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after not having ice harvest day in 2024, we were back at it today. good clear 18" ice, blocks were 300 to 325 lbs each. pretty mild day, high 20s (after about 8" of snow overnight). filled the ice house, too, so a successful day. 25 blocks on this load. ended up getting a second load of 20 blocks to fill the ice house. (the first load was roughly 8,125 lbs of cargo...)

Finished setting up the lift last night. Just put the 50 on it a few minutes ago. Still need to move the tools to this shop. More news later

I managed to finally find time today to install the rear fenders. Overall the job wasn't all that difficult. Biggest issue was the lower front bolt on each fender. It took a little bit of pushing and pulling along with a few choice words to get the holes lined up but I prevailed in the end This is the first time since 1996 that I've seen this truck with all it's sheet metal in place. Once the fenders were on it was finally time to take it for it's first real test drive so I drove 4 miles to the gas station and 4 miles back. Guess what, it drives like an old truck 😄 It became obvious pretty quick that the speedometer was not accurate. I had my phone GPS open so I could see how fast I was going and where the speedometer read 30 mph, I was actually going about 45 mpg. Not sure how I'll deal with this just yet, but I know I don't want to leave it that way. I think I hit the top speed of 47 mph. I didn't want to push it because the 29 year old tires are hard as rocks and I haven't really set the toe-in yet other than an eyeball setting when I was installing the steering components. Once I got back and parked it in the shop I found two leaks. I have a glass bowl filter right off the gas tank that feeds the electric pump and it was dripping gas. I tightened the bowl retainer nut a little and that seems to have resolved that problem. The other issue was the brake master cylinder had brake fluid all over it and it was dripping on the floor. It did not appear to be coming from any of the fittings. It's possible I had over filled it. I'll look at it again tomorrow and monitor it to make sure there isn't something I'm missing. Other than the ABS headliner and rear window surround panel the truck is pretty much done. There are a bunch of minor details I still need to take care of but, assuming the brakes are ok I think it's a driver now

The construction is done. Took three months. They did a great job as usual. Now I go to work. Hang stuff on the walls - install the lift - add the air piping - - -. That door does not seal good. I may consider a different door latter.

I'm happy to say the truck now has a bed I think all told, it took about 3 hours to get it picked up, and fitted onto the truck and another couple hours fiddling with the mounting hardware. Out of the six bed mounting bolts I had trouble with two of them. The front two on the passenger side had a problem with the repro channels being twisted so that the bottom holes on the channels were 1/2 the diameter of the bolt towards the rear on the bottom holes. It probably took me an hour to get those two bolts in and aligned properly. Once they were in I snugged the bolts down. I don't know what torque setting I should use so I need to look into that before the final tightening. Without the tailgate the bed weighed in at 257 lbs. Lighter than I was expecting, but after thinking about it, there's not a whole lot of heavy structural metal in the bed. The two heaviest pieces are the sides. The rest is just formed sheet metal pieces. We have wintry weather coming tonight so I took the truck out to get some decent pictures. It will be the last time it sees the sun until I get the rear fenders installed, wiring done in the rear, and the ABS interior panels installed. Getting the bed mounted on the truck let me breath a sigh of relief. It's only taken 29 years to get to this point 😮 Even better is I now have more room in my shop 😄

Almost there. Just need to tweak the gas pedal linkage a little more. Looking at March 5th for initial start up date. That gives the month of March to deal with last minute problems before the BBQ.

I welded a bracket on the log to imitate the boss on the factory manifold. It seems to line up correctly but I’ll know for sure when I get it back on the motor.

Back together.

Short version is that I bought it. I kinda screwed up because I had a meeting with a contractor this morning that took long enough that the banks were closed so my pocket full of cash wasn't all that impressive but I'm okay with what I paid for it. I'm going with the "kicking myself later" thought process. Also.... I found the original air cleaner assembly. The original spare tire carrier is in the bed. The title VIN matches the dataplate on the firewall, the mileage is shown as actual on the title (58,xxx) He hasn't found the key but we hotwired it so I've heard it turn over briskly, heard the fuel pump kick on/smelled fuel. (He showed me the massive number of keys in his briefcase and promised he would have one of his guys go through them and find the key that went with the truck). It rolls freely, and goes in and out of gear just fine. Oil was clean and to the proper level on the dipstick. Rear brake cylinders will need to be replaced, which is why the brakes were down. He said he has another 54 parts truck in Virginia so if I need something, I'm supposed to just give him a call and he'll get me what I need. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it and again, when else am I going to find one I can see personally? So I bought it. The Rolls Royce behind it had a stuck brake so it needs to be freed up so they can get it out. I will deliver the balance due tuesday after work (banks are closed on monday) and get the title. I'll make arrangements to have AAA bring it home wednesday after work. I really don't think it will take much to get it going but I'm sure you guys will help me if I get stuck, right? I spent a few hours with him one on one when he invited me to see the other cars in the pharmacy in the neighboring town. He can't drive right now for some reason so I drove him around. He told me he barely made it though high school but somehow he's done really well. When you can outbid Jay Leno for a car in the $250k+ range, I'd say you're doing okay. And there are more cars in Virginia, he is going down there thursday to meet with folks to sell those and check on some real estate developments he has going. As Los Control said, he's just divesting himself of most of the cars because he knows his sons don't know or care what they are. He doesn't need the money (obviously!) but he has a history with each of them in some way or another, he bought my 54 from a very good friend when his friend's health started to fail. Now his health is failing and he is trying to get them new homes before he runs out of time. Anyway, that's probably more than you needed to know but it's been a very unique adventure. More to follow when I get it home. First order of business is to find a good rear bumper and brackets to protect that sheet metal out back! Thanks for the opinions and responses.

I guess if you use enough swear words and the right kind of swear words you can accomplish anything It took me about three hours to remove, modify and re-install the three channels. After the channels were complete, installation of the planks took almost no time at all. Other than hanging the tailgate the bed box is done. I will probably leave the tailgate off until I lift the bed into place on the frame. That will make it a lot easier to align the six carriage bolts. Stay tuned for bed installation....

That is a Zerk grease/oil fitting of the type used before 1934. At least before 1934 for US built Plymouths, maybe they kept that style later in other assembly plants. I've got one on each side of my rear axle to grease the wheel bearings. The vent, at least on my car and I think pretty standard for a lot of later years, is a special bolt drilled with a vent hole that holds the brake Tee mounted on the top of the rear axle.

That's the point I failed to make. Several days ago it was in the 80's .... it is cold for a few days here and 40's by Friday, 70's by Sunday. A wise man would have just waited a few days and put the tires on then .... I'm not that man. Like a kid, I just had to see what the freshly painted wheels & tires looked like installed. Yeah agreed, @B1B Kevendoes great work, I have seen it. Since I just want a driver, I'm afraid if I installed a set of Kevin's gauges, Then stop for gas ... people would gather from miles around to admire His gauges ... My 5 minute gas stop would turn into 15 minutes To be honest, I just want to learn to do these things myself. Part of the hobby that I enjoy.

I snagged this Monday in Atlanta, today I did the last of the clean up and checked it for runout and all other operational aspects. Few things removed for deep cleaning and disassembled the twin cutter as the wear plate was missing.....luckily it was captured inside the barrel behind the tool cutter and the in front of the mircrometer. Few thumb screws for locking things were missing and already replaced byme. We ready to go to work. Tons more adapters and cones to hang but ran out of time tonight, took mums out for Valentines. First pic is as found....in real good shape, the others after some cleaning.

truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...truck...

Drill them lubrication holes to match the old bushings and align them as required...those replacement bushings may have applications that do not require those specific lubrication holes, so it's up to the rebuilder to customize.

See: https://www.ply33.com/Repair/tempgauge

Dad picked up this quart can of MMO from somewhere around 1975, and it has been refilled many times over the decades. It has also taken a tumble off of trucks, tractors, combines, even from a rooftop while fiddling with a TV antenna. Around 2000 it got snagged in a hydraulic linkage when the pump malfunctioned, doing a number on the can, and me and Dad thought this old thing was a goner...nope, still using it to this day, hasn't leaked a drop. Another oil can donated its nozzle cap shortly after the mishap since the original nozzle cap was kaput. With springtime quickly approaching, the yard maintenance equipment has to come out of hibernation, and this MMO can has been busy once again. They don't make'm like they used to I reckon

I had the same experience with that spring in the seal popping out. I posted a topic on that some time ago on here. I got lucky and just as I was about to slide in the axle I spotted something shinny in the differential tube there that confused me. Sure enough it was that spring. Wow! what a job getting it back in to the seal. On the other side, before driving in the seal, I coated the spring with Lucas Red & Tacky and then in addition I also wrapped tape from the inside of the seal to the outside of the seal in about 4 places to make sure it wouldn't want to pop out.

I always bring this up when people are working on the rear end. Check the vent and make sure it's clear. If it's plugged it will force the grease through the new seals and onto your new brakes when it heats up. I found this out the hard way when I had to replace the new brakes I had installed a month earlier.

no idea if it matters ... appears to have the wrong cup plug when it should be a welch plug. I might be wrong, just not sure how well that cup plug will seal .... the sealing surface on the block is small. The Welch plug you install with the domed side facing out ... then smack it with a hammer inverting the dome side in and the plug expands against the block to seal. Just pointing out how it should be replaced. Looks like it might have leaked a little in the photo ... they may have enough goop on it to seal it. If the plug comes out will just be a minute or less to drain all the coolant from the block.

Been a couple weeks since a update .... I have been working on it when weather permits. I got hub caps from Hubcapmikes,com and happy with them Windshield wipers were a bit of a mess ... I finally got the parts and working wipers for way too much $$. I wonder if there is anything special to do with vacuum wipers? ... I saw where one person suggested ATF into the unit to lubricate them .... I dunno they work alright, but wonder if some maintenance can be done. Been working on the wiring and getting first class help from this forum, the best help anywhere period. Yesterday I finished up the wiring inside the engine bay, tail light wire been done for a long time. Today I worked on cleaning up the wiring inside the cab and the fuse panel .... All the lights except turn signals and brake lights are finished, connected to switches and harness is cleaned up .... The passenger side light is not on ... could be I damaged a splice or possibly the bulb is burnt out ... I have not checked it yet .... waiting for turn signals then will hunt down the issue. I have the wires ready for the turn signal switch and should be pretty simple to connect .... I'm just not happy with the used turn signal switch I bought off ebay a few years ago. Problem is the switch was rewired and the color of wires do not match original and it did not come with a proper clamp to connect to steering column ... I made one and it sucks, I do not like it ... A new reproduction is not that much and I have one on the way .... special thanks to @Young Edfor sending me good information a couple years ago ... My switch only has 6 wires, most have 8 or 10 .... the image Ed sent me that I thought was correct, has 7 .... I'm missing the main power wire that feeds the switch. .... So at this point, I will wrap things up tomorrow and Hound Dog is getting pushed to the side. I have parts on the way for it and not much more to do until they arrive .... I need to start working on the wife car again, I had sufficient time to cool off and not so angry with it ... It is time.

You might consider just looking for any suitable oil filter housing. There are a variety out there and most were dealer or owner installed during that time frame. It's not as if you are breaking protocol

Possibly a coil issue. If it has one? I have seen coils fail with temperature rise.

ATA boy Brad! I see a road trip in your near future! What better way to work the bugs out 😁

Back to the running boards today. Welded on the edge support bits. Also, a picture of the profile (picture flipped for proper orientation).

Original housing, Raw 3D printed, and finished paint to match my steering column etc.

Not restored by any means but, I recently picked up a MF35 Boy, I really need to treat the roof moss on my chicken coop 😂

About the only metric thing on the car is the 14mm spark plugs. Maybe the Shrader valves too but I am not certain about those. The 144 an 37 are the number of teeth on the gears. Divide 144 by 37 and you get 3.89189 which is basically 3.9 They use teeth count that are not evenly divisible so that the wear is distributed across all of the gears.

Thanks for the kind words .... being the youngest in the family it is expected I suppose. While I have seen the same thing around me, I have always been spared from extended outages. My thoughts are, I live on the same street as city hall, courthouse, police department, post office .... few blocks away is the hospital, fire department .... I feel if they can keep some power going, they will keep my grid going for the city offices. Actually the weather is not quite as bad, since the wind went away ... it is cool in the 40's today but can dress for that. I have 2 wheels now ready for paint and tomorrow will be 60+ and can paint for sure ... they are wiped down and ready to spray and inside in my office warming up. Also want one more coat of paint on the steering wheel before I call it finished. Today I was able to work on the speedometer .... it was sticky and not doing well. I have 2 and took one apart last week and the shaft was broke. So now I have the 2nd one apart and cleaning it .... I feel confident using the best parts from 2 speedometers I should have something that works. Not really happy with the dial face .... old and faded, it is readable and as long as it works good .... fits the style of the truck. Paint on Monday, tires installed on Tuesday, also Tuesday I have wiper arms being delivered and need to fit new rubber to them and install. Wed, Thurs, Fri will be too cold to work outside, and can get the speedometer assembled and working. Wife been on my arse to fix the washing machine .... I bought the parts for it over a year ago 🙄 Starting next Saturday is back into the 70-80's again .... I want to be driving this truck in May ... even as slow as I am, I should be able to do that if I keep at it.

I am going to play Captain Obvious here and add to Kilgore's post. If the vent is not clear, pressure can build up inside the axle housing forcing stuff out the ends of the axle tubes, right on your brake shoes.

I just found out that '32-'36 Ford steering box shims are exactly the same as on a '47 Plymouth. I removed shims from my '47 to reduce the play in the worm gear. I ordered a gasket kit for the '36 Ford I'm also working on and figured, let's compare them. They happen to be the same size. So, in case anyone needs new shims, I've included some pictures. Dennis

watch out for the Valentine's Day shenanigans

When I first started planning on how to tackle my wiring I ran across Dave Erb's description where Alan Parkhurst documented his new wiring harness. If I remember the details correctly he bought a reproduction wiring harness and then took the time to meticulously document the harness with pictures and dimensions for each leg. His truck was either a B1 or B2 so it was slightly different than my B3. In 2008 I was transferred to Pasadena for a year and ended up with a lot of spare time on my hands. So I took his sketches and laid out all the differences between his truck and mine and proceeded to develop my own sketches adding in any changes that I wanted such as blinkers front and rear and the right side tail light. Once I had them done I built a wire wrapping stand and proceeded to start making my own harness. In the end the harnesses actually turned out pretty good.

This thread has had some good ideas about the various ways to "chrome" the outside parts like bumpers etc however if you are looking to restore the various small chrome pieces on the dash and various interior items there are a couple of susgestions I can offer as a scale model builder......there are 3 products that while they are not proper chrome plating may help as follows.......for some areas there is a product called Bare Metal Foil which is a very thin aluminium adhesive backed foil that might be suitable for dash strips etc then another product called Alclad11 which is a thin paint which is sprayed over a gloss black enamel.....a gloss black enamel paint is reflective and the "Chrome" version of Alclad11 essentially turns the black into reflective "chrome'......the third product is fairly recent and is called Molotow Chrome Pens...these are availble in 1,2 or 3mm diameter tips and give a brilliant "chrome" like finish........now all these are products that I use in my modelling hobby at various times...........the "chrome" moldings around the windows, and wheel openings on these model cars are either Bare Metal Foil or Molotow Chrome pens......the bumpers and wheels on the red, maroon & green model are the normal model kit chrome parts but all the chrome parts on the yellow car(1972 Holden) are the foil or Molotow pens........ ......anyway this might help for small interior parts.......Andy Douglas

Did you do a disc brake conversion on the front axle? If so this will require shortening the tie rod. At least that was the case with my Rusty Hope kit. The caliper mounting plate moves the steering arms inboard and I found that my tie rod didn't have enough adjustment to compensate for this. I ended up trimming off an equal amount off of each end and reinserting the tie rod ends. This gave me the adjustability that I needed.

Nope, chicana...

wheeling in for the tire sale

Here's a picture of the Ace Hardware Rope Hook that I bought. It's slightly different in profile than the original hooks that were on my truck but they are close enough that I'm happy with them. I do like the ball on the end of the hook. With tax I paid about $15 for four of them.

The wheels should be 5 on 4.5" if it is a 1/2 ton. I prefer the newer style wheels myself. Mine are 5.5" wide so they accept a 235 75R 15 tire pretty good. These older factory wheels are still around and can be found .... without really searching I have found a few and am able to come up with 4 that look like a matched set .... what I mean is, the 2 on this side are Ford wheels and the 2 on the other side are Mopar wheels .... they look the same and use the same sized hubcap. I have seen some wheels on Ebay and they want $80 each and they do not know how to measure and check what size hubcap they use .... A local guy1.5 hours away wants to part out a old 60's Dodge truck .... He decides to sell wheels at $75 ... cheaper then ebay ... expects me to jack up the truck and remove them, then pay for disposal of the tires plus my gas to drive 3 hours round trip .... cheaper to just buy from ebay and pay shipping. Then I found a guy on FB that sold me 2 bare wheels for $20 each and delivered them to my house ... they are out there you just have to look. Then Wheelsmith sells a brand new powder coated reproduction for maybe $110? ... reasonable. Then Hubcap Mikes sells these caps, I just got them this morning and they are $30 each + shipping. Happy with the quality, they are not really thin and flimsy they are stout. For a daily driver, I think they are fine .... hubcaps can fall off, especially older ones with a loose clip. They are expensive and difficult to find ... If I lose one ... I'm out $30 and 10 minutes to get on line and order another ... not a huge deal. Also I'm biased to this style of wheel. When I was 25 years old in the 80's and could find cheap used Cragars or any classic custom wheels ... I liked this style best .... stock black wheel, baby moons and beauty rings. With the rings installed, they will be all chrome with a strip of black wheel showing. And it is just what I like and want ... I have had the same wheels on several cars in the past. For a truck some may like just the hubcap and no rings.

I'd just ground it where it works...no one will ever know if it is "right" or "wrong", just if it works or not.

while specs say it will turn as small as a 6" drum...I believe it...these are 7" for my Morris Minor rear brakes and are the better factory MOWOG brand. I cleaned these up today and am pleased. I upgraded to MG Midget front discs and did away with the factory 8" drums.

LOL You're killin' me.

Don't know if I would want that stuff in my rare and expensive honeycomb radiator....................

If you're drilling into brass I believe you are drilling into the lock itself. If you look at the pictures below, you'll see the lock has brass in it. I do not believe there is any brass in the rest of the framework or the screw that retains the lock. In the below you can see a little round nub sticking out the side of the lock retainer cylinder. That nub is threaded inside and that's what the screw is inserted through to retain the lock. By the way, this is for a B3B, which I assume would be the same as your B1B. Here's a better view of the brass portion of the lock. The screw presses into the V notch in the lock. I think you need to stop drilling and move up to the next sized drill bit to drill out more of the screw. That is of course, you started with a small drill bit first.

My advice is use a heavy all metal hammer, not shot filled plastic

I'm guessing it is original. looking at some different trucks, I found one that was under the tail light and 4 others that were in the middle.

I think this guy explains it pretty good. .... I bet he listens to @soth122003 Now I need to understand more about the magnetic field .... more importantly, how strong does the magnet need to be? I have heard others talk about having it re magnetized to add new life to the speedometer .... so if mine is pretty weak, is that normal? Or should it be a nice strong magnet to make it work .... Off to the internets

Forgot these two:

had to use the truck to move parts to/from my jobsite. cold this morning, so i took a short clip of it starting at -2*F. temp at daybreak was -5*F. no tender, no ether. starts like it always does. one pump, half choke. u-toob short of cold start hauled a few loads of cordwood from the jobsite a few weeks ago, too.