All Activity

So funny. I was there last year and took almost the same pic. That restaurant was awesome.

It was a joke................

As an owner of antique car if someone jsut went over and opened the hood to my car without asking for permission I would be very upset. How would you feel if someone at a car show did that to your car or truck or even opened the door and sat inthe car without your approval. Not a good way to win friends. New take for granted that as an antique car owner that you an just do anything to someone else car or truck, you always ask for permission to look at the car. Most owners will be glad to show you the car after asking BUT NEVER ASSUME YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TOUCH ANOTHER PERSONS CAR. what would have happened if the owner had an alarm onthe car, you would look like a real fool. I do not mined people looking inthe windows of my car and if they show interest that I most often let them sit inthe car especially if they have a young child. Most people never get the experience of sitting in an older car. So my question is if you go to Hershey and attend the car show and there is a fully restored 1930's Duesenberg would you just go up and open the doors and touch the car, I think not. The owner of the car would be very upset and it would not be a very pleasant experience for you at the time. Rich Hartung

I had in 2008 the same problem in my #4 exhaust cylinder WWII jeep and tried many times to use "Locktite" and did not solve the problem.Only in 2016 when I restored all the engine.The tappet threads was damaged.Good luck.

1941-1948 OEM MoPar Directional Turn Signal Switch Assembly & Lever + Knob

Its cute. Too bad it wasnt "real"

A lot of things to be considered on pinion angle. .... I can only give a few examples. When you set your engine in place .... typically you want your carburetor/engine sitting dead level. Now your transmission will follow this example. Now your drive line going to the rear end will be a different story. .... If it ran directly level to the rear end .... It would cause vibration & be a bear to drive. So we have pinion angles. You will need to learn this. Usually rotating the pinion down or up for 3-5 degrees will be good. Next is the simple fact your 8.8 rear end has already offset the angle by running a shorter tube on one side. The drive line goes to the passenger side because of the change. Many have installed the small block or 318 engines in your truck ... often they move the engine to the right to clear the headers with the steering box. Obvious new cars did the same Like Explorer..... Just saying some sort of pinion angle is important. So you will need to study this.

I'm fairly sure they would not have minded if you opened the hood and took a peek! 😈 🤐 DJ

Here’s the web address for the pics that I’ve posted of the last and past P15 Picnic USA. http://www.rdusaclassics.com/p15-picnic-usa.html Have a safe winter everyone, look forward to seeing you all again in Ontario! (Photo taken 9/17/22 at the end of the tour while we had most still with us).

While blowing air through there can clear some of the debris, it will by-pass some of it due to path of least resistance. You might try a section of line filled with Acetone or carb cleaner and blow that back thru the filter. Think water erosion. The liquid will not flow as fast as the air and will probably clear more gunk out than air alone. It is an oil lite filter and most of the rust is from the tank. I cleaned my tank by using this method as well as a section of chain and some cleaning solution and sloshing it around for about 1/2 an hour. Cleaned the tank real good and haven't had any problems in over 9 years. Joe Lee Joe Lee

I can't thank you enough for this information ! There is a place about 6 blocks from me that sells all sorts of trailer & RV supplies, so I will check with them first on the spring perches. This is probably me overthinking things, but about setting up the proper pinion angle ... should it be set for an Explorer, or a Dodge WC ? I do plan on going with a lower (not slammed) stance on the truck, so is that something to be factored in as well ? I did consider the brakes, and figured since I am wanting disc brakes up front as well, I would end up changing the brake system around, when I got the rear end finished up and put in. The thing is, this is where I am coming up short on the decisions... I haven't completely decided on a drivetrain for it. I would really like to keep the 218 in it, but parts are just so darn hard to find any more. I would also like to be able cruise comfortably and safely highway speeds and at distances. So many decisions, so little $$ and time 😁 Adam

My wife and I are taking a brief vacation on Cape Cod. Today we had lunch at a fish restaurant in Yarmouth, MA. They had ris car parked next to the restaurant. It has been repowered, I don't know with what, but when I peeked in the window I could see a modern steering column and a floor shifter for an automatic transmission.

You will bee fine on the width & the bolt pattern for the wheels. There are 2 more obstacles to overcome. First thing is the spring perches will not line up. This is a 1949, it could be different then your 1946. The lower plate is also the shock mount & comes off when you unbolt the U-bolts. The areas circled is called the spring perch. Your explorer 8.8 will also have these perches but in the wrong place to fit your truck. So you will need to cut & grind them off of the 8.8. Many stores such as Tractor supply sell new spring perches for home built trailers. .... Just not a huge deal to change them. Naturally you will want to change your hardware ( U-bolts) while at it. ..... You will need to mock it up & set the correct pinion angle before you final weld the new perches. The 2nd issue is the U-joint connection from the drive line. Depending what U-joints your truck has, that may be a different topic .... there are options here. can be a very easy fix. ..... If you are installing a different engine trans you will need a new drive line made anyways. 3rd thing is the brakes. ..... If you had a older 8.8 with drum brakes, you could probably swap it in & leave your existing brake system alone .... Rear disk you will probably want to update the entire brake system to work properly .... I doubt any car manufacturer anywhere used rear disk with front drums & a single pot master. You have the right rear end, probably the easiest of any to install, just some things to remember.

The 8.8 came out of a 2001 Explorer. I have seen a few charts that list widths of a lot of rear ends for Chevy, Dodge and Ford. And on those charts, they all show the Ford Explorer 8.8 at really close to 60" (59.8") and the Dodge rear ends in our trucks at 60". Now granted, I am not sure what exactly the measuring points on those specs are, but I figured if it's all on the same chart, so hopefully it's close enough. Good to know about the WMS measurement points, I will definitely be double checking those as well ! I will probably end up buying the 440 regardless if I put it in my truck. They are just getting REALLY hard to find these days. I will be staying with a manual transmission, regardless of the direction I end up going. For as hard as engine parts are getting to find anymore, I like the idea of having something more modern to work on, and the availability helps. And to be completely honest, when it comes to this truck, I don't care about the power level. I would like to get the v8 hot rod thump if at all possible, but I could care less if it is 250 horsepower or 750. Putting the 440 in the truck is more of a novelty idea, or a pipe dream, to be completely honest... It was a happy thought anyway 😁

What did you decide? Tell us, tell us!

I located this rust-free sheet metal specimen in Arizona back in the 90s on the internet. Internet is nothing like it is today for search options for car parts. The seller sent me the hard copy pictures below by standard mail along with pictures of 3 other 67 chargers he had for sale at the salvage yard. Bought this one for $500 with the intention of parting it out and keeping the sheet metal for spares. It arrived on the top rack of a car hauler the seller arranged for shipping to me that he knew was heading my way and needed to fill a spot. The seller was supposed to make it a roller. The hauler called the evening before arriving to confirm address and informed me I would need rims and tires. I was fortunate I had some and worked at a place with a large forklift to pull the car off the top rack. Once I looked it over, I had to make a decision on moving forward with this one.

You will most likely loose things like the clutch, brake peddles, & floor starter. Some of things to me, make it unique to a vintage dodge truck. More power is really cool on the drag strip, but when folks look in the cab, they most likely will see a street rodded old truck with an automatic trans floor shifter. You can do a few things to modify the flathead, still will never be a 440. I personally love original or time period correct mods. just my opinion and it’s your truck! Best, Kevin

Thats a big milestone .... congratulations. Glad it is going in the right direction.

I wonder what the 8.8 came out of? Is often suggested to use a Ford explorer rear end because of the width & it is a 8.8 ..... Could it be from a wider truck? The WMS (wheel mating surface) Is what you will need to measure now to compare it to your original rearend. FWIW, I heard of a guy swapping in a full size chevy silverado rear end for the 5 on 5 bolt pattern. It was 2" wider but fit well using his Cadillac wheels with a reverse offset. Just saying your 8.8 probably will be ok, still need to measure it now.

Ok, so I picked up an 8.8 disc brake rear end like super cheap, and at the car show this weekend, I got a line on a running Dodge 440 for pennies on the dollar. The guy is holding the engine for me so there isn't an issue there. I guess my question is, would it be possible to shoehorn a 440 into the engine bay, without destroying it to the point of no return ? And anyone actually swap a Ford 8.8 into a 40's WC ? Edit: this is for my '46 WC, that isn't exactly original to begin with.

Here is my first vehicle, in '64, a '56 Ford.

Well that carb was a bust. I'm going to go back to the guy and try another one. This one won't idle the accelerator jet was plugged up. Fixed that. The hole for the fuel line was stripped. Fixed that. Used propane to find a vacuum leak . Found none. Could the float level cause the stalling when I stop?

These shocks. had to drill out the bushing to fit the mounting studs on the 51 and has to reuse the 51's washers and nuts. This shock will work, with the aforementioned mods, on the 50-54 Plymouths. 49 and earlier have a different extended and collapsed length. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/CPP-DT-4809G-1955-72-Chevy-Truck-Front-Gas-Shock-Lowered,440140.html

had the pin fall out on my pump . had to have the car towed home . next pump put j b weld on both sides of pin so far good. John

Sniper, which shocks did you use on the front?