John-T-53

Hi Paul, I thought the standard procedure when you're older and retired is to move to a warmer climate where you don't have to shovel snow? I hear that the San Joaquin Valley is nice this time of year.

The overall final ratio is what matters. Transmission ratio X rear end ratio = final ratio. If the A33 has a first gear of 3.09, then a 4.10 rear end would be ideal for a low power FH 6, giving a final drive ratio of 12.7. My T5 has a first gear of 3.35:1 combined with 4:10 rear and it works great.

Yes, we may need a winch for the aftermath of the motorhome racing over on the track....

Put me down as a "maybe". And if the case, would be tent camping. But we may stay in a motel...TBD..... How wet is the ground, currently?

Right on. From the photos above, the old WDT doesn't look bad at all. If it's not eaten away or damaged in any spots, another option could be to soak in Evaporust and reinstall it. Often, these get stuck from corrosion, minerals, and debris getting stuck between the cast iron and the tube. My engine's tube came out in pieces.....

"Oregon Man Goes On Rampage With Plasma Cutter After Claiming He Got Ripped Off With Tank Refill Cost"

TomSan, I don't mean to poop on your parade, but you may be overthinking it. We're stuck with whatever materials that WD Tubes are available. Either mild steel or brass. Brass is not that far from cast iron on the galvanic chart, and many other brass components have been in common use in cooling systems since the dawn of automotive time, such as freeze plugs, heater valves, radiator cores, tanks, etc. The reason many of these WDT's rusted out was from lack of maintenance on the cooling system, and/or not even using a proper mixture of coolant. Back in the old days many people just used plain water. If you go with a steel WD tube and are good about cooling system maintenance (changing the coolant every two to three years and using a 50% mix), you should have no worries. Whatever tube you go with, I strongly do not recommend painting or coating it, the paint will eventually come off and cause more problems, blocked passages, overheating, etc.... no matter how well you prep it. Hope this helps......thanks, JT '53

Just on one side of the piston of both? I sent these pics to my machinist friend for his input as this is a strange failure. Most likely incorrect installation of clips - not fully seated in the groove. The pin bushing might have had excessive play as well. Not a lot of information or answers given otherwise so that's all I can come up with for now...

This has potential to have been caused by other factors. I would check that the rods are not bent or damaged in any way. When you have shrapnel throughout the crankcase, the entire engine will need to come apart and all passages cleaned. The oil pump needs to be disassembled and inspected, and possibly replaced too. How did the pins fit into the pistons upon assembly? Was the crank ground as part of this rebuild? Was the rotating assembly balanced? Where did the parts come from? Post photos if you can.

East German communist / cold war car spotted at the local Cars 'n Coffee.... The Trabant. Complete with 2-cylinder engine, a true piece of shite.

Your hunch is correct..... https://www.cucamongaservicestation.net/ The above photo was taken from this site.

The VIN checks out as a B-3-B and 1951, however it doesn't match the body. Have you found the VIN on the frame? On my truck, someone had switched the VIN plate as well, but replaced it with another from a B-4-B. https://t137.com/registry/help/decode.php

In Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

That plastic "Dodge" dash script was only used on the B-4 trucks in 1953, and I believe was used onward in the C series too. Your truck is a 1953 B4B. What does your VIN plate say? Sometimes these were switched between trucks.

Lol, both at the 20 hour mark... the forum police will be notified!