Jim Shepard

Got some more welding done. Also mounted George Asche’s linkage and finally found after market air cleaners that fit. As it turns out, I’ll have to modify the linkage some, but the main parts (rod, levers, flange bases…) should work. Gettin’ close to removing the stock intake and carb. Gotta be done by April 5 so I can show it off at Tim’s BBQ…

Well I got some welding done on the manifold. Welded the three carb intake runners to the log. Next is the intake runners between the log and the block. Having the carb runners welded allows me to dial in George’s linkage.

I’ll probably just tack weld and then take the plate steel off. I decided to have the machine shop drill my holes. I needed an exact size that I couldn’t find bits for. Won’t be long now before the welding starts.

I’ve made my first jig. This will ensure the carb intake flanges and runners are welded to the log in the correct orientation and position.

Latest mock up photo. Almost ready to start welding

I found an article that discussed old school logs made back in the day. Although most of these were crafted without much scientific basis, the article did quote the work of some engineer who came up with a formula for determining log diameter and length. Among other things, factors such as engine displacement, number of cylinders, distance between outside intake ports, etc., were part of the calculation.

I did the same as Merle and for the same reason.

When you use the Wilwood proportioning valve the brake light switch is built in.

Well I thought I should start documenting this little adventure. Here’s a photo of the first mockup. Those are the three carburetor mounting flanges. They’re sitting on top of the “log,” which serves as a plenum chamber. Each carburetor sits slightly forward of lining up directly with its intake runner so as to clear the firewall.

Got three carbs all ready to be installed. George Asche is assembling a linkage setup. Should get it in the next several days.

Yea, it might be worth coming back out next year (in case you were thinking of staying home…).

I do always have a certain trepidation when posting on the car side since I know nothing about them. My first car was a 1951 Chrysler, but I basically knew how to fill it with gas and nothing else…

I thought I’d start a new thread for this, although I’ve mentioned it in other topic threads. I’m fabricating a triple carb intake manifold for my B2B. I’m currently running the factory two barrel Stromberg that came on the 230 cars in the mid to late ‘50’s. It runs better than the one throat Carter B&B but suffers from the same design flaw as the factory Carter and intake manifold - the six cylinders do not all get the appropriate amount of fuel at the appropriate time. Hence, my adventure down the “design and build your own manifold” road. As you know, the MOPAR flathead six has three siamese’d intake ports - two cylinders sharing the same intake port. Now for many years this completely satisfied MOPAR engineers and customers. However, it is not the most efficient design in terms of speed, power and fuel consumption/distribution. The ideal setup would be for each cylinder to receive fuel through a dedicated intake port. Now you’re spending real money for an F head setup. Efficient but not very cost effective for most of us. The next best setup is to have each Siamese’s port have a dedicated intake runner/carburetor. I’ve seen several threads on this subject and I have borrowed shamelessly from them. My design will be a simply log plenum with three intake runners and three carburetor intake flanges. I’ve talked with George Asche several times and I think I’ve got the B&B sizes and jetting dialed in. If not, I shouldn’t be too far off. At any rate, I got my flanges back from the CNC shop today so the actual welding/fabricating is not long off. More to follow…

Don’t get impression I’m trash-talking Rusty Hope’s product. Thankfully he’s one of the few actually producing products for our old MOPARS. I would heartily recommend him to anyone. It’s a quality product and it sure as heck stops my truck on a dime!

I realized I was bordering on highjacking 53Windsor’s thread (or maybe actually did…). Anyway I had another comment about this conversion and an issue I have not seen addressed yet: the castle nut/cotter pin issue. Charlie mentions in his instructions that as result of the conversion the castle nut may not fit deep enough to align with the hole in the spindle and thus not allow the cotter pin to be installed properly. Apparently this does not happen on all applications. It did on mine. He advises several ways to deal with it, none of which seemed appropriate (such as reversing the castle nut, essentially installing it backwards). Now I understand that many, if not all, folks doing this conversion probably followed this advice and have had no problems or catastrophes. However, since I was dealing with my own comfort level, I decided on a different approach. I took the disc/hub to a machine shop and had them reem-out the inside (the part that goes over the spindle) to a depth that allowed the nut to screw in far enough to allow all of the threads to engage and the cotter pin to drop in. If I remember it was an additional 5/16”. Just a thought…

The other issue I ran into with my Rusty Hope conversion (on a B2B truck) is the centering of the steering wheel, which is thrown off because of the caliper plate changing the geometry. The B2B has a non-adjustable drag link, which means you can’t truly center the steering wheel. Well, technically you can center it on the column but it won’t be centered at the box. I ended getting an adjustable drag link from DCM. Works great. As an aside, I also converted my brakes to dual chamber. I used a master cylinder from an ‘86 Toyota Celica. It has the exact three-hole bolt pattern. The holes just need to hogged out a little. I also fabricated a bracket to hold the proportioning valve in correct position relative to the MC (see photo).

Years ago (mid 90’s), when I was scrounging wrecking yards looking for that infamous outside rear view mirror bracket, I ran across a route van. I don’t think it was for sale because the yard was using it as storage shed. Anyway, it had the nicest looking set of gauges. It was in Turlock, CA. Have no idea if it’s still there - those old yards are fast disappearing…

I recently picked a couple of B&B’s. The PO painted them gloss black - I mean heavily painted them, with lots of runs. Obviously I want to remove the paint but I’m a little concerned about damaging the carb surface with caustic paint remover. Any ideas how I can remove the paint without harming the metal?

Looks like you're doin' about 65mph...

I just did a Rusty Hope disc brake conversion on my B2B. I decided it was a good time to do a dual reservoir swap also. Rusty Hope recommended the ‘86-‘88 Toyota Celica MC. It’s a three bolt pattern just like stock. The holes just needed to be hogged out a little. No need for an adapter plate, which can take up valuable space. My research told me there is no need for a proportioning valve with an all drum setup. The proportioning valve is for a disc-drum or disc-disc setup. I used a Wilwood adjustable valve. You also need a 2lb. residual pressure valve for the disc brakes and a 10lb. for the drums. I used Wilwood valves. They need to be installed as close to the MC as possible. I fabricated a bracket to mount the proportioning valve next to the MC. I also installed a metering valve for the disc brakes. Some refer to this as a “hold-off” valve. It prevents the disc brakes from being applied under light braking (low line pressure). My guides in all this were several hot rod books, but mainly “The Street Rodder’s Handbook” by HP Books. Hope this helps. BTW, my truck stops instantly. What a difference…

Re-reading my post I realize I’m giving the impression that I’m not satisfied with the Rusty Hope kit. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would recommend it to anyone. Just be aware it’s not a true bolt-on, no modification approach. For example, there is some machining to do.

Did you consider Vintage Power Wagons?

Success! Completed the Rusty Hope disc brake conversion today. Looks like the truck will make the BBQ after all. OMG! What a difference! It feels like power brakes. I’m willing to discuss this process at the BBQ if anyone’s interested. There were several issues along the way. It’s not the straight up bolt on project that I imagined and the biggest hang up was the first machine I went to. That had my spindles almost two months! Any way, I’ll be there…

Anyone know what size these are for a B2B?

How did you guys deal with push rod? The stock is too long (it could cut down) and “fat” (diameter too large).