John-T-53

After patching the original radiator several times over the years, and chasing a leak that never went away, I had to bite the bullet and have it recored. The last effort to use Bar's Leaks actually made the leaks worse as it seemed to plug up the core even more, pressurizing the top tank. Every time the thermostat opened, I got a surge out the cap as the core couldn't absorb the sudden increase in flow. I'm not a big fan of the look of the newer style core, but at least it's high quality and will last me a couple decades at least. The shop (San Carlos Radiator) did a heck of a job and the radiator came out looking better than new. Unfortunately, it cost me nearly 400 bucks (ouch!). I looked into getting an original style core (a v-cell), but it was extremely cost prohibitive. There's apparently only one place that makes them in the country - Maine Radiator, and their prices are around $1k for just the core (ok, maybe worth it if it's going on a Packard, Bugatti, Rolls, or the like). From the pics I've seen on here, looks like a lot of you still have the original rads in your trucks.

The PCV runs to the pipe plug location on the manifold, from the draft tube location. The oil filler tube is open via the breather cap - I did not plug it or run a separate line to the air cleaner. There should be no blow-by in theory since the rings are new and the cylinders are freshly bored. In this case the fuel entering via the pump boss is creating the same condition, though. After I install a new pump and change the oil, I'll see how it runs and readjust the timing. Don - what's your preference for advance?

For large cleaning jobs where a solvent type chemical is needed, I like to use gasoline or mineral spirits - cheap by the gallon when compared to individual cans of carb or brake cleaner. You can splash in liberal amounts, slosh it around, and rinse with fresh solvent until it's clean. Then save the dirty fluid in a container where the solids can settle out and you can reuse it. Then do the final rinse with brake cleaner to get rid of the residue. Just have to make sure you have adequate ventilation, gloves, disposal, and that no one comes around with a lit cig or playing with matches...

After reassembly, the engine ran fine. Broke in the new rings and guides and changed the oil. After about 600 to 700 miles on the oil, the same type of smoking and strong blow-by smell started to occur again, getting progressively worse. MPG was in the 10-12 range. After double checking the dwell, timing, carb, plugs, and PCV, and determining them working satisfactory, I did some more searching on here and a couple threads mentioned an internal leaking fuel pump - leaking into the crankcase. I pulled the fuel pump and noticed it's indeed leaking out of the mount side, into the oil. Over time, the oil has been getting dilluted with fuel. The PCV sucks the fuel vapors in the crankcase into the combustion chambers, leading to a rich mixture and smoke/soot out the tail pipe. This might explain the excessive carbon in the combistion chambers after 3k miles (pictured below). I was driving a lot at highway speeds before, for long periods, and dilluted oil with the RPM's encountered might have played a factor in the rod bearing failure that happened (also pictured below). I never replaced the fuel pump when I redid the engine because it didn't leak and seemed to pump fine. Who knew that it was leaking unnoticed into the crankcase and leading to excessive damage? That's my theory - what's y'all's take on it? Can we put this one to bed?

I pulled the fuel pump tonight, and inspected the area where the arm protrudes. I didn't notice a strong fuel smell at first (mainly because I had gas all over my hands from disconnecting the lines). I put the pump in a vise to hold it level, and after wiping away excess oil, noticed a small flow of fuel come down from the interior. There were about 4 drips within 10 minutes, and it was a clear liquid that smelled like gas. I have a new pump on the way from NAPA. This brings to light a lot of s**t....I might have just solved the other mystery why my rod bearings failed previously.

The thought was to advance as much as possible to lean it out a bit. Doing a search revealed others on here have it set around that too, plus or minus. However, the shop manual says TDC...I think that is for static timing. (?) Is 8 degrees too much? There's no pinging at all with this much or even at 10 or 12. It was set at 500-600 rpm with timing light and vac advance connected. I have PCV, so in theory blowby should be sucked back in, but rings are new and fit good. It could be sucking in fuel vapor leaked from fuel pump making the mixure extra rich below the carb.

Back up and running again now for a couple months. I have 900 miles on the oil since I put in new rings and rod bearings after the rod bearing failure this spring. I seem to be running very rich, and it's getting progressively worse. Last night I was sitting at a traffic light for 2 minutes and the smell got to me and irritated my eyes pretty bad. The engine runs very good at all speeds, but mpg is around 10. Timing is 8 deg BTDC with dwell set to 40 degrees. The coil produces about a 1/2" spark, and the plugs are new and gapped properly. The carb is good with float adjusted a little lower than spec and no vacuum ports are clogged. I have a PCV valve. The oil has a few bubbles in it on the dipstick, but is clean looking, not too dark. I have a lot of soot out the tail pipe and grey/white smoke with acceleration. The smell is unbearably rich and I've been getting bad looks from people on the road. The last thing I haven't checked is the mech. fuel pump. Are these prone to sending fuel into the crankcase?

The truck clutch fork and cross shaft are (is) one piece on the stock setup.

With the black paint scheme, I can see why he chromed what he did. If the bumpers and running boards were black too, it would be very monotone and prone to invisibility on the road. Still, I can't say I'm a fan of the chrome running boards, and I'll bet they cost a pretty penny to have done. The grill would have been a better place to put chrome, I agree.

Here's how I did it when I reinstalled my engine: Remove the floor boards. Remove the tranny, then remove the two bolts that hold the clutch fork/shaft bushing collar to the bell housing (left side of BH next to brake pedal). Slide the bushing collar out of the BH hole, and slide the fork shaft to the left so it's out of the bushing on the right side of the BH. Now you can wiggle it in all directions, and slide it back in at an angle so you can slip of the pedal. If you get the shaft at just the right angle, you can slide the brake pedal off with the engine in the truck. It's tight, but it's possible.

The B-3 and B-4 had a different baffle than the B-1 and B-2. The big upper baffle pictured in the parts diagram linked below was only used in the earlier models, and replaced with a smaller one - roughly a 5" x 12" piece of sheet metal, shown in the lower left of my pic below.

Mine rests right on the top tank overflow hose. The hood is kind of flimsy in that area, so the radiator helps keep it from saggin'. The core extends above the front baffle about an inch, rendering that section not very effective, so maybe this is not the original that was in this truck?

It's 72 up here today - a little nicer than the beach down yonder....but still, Gorebal warming was cancelled this year in California.

I'll add the Mopar 70 doesn't fit snugly under the dash. Someone drilled mounting holes through the firewall above the gutter on the outside, and the holes for the water tubes were drilled through the upper left corner of the firewall, if you're facing it from the engine side. The bolts are long as the back of the unit doesn't fit within the flat area of the firewall on that side. I'm not a big fan of the heater-mounted defroster control knob either, since it's hard to reach while driving, especially at night. The defroster don't work that well, either!

Here's another version of a heater that's in my rig...a "Mopar 70". Not sure if this is the one you have, Tom, but I'd guess chances are slim since there's no stainless on this box (if there's stainess on yours, it's probably polished). But it's an interesting unit that someone put in mine long ago because this California truck never came with a heater in the first place, as the firewall hasn't been punched out for one. (Maybe a new transplant from the midwest or east coast came out here and bought a truck, and didn't think he'd need a heater in CA...only to find out that it indeed gets cold in the winter!!!) Anybody know what a Mopar 70 goes in? I got 2, and one is up for grabs right now if someone wants it. I just got a truck master heater from Mr. Van Note through ebay and plan on putting that in, along with the fresh air kit aquired from Reg a few months back. All that's still needed are control cables and switches.

Since Dodge made most of the parts for the early Fords, I wonder if that's how the acronym for F.O.R.D. came about?? (F*'d Over Rebuilt Dodge)

If you've already put radials on the truck, replace the shocks next. They would be a big factor in affecting your ride quality (like on any car or truck), and they're responsible for keeping your tires on the ground. I've seen many cars going down the freeway with bad shocks, and on a bumpy section of pavement, I've watched tires literally bounce up and down, leaving the pavement momentarily each time. No contact = no control. As said earlier too, lubricate all the zerk fittings around the chassis and loosen up the springs with some penetrating oil. My 1/2 ton has all original suspention that's well broken in and has never been disassembled, but with 8 year-old radials and new shocks and it rides almost as good as a '74 Newport.

Anybody restoring a U.S. Navy Truck?

You guys are talking about the crankshaft pulley right? Those marks are pretty shallow, and are easily concealed by rust and paint. Turn the engine by hand so #6 is at TDC (remove the small pipe plug in the head above #6 and insert an 8" straight piece of coat hanger wire and watch its movement up and down), then try some paint stripper or 220 grit sand paper in the area under the pointer on the pulley. The marks should be down there somewhere.

Follow your wire from the #1 spark plug to the distributor cap and that's where it should point. I believe the usual location for #1 on the distributor is in the 7 o'clock position, but it could also be at 1 o'clock if your distributor shaft is rotated 180 deg.

That's some cool stuff. Thanks for posting the information!

What will be towing or pushing it at that speed? Any events this summer you know of in the bay area? My truck is back on the road and eager to get out and meet other lost cousins!

Better pack a 9mm or bear spray to avoid getting mugged while picking up a bumper! Even in the nicest of towns, the Greyhound Depot is always in the ghetto.

Lookin' good bud. Looks like you're using 2x6's or 8's for the bed floor. This bed will be able to take a hell of a beating when you git-r-dun. Dogs and old pickups go hand in hand. Cats will probably jump out, and (roosters), well not sure....haha.

Sweet! How do you shift the rear end...and is that usually shifted with the tranny gears or just for special occasions?