JBNeal

that is not surprising to see the draft tube nipple gone, as the tube is usually made of a slightly thicker material than the filter housing, and tube vibrations could cause the housing to tear. I was originally going to utilize the housing I had in the PCV valve circuit, but I reconsidered due to the lack of robustness of that design.

VPW can sell ya the parts, but they may not be exactly what you need as there are at least 2 different intake manifold setups for the PCV valve circuit. The fittings & hydraulic tube can be found at a good hardware parts store, with the hydraulic tube to be formed to your needs. The cast adapter occasionally pops up on eBay, but VPW usually has those in stock. If ya want to save a few bucks, you can make your own adapter using the draft tube as a base or get creative with a cast iron pipe tee & a close nipple, or you can make an adapter for that PCV filter housing to take advantage of its base. The VPW PCV valve will cost a few $$$, and finding a modern equivalent can be a bit tricky, as a PCV that is too small will not allow much vapor to pass, and one too large will cause the charge air mixture to be lean at higher rpms. Before NAPA redesigned their website a couple of years ago, it was possible to look at PCV valves by engine displacement & input/output specifications (threaded, hose barb, grommet seat), and I had compiled a short list of possible equivalents to the VPW threaded PCV valve. After NAPA redesigned their website so that it was not as easy to look up PCV valve specs, I located a lot of PCV valves on eBay that are dead ringers for the VPW valves. I managed to purchase a PCV valve similar to this NAPA valve, but have since misplaced that equivalent list and the original box to verify any alternatives. If I can get caught up on a few chores, I have a PCV conversion project that is similar to the original listed in the downloads section. I think I have solved the issue of installing the crankcase draw tube to the base of the air filter, which would require cutting a hole in the air filter base neck to braze the tube that draws from the crankcase filler neck. A modified original draft tube, along with the air cleaner modification, the assorted fittings & plumbing, and an equivalent PCV valve, might could get this material list cost down to less than $40. But I'll experiment on some spare parts and document that progress later

the vacuum source for the windshield wiper motor can be tee'd to accept the circuit with the pcv valve. As for that can, that looks very similar to a draft tube filter housing that I've seen on other flatheads engines, Plymouth, Dodge Trucks & Industrials.

HOLLYWOOD

additional information - partial PCV system upgrade?

hope he rolls up the windows if he wants to drive thru a puddle

Flathead Engine Decoder

if ya compare the surface area of the entire cooling system with the surface area of the thermostat, and if there is just a little bit of crud in one corner of the head or a blind corner around a cylinder that wasn't removed, once the coolant agitates the system, that little bit of crud will break loose and collect on that thermostat and inside the radiator. I've come to accept that I'll never be able to keep the cooling system 100% clean, and as long as I'm running within the acceptable operating range of the cooling system, then that's good enough for me. One of the things I've learned in manufacturing is that ya have to take into account contamination in hydraulic systems, as they can be a killer if not all factors are taken into account. There is a breakover point with regards to efficiency, as more efficient hydraulic systems tend to be prone to contamination failure. These flatheads I reckon were designed with that in mind, as hydraulic efficiency is lowered to allow a greater rate of contamination. Since the coolant system is not filtered, there is a service interval suggested to remove contamination from the system. On a side note, I went through the coolant system in my '02 CTD at 125k when I noticed the operating temperature was not at 195 in the summer. A new thermostat, all new hoses, rad.cap and a coolant system flush was followed with driving on the highway for a couple of weeks with straight H2O, flushing again, running another couple of weeks with H20 & flush, then going 50/50 glycol. After a month, I noticed there was a little crud on the rad.cap, and after 2 years and nearly 30k more on the odometer, the rad.cap isn't much dirtier and there is a little crud in the radiator...all acceptable as the operating temperature is right where it needs to be, especially in the summer while hauling a heavy load on the highway with the AC blowing

scroll on down & you'll see the pic for the drum puller on the tapered shaft axles

this is why I tell folks to use straight H2O when they first start up an engine and drive it around like that for a few hundred miles in temps above freezing. Ya might think ya get stuff cleaned out, and then SPLAT everything is brown again...also, if something comes loose or malfunctions, all ya lose is water, not that high dollar ethylene glycol.

I had never heard polar vortex before, and a few days later, I see Al Roker give his knowledgeable & humorous explanation

I've got access to a blacksmith anvil, and the horn on that old iron flares out the filler pipe perfectly. But more common materials can open up the tube diameter: using a couple of pliers or almost-closed crescent wrenches can be used to work the metal outwards, or whittling a 2x2 down to a taper as a forming tool, maybe clamping a round bar in a bench vise and peening the tube over it...all ya need is for the tube OD to be a hair less than the crankcase hole ID. I have not needed to use RTV on the tubes I've worked over, but it won't hurt, and if it's a tight fit, ya won't need but to smear the RTV thin on the tube surface for it to work.

truck picture: finishing up some work around the house before the next gift from The Great White North:

VINTAGEPIC: found this B-1or2 and B-3 wreckers while cruising The HAMB

Thoughts on Mopar Flatheads 1 Thoughts on Mopar Flatheads 2 Thoughts on Mopar Flatheads 3 Links to Building Threads Experience Builders Flathead Gotchas Spark Plugs Engine Oil Engine Oil Filter Engine Oil Filter Installation

Williamson's re-worked my '48 temp gauge & repainted all of the gauge faces back in '99. The gauges were very dirty, paint flaking off & whutnot, as the truck had spent it's life doing farm work and had been parked next to the barn for 20yrs at that point. Since I got the truck re-fired, it has spent most of its time in the heat & dirt out here in the country, and those gauges are the jewel of that beast for the moment, a pricey investment I made that has been worth it. When I told Ron a few weeks ago that they looked & worked just as good as when he refurbished them, he mentioned that he has extended his original 1 yr warranty to a lifetime warranty that is transferrable to new owners. I asked him to clarify, so if my temp gauge poops out any time, I can send it back and he'll fix the bulb or whatever, and all I'll be out is shipping. Not a bad deal...it's also nice that he's in the next state, which helps on shipping (less chance of things getting lost in the shuffle since we both live near regional hubs)

Hemmings Motor News has quite a few listings in their services section for gauge repair...I've sent my Farmall 1206 gauge cluster off to Williamson's to repair an intermittent gauge, had a good talk with Ron and he knows his stuff...maybe there is an outfit closer to your zip code that could help ya out

I stand corrected...I grabbed a flashlight & took a gander at the Spring Special and it has that very plate...looked at a couple of my spare floor boards that came out of column shift trucks and they had the same cutout...so looks like ya got one less leftover part after all

may have been a homemade frame-mounted engine compartment splash shield or cab firewall doubler plate...anyhow, I don't recognize it as being an original part, maybe it belongs in a cardboard box with a big question mark scrawled on the side for left over parts, cuz errrvybody knows there's always leftover parts when putting stuff back together

that's a pilot hole for a self tapping screw

I reckon the paper element is to catch material in the 10 micron range to protect the carb passages from fouling or abrasion, whereas that screen is to catch larger material that can be seen with the naked eye like sand crystals, grizzled whiskers and whutnot

HOLLYWOOD Was watching Used Cars for the nth time and finally noticed the beast in the background...the DVD commentary is almost as funny as the film

one alternative is to remove the damper component and replace it with a simple flange gasket...if the damper is made from rubber that is period correct, it will be destroyed by the ethanol in today's gasoline, possibly sending rubber chunks into the carb. Replacing the damper with a simple flange gasket allows fuel to pass through the bowl without the damping effect...add a paper filter to the bowl, and you've converted this damper into a fuel filter housing. The flange gasket material should be something that can withstand that ethanol component in gasoline, more than likely fabricated from sheet material. The trick I've used is to put a thin film of light oil on the flange then set the flange on the material firmly rather than do a tracing on the material. I can then cut the sheet material carefully with a sharp knife or scissors

the original truck was up for sale for almost 2 yrs, and from all of the pictures I saw from the previous owner, the beast was *ahem* a good fixer-upper. It wasn't a total basket case, but it had been parked out by the road in north TX and it showed: surface rust inside & out, wiring shot, powertrain needed a complete overhaul...it really needs to be completely dismantled in order to get it respectable, more work & $$$ to get it highway-friendly. That's a long row to hoe when there's a buggy closer to the finish line, sittin' in the driveway, ready to go to Dairy Queen on a Saturday. I've got a few parts trucks that I don't have a For Sale sign posted, but when folks roll up to the house to ask what they can drive off with, I motion towards them and shoot them a number cuz they could be fixed up if somebody had the means & motive

additional information - rear fender comparison additional information - rear fender part number change For the B-4 and later models up into the 70s, the 1-ton stepsides had two rear fenders: the styled fenders used on single wheel 1-tons, and the half-rounds with extensions used on duallies. I have seen the duallie step sides used on rural & small town fire trucks, but they are quite rare. As for the modified bed, who knows for sure what all changes were made to that beast, as its powertrain & suspension are far from original. My guess is that tailgate & bulkhead were yanked off a newer (wider) truck at a pick&pull yard and bolted to the older bedsides, with the bed supports & fenders modified to fit.