Bobacuda

Got a photo of what it looks like?

To quote one of my daughter's favorite movies, "Think maybe he's compensating for something, Donkey?"

Get a copy of "How to Build Plymouth, Dodge Hot Rods" by Tex Smith. You can find it on Amazon. I think it has a build with a Volare front end under a Pilothouse and it also has either a Cordoba or Mirada front end (memory gap) under one. Has good photos and a write up.

I apologize to everyone for posting this topic several times. The first time, I thought I just hit a wrong button. The last time, I saw it posted, but I did not know it was moved. Since I knew it posted last time, I started going through all of the topics until I found it. Once again, I apologize for being a Luddite and thanks for the input.

I am considering building a shed just for a shop lift so I can stand under my truck when working on it. For those of you with shop lifts for your trucks, how high should I make the ceiling to avoid clearance problems? Thanks.

I thought I posted this earlier, but I guess I hit a wrong button. For those of you that use a shop lift so that you can stand when working under your truck (lift under the frame, not tires), how tall is your shop's ceiling? I have been thinking about building another "shed" for a lift, but I don't want to make the ceiling too low. Also, what lift do you have or recommend?

I have been thinking about building another "shed" with a shop lift on my property. I remember as a kid at the gas station we had to use spacers to make the lift contact the frame and not hit the running boards, but I cannot remember how high the gas station ceiling was. So, for those of you with shop lifts that allow your to stand and work under your truck (or '40's and 50's cars), how high is your ceiling? What brand of lift do you have?

I saw one like that and one made from a '56 Plymouth (looked like it started off life as a wagon). They were both former "flower cars" for a funeral home in Arkansas. In Tennessee, I saw one made from a Cadillac, in use as a "flower car." I assume that some custom shop took the order and the car from a dealer and made the conversion.

I figure this should get some comments. I worked in a full service gas station as in kid, in a rural Texas farming and ranching community. I changed a lot of oil in old cars, trucks and farm equipment ('40's to 50's) with bypass type oil filters. It was not uncommon to pop the lid on the filter canister and find a roll of toilet paper was being used for the filter. I have unrolled some of them and can verify that every layer was oil soaked and retained engine sludge. When I asked people why they did this, the reply was the same. "it works very well. The cheaper the paper the better. Get the rough stuff with no perfumes or powders and it will be fine." I never saw any of the rolls falling apart. I never saw one cause an engine to fail. This got me to thinking, automotive supply houses used to sell additional oil filtration systems that used toilet paper rolls (two rolls, then the oil went on to circulate through the normal filter). I used toilet paper for oil filters in my '51 Plymouth for 6 years before I retired it to buy a new car. No oil related problems. When I bought my B4B in 1975, I used the toilet paper oil filter again. My truck burned a valve or two over the next 23 years, but it took a bad piston ring on the top groove to finally shut it down. The truck did not burn oil, either. When I took off the drainpan, it had no more sludge in it than any other old car or truck I've worked on. I known it sounds strange, but it worked. So, any of you have experience with this?

Roller bearings -vs- ball bearings in the front hubs. I repacked the front bearings in my cousin's '46 Chevy. I was stunned to find ball bearings rather than roller bearings. When I worked at a gas station as a kid, I never saw a '40's - '50's Mopar 6 cyl without an oil filter. I rarely saw a Chevy 6 cyl with one.

My wife once told a good friend of mne (that is not a car-person), "He drinks very little, he doesn't smoke, he is not a bass fisherman, he doesn't have a deer lease or go hunting out of state, and his idea of a good vacation is staying close to home with me and the kids." Whenever I complain about spending money on my old cars (and truck), they tell me to quit complaining and enjoy life.

For those of you that used a pressure 50 - 100 lb sandblaster (like you can buy from Eastwood or Tractor Supply) and blasted your own truck, how long did it take you (excluding frame)? Any unusual problems I should be aware of? I'm trying to decide if I want to buy a blaster and do it myself or suck it up and pay to have it done. I have already disassembled the truck body and removed it from the frame. Thanks.

I am looking at getting at buying a small (5-20 gal) media blaster to use on my B4B. I have been getting mixed reviews on "siphon or pressure" and what make works best for the money. I know that high dollar units with large compressors work best, but I am not looking to start a restoration shop - I just want to work on my own stuff. What do you folks recommend?

I am convinced that 90% of the vehicles I face on the road daily are "driverless," or at least their drivers are clueless... I'll bet car bombers will really like driverless cars...

Findding the parts has a lot to do with where you are located. Someone on this site may have a set of complete rear brake drums, or you may have a nearby old car junk yard. I live in Texas and have had to get most of my hard to find Pilothouse parts from John's Salvage in Seguin, TX. They are reasonable and they have several Pilothouse trucks that still have complete rear ends. Check the parts for sale on this site and ebay. That said, I do think I saw an article where they removed the brake drums (like you did) and they changed out the backing plates to accomdate the new drums. However, since I am in the process of getting over a fever and the flu, I may have dreamed the swap up. Seach online.

The "less massive" mirror bracket is the same as came on my '53 B4B.

Looks like your truck and mine were originally the same color. Would you mind posting the brand, type and color code for the paint? It would make at least my life easier when painting time comes. Thanks.

You are looking at only a part of the collection that Crenwelge Motors has. There are multiple sheds and barns. Thankfully, they don't believe in the metal crusher. It is really a family business and collection, with some owning more than others. They have showroom cars as well as the ones in the photo. Lots of stuff I would love to have, but that's the way it is. I seem to recall they had a 30's Mopar coupe with a hemi in one of the sheds. In 72 I bought a 71 Cuda from them and years later traded in a 65 Barracuda on a truck. I think they still have the 65 in a shed.

If you want an inexpensive panel that looks at least as interesting as the one in this thread, go to John's Salvage's website (Seguin, TX) johnssalvagecompany.com . He has a '49 panel with a crunched front fender for $750. Got a lot of nice stuff and he would like to sell some of it whole rather than in pieces.

I have searched the site and it has really been helpful in taking my B4B's door windows apart for rebuilding. The Steele catalog has been less than useful looking for truck parts. I also saw that DollyDodge and several others had pretty bad fit issues with the wing vent seals. So where are the happy customers getting their parts for the door windows? I would really appreciate a good source, a list of the parts you purchased and a fit so good you would use them again. Has anyone used Andy Bernbaum Auto parts for their doors? Thanks for your help in advance. I would really like to order the parts and have them on hand before I start the painting process on truck. Bob

The interior light teh guy has for sale is the same as the one that came with my B-4-B. The metal housing that holds the bulb clamps to the headliner. The glass part has a metal surround with the switch on the side. I have an spare glass and surround that the original owner of my truck kept in the glove compartment.

I am currently in the process of taking my B4B apart for rebuilding. I have been taking my time so that whenever I need to buy something, I can pay for it. Like many of you, I like to stockpile parts so that when the appropriate time hits I can go on a restoration frenzy...which means whatever I took apart is still fresh on my mind and I rely less on photos. I started to compile my list of rubber parts and weather stripping for a complete paint job. I will be rebuilding the windows at the same time. I got me a Steele catalog and low and behold, it has very little for '53 Dodge 1/2 ton trucks. I have seen the photos many of you have submitted with your nice rebuilds and paint jobs and I wonder, "Where did you get your rubber parts and weather stripping? Where did you find that rubber part betweent the front fender and the cab? Here did you get the rear window gaskets for all three windows? Where did you find the rubber bumpers for the hood, etc.?" I think you see my point. How about creating a thread where you list the rubber and weatherstriping parts you used, where you got them and the part number? For example, DollyDodge recently rebuilt doors. DollyDodge could list the source, parts and part numbers for doors. Everyone could add their experience from there for the entire truck, compiling a nice information source from an already existing data pool. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope I did not sound too whiney. I do think this would help many of us, especially those doing this for the first time

My B4B was first purchased from my hometown Dodge dealer - he sold about 1 vehicle a month (stopped selliing vehiles in the late 60's). The truck was never driven more than 100 miles from our town before I bought it. The man I bought it from parked it around 1968, when his emphasema kept him from working any more. I tried to buy the truck and he ran me off. When he passed away, his son called my folks and asked them if I still wanted the truck. So, in 1975 I became the second owner for $100. Since then, I have driven it from the San Antonio area to Dallas, Houston, Corpus Christi and all points around...including Luckenbach. I had to park it in 1995 after a bad experience with a machine shop and an engine overhaul that went way wrong. The good news is that I am currently in the process of refurbishing my old truck with blessing of my family and I hope to be back on the road in 2012.

I ran into the same problem when rebuilding the engine in my '53. After a lot of frustration, I picked up a factory thermostat housing from a 273 I had laying around. It's a match for the one on my flathead. So, I suspect any of the older Mopar small block thermostat housings would work.

I learned to drive in our '51 1/2 ton farm truck. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter and always noisy...I was hooked. I could never get my uncle to agree to sell me the farm truck (but he did sell it to someone else). So, I drove old Plymouth cars and kept looking. An older man that used to drive school buses in my hometown had a '53 1/2 ton with corner windows, fluid drive, long wheelbase and overload springs. He took the bed off to paint it with a brush, but his emphasema kept him from finishing the job, or putting the truck back together. I tried to buy it and he ran me off. I went in Navy, but I kept looking. About two months before I got out of the Navy, my folks called and told me the old man passed away and that they would let me have the truck for $100 (back in '75). The truck was bought from a dealer in my hometown (pop. less than 750 back in '53 - dealer has been gone for years) and had never been further than 100 miles from home (until I bought it). I still have the truck and I am in the process of rebuilding it.