DollyDodge

Thanks all. I will look at the brake lines. The thing that is amazing in this dry country is stuff just doesn't rust. The lines on the outside have no rust. Most were covered with dirt and grim but I cleaned that off, and they all look good. When I did the rebuild, for the most part everything just came apart easily. There were few rusty bolts and nuts, but not many. I will look at that junction box next. I agree, in my mind, which doesn't understand a lot of mechanic stuff, it seems the flow must be blocked somewhere. Oh well, I will keep picking away at it, until something works.

I replaced all the rubber hoses on al 4 wheels in 2011. All Brake shoes were replaced in 2011. The truck has less than 1,000 miles since 2011. The brake lines are original. Fluid looks clear and clean when I bleed the brakes. BTW thanks for all the input from everyone.

See if I can answer the questions, but as clarification I replacedthe master cylyder before the rebuild, and drove the truck for about 2 years with no brake issues, the rebuild took 5 years, and I drove the truck 18 months after the rebuild with no problems. This just started happening. So the mc is not brand new (almost 9 years old, but it doesn't have much use, I replaced the front cylinders when I first started have the grabbing issue and as I mentioned above, the brakes worked great for a while with the new cylinders, but then started grabbing again, The fluid coming out of the filler plug baffles me, makes no sense, there is about 1/4 inch of fluid left in the reservoir when it looks like it stops leaking. It is making an awful mess. What doesn't make sense is when I had the filler plug out of the master cylinde and was checking for the relief flow the fluid doesn't spill out of the open hole, but when I put the plug in then fluid comes out of the plug. Pedal return sping is fine. Lines have not been changed. Not sure what the proportioning block is, but I assume that is the place where all the lines are connected. I haven't looked at it. As I mentioned, the fluid seems to flow freely out of the lines when I bled them, the whole thing seems strange to me.

Ok, here is an update. I adjusted the free pedal to 3/8 inch (as listed in the shop manual), checked the relief flow by watching the fluid it the master cylinder, check the brake lines (no damage and fluid flows through easily), checked the spring, made sure the pads moved easily on the mounts, and all seems fine. I did the minor adjustment as well. I sill am having troubles. After the free pedal adjustment the brakes felt great, got a dozen or so stops and everything was fine. Then I could feel the front brakes, both at first, then after several applications of the brake, mainly the right front. This isn't just a drag, the brake actually locks, and releases slowly. I tried it going very slowly in granny, both forward and reverse, and it still happens. I apply very light pedal pressure, and the brakes begin move on their own even if I release the pedal it will lock the front right. The other thing is there is brake fluid coming out of the filler plug, until it nearly empties the reservoir after multiple stops. The master cylinder is new, but I keep thinking that is my problem. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks. I will try the pedal clearance. I know there is way more free play than there should be according to the manual-I hadn't messed with that yet for fear I'd cause more problems. It has had the same clearance for about 6 years now. I checked the lines, and they seemed fine (flexible ones are new). The shoes seemed to move easily. Return spring seemed fine when I took them off. I did the minor adjustment according to the service manual. As a side note, when I took out the old cylinders I see they are both the same, no left or right.

I started having problems with the Right Front brake locking up on Dolly Dodge 6 months ago or so. Then it would be ok for a while, but then it all of a sudden it would lock up again. If I was light on the pedal it wouldn't complexly lock up, but if I pushed the pedal down fairly hard the brake would lock the wheel up and then release slowly. I replaced the front brake cylinders this weekend in hopes that would help (besides they needed replacing, when I rebuilt them almost 6 years ago their was pitting on the cylinder). After the new cylinders were in the brakes worked really great. I probably got 50 or 60 uses on Sunday and then I could feel them start to grab, and release slowly. Now both front brakes are grabbing, with the Right being the worst. Is this a master cylinder issue? It was replaced about 5 years ago with a new one.

Oil Soup, very funny. Nope that is just north of Bishop CA in an area called Chalfant Valley. Looks like that most of the time, gorgeous to those of us who live here Annual rainfall is just over 4 inches. Who wants green when one can have bare ground , sagebrush, jackrabbits, rattlesnakes, and a few scorpions...

Dolly was out working for her fuel this weekend. We pruned a bunch of limbs and hauled them to the dump. I love this picture of her. You can see a bunch of limbs were already unloaded. I forgot to take a picture before I started unloading. I had a heck of a load. She is a working old girl !

I got the heater to defroster hose hooked up. It was a momentous day for me. The last thing to hook up for DD to be fully functional, all the mechanical stuff works. Just a little over 7 years since I brought her home to get her going again. I felt like I needed to throw a party or something to celebrate. It was a huge day for me for some reason. Any way all her parts are back on and she is on the road.

Here is a link to Dolly Dodge's life video. I have postd earlier versions, but this is the latest and nearly done. It is 42 minutes, and covers her 67 year life, but focuses on the rebuild which started in 2009 after 30 plus year of being inoperative. Once I get the heater/defroster hoses hooked up, she will be mechanically sound. It has been such a fun project, and everyone on this site has helped so much.

Vintage Power Wagon Rebuilt mine, and they may have rebuilts for sale that fit your truck as well

I got the heater mounted fully this weekend, all that is left is the heater hose, and a new rheostat, both have been shipped. I redid the glove box this weekend too. It isn't very big now, but as it is in the photos, it still just barely fits. Exciting to get the heater in and it works so well. I did a lot of modifications to get it right. Very pleased with myself (patty myself on back as I type)

Here are a couple from when I brought Dolly home, and one of her after I got her to run before brining her home. She had sat at our old family ranch all those 35 years. I can't believe that was in 2009. Time is going by too fast.

Nice nice web page!

Petrified critters, way cool. I took lots of photos in the beginning but didn't do the inside before cleanout. I almost got sick cleaning it out it was so gross so I can relate.

I got the heater mounted (with the exception of the lower bracket and I need to make a modification for it). Hooked it up and it works great. I took the Heater out on February 21, 2010, so it has been 6 years and 6 months since I pulled it out. It was one of the first things I did with Dolly was getting fixed up. It is a major milestone for me to get it back in. I have to modify the glove box so it will fit, then old Dolly will be good as new. She needs a paint job, and new wood in the bed, but she is road worthy and mechanically sound. It is so fun to have her back in shape. Sure has been a long project. When I got her back to my house after sitting for 35 years in operable, one of the first things I had to do was clean all the mouse and rat droppings out of the cab. The was several inches under the seat. I finally gave up, opened the doors and attacked it with a power washer. I wish I had a picture of what it looked like, but for some reason I didn't take one. Anyway, it was fun for me to put this item back one.

I got the heater all put back together and hooked it up. I will install it next weekend I hope. Got my 9 inch wiper blades and they work about just right. Here is a video link for the heater. It took forever to get it so the fan didn't hit somewhere. I had to modify the mount to fit a smaller diameter new motor. In the video I hear the fan hitting at lower speed, I didn't notice it when I was working on it as I was having so much fun. I found where it was hitting and fixed it. I still need to order the defroster hose, but it works yippie. I have one question thought, the Rheostat gets really hot, is that normal? Here is the link https://youtu.be/lt2OBotdmB8

Nice pictures

Thanks, all I can tell you is what is on my truck, that is what I was going by. I also look at photos of my truck in the 50s, 60s, and 70s and it appears it has the same short wiper-maybe that is what the shop had and someone started using them who knows. Like an earlier person mentioned, I likely will never need them as rain is rare here. My goal with this truck was to keep it as my grandfather had it, so I kind of wanted the 8 1/4 blades since that is what he had on it. On thing I have learned is that all these trucks are not alike-no matter what the manual says. I found that when I started the rebuild, everything from the size of my parking bread drum, width of the parking brake pad, to the clutch size, and a host of other things, were all not standard. I sent more stuff back to Roberts and DPW than you can imagine, because it wasn't the correct size for my truck even though the manual said that particular size was the correct size. I looked at the dodge pilot house book and the blades look longer in there as well. Anyway, one thing I did was take apart the wiper motor and rebuild it too. It was not working when I brought the old girl back to life. I took it apart and the grease was hard as a rock inside. I put new grease in, hooked it to power and it works like a charm, both speeds.

My wiper arm is the same length 13 in). I will play around with which spline the arm is on and see how that goes. My old window rubber had groves on the restind side from the wiper hitting it. Thanks so much for the photos

I don't know Merle. I wonder if the arms aren't original or something-but based on old photos I have I don't thinks so. A wiper much longer than 8 inches will hit the rubber when it is resting position. I have attached a couple of photos showing the wipers and how they sit on my truck (form 2010 when I got it up to work on)-the design is different than Don's, my wipers don't rest at the bottom. In the 1952 picture of DD you can see where the wiper rested, also a photo from 1965, you can see they were the same then in both pictures, maybe a bit higher in the 52 and 65 photos than the contemporary ones. It seems to me to be the correct configuration based on how the wiper sweeps, if it rested at the bottom like Don's truck then it would be returning about the time the blades were in the center of the window, if that makes sense. I will check out how far they swing each direction, maybe they are just positioned wrong. I looked at your truck photo and the wipers sit the same as mine.

I found some 9 inch ANCO blades with the correct connector. I ordered them, and see if I can make them work.

The ones at Robert's are the incorrect mount and the blade (refill rubber part) attachment is different than mine too-so I can't take it off and put it on mine. The ones Robert's carries is what seems to be available from all sources I could find.

I have tried to find a blade that is the same shape, but haven't had any luck. Most seem to be round in the mounting part, mine is triangular.

Hi all: Does someone know of a source for the wipers for my truck? They are 8 1/4 long. I find lots of wipers online that are 8 1/4, but all have the incorrect connector. There is no label on the blades, just a bunch of patent numbers. The arm has a stampe "The Anderson Company". I found some ACDELCO blades with the correct connector, but they were 10 inch. Any help would be appreciated. Almost got the heater installed, just waiting for a couple grommets from Steel, and then it is ready to install. I hooked it up last weekend and it runs like a champ. Very exciting! Rob