jsd245

We did the first hopefully of many Christmas light parades this year with the 1952 B3GA First gear low speed on the rear end and I just idled the whole way with my foot off the gas! It's like it's made for a parade. Fun was had by all. This weekend it's a Christmas caroling hayride.

Yep using all 8 gears really keeps you engaged when driving!

So I’ve had my first real load in Big Ben. There was some discussion how it would handle a load in threads past when discussing tire size. Recall I had wheels made to put 9r22.5 radials on it. They are about the same diameter as the 8.25 20s that were on it. But about 30 pounds more of unsprung weight. In this picture I estimate about 2.5 cords of Red oak, some split and semi seasoned, but underneath a lot of rounds that were still wet, so I think probably 4-5,000 pounds of weight. The overloads were pretty well flexed. Did a couple, loads like this and put about 100 miles on him in the process. In short Big Ben handled it with no sweat. Pulling up hills honestly to me was not much different than empty. I did use the two speed rear more than I would driving empty, and did start out in first. Usually driving empty my shift sequence is 2L-3L-3H- 4H. Sometime 3H -4L -4H on a hill. With the load I started out in 1L then used pretty much used all 6 other gears and probably did downshift the rear more than normal. Without the two speed rear it wouldn’t be great driving a load like this. The dump didn’t even seem like it knew a load was on there. I don’t know how much this piston could push but I imagine way more that the truck could safely carry. what was hugely different was the ride quality- so much smoother with a load. these trucks can still work.

Yeah I was thinking three people would be best. Thanks. I was assuming I would use sealant rubber to body and glass to rubber to avoid leaks.

Wally- so are you saying you are pulling the gasket from the inside to the outside of the truck? That's the opposite of what I've done in the past- the windshield is installed from the outside, pulling the gasket (witha string) over the lip form the inside of the truck.

thanks all for the input. I have put a windshield in before but always a one peice windshield. This one with two pieces of glass seems like it will be cumbersome.

This is on a 52 pilot house so the windshield doesn't open. Only one gasket style I think.

So I need to replace the windshield Gasket to stop the leaks I have in the windshield- I got the Rubber from DCM. Any Tips on doing this? Clearly I'm gonna need to wrangle 1 or two people to help.

I just put that 6 volt positive ground alternator on my truck when I had an on charging issue, which was probably the regulator. While I am trying to keep the truck most original, convenience won out.

It's positive ground. They all were. I can't imagine anyone rewired the car to negative ground. I think the starter will still turn over in the right direction hooked up negative ground, but everything else- like the heater fan ( if you have one) will run backwards. I don't think anything will "blow up " by reversing the polarity. turn the ignition key on , without the engine running and put an electrical load on it- like headlights. The ammeter needle should go left discharging- if the needle moves right into charging territory the polarity is reversed.

The beauty of a pressure bleeder is it replaces any fluid bled out. I find it particularly useful if I'm trying to flush/replace brake fluid and I want to make sure all the old stuff is out. Gravity bleeding won't work on these trucks with a stock braking system because the bleeder nipples are higher than the reservoir .

Just use a pressure bleeder. I'll never bleed brakes again without one. No need to top up the reservoir and easy one person bleeding.

I'm probably overthinking it- my truck is not a show truck nor will it ever be. I actually use it. I've already put a 6v alternator on it for convenience and had wheels made to get rid of the split rims so a plastic brake reservoir would not be the end of the world .

Perfect! what a huge help! Thank you!

Can anyone give me the approximate dimensions of the spring that goes on the cowl vent mechanism? Mine is missing so my cowl vent won't stay open.

As out of place as it might look the plastic ones certainly are much more reasonable!

Yeah it seems like a bit much for what you get.

thanks. The existing cap is just 1/2" NPT so I will likely just use a different fitting there. There is someone out there making what looks to be a more period correct type- you;d have to open the top to check the level, but it looks like it belongs under a pilothouse hood. https://www.ebay.com/itm/304837200345?hash=item46f9b689d9:g:FngAAOSwal5YJf8r

Anyone use one of these? Any downsides? Seems like you would just thread a fitting on the master cylinder opening, and attach a hose to a remote reservoir on the firewall. It's such a PIA to check the master cylinder fluid level I know I'm just not gonna do it often enough. I don't think I have any brake leaks but it would be nice to monitor it easily.

So I finally got this done- in case anyone needs it-the Eaton 1350 two speed axle in these 1.5 ton trucks seal and Speedi sleeve parts numbers- seal- SKF 22425 speedi sleeve for the yoke- 99225

Got it fully installed and working. Looks like it's quite accurate. 60 mph is a little over 3000rpm which an online calculate tells me is correct for my rear end gearing and tire size. Waze agrees with the indicated speed on the speedometer. I like having a tach so I know my shift points. Also I was hitting 65mph on the highway, and clearly that's a bit much at about 3300 rpm. https://youtu.be/yL7I9Uq26rc

Hah ha yeah . I'm sure I could get a decal made to maybe match the stock Speedo and cover that- but I'm not building a show truck so I'll leave it as is.

So this is what I came up with. I found a old Boat mechanical tachometer which I think matches the style of the original gauges really well. I've got my distributor with the tach drive just waiting on a cable. I'm pretty pleased with this solution.

I had 22.5 inch wheels made for my truck. 9r22.5 have the same OD as 8.25x20s . 38.3” give or take. You can still find a decent assortment of 9r22.5s.

Anyone have an image of what these looked like in these trucks? I assume probably on the bigger ones? I found a distributor with a mechanical Tach output.