John-T-53

The second time out to the tailgate BBQ was the best one yet! Sure was good meeting new folks and checking out trucks and cars I hadn't seen before. It's unavoidable to get so busy gabbin' wth folks that there's not enough time to thoroughly look over every vehicle! Thank you Tim for being such a great host, and glad we were able to do some parts tradin' too! Hope to swing by through your area again soon (before next spring). And ... Once again I had a great time driving those back roads. Our trucks were made for them!

Ditto on all of the above. We can compare our bumpers on Saturday!

Glad to hear, this has been on my list for a long time now! Please share the details when you can. Thanks,

With that 3:54, your truck will lug a little more, but you will definitely be able to cruise at higher speeds. I believe the stock three speed has a first gear of 3.1:1, so that's a difference of 1.74:1 overall drive ratio in first, considering: 12.71:1 with the 4:10 rears, versus 10.97:1 with the 3:54. Good luck!

I hate to pee in everyone's cheerios, but I'm not sure a decal would hold up well here. The surface is curved, plus the sticker will tend to peel around all the raised edges of the letters. Tried this with my Chevy's hub caps with decals purchased from a reputable repro parts mfr, and I wasn't pleased. I took the stickers off right away and went with paint. I recommend 1-shot red paint for this application if you're going that route. it's easy - no masking necessary - just let the paint flow into the negative spaces. Then the edges can be cleaned up with a shop towel with a little adhesive cleaner.

Looks like it came out perfect this time. Nice work. Yeah, that three piece hood is nearly impossible to put together and install without scratching it. Just need a grip of dudes on hand to help handle the dang thang...

Wow, looks killer. Hopefully the truck can make it, bring your binder of original pics again for comparison.

Clean it up with a hone and then inspect. If there are pits from rust, it'll still leak, even with new cups, and the rust will return. If this turns out to be the case, replace.

I ended up converting to a 230 because the old 218 crank was found to be cracked. I found a good 230 core and only had to grind it .010 and .010, which should last a long time and more rebuilds down the road. I'm glad I did. With the cylinders bored .060 over, it's a 238.I can't provided a base line comparison because dual carbs were also added. But with all the changes, there's considerably more power and low-end torque. I don't have to downshift that much on hills anymore, in fact I can climb moderate grades in overdrive (2.95:1 final ratio). The flywheel is the same between 218/230 cranks. 230s just have 8 holes instead of 4. (Side note: 1941 218 cranks have 8 holes too). No need to change the carb.

Eric, Is this guy doing it as a side project, or full time professionally? I'd assume he works in a tool n' die facility to have access to this type of equipment. This is serious stuff! All the pics he has on the site look great, and the stampings and final pieces look very pro. Thanks for the posting!

Wow. Hopefully the new owners keep it original!

Unfortunately I had little choice but hit the 405 head first after 300 miles on a fresh rebuild a few years ago. Especially not fun with the old three speed, and the bed full of tools and lumber. The worst part was merging onto the 101 heading north, because it puts you in the fast lane when you're doing 50 and have no turn signals. Man that was scary, but in the tough times you gotta do what you gotta do...it shook me and the truck down alright. Anyways, Jeff, can't wait to see pics!!

I concur on the (lack of) weight difference. I believe the weight of the ol' flatty was around 700+ pounds...I think it was Greybeard that posted that info a long time ago. Not sure if that includes the bellhousing or not, but the block, crank, and flywheel are all big honkers that tip the scales in their own right. Plus when you add the accessories (all heavy iron, steel, and copper buggers too), it all adds up! Don't forget the radiator too!

That jogs my memory even more. Now I remember my guy saying the same thing. He said if you're really aiming for perfection, the original core could be sliced across the core face and that installed over the thinner core on one side. Too much to deal with, IMO....I'm just glad I got the recore done and will never have to worry about it again for a long time.

If the tail shaft looked like the first picture, I'd go back and get it just for that. That'll give you options if you can't easily find a T5 out of an S-10. Never seen a T5 that looked like the bottom pic, or even a T5 with integral bellhousing. Must be a UK fluke, or not even a T5 to begin with? Did you take any pics of it?

Did you get the core from Maine radiator? Supposedly they're one of the only (if not THE only) vendor for new obsolete cores. I think the original core type in our trucks (and most 50s vehicles) is called a v-cell core. I remember asking the local radiator shop about cores from Maine and they said it would cost the same as you paid here, all in.

I think my recore cost about $500 a couple years ago, but if done right, the recore is the way to go - its a 20+ year solution plus it fits.

http://www.antiquefarmshow.org/ Looks like a pretty cool event. Would be a long haul from here, but I have a buddy in Fresno I need to visit...

In your town?

In the summertime in the Coachella valley, even cars that are parked in the shade are hot to the touch! I guess when it's an average of 110 - 115 degrees in the day and only down to about 90 by 10 o' clock at night, the steel doesn't have much of a chance to cool down. On the upside though, you wouldn't have to wait for the engine to warm up, wouldn't need much choke, and have no water vapor in the crank case. Just as long as your radiator is doing its job :-) There have been some beautiful Mopars at the Palm Springs event over the years. I will see if I can dig up pictures and post 'em here... Jeff....I'll do my best to swipe the horn ring for ya, but can you send me your ID to hand over when they detain me?? :-0

A relative sent me this picture...I will see it in person later this month when I'm down in the desert. Looks like it'll go to auction if it doesn't sell in the showroom before. Look at the sticker on the windshield, whoa! Check out more pics via this link: http://www.classic-carauction.com/auction_details.cfm?pagesubid=37&auctionid=5721 let the comments begin, lol...!

I have a set of L6 Pistons and pins, used, abused, and no longer good for an engine. Tim, if you're hard up you can have these. I will eventually be getting rid of them. Maybe I'll bring the rods to sell on "truck day".

NAPA will have to special order these, and usually you have to pay up front for special orders. If you order direct from Rare parts, the return process is friendly and smooth. Are your new springs slimmer than the originals?

My 1/2 ton has fine thread on all body fasteners, all original u-nuts ad bolts. The front end and floor boards are all 5/16-24. Lot of this size on the engine too.

Originally, (ast least on half ton springs) the fronts have a threaded bushing pressed into the eye. You can easily press this out and install a new one in a large bench vise. Screw your old pin into the bushing part way to press it out. The rear eyes are "threaded" when you screw in your new shackle bushings. The bushings are very hard material and will cut the steel of the spring as they go in. You'll probably have to screw them in part way, then back out, several times, each time getting in further. I had a tough time with this but at least I know they are in there tight! They must be extremely snug so they don't rotate. Same goes for the frame bracket. Check out Rare Parts for new shackles - very high quality and American made. EDIT: I see the NAPA link has these in their "Rare Parts Chassis" line, so looks like RP now makes them for NAPA. Nice.