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Conversations from truck admirerers

Entries in this blog

So the engine threw a rod, broke the crank, a bearing went out . . . Why?

If an engine has run for many an rpm, it will change the insides, most notably the top of the cylinders, for a ring of 'carbon' will build up. This ring reduces the length of the piston's travel. To compensate for that loss several things must happen, the rods must torque a bit, or the bearings must give a bit, or the crankshaft or the piston or some of all of these must compensate for a shorter available stroke. Eventually, especially when the engine must pull a heavy load, or climb a long h
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"It's your truck, make it the way you want it"

"It's your truck, make it the way you want it" is a statement we hear quite often. I am adhering to that creed with the repairs on this fire damaged truck. I have never been a 'cookie cutter' person and that has hurt me to some degree. When I was a debate 'coach' in a 10-12 high school of 3,000 students, my teams competed against coaches who were speech majors, most had their MA degrees and some their PHD's. yet my teams beat their teams on a regular basis. A normal win loss record in those
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7

Perspectives on Fire

If I recall correctly the discovery of fire was one of the most helpful discoveries in the education of man, the invention of the wheel the second. There is a gigantic difference between fire and the wheel. Fire is a natural action to be discovered the wheel was invented. According to reports from the early explorers, the grasses in the North American Plains were knee and waist deep before they were plowed under. With that much matter and nothing to eat it all, after a winter's covering of sno
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6

Fire Sale

My paternal grandfather was a farmer/pastor in the early 1900's. My grandmother was known for her life of prayer. One summer afternoon they had a major hail and wind storm. This was in Western Nebraska. The next morning at the breakfast table, Grandma noted, "Well Henry, we've got a lot of praying to do", to which Grandpa said, "No, we've got a lot of work to do!" When I was in high school we put up hay on a large meadow. Some neighbors hayed the meadow next to us. In the morning we could not m
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The Driving Force Behind a Patina Surface

Definition: a surface appearance of something grown beautiful, especially with age or use, which adds value to an antique or collectible and should not be cleaned. Patina: a surface appearance of something grown beautiful, expecially with age or use, which adds value to an antique, collectible or scarce and should not be cleaned, in some cases, and preserved in other cases. I grew up in a farm/ranch environment on the edge of the Southern Nebraska Sand hills. Our neighbors to the east and so
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13

Teach them while their young!

While testing a starter on a 56 flat head, I explained and demonstrated how electricity works to my nine year old grandson. First I explained to him that a power outlet in a house is connected to a large network of lines which go back to some electrical power generating source, such as a water turbine. The I showed him how one can move power from an outlet via a battery charger to a battery. I showed him how the charger did nothing until we plugged it into the outlet and then how the positive a
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How I found hard to find parts

It has been said that it takes a lot of money to restore a vehicle. There is a lot of truth in that statement, but it is not the final truth. I have found that patience is money! The most obvious item I needed was the '52 grille. That grill has eleven (11) pieces to it. The park light mounts are water traps so they rust out fast and thus are hard to find. A good rear bumper is another allusive item. Few trucks were sold with bumpers so there are not many available and most of those that are are
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2

Taco Man

I bought a '56 Plymouth engine in Fresno, a 90 mile round trip. WIth the 3:73 differential, that 800# engine did not slow down the old truck one iota on the return ride home it ran very smooth at 65 mph. Stopped for a taco at a roadside 'kitchen'. One of the best taco's I've eaten. The owner/cook liked the truck. Found out he was born in 1952 so same age as the truck, neat. Another one of the priceless intangibles of driving an old vehicle.
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Man Cave

I showed our Comcast serviceman my car project. When he walked into my shop, which had become quite cluttered because I have three projects going, his first remark was "Wow,what a man cave!" When I told my wife I showed him my shop, she said to him, 'I never go out there, he cleans it periodically but it's usually cluttered again". The serviceman, a young man of mid 20's said, "a man cave is not cluttered as long as one can walk through it". Now that is a smart young man. I'm currently working
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How this all started

Aristotle's instructions for a complete exposition starts by stating that background information is prerequisite to a full understanding or a full explanation of said topic. So a brief bit of history is in order. Some eight years ago, a friend and I were returning from scoping out a couple of lakes for potential fishing holes. On the return, via a different route we saw this truck sitting on the side of the road. We turned around out of curiosity to check it out. It had sat in that spot for 17
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Sequoia National Park

This was my first test run with my truck. I took my grand daughter along. She loved every minute of the ride. The park is about 50 minutes from our house. Our house is about 500 ft above sea level; Sequoia National Park is just above 6,000'. I figured if the truck could pull that hill it was good to go and it did. At the park a visitor and his son, from Germany, came to my truck. They were all excited to see it. The son said he had seen pictures but never a real one and to see one out of a muse
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