JBNeal

C-channel frame rails are typically boxed with similar strength flat steel, not another frame...steel of this vintage is typically 36K, so beefing up a frame with 50K steel would have some unintended consequences, as stresses could now transmit through the new steel to weakened areas in the original frame and exacerbate flaws such as cracking and tearing. So when it comes to working on truck frames, it's not just a question of adding more material but what kind of material, how much material, and where the material is located...even newer trucks, with fully boxed frames, have strategically placed doubler plates to absorb and transmit stresses under certain loading conditions...

Part of the pdf forms I mentioned on the CHS old website asked for physical address as well as email as the fee schedule for hard copies was like 10 bucks more than a pdf of the build card. So the CHS contact email has floated between members like a library book as we have received our build cards, I do not recall seeing the contact email on the website at any time. I believe this was done for a variety of reasons, but from an ISO standard I reckon it leaves CHS an out if they have a change in personnel. The last contact I had was danielle.szostak@fcagroup.com

be careful what ya wish for...

There is a lot of uncertainty in Michigan with covid-19 showing up as FCA was merging with PSA, as FCA was in the midst of reorganizing the NA operation to be more profitable before merger talks...the Chrysler museum was closed to the public and contents moved to a larger albeit less accessible space, which happened about the time I sent my initial requests in...who knows if the Historical Services has been furloughed because of covid quarantine or mothballed until the economy gets back to normal...originally, CHS had it's own webpage with pdfs to fill out for requests, and there was a fee schedule included...eventually the fees disappeared, the webpage was moved to the FCA website then buried on a FCA information page, so a lot has changed in 4 yrs, not all for the better...requesting information is encouraged, but do not be too disappointed if you do not get a response before January...

It can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 9 months, if at all, depending on how the zombie apocalypse is going in Michigan this summer

It's glass, one wrong move and the expletives will fly... A few years ago, my friend slid under a concrete truck, its Mansfield bar smashed her wiper pivots all up but didn't crack the windshield...she drove it for months like that as it was a dry summer, but Labor Day weekend she "paid" me to do my magic... I slowly massaged that sheet metal back so the wipers would work, took it for a long bumpy test drive then thru a car wash, no problems...that evening as we stepped out for dinner, I spotted the crack at the bottom of the windshield, as it had been sitting in the sun for a few hours...by the time we got back from dinner for dessert, the crack was all the way across that big curved glass...the replacement glass was easy to set, so the window frame wasn't too far outta whack, and the glass hasn't cracked to this day, spending its days outdoors...so who knows how that windshield cracked, could've been a very very small crack that began to propagate after the accident or during repairs or from thermal expansion...

I believe that contact breaker whatzit has something to do with completing the wiper cycle so the blades park only at the rest position if the switch is turned off during an arm sweep

It would be kinda interesting to see a brand new Power Wagon parked next to these two old "big" trucks...had a new 3500 MegaCab parked next to my '01 QuadCab awhile back, and the top of that truck looked a whole head higher than my ride, kinda like these two

Pulled off the front hubs to take a look at the seals and was able to locate the P#s off of the original wheel bearings: all Bower bearings, 14125A and 14276, 09074 and 09194... I'll add this information to the parts manual post that I've been working on

Finally got back around to working on this, and was able to locate more replacement parts: Lug Bolt, Left: Mopar 856981 BWP M-226 Lug Bolt, Right: Mopar 393984 BWP M-225 The lug bolts I have on my trucks are the 1.5" long variety...my guess is that the longer lug bolt for trucks is used because the truck hub flanges are thicker than passenger car hubs, but I do not have enough information to verify...I'll add this information to the parts manual post that I've been working on

Finally got back around to working on this, and was able to locate more replacement parts: Lug Stud, Left: Mopar 913849 BWP M-1271 [requires heavy modifications] Lug Stud, Right: Mopar 913848 BWP M-1172 [requires light modifications] BWP M-1270 [requires heavy modifications] Lug Nut, Left: Mopar 913813 BWP M-257 Dorman 611-059 Lug Nut, Right: Mopar 913812 BWP M-256 Dorman 611-053 The M-1172 lug stud does not have a clipped head and is about .188" longer than the original. The M-1270 and M-1271 will need to have modifications to the mounting shank and threaded length, as well as have new clipped heads fabricated...not an ideal situation, but if an original stud is not available, this is better than nothing to work with...I'll add this information to the parts manual post that I've been working on

as mentioned in the link to the gearbox overhaul, fill about half full, work the gears back and forth to settle the grease and displace the air, then again to 3/4 full then one last time when ya think it's full...I used an old butter knife to poke the grease in the corners and churn it a little bit to aid in settling...

additional information - Spare Tire Carrier

There are many factors that go into why American companies outsource their manufacturing, not just increased margins but why the margins increase...a recent example that I dealt with was the American tooling for a widget was at the end of its service life, production volume was down substantially for that widget, and I had to assist with the cost analysis performed that was accompanied with a very detailed report as to quality effects of outsourcing, regulatory pressures for domestic production, comparisons with NAFTA production, etc...in the end, the big shots at corporate HQ opted to outsource to china, and it was a bleeping disaster for every reason that we warned about. Did corporate bring production back stateside? NOPE not enough margins to offset the investment, completely ignoring our subsequent sales losses...it sure looked like they wanted to kill that widget, even though it had carried the company for decades and still had our name on it, corporate didn't seem to care about the black eye it was giving us cuz we had higher margin sales that dwarfed that legacy widget... When it comes to car parts, I'm afraid this scenario is playing out with the low volume, low margin products that support the antique auto market. There are a finite number of domestic auto parts suppliers, and they prioritize margin sales, and that's for domestic auto manufacturers who demand JIT supply lines...the parts supplier manufacturers have to do their cost analyses to determine annual production, and quality parts for our old buggies might be an endangered species as well if they cannot justify the expense for low volume sales as long as they can generate more revenue for a higher volume product that can occupy their supply lines. The consolidation of the many parts suppliers that existed decades ago into fewer companies that have opted to scale back production and close aging facilities rather than invest in long term growth has effectively brought us to this point of a race to the bottom in quality...SAD ??

BLASPHEMY ! ! ! ⚡⚠️?

since it was under 100° in the shade this afternoon, I pulled the hub on the '48 to do some verifying...I installed the Victor 49237 rubber seals back in the 90s, and they're still intact. Spindle diameter at the seal measured to 1.737"; hub bore measured 2.710". From what I could see on the National seal online catalog, the 5836 looks to be a leather seal, which jives with its low part number. SKF 17145 appears to be a rubber seal and it appears to be a viable alternative. I had to work on a single axle trailer last week, so I replaced the bearing dust caps on it since they were a bit dinged up. Comparing those dust caps to the caps on the '48, they are close but the Dodge caps are taller to accommodate the spindle shaft. Replacement caps should be available at NAPA, but they're probably made in china by now so who knows if they are any good... eventually I'll finish up more research on the front hubs and add that information to the parts manual post that I've been working on

just my 2¢, but if that 230 is still good, it has a certain WOW factor of its own...I've been stewing for years on what to do with my '48 as the engine isn't original nor is the Fluid Drive hood, and I'm leaning towards mildly hopping up its Plymouth 230 just because I haven't done one of those yet. I've got 4 other trucks that are verified original, so I'm gonna get a little creative with the '48 as it was already deviated from original years before I existed...I drove it for over 10 years and got lots of thumbs up (and a few "super #1s" from impatient commuters), so I figured why not kick things up a notch...several guys have shoehorned a V8 into their Pilot-House engine compartments, so it is possible but has its own challenges, primarily motor mounts and steering gearbox clearance issues, transmission mounts, driveshaft, etc...

additional information - Bypass Spin-On Oil Filter

If a ratchet extension won't fit tightly, then ya might have to find some key stock and whittle down as needed

This past week, I had to deal with a squeaky wheel on the single axle flat trailer, as I think I might have repacked them bearings back in 2008 so it was obviously due for service. Picked up new galvanized dust caps as the 22yr old originals were kinda dinged up, and they were such a tight fit that I couldn't even get them caps started in the hub bores by hand. I recall seeing tools to accomplish this task, but I opted to dig thru the scrap metal pile and make something work. I made a similar driver before, but much smaller, out of angle steel by forming over the anvil horn, to engage the flange on opposing sides of the cap...but I lucked out and had a short piece of tubing that was slightly larger ID. This made a driver that engaged the cap flange in an arc about 75°, which was enough to get the cap started in the bore, then work around to square up the sides and drive it home...the best part of all, other than the nice tight fit, was no dents on that shiny cap

From the pictures posted, I'm seeing quite a few modifications to the factory setup: coolant overflow tank, HVAC blower motor on the firewall, PVC components on the crankcase oil fill tube and air cleaner, oil pressure switch on the oil galley port, and a few disconnected wires...the turn signals appear to be period correct aftermarket, sometimes can be found on eBay, etc...them grill parts ya need could also be found from somebody parting out a truck as reproductions are not available...

From what I've read and heard from ppl who witnessed these things, repair shops would swap out worn flatheads in a day or 2 with rebuilt engines from local machine shops or from larger operations like Jasper, Sears, Montgomery Ward, Western Auto, etc...unfortunately, there were some differences between car and truck engines, mainly the oilpan sump, which dictated the location of the dipstick...car engines with the rear sump had a dipstick in the block, truck engines with the front sump had the dipstick on the side of the oilpan. Flatheads also had either an external thermostat bypass or an internal bypass...mixing and matching of these configurations doesn't work too well without paying attention to the details...so ya might need to verify casting dates on your block and head as shown in the engine identification link posted to verify what ya have

Oil filters were optional back then and could be added at the dealer or from an aftermarket kit at places like Western Auto...but your flathead appears to have the remnants of a car flathead's dipstick tube that has been plugged, so ya might have a Dodge or Plymouth flathead that replaced the original, as the Dodge Truck dipstick was mounted on the side of the oilpan...my '48 has a '55 Plymouth 230 in it, that was something that took access to the internets to figure out because it had the truck oilpan, external bypass thermostat housing, foot-operated starter, etc...

additional information - Pilot-House Registry additional information - Pilot-House Help additional information - Pilot-House Serial Numbers additional information - Pilot-House Body Numbers additional information - DPETCA knowledge Do not be surprised if your truck is a frankenstein as some members have found their engines and cabs have been replaced somewhere along the way

I'd be hesitant to torque on that plug, I have seen damage around the drain from too much torque on a rusty plug then it's a headache to rectify that...if you've already siphoned out all but that last inch or so, then maybe adding fresh gasoline + additives is the way to go to dilute the contaminants and pass them through the carburetor...though for a truck that's been idle for an extended period, I'd prefer to turn that tank upside down to drain and drum on the bottom like Tito Puente to knock any debris loose, then rinse with diesel...