Jim Shepard

I had my drive shaft modified. I figured for $171.00 I couldn’t go wrong.

Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the finished work. The four new holes were drilled out in the four "winged" areas. A Ford T5 would have a bolt pattern much closer to the MOPAR. Here's photo of the T5 sitting on the bell housing after the machining.

Here’s the second photo.

Ok, I’m almost there. Got the tranny and bell housing back from the machine shop (Hansen’s in Sacramento). They did a great job. Got it all hooked up last Friday and today I started it and ran through the gears. No grinding, do I guess that’s a plus. The drive shaft is at the shop and I’ll get it back by the end of the week. Need to bleed the brakes and it’ll be ready for a test drive. I installed a electric fuel pump with a canister filter and pressure regulator. So far no leaks. Here’s a couple of photos. I don’t like the S10 shift stick but it’ll do for now. It looks a little too European for my taste. I’ll fab something a little more truck-like later.

Don’t forget to look at the crank pilot hole. FD doesn’t have a pilot bushing so you’ll have to install one.

One other thing if you haven’t discovered it-to remove the FD transmission you’ll need to first remove the cross member and fuel tank.

I’m in the process of installing an S10 T5 in my FD B2B. There is nothing wrong with my FD, I just wanted the overdrive gear. There is virtually nothing from the FD that can be used for such a change. You’ll need a standard bell housing (3 or 4 speed), flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate, pedal assembly, including spring bracket. If your FD was a floor shift and you’re going with a column shift, you’ll need all the column shift linkage, including the steering column. Drive shaft will need to be lengthened. Best to find a truck that has everything you need. Another option is what I’m doing-go with a T5.

I’ve also thought the Solex single throat carbs that came on VW Bugs might be a good option. I drove a lot of VW’s back in the day and these carbs were, as I recall, reliable and easy to maintain.

I would think any matching set of B&B Carter’s would work fine.

Looks like you’re going to be ready for the BBQ...

Mocked up the T5 and the bell housing I got from Tim. Fits perfectly. The adapter kit (pilot bushing, input shaft retainer sleeve and collar) is from Vintage Metal out of Atwater, Ohio. A guy named Dave Farwell. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Does good work, too. Anyway, it won’t be long. Should have it ready for the BBQ. Thanks Tim.

See you on the 31st...

That’s what I thought, Merle. Also, Roberts lists a different throw-out bearing for the FD, so I’ll look for the standard version.

I’m in the process of converting my B2B three speed fluid drive truck to a 5 speed via the S10 T5. I know I can’t use the FD bell housing, clutch disc and (I think) pressure plate. Does anyone know if I can use the FD pedals and throw-out bearing?

I've been communicating with Paul about his conversion to disc brakes using the Rusty Hope kit. I'd like to open up the discussion to others who have gone this route. I'd like to get some feedback as to how easy this conversion is and what problems might be encountered. Am I correct that you need to send him your spindles? His web-site says the calipers are GM and, according to his photos, these don't come with the kit. What specific GM car(s) supply the calipers? He says the rotors are MOPAR (also not supplied). Which MOPAR cars provide these? His website also states that he recommends using the master cylinder that goes with the calipers being used. That seems to be a major undertaking, as opposed to just bolting on a modified spindle and new rotors and calipers. Where is the new master cylinder mounted? I hope this isn't too much overload, but I want to get as much of this out of the way before I make the jump... Thanks for any responses.

Has anyone here ever replaced the rear seal on one of these flatties without removing the motor? I watch a guy on YouTube do it on a Mustang and it was pretty easy. Mine’s leaking like a sieve...

When I was restoring my truck I saw the photos in Bunn’s book. As I remember, one of the photos looked like a “factory” or sales photo. It had a spoke at 9:00. I think most, if not all, three-spoke wheels are oriented at 10:00, 2:00 and 6:00. I thought if an official Chrysler Corporation photo showed 9:00, 1:00 and 4:00 (roughly) there must be a reason. I decided it was to give the best view of the gauges. Like Merle, I like to drive with left arm hanging out the window and this allows me to hold the suicide knob.

Anyone know what the normal (not excessively hot or cold) operating oil temperature range is on these flatties?

I did pull the air cleaner and look into the carb while it was running. It does appear as though the gas doesn't shoot out as much under acceleration. As I said, it'll idle fine but when I accelerate it stalls. I guess the pump could have just failed...

Seems to me if that were the case it would have started as soon as the tach was installed. The tach has been installed since the first of the year. That being said, it's easy enough to pull the coil wire and see what happens. I'm leaning (no pun intended...) toward fuel delivery problem. What would cause it to suddenly act up? If the issue is the pump, could the diaphragm be the problem?

Also, the only thing I’ve done recently is add a few gauges - oil temp, volt, vacuum, tach.

Forgot to mention: my ignition is Pertronix with Flamethrower coil. So, no points, no condenser.

Took the truck out yesterday morning and it drove great. Went out in the afternoon and it started acting up - sputtering and hesitating through acceleration and losing power at cruising speed. Pulled and cleaned plugs and they looked fine. Gas is not that old and it starts right up. At a fast idle (2,000rpm) in the shop it was hard to keep it steady as it kept falling off. At regular idle (450rpm) it’s fine. This is a 230 bored .060 over with mild cam, Fenton headers and factory two barrel Stromberg. Any ideas?

So the A833 is a manual? And your engine is a stock flat tie?

Assuming you were to put an automatic in your truck, which one would want and why?