JBNeal

if'n ya wanna go crazy, click on User CP on the upper left of the page, below the P15-d24 logo; on the next page, scroll down to Edit Options: there's all kinds of stuff there, such as being to view the threads in Linear Mode, with the last post shown first.

some of the original material used back in the day was a cotton batting strip material, cut to fit on the shop floor. I've got scrap rubber roof material (.060 epdm) that is rubber-cemented to one surface of each panel. I've kinda wondered if it would be just as effective to smear caulking on one edge in the same fashion, building it up to about 1/16" thickness. The camper tape is cheap & effective, but it might be a li'l wide, unless ya rip it down the center (doublilng your purchased stock). I've seen window & door foam tape that's in the 3/4" to 1" wide range, only about 1/4" thick, it should work well also and be very cost effective

I can hear my Grandpa now: "ya got yerself some bad gas" I've had similar problems, and the thing that seems to have fixed the rough running/stalling problem for the ol' beasts (and lawn tractors too) when they don't get driven everyday is to have fuel stabilizer mixed with fresh 87 octane gasoline in the tank and run through the carburetor. From what I can gather, a li'l varnish will gum up the innards of the carb (check balls & passages, etc.) and the required fuel flow through the carb will be inadequate. Also, the electrical contacts in the regulator & distributor need to be clean. If a small layer of oxidation forms on these contacts, the resistance goes sky high, resulting in significant decreases in available voltage available for charging and/or ignition. This oxidation has to be carefully removed, either with emery cloth or small file, I recall seeing this procedure outlined in an older Chilton manual I found at the library.

...the right-hand mirrors were standard on right-hand drive...wonder if there is a stash of driver mirrors for sale down under here's the pair I found on eBay back in 2000...the driver mirror bracket looks to have been installed & removed, possibly at the dealer; the passenger mirror bracket has only some shelf wear:

truck picture money pit: during the impromptu pow-wow with The Dad last night, I had to deliver the bad news that the computer in the VP44027 on his '01 Ram CTD QuadCab is kaput and will require replacement (1st one crapped out back in '05)...we came to a tentative agreement that I could do the repair in exchange for some floorspace in his barn (the one with electricity & a concrete floor). I can use that floorspace to work on the flatbed I dragged down from OKC (by way of KS) a couple of years ago so that we can put it to work hauling water from a robust well up to his 2 acre lavender patch that he started as a retirement project. This '51 will require a bonded title along with a teardown & rebuild. The flatbed is in good shape, so it'll only need some rewiring and a li'l cosmetic work to get it looking spiffy. And since there are no bed parts to mess with, the cosmetic work on the truck sheetmetal is drastically reduced as compared with the '48 & '49 farm pickups I have rollin'round. Putting this truck back into service after decades of sitting around will also free up some other equipment that we use...the irony is that when I dragged this truck home back in 2010, I was scolded for 'junking up the place'; now this ol' beast may turn into a valuable farm truck after all

if you want to drive this beast everyday, I hope ya live in a rural area or a small town, cuz these ol' trucks do not get in a hurry, even going downhill, nor do they stop on a dime. I've worked on enough older machines to know that parked vehicles can have surprises that could be big $$$ for repairs if not dealt with properly. The original wiring may look okay now, but its age + some heat-cycling from use and that insulation may start falling off. The original brakes may be prone to failure from rusted out lines or pitted cylinder bores. And then there's that flathead...the engine could have sludge or internal corrosion from sitting up for so long. The seals may be brittle and could blow out in no time. The water jacket may be full of crud or the distribution tube could be fouled or crumbling. If the distributor has a vacuum advance, the diaphragm could be shot. The fuel pump diaphragm might be on death's door also...the list goes on & on. Ulitmately, it all depends on your budget & skill level as to what you want to do with it. I cringe when I see a good survivor truck butchered to make it modern. On the other hand, when the truck is wore out & needs a lot of bodywork, making it modern might actually be cheaper

that pic might be a li'l deceiving, as those dual horns are from an older vehicle, possibly not even a Dodge, as they are a trumpet-style and not the long-cone style used on the B-series. I found what I thought was the factory mirror mount in a similar photo of a salvage yard 300 miles from the house...turns out it was a 'custom' installation. Also found an 'intact' cab 500 miles from the house on CL...turns out the doors were rusted out with a deceptively nice older paint job hiding the cancer, and the cab floor had rusted out and was being propped up with 2x4s I've got my eye on a parts truck 250 miles from the house, but the guy can only take marginally decent pics of the truck so I cannot tell if it's a completely rusted out hulk or not...the tree trunk wedged in between the bumper & grille ain't makin' for warm & fuzzy feelings. As most old car parts go on the internet, they look real nice until ya get up close, then it's back to reality

wow ya really can polish a trrd

When I worked at the Firestone service center, we used Zep industrial grade floor cleaner. Them orange granules, when wetted down with a garden hose, then scrubbed into the concrete with a stiff push broom, would clean up purt'near every speck of dirt, oil, grease, terbacky juice, etc. The trick is to scrub into the pores of the concrete, as wiping does not get the oils that have soaked in. On small spills, pour some fine sand or kitty litter (bentonite) on the spot to soak up & remove as much as possible. Then put the sand or bentonite on the spot on the concrete, step onto the spot with the toe or heel with your full weight, then do The Twist as long as you can stand it. That oughtta grind the granules into the pores to soak up more oils, making for a cleaner floor...it's quick, it's easy & it's fun

truck picture B-1-D-126: my neighbor snapped this pic...she was doing some birdwatching this afternoon when a suspicious red truck drove very slowly up my driveway, turned around at the house, then these two husky broads jumped out to snap a few pics. If they had bothered to ask for permission, I would'a told them that was a bad idea, what with the many sharp edges on the front of the truck, as well as the splattered oil coated with dust from the surrounding fields...anyhow, they spied my neighbor and tore outta there like a scalded dog...bless their hearts

"Whitey" was what I was called at a few of the jobs that I've had cuz I was the only gringo working there, but I chickened out and went with 49D

To clarify: the rear cab mounts were busted through the cab floor and the frame rails were supporting the back of the cab. Both doors were rubbing the fenders at the bottom corners, but the more oft-used driver door had significant damage. Polaroids of the original condition have been lost, but removing the fish plates on both sides of the damage would show this damage. I recall being baffled by the Dodge design as there is a reinforcement at the front cab mounts that extends beyond the door frames but just shy of the rear cab mounts. Anyhow, lifting the cab off the runningboards allowed the doors to open freely without interference from the front fenders. In retrospect, if I knew what kind of damage I had been looking at with the cracks in the cab, I would have made a much lower offer to that geezer who advertised this beast as in very good condition...live & learn, I reckon

when I picked up the '49 in '01, I was at a loss as to how the driver door could have such damage. The fenders were intact & the frame was undamaged, yet the door skin was peeled back. A couple of years went by before I had the chance to take a really good look at the truck, and found that there were cracks leading from the rear cab mounts to the door frames. The piece of painted sheet metal I found under the seat was originally welded to the seat frame skirt to the passenger door. I found some sheet metal that was the same thickness as the cab steel and fab'd up some fish-plates to re-enforce the areas as a band-aid until I could learn how to braze-weld. A trick I tried was to use a small floor jack between the cab floor & running boards to lift the cab up for the fish-plate installation. It took some time and some colorful metaphors to get it to work, but the plates fit in nicely and have worked well enough. I had also attached a piece of slotted angle steel between the cab mounts for more reinforcement, but I reckon that ain't required so it'll be yanked out when I start cleaning out some of the varmint mess that showed up this past winter

I've been trying to get the '49 running since installing the steering gear, and while running new fuel lines from the cleaned out fuel tank, I noticed that the brake line from the master cylinder to the system junction block was grimy from the flare at the master to a low spot in the line. I had some difficulty with the fuel line flaring, and upon inspection it looks like my clamping anvil has become bent. The flares were not centering on the tubing, but making an adjustment while flaring made the flares come out decent. Since this was the same tool I had used to make the brake lines back in '04, and remembering I had similar problems back then, I reckon all the brake flares need to be checked. Since being put up on blocks back in '08, the master cylinder had leaked out; before that, the brake pedal had been spongy, and that supply line always had a weep to it. So the brakes will need to be bled, and that means I'll get the opportunity to rig up that hardware store pressure bleeder I've read about. Every 6 months or so, I've been pulling the spark plugs & putting several capfuls of ATF down the hatch, then a few days later would spin the crankshaft a few times to limber things up. With the fuel system reinstalled and a new battery in place, as well as fresh oil + filter in the crankcase, I engaged the starter for about a minute with the ignition off and watched as pressure slowly built on the gauge (maybe 5 psi). But no fluid level change in the partially filled bowls for the fuel pump & filter had me scratching my head. I had disassembled, inspected, cleaned & bench tested the mechanical fuel pump and it had checked out OK, but didn't seem to be pumping on the truck. I filled the Stromberg with fresh gas and cranked several times, getting a 1 second run time on a few occasions, but no change on the fuel pump output. I even pulled the fuel line to siphon some gas up to the pump to help prime it, but no change. So I took a break and visited my neighbors up the hill, helped them pick pecans and talked 'bout all the crooks & whack-jobs running for office & whutnot, then walked back home looking at the setting sun and decided to pull the fuel pump and disassemble it real quick. Lo & behold, one of the check valves had popped out of the fuel pump air horn. Put the whole thing back together, cranked for 5 seconds and without much manifold flatulence, that ol' 230 was running again, idling just as smooth as it did over 4 years ago. And once that manifold & exhaust started to heat up, the smoke started to pour out of the tailpipe. I let it idle for about an hour while getting the wheels put back on & getting it off the jack stands, and the smoking went away. As darkness was setting in, I grabbed the steering wheel off the shelf in the garage & eased it onto the steering shaft, put the truck in bull gear, and eased out on the clutch...and the '49 is rolling under its own power, departing from The Money Pit to the driveway, a li'l closer to the house electrical outlet and where there aren't 2 inch wide cracks in the ground to swallow up errant nuts & bolts & whutnot

The entire under-dash parking brake is painted black, and then the handle is painted red so ya can see it. The red is about the same color as used on the hub caps, hood ornaments and nose logo...and the original red fell off just as fast on all of'm

the passenger side tail light bracket is a rare part to find, and some of the ones I have found are actually driver side brackets that have been carefully bent over backwards, probably using a stout bench vise, a blowtorch and a BIG crescent wrench. Or if ya wanna get creative, make one from scratch. Trace the one ya have on some paper, transfer that to some equivalent gauge steel, and break it over in a vise. Once it's painted up & installed, who'll know that it's an original work of art?

several fellas have tried finding replacement rims for the 1 tons, and I think the consensus was that late 50s / early 60s Dodge & Internationals had a very similar one-piece wheel, but those are becoming very hard to find. And newer style drop-center rims have interference issues with the 1-ton brake drums. So if ya replace the front & rear axles with newer style wheels & brakes, then it may be easier to put new tires on when needed. OR...find a heavy truck tire center that works on these split-ring rims on a regular basis and keep the axles & brakes original

While replacing the wiper blades on the '02 CTD, I noticed that the spring steel strips that secure the wiper blade rubber to the wiper blade frame are about the same thickness & width as the float pin retaining spring. I'll have to do some carb work on the '49, so I might be able to confirm this soon

I've been teaching myself how to paint by reading as much as I can, asking a few tactfully worded questions to guys in the body shop field, then practicing techniques on different assemblies (home LPG tank, lawn tractor parts, engine compartment parts, etc.). DO choose materials carefully, as mixing & matching paint systems / manufacturers can produce unsatisfactory results. If you want to 'hurry up & finish', the end result will show this lack of patience. But most of all, inadequate prep work will undermine any work done with the presence of fisheyes, blistering, crazing, delamination...many things can go wrong if not enough attention is paid to detail. And a decent paint job can be had if good materials are chosen and prep work & application are done per manufacturers' instructions. I restored Dad's '67 Farmall 1206 using CaseIH primer/paint over Rust-Cure, sanding smooth rough spots between coats applied with a non-HVLP Tractor Supply paint gun. The only issue has been some chipping of the paint that I think may have been caused by using too much hardener. During the process of painting that tractor, I found out there was a definite difference between body shop supply store lacquer thinner & cheaper Lowe's lacquer thinner (the cheap stuff made the expensive paint look like carp when reduced, but the cheap stuff cleaned the paint gun just fine). The finish is not show-car glossy, but I've been told it looks as good as tractors were painted back in the 60s, and the paint color/condition has held up well in the past 8+ yrs. Since I did that tractor, I've learned about painting with a foam brush, then a foam roller. From what I've found, painting castings with a foam brush does much better than spray painting, as the foam brush can be dabbed into the casting surface, eliminating shadowing that can occur when using a spray gun. Foam brush / roller painting is cheaper as less paint is needed to get decent coverage, but it takes more time than spray painting. I plan on doing sheet metal with a foam roller with a possible sprayed top coat for a smoother finish...but if the roller application works well, I may skip the paint gun altogether

In my opinion, that external bypass water pump (which has been out of production for decades) should go back on the shelf and a new internal bypass water pump should be installed on your motor. There is a seal in that pump that most likely will fail from its age, and that's if the impeller shaft bearings don't give out first. The new pumps are lubricated by the coolant like modern water pumps, so there will be no need to grease the bearings. And if those shaft bearings fail, the fan will carve chunks out of the radiator as the vibrations will cause the blades to fly apart...very messy and inconvenient. The new internal bypass pumps will fit external bypass motors as the bolt pattern is the same, and the bypass port on the pump can be blocked off by a supplied gasket and the engine block, as DC's & Ed's photos show. The difference between internal & external bypass pumps is not so much the back plate but the pump body casting. Drilling a hole in the back plate will not access the flow from the pump impeller as the casting will not allow this, and to do surgery on cast iron with a hand drill can be a 'creative' waste of time. As much as I'd like to keep my old flathead original looking, the newer style water pump looks close enough to the original for me, and it gives me the peace of mind of knowing that water pump won't fail anytime soon. More information can be found in Merle's thread on water pumps

The first time I took apart the Stromberg on the '49, that spring split in two...that was back in '04. I took a battery contact (made of spring steel) out of an old radio that had gone kaput and made a replacement...it took some whittlin', but I made it fit. All that clip has to do is keep the float pin in place, so it don't have to be perfect

yep, them frustrating ol' rebuilt Dodges...holey moley

one test: have'm take a pic of the car with a newspaper on it (or some other inanimate object)...if they cain't do that, then it's just pie in the sky. As for CL, I had an odd experience in Oklahoma looking for a parts truck. The ad was placed in OKC, the guy tells me that it's near Kingfisher, then once I crossed the Red River, sent me onto Hennessy...then tells me to drive thru Hennessy, dang near to Kansas...a total of nearly 100 miles further away than we had originally discussed, out in the middle of nowhere...you could almost hear the banjo music playing. Sure enough, the truck was in much worse shape than his pictures showed, and I walked away with a few odds & ends instead of the entire truck, as he had nearly doubled the price of the truck once I laid eyes on the beast. Up until that point, I thought the CL stories were all hokum, but now I can see how squirrelly folks can make folks see what they want to see and trouble can ensue.

I've read several books (found several at the library and picked up a few online) and have practiced with different techniques, and multiple thin coats with progressively finer sanding grits provides glossier top coats, even with flat paints. I've also painted without sanding between coats, and the surfaces can be rough which can be a problem with coating durability, as rougher coats are more susceptible to chipping, and generally look like carp. When I painted my home LPG tank last year with a foam roller, I wet sanded between coats with 120, 320 & 400 grit with impressive results. For a much glossier finish, I could have progressively gone up to 1600 grit for the mirror finish...but for the LPG tank, I figgered 400 was good enough. With this finish, lines can be seen in the finish from the foam roller, but from 20 ft away, the tank's flat aluminum finish will blind ya in the summer sun

After multiple software & hardware technical problems were addressed, I finally got a wiring diagram put together in AutoCAD. This includes the Signal Stat wiring diagram and a headlight relay to improve lamp candlepower output. I've also routed the PANEL switch to control the dome lamp, linked the front & rear park lamps at the HEAD switch, and shown a ground wire to the horn (something I've been tinkering with, details to follow). The wiring insulation on the '49 is falling apart, so it'll be the first to get this tryout. The next thing I want to figger into this is an electric fuel pump with relay & oil pressure safety switch, as well as a fused power tap for a radio & a fan. I've read articles on the dangers of overloading this simple circuitry that's choked off by that AMP gauge, so I've been considering doing a partial bypass...anyhow, more to fiddle with; at some point I'll put it on paper, figger up a wiring jig, and slap it together B-WiringDiagram3.PDF