmission? It is a 4 speed fluid drive. Seems to me I read something about this....easy to damage? Did a search but can't find the thread. Thanks, Jeff
  6. Merle; Thanks that is good to know. I have been thinking about using a cargo strap at the front and a chain at the rear. Jeff
  7. I should have mentioned that I have the cab and front end off and I have a fully assembled, cleaned up and running engine that I do not want to mess up. I am looking for a way to hoist this out without compromising the fresh head gasket etc... Here is what it looked like before I removed the cab. Jeff
  8. Hi Guy's; It has come time to pull the engine & transmission out to make frame repairs etc. I will be using a friends HD cherry picker. What are the correct hoist point locations for lifting one of these assemblies out? Thanks, Jeff
  9. Hi Hank; Just a few thoughts. A radio.....even a special one like yours should not draw enough juice to pull a battery down that quickly. Especially with the engine running. I just had my generator rebuilt and the test spec's were fairly impressive. I would think that if there were some significant problem with it you would see it on the Amp gauge. I know you probably couldn't pop the hood and check the two glass bowls while all this way going on. It is too bad we can't see them from the cab as they are great indicators. When I was running my engine a couple of weeks ago I got to see this first hand. I was using a small outboard fuel tank with 5$ in it to test the engine. After a few carb removals and about 45 minutes of running time I heard the engine stumble and looked quickly at these glass bowls. Sure enough I was starting to suck air at the fuel pump. You can see it clear as day. It was an easy fix to go over to the reserve on the tank. I am fairly certain if a fuel pump was failing a close observation of these bowls while the engine is running would show you what you needed to know. Of course I could be off base here.....It may just be that fuel you siphoned out of Marks truck. Jeff
  10. Hey Guy's; My shop is in Irvine California. Irvine is and has been one of the lowest crime areas in the Nation for years. I have a shop in a well lit Industrial complex that is regularly patrolled. Siphoning is rampant here. One of my neighbors has several large work trucks which he parks in the front of the complex. The police and Highway patrol go by this location constantly and there is a large tow and impound yard right next door. He has been siphoned so many times it is not funny. Put locking caps on they either break them off or go under the vehicle and cut the fuel line. As far as I know no one ever get's caught. Even when there is 50 gallons of diesel involved. It is so bad that most of the guy's here just leave their trucks close to empty. It is a pretty sad story but totally true. Jeff
  11. Mark; You probably got siphoned. Happens here all the time. Or maybe someone is playing a trick on you? If you were leaking gallons of gas.....you would know it. Same thing with gallons of fuel going into the crankcase. Not likely. As far as evaporation....perhaps a small amount....but several gallons with no odor? very doubtful. Bad gas mileage.....what's the worst it could be? Something around 7 MPG maybe. You can do the math on your mileage driven since the fill up using a number like this and see what you come up with. Jeff
  12. Amen on what Paul said. He did an awesome job on the mess I sent him and I couldn't be happier. Jeff
  13. "Oh and my oil that was in the engine for maybe 5minutes run time came out looking very blue and discusting. Not sure where the blue came in....." Perhaps it was his way of "Blueprinting" the engine? Jeff
  14. Dave; Well you did a beautiful job. And believe me I have a pretty good idea of how hard you worked on Marks' truck. Rust on this truck of mine is not nearly as bad as what you had to deal with. I have found some starburst type rust under the primer on the exterior of the cab. Nothing deep but it does appear in some areas. I guess it will have to get cleaned up. Jeff
  15. Dave; I have a question for you. Did you go down to bare metal on all of it? The cab is off and I've just started prepping the sheet metal on my truck. There is no cancer and only a very small amount of actual bodywork to do. I have started by cleaning up the old primer with 180 & 220. In some areas I am down to bare metal but in others there seems to be a good base. Do you think it is a bad idea to leave some of the old primer and paint? To put this into perspective I am not trying to build a show truck. I think at this point that I am going to attempt to paint it myself. Nothing fancy just a decent work truck paint job. Probably a light tan. If I get a few sags or orange peel areas it is not the end of the world. Thanks, Jeff
  16. Could it have something to do with the under hood temperature of the different vehicle designs? Perhaps the temperature under the hood in the truck is different than in the car? May have something to do with the different hood and shroud designs. I ran into something like this years ago with a sports car I had. The earlier production years had some louvers in the hood that were omitted in the later years. As a result the temp under the hood in the later models ran considerably higher and caused the electronic ignition module to fail prematurely. Once I added additional ventilation the problem went away for good. Jeff
  17. Mark; More like a Wizard I'd say. Very.....very nice Dave. Jeff
  18. Mark; I talked with several commercial suppliers......you can get 1x8s but as you know they are only going to be around 7 1/2" and may need to be straight edged. The 4 central boards for mine are 7 5/8" trued. The outer two are much wider. If you are doing a flat bed then you could spline it rather than doing a tongue and groove. Would be easier to mill this way. Ipe is really tough on tooling. I once had to make 90 mortise and tenon deck railing posts from it. Great stuff when it is all done but some milling operations are brutal. Jeff
  19. Wally; That is true too and is not the case with red oak. You would be hard pressed though to find a better readily available domestic species for these beds. Mark; You know I was thinking of Ipe but could not find material wide enough locally. Doing glue ups with it is a pain because it is so oily. Hank; Thanks I think it will look fine. It's funny but I think tan is going to be it. Yesterday young Sean my helper was telling me about a tan truck he saw the evening before. A few minutes later we were out and about and here comes a tan 55 Chevy truck....the same one Sean saw the night before. Seeing it sealed that decision. Jeff
  20. Hi Guys; Here are a few shots of my "new" bed planks. It is not finished yet but you can see what it is going to look like. The material is 7/8" thick black walnut. It will be finished using a water base satin polyurethane varnish which will bring up the color in the walnut. As you can see this is a 3/4 ton bed and it is larger than the 1/2 ton beds. It is wider and is 90" long so you can't use the chart in the pilothouse knowledge section for one of these. I have incorporated a few changes to suit the way I will be using this truck. The first is the recess for the metal bed strips. Normally the recess is 3/16" which has the metal standing slightly proud of the bed surface. That is fine if you are hauling pallets or machinery.....but not so good on freshly sanded doors or finished cabinets and furniture. I also recessed the mounting bolts for the same reason. I want a flat wood surface for things to ride on...not thin metal strips. The last item are four 1/2" eyebolts in the corners for internal tie-down points. Too many trucks are missing good tie-downs points down low in the bed. For me this is a critical feature. Hank; Sorry Bud..... but poplar is a interior use wood only and is very prone to fungus and rot. It should never be used in an exterior application. Ash is a very strong and shock resistant hardwood. It will hold up very nicely as long as you keep a good finish on it. If you allow the finish to fail don't be surprised if gets blue spot stains. Does not affect the strength only the looks. White oak is totally awesome stuff......much stronger and heavier than any pine. And extremely rot resistant. This is why all the old ships of the line where built with it. I have used it for years and can vouch for it's extreme durability. I would venture to say if Dodge had used a decent grade of white oak in the bed construction most of our beds would not need replacement.....just a cleanup and refinish. Jeff
  21. Hey Mark; I would think that white oak would be a great substitute. It should be reasonable in your area. I am doing mine with some off color 7/8" thick black walnut that I had left over from a project. It looks just fine. One change I have made is to recess the bed strips just below the surface of the wood. I will do the same with the mounting bolts. It will be a much better surface for hauling lumber, doors and furniture that way. Jeff
  22. Try Trace at Northwest Starter. He was able to get my wiper motor working. Good service. Cost for repair $45 (360) 573-8278 Hope this helps, Jeff
  23. Don't fret anymore Hank........I heard he dug his way out and after years of therapy is living under an assumed identity. Jeff
  24. Hank; Explains what? That would make you about twelve ? OMG Jeff
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