Jim Shepard

One can only hope... Jim

Webers are nice. I've had 'em on Porsches and VW's...

When I rebuilt my 230 I bored it 60 over and put in a "mild" RV cam. I also put on split cast iron headers (Fenton clones) and ran it through dual Smithy mufflers. Frankly, I haven't noticed any difference, but I'm still running the stock 1BB. I'm hoping to notice something with the 2BB setup...

The other option is a cable from Lokar or someone, but I don't want to go there...

Never mind the last question-I got ahead of myself...

Does the axle need to come all the way out (remember, the original problem is a leaking diff gasket...).

Ok, John. You haven't been married long enough to earn a "job-rated" sign above your bed...

One thing I discovered when doing mine was that the nails that came with the new lacing were smaller than stock and, therefore, wouldn't hold in the original holes. Fortunately, I kept the old nails and they went back in perfectly and have held up now for over ten years... BTW - I got my lacing from VPW.

I've got the hub/drum puller. Is there a trick to pulling the axle or does it just slide out? If not, is this what you were referring to with the comment about Ed's PVC "pipe trick?"

Shims? Where are they?

Well, Doug's suggestion about separating the differential and using some cord and gasket-maker to fix my leak didn't work. I couldn't pull it apart enough to even pull out the old gasket and clean the surface. Looks like I'll need to pull the axles to free up the carrier. I can't tell from the manual whether I'll have remove the backing plates, shoes, and lines. Can't I just pull the axles out a few inches to free up the carrier, put a new gasket in and then shove the axles back in and button it up?

Wow! What a beast. Was it the biggest big-truck engine in it's day?

The linkage issue is the reason one doesn't see any dual carb set-ups using the after-market intakes (Offy, Edmonds, etc.). These were all made for cars, where the linkage is different...

I've got one of these also. Been trying to figure out how to do the linkage so it looks factory-original. As was mentioned, these 2BB's came on some of the cars - mine came from a 56 Dodge with a 230 motor. The issue is that the linkage on the cars comes across the top of the head via a swivel bolted to the head. As you can see in Ed's photo, the carb linkage is on the driver's side. To remedy this I spun the carb 180 degrees to put it on the other side, which is where the truck linkage comes up. I had to raise the carb with a big spacer to allow the choke to clear the head. I made the linkage from rod stock and they look just like the factory linkage. The issue I'm dealing with now is that when the carb is turned around the to line up with the linkage mounted on the intake manifold (one must drill and tap the two bosses) the respective levers actuate in opposite directions. The next move is to fabricate a third lever between the two to compensate for the different movements. This also entails making something to mount the lever to. When I think about it too much I get a headache...

Hey! where was my call?

Wanted to be there but had another engagement in the evening and, when it became apparent this was not going to be a "nooner," I had to beg off. Maybe next time...

I'm thinkin', I'm thinking'...

Doug, I think I'll try that. Besides, what's to loose, right? If it doesn't work, I'm back where I started... Thanks.

I should have seen that coming...

The gasket/seal between the axle housing and differential carrier on my B2B is leaking oil pretty badly. I've lived with this problem since day one, but now it's flowing quite freely and I think it's time to do something. I expected to have to drop the drive shaft and split the housing from the carrier. As I look at the axle and carrier, it appears as though the axles will need to be pulled out, at least a little, to free up the pumpkin and allow a new gasket to be installed. Am I correct on this? When I've gone this far is there anything else I should look at/replace?

Well, I for one, don't like it and, given the opportunity, would have voted nay. I suspect it has something to do with the present condition/situation with DPETC (or, whatever it's called...).

I decided to stay "stock" on my bed also. While I like the furniture finish on custom trucks, the original black was just fine with me. I went with Horkey's kit, which is white oak. I finished the boards with four coats of Cabot's black deck stain (sanded between coats) and three coats of Spar varnish (also sanded between coats). It's been almost ten years now and the bed looks great (but it is garage-kept).

If you're thinking about the OD for the Pilothouse talk to John T. He did much research before settling on the T5. I'm still holding onto fantasies of an OD, but I know there are some major issues, especially with a Fluid Drive setup. Maybe John will "publish" his findings some day...

I think you're close enough to make it to the BBQ...

I ran across one in a Turlock, California wrecking about 10 years ago. Don't know if it's still there - they were using it for storage...