John-T-53

My filter says use JC cartridge with G-101 cover gasket. The gaskets I've gotten with these oil filter elements have never fit right either. The first time I changed the oil I learned the hard way - drove across town and soon a big plume of oil smoke was surrounding the truck. Who knew?? This discussion prompted me to take an in-depth look at the filter design. I've always been unsure as to what filter would work the best. I've used both the cartridge and sock types as mentioned earlier in this thread. For the sock type, which way is it supposed to be installed? Taking an engineer's perspective, I've always been skeptical of these filters doing much good based on their internal design, in addition to the fact that it's a bypass system. Mine appears to work like this: Contrary to the description under the "Technical Tips" page on this website, my filter's inlet is at the bottom of the canister and the outlet on the side near the top (it's stamped "outlet"). From the bottom, oil flows up to the top through a central fixed tube. It then flows through holes drilled in the cover bolt shaft and out over the top of the element (see pics). The canister outlet is very close to this point, so oil doesn't seem to have to pass through much of the element before exiting. Wouldn't it make more sense if the center tube had outlet holes near the bottom (where the internal void is on the sock element) so that oil would flow through more element material? What if the sock were installed with the void on the top?

The guy that rebuilt my Chevy's radio - Bob's Radio in Oceano, CA - hasn't ever seen a 610T in all his years in the antique auto radio business.

Do you guys think the original oil fill cap with the oil-soaked wire gauze is sufficient for a source of clean air? What about changing the element inside of the cap to something more dense? If a hose were run to the air cleaner, it would have to tap into the inner core of the assembly where the clean air is flowing. Looking at other PCV systems on modern cars (well, up into the 80s at least), there usually is a breather hose running to the air cleaner with a separate, dedicated cleaning element - usually a white throw-away guaze type you can get at any parts store (Fram, STP, Purolator, etc). With my small block system, I kept the original fill cap (same wire guaze element) and clean it regularly, then resaturate with 50wt.

Has anybody ever installed a PCV system on their flathead? I'm looking to put one on mine when I get the motor back. I put a system in my small block Chevy motor recently...just removed the road draft tube, installed a grommet and pcv valve with a hose to the vacuum port below the throttle plate on the carb. It works fine and there's no more crankcase fumes inside the car. I checked out some of the PCV installation sheets on this website under "downloads" and they look quite complicated. Anybody get into this territory lately?

I'll gladly pay for one of the horns if you'll ship 'em! I'm missing mine...my current "horn" is the accelerator pedal.

Anyone by chance know the part number for the housing? There's a few mopar parts houses I've spoken with but they all need the part number to start with, no matter how well I describe it. Thanks guys!

Merle, your housing is the type I'm searching for, but apparently they're very rare. I'd use my old housing but it's almost rusted out at the neck, so I thought I'd try to get the correct one. If anybody has an extra housing like the one pictured in Merle's reply, I'd be a new man if you'd sell it to me!

I'm confused as to what type of housing is correct for my truck. My engine came with a straight up type housing with no bypass, but when I ordered a new hose from Roberts, they sent me a straight hose. Obviously, a straight hose won't fit between my housing and the radiator. I've searched this site and many pictures of engine compartments, and noticed many housings that appear to be quite large, with a bend in the neck, with and without the bypass. So my question is: Did they make a non-bypass housing with a bend in the neck? If so, would this be the correct housing for my truck? If not, what is? A straight housing with a bent hose? I've been searching for months now for a bent housing without a bypass, and have had worse luck than a bearded sheikh wearing a turban at an airport.

Roberts has 'em and I think Kanter does too. Most likely they'll need to be replaced...if there's any pits in the bore they'll leak indefinitely. I also looked into resleeving mine but new cylinders were cheaper and quicker.

Thanks Merle. I need to pick me up a copy of Bunn's book.

Mr. Beard has a good point about replacing the lines...I was milking my old brake system for all that it was worth about two years ago, until it finally gave out on the road. The culprit - brake line failure! One line actually rusted from the outside, though. It was the line along the frame rail next to the gas tank. There was a lot of muck and rotting debris in the space where this line passed through, keeping it perpetually moist (and rusty). Fortunately, the truck survived a near accident and the entire brake system was overhauled shortly thereafter.

I tried matching old numbers at the auto body supply shop when I bought paint for my Chevy 10 years ago. They couldn't guarantee the color would be correct using the numbers, so I got a set of original paint chips and matched them by eye with their modern color selection (they had a big binder full of paint chips for late model cars). It took a long time and a lot of squinting, but the colors came out right in the end. If you go this route, just make sure you do the color matching in sunlight!

Nice. I see they even have the square periphery tooth washers in their catalog. The floorboards and most other sheet metal seams in my '53 use the 5/16-24 J nuts and bolts. I could only find the 5/16-18 J nuts, so I moved all my original fasteners to the engine compartment and doing the floor boards with the new coarse thread fastners.

I got the 235's as well. They're a fatter tire than the 205 or 215 and look great on the ol' gal. No clearance issues either.

The most readily available and durable paint I can find is Rust-Oleum satin black. I think I'm going to stick with this one as I've had great sucess with it in the past. I painted many parts with this under the hood of my Chevy over 10 years ago and it's holding up really well. It resists gas, oil, grease, and high temps, and always cleans up nicely with a rag and WD-40. Back to the shop....I'll post pics soon!

I'm currently rebuilding my B-4-B's power plant and restoring the engine compartment close to factory condition as part of the project. Does anybody know which brand of paint most closely matches the silver engine color? Also, I wanted to get your input on the correct factory paint colors for the following items...I've taken a guess for each part: Air Cleaner: Semi-gloss black Bellhousing: Silver Bellhousing Pan: Gloss Black (?) Breather Cap: Semi-gloss Black Breather Tube: Silver Draft Tube: Semi-gloss Black Engine Block: Silver Fan: Semi-gloss Black Frame: Flat black (?) Front Motor Mount to Frame Bracket: Semi-gloss black Front Motor Mount to Engine Bracket: Silver Generator: Semi-gloss Black Inner Fenders: Semi-gloss Black Intake Manifold: Silver Master Cylinder: Natural Cast Iron Oil Filter: Semi-gloss Black Oil Pan: Silver or gloss black (?) Pulley, Water Pump: Semi-gloss Black Pulley, Crankshaft: Silver Radiator: Gloss black (?) Radiator Core Support: Semi-gloss Black Starter: Semi-gloss Black Steering Box: Natural Cast Iron Timing Cover: Silver Transmission: Silver Upper Radiator/Grill Shell Filler Panel: Semi-gloss Black Water Pump: Silver

My rear main seal was leaky enough so I could do the same. When the engine was taken apart, the seal wasn't even touching the crank! My driveway probably has about 5 oil changes worth on it.

The thickness of the front panel's sheet metal may be thinner than the tail gate panel; take this into consideration as dents will happen easier if it is...especially if your truck will be used for work.

This level of ingenuity is the type that's currently running our country. Running it into the ground that is.

If this is for the grill shell/fender seam....from previous experience I've found the professional grade seam sealing caulk from 3M to work best in this situation. It's paintable and can be purchased at any auto body supply store or from Eastwood. Gaskets work ok but still allow water to seep in and cause cancer. The caulk will seal the void completely on both sides and prevent water from intruding and sitting in there for days. Another great product is 3M strip caulk...its a black sticky substance you apply by hand before or after assembly. Not sure if its paintable but looks sharp against painted panels after you clean up the line with a rag and WD-40.

Thanks for all the geat ideas guys. I didn't know car and truck pumpkins were interchangeable. I did get a reply from Vintage Auto Parts in Denver (www.vapinc.com) about gears: 1937-56 Dodge car, all models with 8 1/4" ring gear. WX2390-1 39-10 3.90 to 1 $230.00 1941-56 Dodge WX2390-1 39-10 3.90 to 1 $365.00 Their description is rather vague, so perhaps doing the direct pumpkin swap from a passenger car would be the easiest thing to do for now. If I can get a 3:73 ratio, then a four speed tranny might be the next upgrade to help me out on the uphill and off-the-line starts. I assume the first gear on a 4-speed is lower than first on a 3-speed...better check the manual first! I'm living in San Juan Capistrano, CA, in south Orange County. I picked up the "y'all" from going to school in Georgia and it stuck. I get a lot of flack for it around here but that ain't going to change me.

Howdy, Does anybody know if ring and pinion sets are available for early 50's half ton trucks? I have 4:10's in there now but would like to increase them to 3:70 or approx. The reason is to be able to reach highway speed. Any clue as to what the ring gear diameter is?? I've looked into a tranny upgrade too but I don't think overdrives were available on these trucks. Thanks in advance for y'all's help!