Jeff Balazs

Paul; That "color" is a little too rustic for even my taste. Wonder if the poor kid that lost it is still out there looking for it? Jeff

Wow! That was quick. You guy's are great! I like it. I really didn't want something bright or too dark. Hey and the tan with some black looks kinda stealthy to me. Jeff

Anyone ever see a tan colored Pilothouse? I am thinking about painting my truck a light desert tan color. I know it is not a stock color but I kinda like it and it would be cooler in hot weather than most colors. If anyone has any photos of a tan one I sure would like to see them. Thanks, Jeff

Jerry; Thanks very much for the additional info. Hope to see your truck in person some day. Jeff

Thanks very much for your reply. That sounds great. Can you tell me what your axle came out of ? Or if it is a Dana 35 or another model? Jeff

Hi Jerry; My tires are 28" as well so that is a good comparison. Did you do the swap after you had the truck a while? Is your engine in stock tune? I would like to hear some before and after details. As you may imagine I want to make as smart a decision as possible about the ratio selection. My goal has been from the beginning to make this into a daily driver without changing too much from how it was as original. This rear axle swap and the front brakes will probably be the two most significant "modifications" I make. Thanks for your input; Jeff

Hi Phil; That is exactly what I am wondering......I was thinking that it might make first a more regularly used gear. Thanks, Jeff

Hi Guy's; I was wondering if anyone out there is running a 3.23 rear axle with a flathead? If so how is it? I have a 230 with a fluid drive 4 speed which I think will handle this rear axle ratio but it would be great to have some feedback from someone who has some actual experience with this set up. Thanks, Jeff

It's a 51. The asking price is 3k. Looks to be in decent shape and fairly complete to me. It is on Craiglist and is located in Norco in the Inland Empire. Jeff (Tim is probably there already drooling all over it....)

I know Hank really hates it when the bed of his truck get's dirty. Now if he got this his troubles would be over. Look at all the goodies! Jeff (craigslist Inland Empire)

Paul; Thanks. I need to do a swap similar to yours. Trying to figure out the best swap for my 3/4 ton which has a 230 with a fluid drive 4 speed and a 116" wheelbase. Some of the Dana 35 axles have a 3.23 ratio which might work well with this combo. I need to do more research though. As dry as it has been this year that road between Atascadero and home will surely be parched. Best time of year for that region is early spring right after some rain. Was on it once in early October...100 plus degrees and thought I was in hell. Maybe we can meet up at Lopez Lake for the BBQ run? Have a great 4th! Jeff

Yes I agree. I am sure that these distorted retaining bolts were caused by just that. Two were good and two were not. Not a huge problem but one that was not as visible as a tweaked sheet metal cover either. The valve covers themselves seem just fine and the main rubber gaskets are working. Of course these covers are not in the easiest location to get to. And that is probably why they got the "rough" treatment in the first place. Jeff

OK my fix appears to have worked. Ran for 25 minutes...no leaks at all. Funny how small things like this can mess with you. To look at these retaining bolts you would think the sealing lip was true....and they probably were back in the day. Well one less thing to fuss with now. Jeff

Yes I had those washer gaskets. Problem was (I think) that the surface that they seal against on the retaining bolt is distorted. Of the 4 bolt 2 had significant distortion......almost 1/16" You would never get a thin hard fiber washer to seal that much. After about 15 minutes of running time they began to weep oil around the bolt hole. I have made a fix from a rubber washer and a hardened steel washer which I think trues up the sealing surface for the fiber washer. I will let you know when I have tested it for a while. Jeff

Took out one of the thumb bolts on the front cover just now. It looks like it is leaking from around the bolt holes. Turns out the seat area of this bolt is not flat. If I put a flat washer on it it wobbles significantly. So instead of the cover being dished it is the sealing surface on the bolts. Looks like some sort of rubber washer arrangement would probably work. Jeff

Hmm.... I had one off the other day and it did not appear to show any distortion. It had a small drip going so I tried smearing some permatex on it and refitted it. Of course now it is leaking in a slightly different spot. It has a new Felpro gasket. When I ran the truck again yesterday the other cover started dripping too.....and I was careful not to disturb it when working on the rear one Sunday. I have another set of valve covers and some new rubber gaskets from VPW I guess I can try them and see if there is any improvement. Jeff

Now that I have my engine running I have a few small oil leaks to deal with around the valve covers. What do you guys like to do for a fix on these? I have new gaskets and fiber washers on. Thanks for your input. Jeff

Mark; Well that is still a Pilot House to do. Jeff

PilotHouseToDo ? Paul; You bet and you can help me keep an eye on Hank. Maybe we can work in a bit of fishing as well? Hmmm......(idea)........Big bait = Big fish Know what I mean Vern? Jeff By the way was the rear end you swapped in a Dana 35?

Hank; Agreed...we can take as long as we want...the view is better going that way anyway. I have done a fair bit of exploring up this way. Spent quite a bit of time in the mid 70's wandering around from Jalama through SLO and up through Big Sur. Old California at it's best. We can return another way. There is a really cool old route from Lemoore NAS over to Morro Bay that might be fun.....goes through some amazing cattle ranch country near the coast. Last time I was on it there was a sizable herd of Buffalo right next to the highway. Cuyama valley is another nice road. Would not surprise me to see a few original Pilothouse trucks around either of these. Santa Maria area has the best ranch style BBQ in California. A stop there is a must. Los Alamos and Los Olivos are very interesting as well. Several old Butterfield Stage stops too. I have some family and several customers spread out all over this area. Can probably arrange lodging for the most part. Jeff

Hank; Caravanning is fine with me. But the route must include Big Sur. I will bet it has been awhile since a Pilothouse was seen there. Jeff

Tim; This challenge was devised to keep Hank busy preparing his truck.....and off the LA vs Oakland topic. As you already know it has not worked. That is because he is not taking it seriously. I am not sure why? The old Beach Boy's song "No Go Showboat" comes to mind. I have a few different routes in mind and don't worry Hank neither of them include the Tejon pass. I would think that the photo ops in Big Sur should be enough of an incentive. Jeff

Keven; You would surely make at least one guy happy with that combination. Jeff

Karl; I will admit I was pretty happy when it started.....and even happier when I got it to settle in and idle nicely. Been working a bit more this morning...fix for leaky rear valve cover. Re torqued head bolts etc... Took a look at the plugs and they show nice little tan already I've always had good luck with inline sixes....hopefully it will hold true with this one. Don't worry you'll get there too....and probably quicker than me. Keven; Thank you and yes one step at a time. But you know somebody has to give Hank a hard time and............ it might as well be me. Can't wait to put the instruments in you did for me. Jeff

Thanks Mark; It is pretty cool especially considering the condition it was in 6 months ago. Still have lot's to do......rear axle swap.....brakes....etc..you know. Getting absolution from Tim was the icing on the cake! Wow! Now all I have to do is finish it and I can attend the BBQ. That is if Hank doesn't get me in trouble again. I don't suppose the odds are too good on that though. Whaddyathink? Maybe I should issue a challenge....a sort of rally/reliability trials run up to Tim's along a prescribed course. I could really get into that. And I know a fellow at a local Sports TV production outfit that could probably be persuaded or coerced into covering it. Perhaps the prep for that will keep him occupied. Might even be fun. Jeff