JBNeal

if my PBS education serves me correctly, I reckon y'all are tapping some maple trees for some goodies?

CORRECTION: this bracket IS factory installed because of restricted access to the bed bolt by the redesigned fuel tank for the B-4s. The new tank rides right up against the frame rail; for all other Pilot-Houses, the tank is far enough away from the frame rail that there is ample tool access. The passenger side of the bed does not require this bracket because the tank is not in the way. So the B-4 has a slightly different bed mounting pattern in the lumber than the previous B-series. MYSTERY SOLVED

I don't recall seeing anything like that on any of the frames I've collected...it appears to have a thicker material than the frame, so I'm guessing that it is not factory-installed. I recall that Dad bought a former highway department truck at an auction back in the 80s; in its former life, it had a liquid tank mounted in the bed as it was used to spray weed killer along the roads' edges. The pump/valves/etc. were controlled with cables & levers from the uninsulated cab, so there were all kinds of brackets (some with pulleys) under the bed for all of that hardware. Ya might be looking at something similar, it might have been part of a spare tire carrier or tool box or whuthavya.

is that tach set to 8 cylinder or 6 cylinder? I bought a tach for my '89 Dakota from JC Whitney years ago, and recall that the operating instructions listed the need to flip a switch for this by removing the shell. But then again, 2500 rpm sounds about right, these flatheads turn like a diesel so rpms ought to keep their distance from 3000 or a poppin' noise will sound and the driver shall become pedestrian soon afterwards.

Get your truck up to cruising speed, then cut the motor off and push in the clutch: thar's yer wind noise My '48 has practically no noise insulation: the original firewall pad is almost gone, the original door seals are history, the headliner...heck I've never seen it. When sitting in the driveway, with the doors closed & windows rolled up & engine off, the open glove box door slamming shut actually makes an echo. So the bare metal cab acts like an echo chamber. I have a new floormat with the padding and tried it out once...it made a heap of a difference. It didn't make it Imperial quiet, but my ears weren't ringing as bad after I rode into town. Looking at my '02 CTD, it has a perimeter door seal, and then another door seal from the bottom of the windshield to the back of the cab, the doors have plastic door panels from the window sill to the door sill, carpet with padding from the padded firewall to the carpeted cab back panel, and a full headliner. That oil burner (almost twice the size of the flathead) makes plenty of noise, and all of this insulation helps but it's still a loud ride (ears ring a bit on trips longer than 1/2 hour). When I drove around for a couple of days with the rear window busted out and the rear liner removed, that truck was LOUD. So if ya want a quiet ride, ya gotta button up every surface leading into the cab.

it was like that when I found it! If it's not 40s/50s Dodge or Farmall, I'm a li'l ignorant of the carb application...I knew this one wasn't correct, but it was on there good so I left it until it was time to redo that part of the engine compartment. I've got a shelf of Carter & Stromberg carbs as well as a few oil bath air cleaners that are salvageable. I want to boost the CR to 8.0:1 and add that PCV system I've been working on so I can maximize pulling power on this beast...if I can get this big guy back in service, it'll make a fine piece of farm equipment that can make the occasional mosey on into town for parts/supplies/chicken fried steaks

Getting started on the '51 has been delayed by inclement weather, a cold/bronchitis spell that hung around purt'near 9 weeks, 2 neighbors with tractor problems, 3 neighbors with emergency house repair requests, fallen trees that needed clearing, surprise (& extended) social engagements, and a couple of trips out of town to corral parts. But today I finally got started by 'exhuming' the beast from its resting place; it appeared to have sunk 3 inches in the black clay over the past 2yrs. I dragged it to some firmer ground for more cleanup and assessment in the next few days. One thing I'd like to verify is the dimensions of the rims. I thought it was odd that this 1-ton is riding on 6.50-16s. Researching the parts manual showed that the tire size for the 1-tons is dictated by the rim width. I've got the spare in its carrier, so I'll see about starting there...scraping years of crud off the rim before breaking that crusty old tire off the bead. GOOD TIMES

http://www.cokertire.com

that's why I like my parts manuals: if'n ya can crack the code, the good ones are full of insightful information. Rear fenders, rear main seals, thermostat housings, turn signals...while doing the initial inspection on the '51 1-ton flatbed, I was surprised to see the truck riding on 6.00x16s; researching the parts manual, I found that this was indeed an optional tire, but only for certain rim widths. Yep, not only do the 1-ton wheels have different offsets depending on whether the axle is a single or dual rear wheel, but the rim widths vary by options

wellllll I went to verify my sources, and could not find the text that I see in my head, thought it was in one of my Bunn books...but I did find some verification in the parts manual: rear fenders 1096972/1096973 were used on B-1 Cowl, Cab & Express models; 1199509/1199510 were used on B-1, B-2 & B-3 Cowl, Cab & Express models. Notes in the manual denote serial numbers for part applications, I'm guessing the s/n split is about mid-year '48. Also, while driving my '48 & '49 around on the back roads, I've gotten caught in the occasional summer downpour. The '48 would shoot some rooster tails and slush all over the back of the truck; the '49 would barely slush up the rear homemade bumper.

the new bed in '48 had a profile that matched the departure angle profile of the bed side; the only problem was that when them back tires ran through a puddle, they'd shoot a rooster tail all over the following vehicle. So late in '48, Dodge extended the length of the fender to align with the bottom edge of the running boards, which did not match the departure angle profile of the bed side. It's a subtle difference, but it makes the difference in keeping your fellow motorists from going bonkers.

Have ya gotten anything regarding the infamous Dickens' Cider?

When I see a nice truck like this in a museum, I cringe a li'l bit as it has obvious flaws to the trained eye. My a*retentive personality assumes that when I see something in a museum, it is a representative article from the past, either preserved in its original form or restored to near original form. The rear fenders are 48, the front clearance light is an aftermartket bolt-on assembly, the wiper assembly probably came out of a '51-53, the non-black wheels, the chrome bumper...it all looks nice, but if this truck had a little more work done to it, it would pass my 'museum quality' litmus test. But then again, this particular museum is more of an enthusiast showroom and not an automobile archive, so I reckon I should plan to visit it someday in my old '48, and swing by downtown to enjoy a few Manske Rolls

originally, the tail lights mounted low because it was cheaper to run 3' less wire if the tail lamps were mounted at the same height as the head lamps. With the right tail light as optional, as well as arm rests, heaters, turn signals, etc., these trucks were sold as utilitarian machines that were optioned as the buyer wanted and their budget allowed. The tail lights stayed mounted low on stepsides, moving a li'l higher than the tailgate hinge point in the 60s. But no tail light was lower than the last gen El Camino...

I set up a group on The HAMB called 'Pilot-House Truckers'...it's a low-key group that doesn't curse much; we don't get much done, but we mean well

they don't call it a 'shakedown cruise' fer nuthin'...on a project like this, button it up, give it a final inspection, take that buggy on a bouncy road and see what jars loose...rinse, repeat

here's a li'l anecdote about steering

if not the Cherokee, then maybe a Dakota rear could make the modern traffic driving a reality

if the pinion and/or differential bearings are too worn, that'll mess up the pre-load and backlash adjustments...they can be set as required, but if the bearings have too much endplay, then the effective pre-load & backlash will vary in & out of specifications. The bearings in my '48 & '49 were tight enough, but since both trucks sat for decades, several bearing rollers and partial race surfaces showed galling, so I replaced them all. FYI water pump leaks: didja put pipe dope/thread sealant on the mounting bolts? cuz they are screwed into the water jacket...same for the manifold bolts.

hmmmm...what kind of shape are the wheel bearings? on them axles, they had a plug that had to be removed, replaced with a temporary grease fitting, lubricated 1/2 ounce, then the plug replaced. Maybe they need to be lubricated if they aren't too far gone...whenever I grease up some wheel bearings like this, I try to have them rotating slowy as grease is applied. That way grease will contact more surfaces than if the bearing was stationary.

I don't have the specs memorized, but from what I've read here & there, the last few years they made the flatheads, the compression was increased to 8.0:1 (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) to squeeze about 30hp more out of the same engine, even briefly using a 2bbl carb. Over the decades these flatheads were manufactured, they underwent several design changes to improve performance. I am in agreement about being leery in trying to make power out of a slow-turning flathead 6 that is competitive with a fast-turning V8. But I look at the last years of manufacture to see what kind of modifications that Chrysler sold to the public as something to aim for in possible engine improvements. The only problem is that 'increasing compression ratio' is easier said than done. Were changes made to the engine block casting? crankshaft? connecting rods? bearings? pistons? Some of this can be verified by consulting parts manuals to cross-reference part numbers used from one year to the next, tracking any changes made (i.e. rear main seal changes). But even that doesn't always tell the whole story, as sometimes they would change part numbers on parts with no discernible changes (the Ram hood ornament on '50 & '51 trucks is a good example). I reckon bottom line is that ya do what ya feel safe doing: keeping things original to a certain year model, or making improvements for an older year model to a newer year model

that's what I was wondering, if the right kind/amount of oil is in the rear (should be about 5.5pints SAE90 or up to the fill plug). There's a diagnostic diagram in the rear axle section of the shop manual that shows if the gears are meshing properly (pre-load, backlash & whutnot), depending on how the gear oil shows up on the gear teeth. Or ya could throw some sawdust in the oil and that'll quiet it down fer a li'l while

At some point, I will post more info on the PCV system I have installed on my '49. I modified the stock draft tube with a fitting, routed some hard lines to a FF-Power Wagon PCV valve I found on eBay, then into the vacuum port on the intake manifold. I also added a fitting to the oil fill tube, then routed some hard lines to a fitting I mounted on the top of the stock oil bath cleaner. Both circuits are linked by the crankcase to vent volatile gases through the combustion chamber then out through the tail pipe, rather than venting directly to the atmosphere through the stock draft tube & oil fill tube breather cap. There was a discussion about this with Grey Beard some time ago, I may have a link buried to it in one of my build threads found in my signature...at any rate, this system I have installed is based on the systems that DC is talkin'bout, and they work well. I had a small backfire thru the carb on initial startup with this system installed, and it was clearly heard that the PCV valve slammed shut, doing its safety job...once the engine warmed up and ran for a while, no smoky vapors were observed venting from the engine compartment...parts of this system look something like this grey beard's thoughts on mopar flatheads

Circuit breakers are meant to be replaced if damaged, I would not bother with repairing it cuz a new one is far safer. The headlight switch contacts can be cleaned & lubricated with dielectric grease as the switch can be carefully disassembled by prying them metal tabs back to release the 'circuit' board. Checking with a ohm- or mulit-meter is straightforward if ya know which post to check; I've got a wiring diagram stashed somewhar in one of the links in my signature that'll help a bit, looks kinda like this modified wiring diagram

older grease seems like it gets a skin on it when it dries, so when this NOS part was first used, ya probably broke that skin and revealed a bit of slick grease underneath that skin. That slick grease eventually dried up too, making it gum up your parts. But a good point about lubricating the moving parts in the distributor after it has set up for awhile. The shop manual points out that there are several lubricating points within the distributor (including a wick or two) that need a drop of oil applied on them periodically. Also doesn't hurt to lube any linkages also, as the little amount of oil that they require can flash off or accumulate dust and get gummed up also.