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Still no title, it's on a quest for a notary that will sign it as is. My son knows a Dodge truck guy at his shop who knows a notary that is pretty flexible so there is hope on that front. We got some bad news at work that our major customer is pulling their work and going to a competitor so expensive overhead like me might be on the chopping block sooner rather than later so I thought I should get started on it, whether to keep or to sell. When I bought the truck, I heard it crank but it would not start because the key was lost and jumping 12v to the ignition switch wasn't helping. I could hear the pump run and smell gas but it would not start. Last night, I connected up the new battery, pulled the choke, gave it some starting fluid and tried to start it a few times. I could hear the fuel pump running (very noisy) and the glass barrel on the filter filled up with fuel, but it wouldn't start. I tried this a few times with varying levels of choke and got a very slight sputter with a few sprays of ether. I did see the oil pressure build up to a healthy level on the gauge while cranking so that was good. I felt like it should have tried to start by now so I got out the meter and the alligator clipped leads. Looks like the 12v coil is connected to a switched 6v block on the firewall, it appears that there is a resistor installed to drop 12v down to 6v, I assume for the gauges etc. Someone connected the coil to that block as well so it's only getting 6 volts. This block is the white one in the photo, coil is connected to the left hand side post. There is an unswitched 12v post on the firewall right next to the 6v that must be tied to the battery, looks like it feeds a few other things (assuming exterior lights etc) but I haven't checked it. So....I have some wiring to sort out. I kind of expected this because of the alligator clip looking like a temp connection but wasn't sure how much was left to tidy up. I wondered why the oil filter housing was laying on the ground next to the truck and the coil/bracket and alternator looked brand new. No one there looked like they knew enough to convert something from 6 volt to 12 volt, that's for sure. Apparently, the previous previous owner had quite a few older cars and was pretty good at building them up, it was possibly his work and he passed before he could complete it. Maybe the old fellow I bought it from hired someone to do it and they didn't finish the job and he forgot about it, who knows. Anyway, I have the factory shop manual that should have a harness diagram so I can figure it out given time. At least the rest of the truck is as nice as I believe I will ever find in Ohio and with less than 80k miles, it's worth the effort. More to come, whenever I can find time to mess with it.

I haven't posted for a while because I haven't really done anything with the truck for a number of reasons. The title got wrapped up in an estate because the guy I bought it from forgot to have it put into his name and the prior owner had passed away a few years ago. Fortunately, the prior owner's estate was still in probate court because he had cars scattered all over the place too so the truck had to navigate that process as a "newly discovered asset" and the title was finally released to the guy I bought it from. It took us quite a while to meet up because I am always at work and they are always traveling. The old guy didn't really remember who I was and forgot he had to sign the title before I could do anything with it. I asked him to sign it by the X and he promptly signed it by the buyer's X rather than the seller's X so that's not good. He really struggled to write his name in the correct space when I asked him to, he's really going downhill, poor guy. He lined out and initialed the "buyer" signature so I hope that flies with the DMV title office. If not, I'm not sure he'll remember me if we have to go to the DMV for a duplicate title. In almost 50 years of buying and selling cars, I have never had so much trouble with a transaction. So...I have quite the dilemma to work through and I'm not sure how it's going to play out. Hopefully, the title gets transferred at the DMV despite the issues and I can at least have a clear title in my name soon and have some options from there. That's the latest, more to follow when there is more to report.

I don't really have room for it and don't need it but it keeps tempting me....

Nope, I might get one of them through but that would be it. It's pretty stout and the channels are fixed in location so not going to be able to bend it. I really don't need to move the coil till I find an oil filter so I'll just get some of the standard wire looms for now.

The rekeyed ignition switch is wired back in and I was planning to install the plug wire loom/move the coil last night. Once I got the loom out of the box and into my hands I realized that there isn't enough room in the loom channels to run the wires through with the boots in place. I'm guessing these were designed to run the wires through the channels and then add the boots?

Yes, $10 was mentioned somewhere and that's what I expected. Unfortunately, it was way more than that and I used a locksmith that has done a lot of work for our company before so I thought it would be reasonable. I should have asked beforehand, I guess.

I'm back to work and that is consuming a lot of my free time these days. I just got the ignition switch back from the locksmith with a hefty invoice and a new key I'm not crazy about but it turns the switch so it should work and lesson learned. Hopefully I can get it put back together and try to start it this weekend. I'm still looking for a canister type oil filter housing that matches what I thought should be installed on a C (bolt top versus T handle). The C series reproduction shop manual shows the filter as optional equipment (as has been already established) but as usual, there is a thread on here with all kinds of information about them so I'm glad I didn't ask about it again.

Thanks for the response. I found a wire loom on eBay that looks like the design on the "other" 54 the guy had for sale and much like your engine photo shows so I bought that. It will give me a place to mount my coil out of the way of my oil filter housing, whenever I find the correct one. The eBay seller was very helpful, seemed to know B's really well, and actually recommended this site as a resource.

That actually wasn't possible. The existing key and tumbler in the lock was a smaller diameter circle with a "keyway" at the top compared to the replacement I got that was supposed to fit, which was a larger diameter circle with no keyway. I took it to a local locksmith that does work for us and he's sorting it out.

Thanks for the information. About half the time I search the web for something, a post from this site comes up so I'm trying to do more searching on here before asking questions. Your labels on the photos are really helpful. I was unsure what the upper port was for, I figured the lower one was coming out of the pressure relief valve. What has been confusing me is the diagram posted earlier showing the oil filter inlet coming out of #3 pipe plug. There must be different generations of these engines with different configurations of filter housings and feeds so it's a little hard to know what's what sometimes. I did find what appears to be an original wire loom on eBay so I can mount the coil as it should be.

Makes sense, thanks. I was thinking there would be a banjo fitting type connection on the switch based on the illustration posted above. In other news, the replacement ignition switch I got from Rock Auto did not fit so I removed the existing switch and will find a locksmith so everything is on hold for a bit. It will give me time to do some more research on the oil filter system.

True, but if I can find one that "belongs" with the truck, I would go that route. Looks like there is a pressure relief valve in the circuit that I should install as well, hopefully I can find one of those. EDIT - looks like this might be it. https://www.moparpro.com/oil-pressure-relief-valve-1946-1959-plymouth-dodge-desoto-chrysler/p1655 There are a few things I've noticed once I started looking closer down there and comparing it to that diagram on the bypass filter....the oil pressure line is connected to a galley plug up by the alternator via a elbow fitting. There are two plugs that look newer than everything else around it back by the starter. Looks like there is a new freeze plug down there as well. Both of these are visible to the right of and below of the coil and to the left of the starter. EDIT - looks like one of those plus goes to the filter assembly (additional small photo below) or provides a port for the relief valve/line to the filter (diagram above). You can also see the elbow and hard line to the oil pressure gauge to the left of/below the vacuum advance assembly. I need to do some more looking around to figure all this out. There is a lot of information on this site and I think I've barely scratched the surface so the answers may well be on here.

Thanks! I was wondering if anyone had seen a housing like the one that apparently goes with my truck. I put it in the solvent tank to let it soak for a while and see if there is a manufacturer stamped or cast anywhere. It looks like Andy Bierbaum has repro oil canister assemblies like the one in the photo of the other 54 but they are pricey.

The earlier pic is of the other 54 Dodge truck they had for sale, the beat up truck I started this thread out asking about. It's not the one I bought. That is pretty confusing, I'm sure. Here is a link to the post where you commented on that truck.

I was getting ready to install the new ignition switch and reinstall the plugs and realized that the oil filter housing is missing. Don't ask me how I missed it, I guess I assumed it was down lower based on more modern cars. I can see a discoloration where it should have been located and the mounting screws were there but loose. The coil appears to be mounted on one of the bolts where the filter would go but it looks like it could flip around and mount above the distributor. I called the guy and he was up near the school so I drove up there this morning. There was an oil filter housing laying on the floor on the side of the truck where the oil filter housing would have been connected to the engine so I assumed that was it and drove back home (got the missing wheel cover too). Didn't see the oil lines, unfortunately. The bolt pattern on the mounting bracket matches the tapped holes and screws on the head (I have it sitting upside down in the photo) so it should mount just fine. However, looking at the illustrations the "oil filter" section of the flathead tech links and the photo of the other 54 he had for sale, this one does not look like any of those. It had a FRAM C3 canister filter in it and the NAPA 1071 that was listed for the 54 C-1 6 cylinder looks like it is the same size as the C3 and fits in the housing. I think I read somewhere that some trucks had filters added later so maybe this was an aftermarket add on? Any ideas? The oil pressure gauge is connected directly to one of the galley plugs mentioned in the flathead tech links so it should work but I'd like to get a filter in there. Thanks