JBNeal

I hate to be the cloud in the group, but I have 1st hand experience as to what happens when things go haywire...and I only needed to be towed less than10 miles. Think of everything that could go wrong & how to deal with it: cut tire, blowout, shelled out u-joint, overheated transmission, overheated bearings, dragging brakes...if something has been sitting for over a year, there is going to be rusty parts somewhere on that beast, and that may not be conducive to getting back on the road for awhile. It costs more up front to put something up on a trailer, but it may be cheaper in the long run. You don't have to worry about the aforementioned problems occurring, and ya don't have to worry about the beast breaking free on ya cuz ya are hauling a package instead of a projectile

I am not sure if anyone has definitive proof of when the radio cutout was omitted from B-series dash production, it may have been a running change sometime in '52 as I have seen '52s with & without the knockout plate, have never seen a '53 with a knockout plate. The 610T may have been offered as an option when this change was made; I would be interested to see if there is some indication as to the print date on those instructions, usually Dodge put that date on the 1st or last page in the lower corner, something simple like "3-52". This may give an indication as to when the radio cutout was omitted. The car radio that Ed noticed in the link to the pic I posted may have been the way to go back in the day, as these were typically dealer installed options

additional information- front sump installed on '49 1-ton

here is this'n for reference

truck picture B-1-B-108: I got tied up with non-stop landscaping all weekend...but the sun is setting further north, so I snapped a pic of the '48 as it awaits some attention...just another day without enough hours in it

it looks like the B-4 cabs had no radio cutout

that appears to be an early '48 B-1-D-126

fyi the internals of the B-series gearboxes are interchangeable...I took the guts out of a '51 gearbox & put it in my '49, works pretty good

the long range forecast looks good, maybe I'll have the chance to put the floor boards back in the 1-ton with the extruded U-nuts I found 3 yrs ago

I have stowed more Dodge truck parts in my attic from random acquisitions than I have seen in any of the swap meets I have attended in TX...before I knew better, I would ask if a vendor had any...and they would laugh & laugh

additional information - B-3 / B-4 door seal

Flathead Tech

I have visited a couple of Firestone dealers, and they both said that if they are given the alignment specs from the shop manual, they can put their high-tech alignment machines in "manual" mode and do the alignment...although they both expressed concern about parts being too rusty or fragile to put wrenches on them...a couple of independent alignment shops echoed these sentiments

NOSpart: 1063658 Transmission Gasket Pkg, 3spd one of these days I'll figger out whereabouts that small rectangular gasket goes...

VINTAGEPIC: saw this B-3 delivery truck on the FB

NOSpart: 1450660 Fuel Filter Glass Bowl + Gasket Another eBay find: filter bowl complete with vintage paperwork

I had a guy wander up to the house & accuse me of letting stuff rot in my yard after he wanted to take one off of my hands for a c-note. When I pointed out to him that I could sell it for scrap for more than that, he said I had a poor attitude and stomped off. Not only did he not make a counter-offer, he never asked where I got the beasts or in what condition they were in when I did drag them out of the weeds or, in three cases, how close they were to being crushed. Some folks' perception is a little skewed I reckon...

I recommend them copper core universal wire sets, they have better response than the universal wire sets designed for 12V systems, in hot or cold weather

just my 2 cents: I worked for a couple of years while going to engineering school in Lubbock at a Firestone service center, and I learned quite a bit about tires & cars & people. The knuckleheads I worked with that were kinda lazy and prone to screw-ups would quit & go work at the quickie-lube up the street...so I try to dissuade people from using the discount service centers cuz I know the caliber of their workers that have the ability to do extensive damage to your vehicle. But the more expensive places are populated with knuckleheads too, so getting a little work done is purty much a carp-shoot no matter which way ya go. When it comes to tires, I always lean towards the middle to higher end of the performance spectrum of tires. Cheaper tires are good for low usage applications where tire wear is not the issue but belt separation and weather cracking are more of an issue. Cheaper tires are also good for high mileage applications, when tires become worn before succumbing to weather cracking or belt separation. The reason tire manufacturers recommend replacement at the 7 yr mark is because that is the end of the designed life of the tire under extreme weather conditions. The materials used are designed to wear out at this time, and I have seen plenty of examples of tires with lots of tread left start to come apart at the 6-7 yr mark. Having also seen the consequences of tire separation at speed, it is MUCH cheaper to invest in decent tires up front than it is to clean up the mess that might occur down the road. As for tire flat spots from storage, these can be avoided by lifting the weight of the vehicle onto jack stands

No fuse box on the B-series, but there is a circuit breaker of sorts on the back of the headlamp switch. Most of the transmission & seals, u-joints, drive shaft, pinion seal, axle seals and gaskets are from the Power Wagon, but not the hubs or wheels. There are various other odds & ends that VPW carries that can fit on the B-series 1-ton, if it looks close in their catalog, ya might could call'm up and ask to verify...it might help to identify the part in question with a part number from a factory parts manual to verify with them

NOSpart: 1139156 Speedometer Drive Pinion Sleeve + Seal 1134949 I found this on eBay awhile back, thinking it would solve the 48's leaky speedo cable problem at the transmission...unfortunately, the seal was as hard as a rock, so I'll have to find an alternative someday update: alternative located

here's an example of some bumper guards

NOSpart: 1260727 Headlight Switch here's some more eBay NOS finds from over the years...that headlight switch from the 50s that ain't too pristine has very crisp action, so who knows what happened to it while in storage

I fired the beast up the other day to move it to another location, and when I hopped in the seat, there was no give to the cushion, kinda like sitting on an old church pew...that wasn't right at all, but I had other things I needed to get done that afternoon so I waited a few days to pull the seat cushion out. It was very heavy, and when I tilted it forward, I could hear the cascade of red oak acorns that had been packed in there by the local squirrel squatters who must've thought the stench of moth balls under the seat was quite refreshing

ya might have to use your imagination on these cuz these are original seals that are in poor condition and partially missing... on the cab, the seal starts at the bottom of the rear of the door frame and continues to the seam on the A-pillar: on the sill, the seal goes from the A-pillar to the rear of the door frame but does not cross to the cab sill: on the door, the seal goes from above the vent window, between the hinges, to the bottom of the door: