JBNeal

VINTAGEPIC: saw this B-3 car hauler on The HAMB

from a previous post, the steel fuel line just needs to clear the manifolds to reduce heat absorption. Comparing the AC & Carter fuel filter setups, the AC has a more robust bowl clamp that is less prone to problems from vibration. At any rate, if the fuel bowl is installed and doesn't line up in the level orientation, the trick that's worked for me is to put some Teflon tape on the brass fitting, thereby increasing the taper diameter allowing for another stab at screwing everything down as required. One or two turns of Teflon should be adequate; any more than that and ya might risk cracking the fuel filter base trying to force the issue. As for the flex line at the frame, don't bother with the NOS units from the 40s & 50s that are on eBay. I've accumulated a bundle of those over the years, and they last less than a year as the ethanol in the gas dries the old rubber very quickly & they split open. Brass hose barbs are available that can be attached to a length of modern rubber fuel injection line and that works nicely, costs about $5 to make what ya need. You can go krazy and have a fuel line made with crimped fittings at a hydraulic hose supplier for about $20 if ya want a factory look. I recently replaced the fuel pressure gauge sending unit hose on my '02 Ram CTD as I relocated the sender closer to the firewall, requiring a hose that was about a foot longer than the one that was supplied with the sender. The guy at the shop said the cost was in the crimped fittings and setup time as the length of hose was pennies in comparison. as a point of forum use, is there a limit to the amount of information that can be included in a thread? Build threads can stretch over years covering a wide range of topics; why can't a repair thread do the same thing for a truck that has already been built and is having issues after several years of use? Call me crazy, but I figgered having a handful of connected threads centering around one vehicle to share as well as to collect information as being an efficient use of the forum.

1st yer block, now yer tank...maybe that silver paint is the culprit

VINTAGEPIC: found these B-3s while surfing the internets

I found this bumper at CTC in Denton, and whoever built this has some impressive skills. It is definitely home-made judging from the quality of the cuts and the metal forming as the assembly was not exactly symmetrical. But the concept is something that I had sketched up awhile back before I found this example. My inspiration was the rear of an old cattle trailer that had the step behind the fenders with a reinforcement that went up the sides with integrated lights and a step at the rear to protect the endgate when backing into a ramp.

When it comes to rear bumpers, I have found that there were many different variations of designs that eventually evolved into the modern step bumper. The area between the rear of the bed and the rear of the fenders was wide open, and most truck users needed something there to step onto just to gain access to the rear of the bed, from adding or removing materials from the bed to loading or unloading livestock into a bed with sideboards. And then the truck owners would invariably need to hook up to a tongue pulled trailer, so a hitch needed to be fabricated. Here are a couple of examples on some parts trucks. The white bumper is made from one long stick of angle steel, with a notch cut to allow the angle to be formed & welded. It is welded to the frame, but is flimsy since there are no attachments at the ends, and not very useful as the angle is right up against the bed frame, so only the toes can grip that surface...and if it's got a li'l moisture on it, fuhgeddaboutit. The black bumper is one long steel channel that was formed at the corners and the hitch area. It bolts to the frame and fenders, but it appears to have had a reinforcement that was bolted to the channel and probably to the bed sides near the top of the stake pocket. This bumper appears to be made at a factory considering the quality of the metal forming. This bumper appears to be a modified aftermarket bumper that has been tweaked on one side. The bumper is welded to the frame, and a hitch has been welded to the bumper. One misstep near the back of this truck and them bumper corners will slice ya right open. This bumper belongs to a neighbor up the road, and it appeared home-made. The bumper is flush with the rear of the bed, so the only steps are on the sides behind the fenders. The frame of the bed was notched for the hitch clearance and not really reinforced very well. Needless to say, the tailgate & bed frame are purty beat up from trying to hook a trailer onto that ball hitch. This bumper belongs to the '48, and may have been a modified aftermarket bumper. It is made of a heavy diamond treadplate steel channel that was notched, formed & welded at the corners. Diamond treadplate flat steel was used to extend the bumper to the fenders for use as a step. The bumper & hitch are welded to the frame. The bumper is just close enough to the bed frame that I can barely get my boots in there when I climb in the back, so it's a li'l tricky to navigate when it's wet. It has flat bar connecting the stake pockets to the bumper corners, presumably to stiffen up the rear of the box so the tailgate can be opened & closed if the truck is on uneven ground. This bumper belongs to the '49 1-ton, and was definitely home-made. Heavy angle steel with a hole torch cut for hitching, with pipe flattened on each end and formed, attached with some gorilla welds. There's a 1/2" hole cut through the pipe & bed; I'm guessing the farmer who had this in OK used a bar to string barbed wire out of the back of the truck. Simple, heavy, cheap & effective...I might keep it after cleaning if up a bit. This bumper belongs to the '51 1-ton, and was definitely home-made. Heavy angle steel was welded to the frame, and what appears to be some sort of farm shredder blade was used as a hitch of sorts. It's tucked under the flatbed, so it's kinda awkward to access the floor with this step. This original factory bumper belongs to the '53 Spring Special. If you're not careful, one wrong step and ya could break yer leg, or at least land on some mighty important real estate in an awkward and uncomfortable fashion

there's an outfit in Waco called The Perry Company that has been making aftermarket bumpers for decades. I remember that back in the day, dealers would install their silver painted Ruffneck bumpers with the dealer's name & city/state stamped on them, but those started vanishing when the price of steel shot up about 10 yrs ago. I've been on the lookout for one of their early checkerboard tread plate bumpers, but have only seen one so far and it was too wide, of the 60s vintage I reckon. The predecessor of the Ruffneck was the Smash Hit bumper...I reckon they got away from that name cuz it didn't exactly inspire 'toughness'

when they changed the radiator shell & hood halves in '51, the hood bumper moved from the radiator shell (that would contact the hood half) to the lips of the hood halves (that would contact the fender).

from an earlier discussion, I ordered a couple of Tanks, Inc. units to do Tod Fitch's conversion. The Tanks, Inc. units look very much like JC Whitney's Datcon units (which JCW no longer has available), so I'm gonna try this conversion on the malfunctioning Roberts units I found a few weeks ago. The only thing different from TF's conversion is to have a ground stud on the mounting flange. I am in the process of reorganizing my 1-car garage-turned-workshop, tossing useless items while inventorying the useful stuff...I gotta do this 5S stuff at work, might as well do it at home I reckon. At some point, I'll give this conversion a shot and post my results as I've got a bad unit in the '49 that needs replacing anyways

I'm all for customizing these small details, as these trucks are purty basic...each arm rest was optional, as was the passenger visor, rear view mirror, heater--stuff we take for granted these days as standard equipment on newer trucks. I've seen center consoles made for cupholders, storage etc. I saw a truck in a magazine once that looked like he used the center console from a customized Astro van and whittled it down so it fit up against the firewall. That truck had a modern axle with parking brakes, and he had mounted the parking brake handle (out of a 60s D100 I think) on the driver side kick panel area. It was a clean look, and very user friendly, and the exterior of the truck looked almost stock. If'n yer gonna drive the truck every day and yer not worried about losing points at some originality contest, why not make it to your liking? It's nice to tell folks that are eyeballin' yer buggy what the original stuff was on it, but it's also nice to be able to grab something to slam the door shut on a windy day, as well as have something comfortable to lean on during a Sunday drive. Life is too short to depend on a flimsy arm rest

wellll blow me down...I might need to make me one of those piston pin removers, looks like I might have most of the parts rattlin'round in one of the work bench drawers

the Spring Special has the remnants of an original armrest on the driver door and an aftermarket armrest on the passenger door

connecting rod remover

not much spectacular goings on with the Spring Special these days, it's down on the priority list after this that & the other. I had cleaned the bed out when I got it, but it has slowly filled back up with some odds & ends. The doors were sticking when I picked it up a couple of years ago, but this past year, they have been a real bear, with the passenger door mechanism not releasing since last summer. A couple of months ago, I was able to pop it open on a particularly hot day, so I promptly began treatment with Marvel Mystery Oil on the door latches & hinges. Today I was able to open the doors easily for the first time...small victories

that sounds like it'd make a good compact spare

nice pic...why not post some dimensions of the NOS bumpers and let Gary know what ya have and what he's selling. He may do something about it that could benefit his business & his customers

somebody call the Coast Guard, this thread has been hijacked

VINTAGEPIC: saw this B-1or2 on the Flickr:

here or here ?

FYI I had put together a wiring diagram that includes some additional information that may improve headlight performance. One way to check the wiring posts on the AMP gauge is to hook the lead from the starter to one post, and the lead to the headlight switch to the other post, with lamps hooked up to the headlight switch. When the lights are turned on, the AMP gauge should read discharge. Or hook the lead from the starter to one post and a test lamp to the other post. Grounding that lamp should also read discharge. Once the AMP gauge is figgered out, then ya can move onto the ignition switch, attaching that jumper wire from the discharge post on the AMP gauge to one of the posts with the key in the 'off' position. A test lamp can be attached to either of the other two posts and grounded. The lamp should only come on with the key in the 'on' position. With the fuel gauge, attach that jumper wire from one of the key-on terminals. Ground the other terminal, and the gauge should read "F".

This reminds me of the first time I took the '48 for a state inspection. The inspector (a kid actually) made a disapproving face as he got in that old beast, then made an even more disapproving face when I had to stop him from twisting the key off in the ignition (the key is still twisted btw). When I pointed out the usage of that fourth pedal, he scoffed, and rather than let me start it for him, he stomped on the starter and it fired up...he then threw the stick all the way up and nearly backed into the car that had pulled up behind him. For subsequent inspections, I would start the truck for the inspector and remind him where 1st gear was

I have seen several variations on the poor man's security system on some vintage vehicles. There are battery disconnects that mount to the battery terminal and employ a knife switch to interrupt the circuit...I tried to install one once but had clearance issues with the battery cell caps & frame. I have seen quite a few master kill switches mounted under the hood near the starter...they were simple heavy duty rotary switches, some were heavy duty toggle switches, that could be reached after popping the hood. Then there are the ignition kill switches that can be hidden under the dash. A simple toggle switch interrupting the AMP gauge circuit could do the trick...maybe that's how Biff Tannen kept folks from taking a joyride in his Ford

if the brake system is sealed, then ya shouldn't have any need to top off the fluid. I've noticed on the '48 that the line from the master cylinder to the junction tee is always covered with dust. At least once a year, I've had to top off the MC, so I'm guessing I have a flare that's not seated perfectly and verrry slowly weeps out the DOT5. The '49 had so much leaking out of that same tube that I had to pump the pedal every time I used the truck...the flare on that one had a nick on it, but the brass fitting on the MC somehow got distorted somewhere along the way and the flare never really sealed right. That's one of them things I learned was that the factory flare and my flare were not the same size, so the brass fitting that comes from the factory might need replacing with a new one to get the flare to seal correctly. Of course there is so little room to get a wrench on that fitting, I had to pull the MC to get a clear shot at that fitting. With the MC in a bench vise, the old one came right out, and the new one was real easy to thread back in place

I was looking through my parts books, and it appears ya found one of the goofs in this manual. The horn button has the spring for the electrical contact, and the other spring keeps the contact plate against the lock ring plate that is held to the steering tube with the steering wheel nut. Occasionally these parts will pop up from time to time on eBay, ya might could get one from VPW but ya might want to verify that it's not for a Power Wagon as some of those horn buttons were different. One option is to take the horn ring, grind off what's left of the spokes, fill the exposed notches with an epoxy, shape/scuff the surface to get the plating blisters smoothed off, maybe use an etching primer, then paint the horn ring black, white, school bus yellow, or whatever

After many delays, I stopped by Crankshaft & Valve Service in Waco the other day to see about getting some inspection & machine work done to a flathead. They gave me their instructions & fee schedule for me to consider, as well as usual turnaround times for various services. My original plan was to take the donor Plymouth 218 to replace the Plymouth 218 in the '48. So I went to verify a few casting & stamped numbers, and got to scratching my head a bit. The donor 218 I found on a CL listing in Mason in 2010 was stamped P24 with a 5-22-50 casting on the block, no date casting on the head, and no internal bypass visible on either, but it has a remanufactured tag on it as well as the skinny belt crank pulley. The boss where the number is stamped doesn't feel particularly flat either, so maybe that P24 may have been put there well after the casting date which may explain the discrepancy. My guess is that this engine may have been a P19 or P20 before it was remanufactured, presumably in 1953. Then I looked at the Plymouth 218 in my '48, and the painted over stamped number was actually a P26 230, not a P25 218 as I thought it was. The block was cast 5-15-55; the head was cast 12-15-54. The block has a remanufactured tag behind the starter, so I'm assuming that the 230 was rebuilt with a head from a different engine as most original engines I have seen have casting dates within a few days of each other, not months apart. As hard as this engine is to turn over by hand, I'm aiming to do a complete teardown & inspection before I use it again (if ever). And then there is a stripped down P20 block with a casting date of 9-1-50 and a head casting of 9-5-50. This 218 block I found on a Brownsville CL listing 2 yrs ago is almost ready to go to the machine shop as it sits, with only the freeze plugs, the oil galley plugs, and other external block fittings needing to be removed. But the parts for this engine are in boxes, coffee cans, plastic bags, etc. as the previous owner tore this thing down then lost interest. So I'm not entirely sure how this goes back together or if I'm missing parts. So I looked at the other engine I have, sitting in the back of the '48, that I picked up near Houston via eBay 2 yrs ago. This P26 engine has head & block casting dates of 3-31-55 & 4-1-55, respectively. The engine turns with a little effort, as I can't remember the last time I fiddled with it. It definitely will need some machine work done, as there is a visible groove in #5 and a corresponding chunk missing from the piston. I've been stewing over which engine to choose for several days. My great-grandfather got this '48 in more than one accident; luckily he drove so slow they weren't too serious. But it is obvious that the front sheet metal originally belonged to a black B-2 Fluid Drive truck, not a green B-1. So this old beast has not been original since long before my lifetime, and I can only get it close to looking original at best. For now I am leaning towards trying the '55 230. I can do a complete teardown, get to know the innerds of this relic, and will probably have an easier time during assembly. If this engine has some serious faults found at the machine shop, I can fall back on one of the P20s. I have a T306 sitting installed in a parts truck, but I am not confident that engine can be saved judging by how open the engine was left by the previous owners. As I write this, I am hesitant to predict any progress as I have received an email and a couple of phone calls that may derail my progress yet again. Looking back at prior posts to see what all work I have listed so far is like a stroll down memory lane, as gaps in postings were filled with projects or emergencies that popped up, such as fixing several friends' cars (they turned out to be deadbeats, bless their hearts) & remodeling my parents' house & making unexpected repairs to my own house. So we'll what happens in a few weeks