JBNeal

fwiw, my intake on the '48 cracked where the bolts screw in from the exhaust manifold. There is a welding & machine shop a stone's throw from the house, and they charged me $30 to stitch up the cracks, as they have several guys who weld machined flanges to cast iron pipes for the oil & gas industry. They also welded a busted ear on my transmission where the parking brake bolts to the top plate. If you can find someone through a machine shop capable of doing cast iron welding, let them give it a shot.

I've been mulling this aspect of the PCV system for awhile, and I kinda figured that this doesn't necessarily have to be airtight per se. Power Wagons that came with the PCV system had a solid oil fill cap with a gasket. I reckon if your fill tube opening is round (except for the original cap index), and your cap fits tight with metal-to-metal contact on the fill tube, then any air entry is highly restricted, kinda like trying to breathe through one of those coffee stirrer/straws. In time, I reckon a little oil film will appear in this area, and this film might cake up with dirt, effectively sealing off the cap. Another idea is to use a layer of super-thick axle grease on the cap ID. I've used the thick axle grease trick on lawn tractor rims to seal off leaky tire beads, maybe this could work on the oil filler cap.

The differential on the '49 had a lot of slop, but the gears were pristine. Bearing replacement and setting backlash tightened up the assembly nicely. These kinds of assemblies are designed to protect the gears and shafts by letting the bearings take the load and wear out first.

I recall there being a mention of ford pickup arm rests that look almost identical to the Pilot House arm rests...can't pull up the link cuz my pc is on early sping break

SURVIVOR: spotted this one at the classic car lot about 10 miles from the house:

I was told by a tow truck driver that the transmission could bounce into gear and do damage to the motor...minutes later, this same tow truck driver nearly slammed my 1 ton into a light pole, so take that with a grain of salt.

The Blue Bomber ('02 Ram CTD) had plenty of power hauling the '52 flatbed from OKC to Waco, but I had loaded it a shade too far forward in the li'l red trailer. The drive home was an adventure, as it was pitch black dark, and the nose was floating on the bouncy parts of the road...LOTS of understeer, had to keep my speed below 60 on I-35. I would have readjusted the load a tad further to the rear of the trailer, but I was afraid the old dually would have fallen off and I had no way to get it back up on the planks in the middle of the night. The Yukon should have ample power; verify you have adequate braking, reduce your speed, and you shouldn't have any problems with transport (weather permitting).

the good thing about the Pilot-House windshields is that they are flat glass and are an easy replacement at a windshield shop as they can cut the size you need in minutes. A windshield guy told me years ago to cut as much of the gasket out as possible cuz the glass was meant to be popped in place from the outside of the cab.

sounds like that truck has got character...I don't reckon the vent was designed for quiet at 65mph as much as to move air (or as Grandpa used to say, "stir up the rat turds")

I'm not for sure what them holes were for, they're on the stainless bars as well as the painted bars. My only guess is that they were used in the forming process of the brackets. It is metal-to-metal contact on the stainless bars & the painted bars. I'm gonna try putting a 1/16" bead of black RTV on the back of the bars and let it cure to make a gasket. Or use some old inner tubes and cut small strips bonded to the back of the bars with rubber cement.

My '48 B-1-B-108 & '49 B-1-D-126 both are sportin' Monroe - Front: 31000 Rear: 32207

truck picture B-1-B-108: we didn't get that much snow in this neck of the woods, but I've got a li'l digging out to do before I can get back to work on the '48:

The LF tire is still on that Jimmy, the RF is probably in the bed of that B-3...probably headed to the next town over at a blistering 35mph.

Wiper pivots '51-'53 (or '54) were different than '48-'50 as they were placed further from the center of the cab so the wpers could cover more glass area and stow flat. Vacuum & electric wiper motors shared linkage geometry for respective model years, so the pivot linkage & arm were riveted together, presumably to reduce production cost. This is a four-bar linkage, so the system geometry is critical in determining component interchangeability. I attempted to install a '53 electric motor in my '49 after doing some calculations & modifications to the wiper linkages. My calcs were a tad off as the wipers slapped the cowl & A-pillar, so after 4 more attempts I got it in the ballpark. The problem was that even though the pivots looked the same, the electric motor links had different lengths & axes, so the pivot sweep was out of whack.

Get a new one, it's waaay cheaper than getting the potential paper-weight sleeved. I sleeved mine in the '48 & the '49 cuz new ones could not be found back then, not even at NAPA or the local parts store, Roberts & Bernbaum were out of stock, and I didn't know enough to look up VPW.

I've heard there is a way to convert the sealed bull's eye to a halogen H-4 housing by refurbishing the reflector & polishing the lens, so I picked up a few candidates on eBay to restore some day. The radio knock-out plate is missing from the dash, I've seen a few of those on eBay as well as 802 radios. I'm gonna convert that tube-type radio to a solid state AM/FM receiver with mp3 ports someday. Yessir, someday is gonna be real busy & expensive. As for the seat control valve, that is for a lever at the bottom of the seat that contols the opening that allows air to exit the seat cushion area. Basically it's a spring dampener for the seat that was optional equipment back in the day. My advice about this forum is to read every post; you'll find a wealth of information and a plethora of links to parts and services. I've got a spiral notebook chockfull of details, from engine repair tricks to wiring diagrams. And then there are the upgrades: 180 t-stat, PCV system, seat belts, turn signals, gener-nator, disc brakes, tubeless radial tires, etc.

is your door warped? all the doors on my '48 & '49 were warped, and it took a block of wood and strategic straightening with my shoulder and both legs. They aren't perfectly straight, but are visibly acceptable to me.

I'd guess fine thread sumthin'ruther. I tackled this in '04 to replace the mangled door latches in the '49. Took one look at that durn thing and immediately went for the plug-in drill. Started with smallest bit I had, dulled it so used 3 more to get a pilot hole thru. Then went up bore sizes gradually until the lock fell out. The thought was to use a self-tapping screw into the old set screw to hold the lock, but may use a screw that sits proud of the boss but loose in my bore and JB Weld it in place. If I ever need to remove that lock in the future, the proud standing screw can be easily broken free. In theory.

I recall that list being in one of Bunn's Bibles, but I've had a disagreement with the transmission being a 'natural' color. Both of my '48 & '49 had oil leaks that eventually coated a small part of the original paint on the transmissions. From what I've seen, they were primer red with aluminum oxide top coat. From a manufacturing perspective, engine assemblies would be assembled, tested, then primed or painted for warehousing or shipment. Same goes for the transmission & bell housing assemblies. From the flatheads I've seen over the years, they've been aluminum, Massey red, Clark yellow, Miller blue...

from the looks of Reg's photo (presumably from one of Bunn's Bibles), the engine/transmission assembly was painted aluminum oxide as a unit, manifolds included, as evidenced by the overspray on the parking brake handle. Oddly enough, the water pump pulley is aluminum oxide, but the fan & mtg.bolts are black. From memory, I reckon the oil fill tube is aluminum, but the cap is black. The generator mtg.bracket is aluminum, but the generator & adjusting bracket are black. The distributor body is black, but the distributor timing/mtg.plates are aluminum. The starter foot pedal, starter pinion arm, accelerator linkage, firewall clamp for the choke & throttle cables + temp.gauge tube, and horn mtg.brackets are aluminum also. But the horn is black, as is the starter and steel fuel pump heat shield. Something I've played with is fabricating an aluminum heat shield for its heat reflectivity; it also won't need painting. I assume the distributor clips are black, since the dist.body & cap are also black. The fuel pump & fuel filter housings were a dull greyish color, and carburetors were coated with yellow or white zinc. I don't recall any of the engine components being of a shiny or glossy nature. Forgot who pointed this out, but might as well replace that freeze plug that is only accessible when the transmission bell housing is removed. Then paint everything before installation back into the truck. Some folks spray paint, but when it comes to cast iron, I use a foam brush to dab the paint into the casting pores. The finish is thicker and less likely to get rusty if the original rust was treated or encapsulated. Also, foam brushing uses less paint, although it does take longer, but ya don't have to worry about inhaling any overspray and getting a case of the rainbow snots.

if that oiler cup & cap is rusty, then it'll be purt'near impossible to remove it without destroying it. I reckon these things are installed much like the filler neck engine block, and rocking them back & forth allows ya to wiggle them loose. Maybe contact one of those distributor / generator resto services, maybe they'll have the materials and some words of wisdom that might could get ya moving in the right direction (a tribute may be required).

dunno if y'all have tried this, but with the head off & the starter installed, maybe the crankshaft can be spun at low speed to see how the valves & pistons interact with the camshaft & engine block. Maybe shoot penetrating oil on the moving parts to get them pre-lubricated before final assembly. This would probably be the same as applying assembly lubricant to a completely disassembled engine.

One spring break, I went to the junkyard on the other side of the county, for parts off of their yard truck, a B-3 flatbed they had just retired. Next to it was a '48, almost intact except for the front axle. I went to pull the gas tank out, since mine was riddled with rust holes. Wanted that gas tank so bad that I was disturbing a fire ant mound just to access the rear mounting bolts. Got the tank out, and in the TX sun, it was clear that this tank was in just as bad shape as the one I already had. But I pulled the rear drums (and pocketed the wiper knob) to show something for the ant bites and resulting pounding headache. Went back 6 months later to see if I could get anything else, and the junkyard had converted to a salvage yard, and anything older than 20 yrs had been "disposed of"...D'OH!!

my 2 cents: take it all apart, clean & check everything, put it back together and fire it up with no worries. I'd rather find a defect on a work bench instead of on the side of the road, it's cheaper too. The '48 & '49 were parked out in the elements for decades, but when I popped the heads off I was relieved to find nearly flawless machined surfaces, but stuck rings on the '49 & a nearly broken ring on the '48. And the SLUDGE...it was everwhar!