JBNeal

This post might have some useful information

SURVIVOR: wellll it looks like this project has become stalled as this pic is purty much how the ol' beast has been sitting for almost 2 yrs...the stolen street sign is kinda ironic...not pictured is the ginormous rabid mutt chained to a tree that's within the swing zone of that truck, so this is the closest pic that could be shot

Thanks to the ongoing & much needed rain, the Spring Special is sitting in an unlit chocolate mudpie...here's a few pics that might get ya going in the right direction...I reckon if ya get it close enough that the mounting brackets line up, ya should be good to go

My '48 was leaning to the left so I took it to a place in Waco that does alignments & re-arches springs for trailers, heavy trucks, etc. I dropped it off for a couple of days and when I got it back, the truck was level, and it appeared that they had not even removed the springs from the truck; I don't think they charged more than $75. I dunno what they did or how they did it, but nothing was broken or replaced or hammered or torched when they straightened the ride height out, so to speak

The dome lamp bezel snaps onto the dome lamp base and can be removed with a small flat blade screwdriver. Locate the headliner mounting tabs on either end of the base and carefully pry those tabs and the bezel with a screwdriver or needlenose pliers. If the bezel doesn't pop off the base, use a small flat blade screwdriver as a wedge to jam into the opening made when prying the base from the bezel. With the small screwdriver holding the base & bezel open, use another screwdriver to pry against the base, walking the bezel off of the base...this is very similar to taking apart the TV/DVD remote. The power lead for the dome lamp runs up the A-pillar over the driver door and rests on the weld seam for the cab roof. additional information - Dome Lamp Installation

A rebuilt engine will respond to optimum performance levels with a healthy ignition system and adequate fuel delivery. A faulty distributor can be repaired by a competent technician who is able to check all the variables in distributor performance. Distributors are prone to worn & out-of-adjustment points, condensor blow-outs, frozen or worn breaker plates, leaky vacuum advances, worn or out-of-balance mechanical advances, input shaft bearing wear, internal short circuits...I believe there are shop manuals that deal with the distributor/ignition coil combination alone because there are technical aspects that have to be addressed systematically to achieve proper function. The repair shops that advertise that they use a Sun Testing Machine to diagnose distributor issues get my attention as these pieces of equipment were used by mechanics back in the day to restore ignition performance. As distributors went to solid state components, these testing machines and the skill to use them became obsolete. Finding a shop that still has them and knows how to use them is an asset in owning a vintage beast

for testing, a temporary fuel tank can be made by using an old lawnmower gas tank or a gas can with a fuel line running from the spout to the fuel pump, but exercise caution and practice safety by keeping a fire extinguisher handy and an escape route clear. If your fuel pump is working, you'll need to pump the carb accelerator a couple of times when cranking to deliver some fuel into the manifold for startup.

when I revived the '49 a few weeks ago, that's all it would do at first was pop fireballs from ether injection. I figgered out that the fuel pump was malfunctioning as one of the internal check valves had become un-seated. I fixed that, the pump was able to supply fresh gas up to the carb, and the ether burst was then used to get the engine to fire on its own to clean off the fuel, oil, etc on the spark plugs. If you pull the air horn off of the carb and there's no fuel in the reservoir, then you've got a fuel supply problem.

2-second burst of ether starting fluid down the carb, pull the choke all the way out, crank again and see what happens...if you're timing is off, that'll be real loud POP out of the carb

I'm not sure what's going on with this here map, but several markers have disappeared in TX, NM, OK, LA, MO, CA, MN, WI...I reckon others have disappeared but I can only remember just so many people who populate the internet

Over on The HAMB, there is a Pilot-House CTD Crew Cab project, but not much activity posted in 2012. The MegaCab pic is a new one on me, but an interesting start

there were three different versions of the motor: carbureted ('87-'88), single point (throttle body) fuel injection ('89-'91), and mulit-point fuel injection ('92-up). The carb units were a li'l weak, the SPFI units were a li'l more powerful & more reliable, and the Magnum MPFI ran circles around the other two. Gearing would make a difference as with any engine, but the fuel delivery & aspiration were where the big improvements were made in hp & torque for this V6.

have ya heard of the gener-nator?

Dad had an '87 Dakota with that carbureted 3.9, and it was a slug that got 13 mpg...he liked the size of the Dakota, but that V6 performance was atrocious, and that Dodge was traded in within a year. I had a '90 Ramcharger with a 318, and it was a slug as well. I did some investigating and ended up advancing the distributor, probably 5 degrees...WOW did that thing come alive, lots of power, gas mileage went up to 20 on the highway. I had a '92 Dakota longbed with the MPFI V6, and it was fun to drive, lots of low-end torque, got 22 mpg on the highway. I ended up trading that truck for a '92 CTD; it was a solid work truck, but not as fun to drive as that Dakota longbed. IMO, stay away from most Chrysler motors with smog pumps attached, cuz they are gutless gas hogs. The MPFI V6 & V8s are more powerful & more efficient, and there's a lot of'm out there to choose from

here's a I found cruising the youtubes...it's in need of a paint job, but the two-tone color under the hood is a dead give-away of this ol' beast's roots

I've done some high idle testing over the past few weeks to see how the motor is operating after its recent revival. Cold startups are relatively quick at less than 5 seconds of cranking, and there is practically no smoke visible at any time during operation. After a few minutes of idling after the choke was no longer needed, I've operated the flathead for up to an hour at high idle, approximately 2000 rpm. The flathead is then brought back to idle for a couple of minutes, then shut down. After high idle and after shutdown, there is no noticeable smoke coming from the crankcase. So I reckon the partial PCV system I have installed is doing its job. I'm getting a hint of some valves ticking after the engine heats up, so maybe I'm gonna have to do a valve adjustment at some point

there appears to be some sort of adapter on top of the manifold pre-heat chamber below the carburetor. This may be able to be removed and the carburetor mounted directly to the manifold as stock; some surgery will be required to verify this. I recall the vacuum advance on the distributor to be towards the top. When adding a PCV system, this has to be taken into account for the ventilation plumbing from the oil fill tube. The PCV plumbing shown here, here, and here illustrates some clearance issues if there is a vacuum advance involved. Anyhow, I would think there would be an issue with the carb as the float chamber is directly above the major heat source in the engine compartment.

It took me a li'l while to remember where I had seen these installation instructions that Dodgeb4ya had posted in the photo gallery. After looking at MF's firewall installation and these instructions, I went out and took a look at the cabs decorating the yard. Above the body data plate, there are two knock-out holes similar to those on the passenger side for the heater mounting holes. These two holes are for the AIR & TEMP cables. The bulge in the firewall was originally to mount the 802 radio on the B-1s & B-2s, but I don't think the bulge is required in the B-3s & B-4s. I've seen the controls mounted on the left, below the radio location, but also mounted in the center, below the gauges. I've also seen the controls mounted in the dash, flanking the gauges. And then there's the aftermarket heaters, which were sold at dealerships, Western Autos, service stations, etc. I once thought there was only one correct way to install a heater system in these old trucks, but after looking at the variety of ways to install the variety of pieces of equipment, I figgered that as long as the installation is clean, then it's okie dokie

that is smurf-tastic...have ya made a manifold out of pipe tees, etc. for multiple outlets? Something I saw in a farming magazine...the guy had a manifold setup for dedicated air to an outside hose reel under an awning, an inside hose reel, and a short hose to a air dessicant & regulator for a paint gun setup...he spent less than $10 and made the outlets point down so that the couplers wouldn't hit'm in the face when he disconnected them

On older vehicles, ground continuity faults are very common on malfunctioning electrical circuits. Corrosion at ground circuit terminals increases circuit resistance, reducing available voltage available for the circuit to operate correctly. Corrosion within the stranded copper conductors also boosts resistance. When operating on 6V, any boost in resistance is noticeable. For example, the headlights on the '48 stopped working the other day. I jiggled the wires at the dimmer switch, and they immediately came back on. Dielectric grease on clean terminals helps reduce the chance for any of this terminal oxidation to occur.

That center bumper guard was used on B-1 & B-2 trucks only. I don't know why this big guard was installed here on this B-4, as it is located in the area where the license plate should mount. This is another oddity for this truck as TX requires front & rear plates, and the front plate is no where to be found on this beast. As this was a farm truck, the bumper guards show signs of being used as tow hooks

The engine compartment had been tackled briefly, so there are parts here & there for this ol' beast that I put in a safe place; where that might be is a vague memory. Of note is the exhaust manifold's original silver paint that is still visible. Also, there has been some fittings added to the intake manifold port, more investigation is required on that one. The carburetor is not original, nor is the air cleaner, I'm assuming they are from mid-50s flatheads. That firewall is filthy, not sure why just yet, maybe from years & years of dobbers' nests. The interior panel on the back of the cab looks original, but what color is that, tan or beige?

The passenger side will need some work, but not as much as that driver side. The deluxe cab has no arm rests, but does have electric wipers...and there's that red-handled park brake

Being a farm truck, the sheet metal is a little dinged up. The hood is straight, but every other panel will need some massaging to look decent. The fenders have the rust at the rivets, so that'll need some patchwork as well:

Flatbed Red Rebuild For Farm Truck Use... As stated earlier, this '51 has been drafted for farm work and will need a li'l work done to get it ready to haul water from a well at the bottom of the hill. This truck was seen earlier and has changed owners a couple of times since being dragged out of a barn in Kansas. The truck is mostly complete, riding on 6.50x16s oddly enough, and the flatbed has one floorboard that will need replacement. The sideboards are kinda shot, but the bulkhead is in decent shape. The pinstriping on the bed sure seems fancy for a work truck, but I've seen this done on some modern trailers so maybe it's a selling point for higher quality