JBNeal

it has been one of the toughest skills to master when working on anything vintage or antique: effectively dealing with people. There are all kinds of people in this world, and it seems a good chunk of them find that the only way to improve themselves is to bring others down, with insults, spitefulness, marginalization...I have to be very careful whenever speaking about this old truck, as I have run into some downright bitter behavior from vendors, neighbors, relatives and coworkers alike. Spending my resources on something of value is a foreign concept to folks who prefer more, ummm, socially active behavior. I went to get a haircut one Saturday with this truck, and the barber, who noticed me wheeling up in that buggy, started talking about it when I was in the chair, and with straight razor in hand, tells me that I would be better off spending my $$$ on a new truck than wasting it on that old clunker...I most definitely agreed, kinda hard to argue with that. Coincidentally, I began cutting my own hair a few weeks later. Anyhow, the main reason I made the dry run to this tire shop was to gauge their reaction to the subject vehicle, as the wheels are a dead giveaway that I am working on a vintage vehicle of some sort. That 180° attitude change was not a first for me, however. On the disappointing ride home yesterday, I recalled running into a similar problem back in '04 with another tire store in the next county over. I found a tire store that would work on lock-ring rims, so I found some used tires and brought them the old tires to pry off the dangerous rims just to move the truck around until I got the truck running reliably and found some newer tires. About a year later, I found a pair of newer tires that they mounted with no problems; a year after that, I found another pair. When I brought the spare in to put on a newer tire, the counter guy I had dealt with each time before boldly told me that they did not work on lock-ring rims...when I reminded him that they had done the work just a few months before, he denied that, saying they never worked on any lock-ring rims, ever. I pointed to the two guys in the shop that had done the work before, and he said they did not know how to work on those rims, then asked me to leave...and I haven't been back since. When I meet folks, and they ask me what I do for fun, I mention about tinkering with things, just to keep out of jail...idle hands being the work of the devil & all. If they press me on that, I'll mention some of the mundane things I've fiddled with here & there, then carefully segue onto a different topic. I never bring this truck up until I know somebody well enough to mention it. And folks who are proud of everything they do in their life don't really understand why I don't talk about my collection. Not wanting to be the cloud in the room, I decline to explain the real reasons, but rather I give'm some dumbo reason like "ohhhh it must've slipped my mind" The trial run at the new machine shop I found last year was somewhat encouraging, as they knew how to work on flatheads...but they said they would call me back about fees (the lady running the counter was the wife of the owner who does all of the machine work), and I have not heard from them yet. They specialize in dirt track race engines and cautioned that they stay busy in the winter months, so my worry is that I bring them a flathead and they continually forget about working on it to the point where it becomes "lost"...I ain't got no time fer that

I had to stop at a locksmith a couple of weeks ago on business, and noticed they had antique car style keys hanging on the wall, so I got one cut for the '48. The original was nearly twisted off in the ignition cylinder from a doofus state inspector who had responded "oh yeah no prob" when I asked him if he knew how to start the truck for its annual vehicle inspection years ago. The new key is quite stout, so I went about lubing the door key cylinder with Marvel Mystery Oil every few days, jiggling the key to agitate the inner workings. Well lo & behold, the key turned today a little bit...about an hour later, the door was locked for the first time, as no one in the family had tried to lock the door before since the beast has lived in the country since coming home from the dealer And as with a lot of things I've had to deal with lately, this success was tempered by a subsequent trip to the tire shop that I had visited just the day before. They had new tubes in stock for the old 6.50-16s that have failing tubes, and told me that they specialized in working on older vehicles & equipment. They agreed to swap out the tubes so I can at least move the truck around until I get new tires later on down the road. But when I showed up today, I was greeted by a different counter guy, who had just dealt with four argumentative customers in a row before asking what I wanted (never a good sign). He pops off that they don't work on tube tires at all, and when I cautiously pointed out that was not what I was told yesterday, his annoyance only grew...he then said they didn't have the tubes in stock, but I pointed to the shelf where we were looking at them yesterday (smoke started coming out of his ears at this point)...we went outside to look at my old tires in the back of my truck and he became indignant, saying that it's against the law to work on any tire more than 7 years old...at this point, one of the well-tatted techs on smoke break chimed in that he don't touch that old shhhht...this whole time I'm thinking these bubbas are pulling my leg, as this place has been highly recommended by quite a few folks, their facilities are well-kept, the shop and parking lot are full of customers' vehicles almost non-stop, and the folks working there are touted as good people, which is what I had encountered yesterday. But today was a much different story...anyhow, as I was attempting to ask if they could dismount one of the old tires off of the rim so I could repaint it, both of them guys started walking off while I was in mid-sentence. I was stunned to say the least...I reported this to the last two guys who had told me to go there, and one of them made a phone call as he does a lot of business with them folks (fleet manager). He sent word back to me that there was a misunderstanding and that I should go back and try again...yeah I'll get right on that...or I reckon I'll dig out the breaker & spoon bars and wrassle them old tires off them rims myself, more than likely with the aid of colorful phraseology and a little blood-letting. Which is probably what I'll have to do with the lock-ring rims I've been eyeballing on the two 1-tons in the driveway... but the new key works in the door, soooooo...woo-hoo

it is possible to pull the axle shafts, rear cover and carrier assembly as the 1-ton axle is a full-floater: the wheel hub bearings mount the axle tube and not to the axle shafts. I highly recommend a full inspection of the carrier bearings if the truck has been parked for an extended period as the bearings may be galled and prone to failure

Link to possible solution

I have had a transmission speedometer cable pinion seal leak since I got the beast running again back in '96, and have tried on several occasions to remedy the problem. One possible remedy was an eBay find several years ago, but the NOS seal was rock hard & brittle, so that was only usable as an example for replacement. Visiting a local industrial bearing & seal distributor, we took measurements of this seal and looked through several old books, finding several part numbers, all of which turned out to be inactive. But I did get some good information from the counter guy on how to measure the seal to get an approximate replacement, and he strongly suggested perusing the internet, notably eBay... The National seal (on the left) I found at Rock Auto is the right OD & ID, but turns out to be too tall to seat properly in the cable fitting; whittling it down might be possible, but I don't think it would be very durable that way. The Honda seal (on the right) found on eBay is very close to the original (center), and apparently well made...had two sent to the house for less than a sawbuck

staying on-topic is harder than it sounds

additional truck picture thread - B-1-C

additional truck picture thread - DG4

It's been over 5 years, how have the Q-Ride & Dynamat materials held up? Have any repairs been made? I'm putting a budget together and was curious what kind of testimonials these products have on them now...

additional truck picture thread - B-1-RA

additional information - B-1-B survivor

Driver's Off-Road View

While hauling water back in August 2014, I witnessed a scene several times, so I was able to shoot a video with my old BlackBerry Torch (which was retired just a few days later, ironically enough)...finally figured out how to post it on the internets for global amusement Dogs Not Playing Poker

I am almost positive that the 200 and its predecessors, the Sebring and the Cirrus, had the battery in the same accessibility-challenged location. My nutty ex-gf kidnapped a used car salesman from the next county over when she decided to make me a surprise visit with a 2012 Grand Cherokee she was taking on a test drive...I surprised them both to show them that the battery was under the front passenger seat...then showed them the battery location under the floorboard in the '48 B-1-B

additional truck picture thread - B-3

additional truck picture thread - B-3

I do not know if machining parts for better fit inside the differential housing is a good idea...those should be precision matched parts so if what ya have is close to fitting then that isn't close enough, you may be weakening a critical part by machining off "excess" material. additional information - Flathead Tachometer

I recommend a printed reproduction factory shop manual specific for your truck series. There are shop manuals on CD available that you can print out pages as needed if you want to go that route. Faxon Literature has some eBay listings ya might be interested in. Ya probably should give some thought to the entire brake system (cylinder sleeving and conversion to DOT 5 has been discussed and tested). And ya might want to give the fuel tank some attention (maybe Renu it)

I looked thru my info, and the best I can tell is that if ya stick with any model BB carb, it should work. My '48 has a '55 Plymouth 230 that had a problematic E7T1 carb I rebuilt annually. I snagged a D6G1 carb off of eBay several years ago, put a DTE1 carb kit in it, and the carb problems I had went away. I bookmarked The Carburetor Doctor from a previous discussion and thought I had a Carter manual that spelled out the various carb number differences but cannot seem to locate it, so maybe I confused that manual with a rebuild sheet that came with an older carb kit. I am assuming that the different carb numbers represent different jetting among the BB models. I checked my spare motors, and none of them had a legible carb number on the air horn; the '53 Spring Special has a DTE2 carb, on an engine that appears to be original to the truck. The parts book shows that the B-1-B & B-1-C used the same carb, and the B-2-B, B-3-B, B-4-B, B-2-C, B-3-C and B-4-C used the same carb (non-fluid drive), so I reckon ya need a DTE1 or equivalent

My 2¢: changing out ratios is an option only when the gearsets are the same physical size. This means that not only does the ring gear need to fit on the carrier, but the pinions have to be interchangeable. The 3.55 that I put in my Dakota longbed 15 years ago was much smaller than the 3.55 Sure-Grip that I put in my D-250 CTD a few years later. This is a precision assembly that transmits power, so ya want to do way better than "close enough".

The shop manual mentions the engine + transmission can be removed & installed as a unit, but I believe the transmission can be removed and installed separate of the engine + bell housing.

My 2¢: the front engine + bell housing mount setup was done so that the flatheads could be mounted in multiple applications: trucks, forklifts, welders, generators, airport tugs, tractors, combines...they all had different transmissions, and all were archaic gearboxes by today's standards. Larger engine + transmission setups required support geometry to change to accommodate the greater mass generating power. As for the trucks, the gearbox cantilever load on the bellhousing was small enough that a trans.support was not required.

that carrier looks very similar to the one on my B-4; looking at the parts book, the '53 has a different part number than the '48-'52. I picked up one of each on eBay years ago, and they are roughly the same size, with the B-4 carrier being a few pounds lighter. If your spare tire fits onto the carrier you have, and it fits onto your truck, I say use it...if somebody has a problem with that, have a discussion with them in the parking lot--bring the carrier with ya

NASCAR Tucker Torpedo