JBNeal

Just studied up on Bunn's books, and though I couldn't find any specific numbers on production options, the prices tell the tale. A truck retailing for $1450, with vent wing option for probably $20, and Fluid Drive for $40. The Deluxe Cab listed for $29, the Custom Cab for $56, and a 4 speed for $50. Electric wipers were $10, a rear bumper was $8, an aux.tail lamp was $6, and an ash tray was $2. Since trucks back then were basically work tools, like the common riding lawn mower today, most folks bought only what they needed, unless there was some promotional special at the local dealer. My great grandfather bought his '48 new, and knowing how frugal he was as a local farmer, I can only guess he picked up a special deal back then as this truck had electric wipers and a Custom Cab, but no heater, radio, passenger arm rest or visor. I've recently found some b&w photos, including other local farmers at planting & harvest. There was another Dodge seen, most others had Chevys, Fords or IHs, and none of those had anything fancier than a spotlight or a bumper built by the local blacksmith. My guess is that Fluid Drives were a luxury that an older driver would order or a promotional special that was purchased at a reduced price. Who knows, dealers back then may have gotten a price break on one if they ordered X amount of this option or sold a higher volume of other models, or Dodge could have required a dealer to purchase one for a demonstrator and it was later sold at a reduced price at the end of the model year. At any rate, since Fluid Drive was an option that could increase the purchase price of a work truck by almost 10%, I reckon this was rarely picked option.

what did Stockton quote, and for what size, width & offset? Just curious...my '49 has the single wheel & the '51 has the dual wheel, and without measuring I can see they have different offsets.

I had the original (rotten) piece and sub'd a chunk of old mudflap I found in the road, I reckon it was purt'near 3/8" thick.

TECH TIP from P15-D24:

photo #1: grind the heads off of those bolts for the quick & easy approach. They can be replaced later rather easily with much better zinc plated bolts, and since they are not easily seen, you can use plain ol' grade 5s. photo #2: remove the vertical bolt, and once the fender is off of the truck, you can tackle the horizontal bolts with much easier access. photo #3: the shop manual says that the front fenders & grill shell can be removed as an assembly. Remove the braces from the rad.support & fenders and leave the grill shell bolted to the fenders.

I started on my '48 1/2 ton in '86, revived the motor in '96, got it tagged & inspected in '99, test drove it 'til '09 when I pin-pointed the intermittent electrical & carburetor problems, and am planning on completely dismantling to repair the warped frame as soon as I get house painting & repairs done...did I mention this farm truck was a basket case? As for the '49 1 ton, I rescued it from the crusher in '01, revived the motor and got it tagged & inspected in '04, but it went off line in '08 thanks to a comedy of errors...have parts & tools, but still working on getting the time to do repairs...will start cosmetic resto after the '48. Last month, I picked up a '52 1 ton flatbed that I consider in better shape than the B-1s, but it will still need a lot of work done to it to get it road worthy. Then there's the two B-3 parts trucks I've had the brilliant idea of cobbling together to make a hopped-up daily driver. There's a trio of B-1s that are in the yards of neighbors that I've had my eyes on, waiting for the FOR SALE signs to be posted. When I first started on the '48 when I was jr.high, I wanted to drive it in high school, but didn't have any $$$ to make that deadline. Eventually I accepted the fact that these trucks are labors of love and I take my time on them, when I have the spare cash to do something with them. I tried keeping track on how much time I took on the '48 & '49, but after a hunnert hours spent on the mechanicals, I sorta just guess-timate when someone asks.

To remove the horn button, fully depress & turn clockwise. Release horn button, and it should come out of the steering wheel. You should see the steering shaft & nut, with the horn button retainer in between the nut & steering wheel. To remove the steering wheel, ya might want to search engine that for the pics & procedure. There is a puller setup that will allow ya to pop the steering wheel off of the shaft without breaking it all to pieces.

I've heard similar hooey about radials on lock-ring rims, and it's based on inaccurate use of tire information. Tubeless radial tires require more air pressure to seat the bead on a continuous bead rim because more force is needed to move the mass of the bead & inner-liner. Tube-type bias ply tires require much less air pressure to seat the bead on a lock-ring bead rim. If a radial tube & tire combo is mounted on a lock-ring rim, it would take much less air pressure to seat the bead than a tubeless radial tire on a continuous bead rim.

Ram Quad Cabs (and Sebring convertibles) had the seat belt integrated into the seat, and this is on my list for my '52 driver that I'm still planning. I've been mulling making something similar for the bench seats, making a bracket of some kind to mount on the back of the seat frame to anchor the third point, rather than up on the cab B-pillar. The retractor mounted behind the seat, with the belt routed through the seat frame, might make this an easier installation. The belt only needs to cross the shoulder, not necessarily be mounted on the B-pillar.

I've got a set of Firestone bias ply tires on the '48, they've got 10,000 miles on them in ten years and are not weather cracked. But they are wore out, and the lumpy roads around my neck of the woods made for an adventure each time I took it out for a spin. I'm definitely putting 215/85R16s on those rims after I straighten the frame & whutnot.

tire manufacturers nowadays recommend replacing tires, regardless of physical appearance, after 7 years to be on the safe side. The rubber compounds start to break down and the construction integrity drastically degrades. If the tire age is unknown, I strongly recommend using that tire on a trailer that you won't be using over long distances or maybe just make a swing out in the front yard. Cheap tires can lead to unnecessary excitement, so I recommend investing in some quality brand name tires. Brakes, tires & filters are the three things that a good investment will pay long term dividends.

According to NHTSA, tires manufactured since 1JAN68 were required to have the DOT code; them markings more than likely are the manufacturer's serial number.

yep, had a restrained conversation about the warranty replacement with the Sears guy when my tape busted several years ago. They had just changed the policy on tape measures to a limited replacement for tape housings but nothing on the actual tape, but they did have replacement tapes so I sucked it up and fixed mine. A month later some deadbeat at work stole it...GRRRR I've wondered why Sears hasn't changed their policy from 'free replacement' to a prorated cost...I'd plunk down a premium for a quality ratchet if I knew I could get a replacement for a fraction of the cost.

My great grandfather's '48 B-108 was a farm truck all of its life, and in '79 it started burning oil so it was parked by the barn until Dad could get around to fixing it. Seven years later, I asked about it and eventually was told that if I could get it running, I could have it. I wanted to fix it up so I could go take my driver's test with it, but having no $$$ and little spare time meant that I missed that deadline by a decade. I eventually got that basket case rolling under its own power and got the title signed over to me, drove it around for another 10 years, and have recently made the decision to strip it down, straighten the frame & fenders, and give it a nice coat of paint & a set of new brakes & tires. There's no heater, radio, turn signals or overdrive, but that old beater is all mine...SWEET

the local NAPA know-it-all sold me some spark plug wire sleeves made of the same material as the exhaust wrap. I put them on my '48 fuel line and used some aluminum electric fence wire I had sitting in the back of the truck to make a coil that would keep the sleeves from sliding down. The vapor lock problem I had purt'near went away; putting new battery cables on the starter + battery cured it of my stalling problem. OT...I don't want to tempt fate by taking one of my relics into a drive-thru lane, I usually just park out at the edge of the parking lot to let the gawkers congregate

it looks like that's a '52 B-3-C-116 with the factory rear bumper...I recall there being a Pilot-House being driven by one of them crackers in the '67 film "In The Heat of The Night"...LoneStar did a music video back in the 90s using a parked Pilot-House as a back drop...

...received my returned book yesterday, and was disappointed to see "printed in China" inside...the edges of the covers weren't perfect, but the contents were worth their weight in gold as I easily spent an hour studying the photographs & tables for useful information. The first detail I learned: the pinstriping on the grille bars for my '48 should NOT be on the raised section in the middle, something I hadn't noticed but could clearly see in the factory photos. I also picked up a Dodge heavy duty truck book they had in stock, and it had a photo I had seen before of a factory tachometer in a 4 ton B-series, mounted on the dash near the wiper switch. There were quite a few pics of Big Horns from the 70s in there that were pretty sharp too. All in all, an excellent purchase...thanks Bob!

NICE...I like them west coast mirrors and plan to use a set on the one ton if I can find a pair that are as stout as yours. That ram hood medallion is a detail I like about the C-series and think it's ironic that it wasn't used again until the '90 Dakota & '94 Ram. I've got a medallion from the B-series cabovers and can't help but wonder why Dodge didn't use this on all trucks as it is obvious that it's cheaper to make than a full ram hood ornament yet an easily recognizable icon as the Ford blue oval, the Chevrolet bowtie, or the International IH. But then again, Dodge innovated by being the first truck to put the gas tank between the frame rails in '48, then regressed & stuck it behind the driver in '61, so eliminating a corporate icon for decades falls in line with other questionable business decisions made by Chrysler.

I've seen big trucks with a tach mounted near the center window frame, using the windshield wiper motor mounting screws to also be used on a sheet metal bracket...the tach is purt'near right up on the glass cuz any closer to the steering wheel and it'd be clipped by yer knuckles.

the window frame welt probably has a dual purpose: to keep the window frame off of the cab (anti-squeak), and to hide any imperfections between the frame & the cab.

I've had good luck with the local starter/alternator service. With the exception of a starter pinion clutch shearing apart, no problems since they dismantled, cleaned & replaced brushes & bushings for $60 over 10 years ago. The guy who owned the place took one look at my starter and knew it came off of a 50s Dodge (late 40s actually). He had the tools & equipment to test, and his turnaround time was a couple of days.

look where the steering column intersects the brake pedal in the pic, you can just make out the throttle linkage going through the floor board. The gas pedal is purt'near the same color as the floor board, so it's sorta camouflaged. Starting this varmint in cold weather must be a chore, gotta straddle the park brake to engage the starter & pump the gas whilst fiddlin' with the choke...I reckon this was designed by a big band drummer

a trick to measure bent/formed lines is to use string, tape & a perm.marker: lay the string out on the formed tubing, mark reference points to measure for bends, and have at it. On long runs, I put a reference mark at 12 inches just to keep track of how much tubing is needed. The pig tail at the master cylinder is a chore to make, and you'd be a magician if you could get it right the first time out. I eventually found that if you give yourself about 6 inches of straight tubing before ya commence to cork-screwin', you'll have a fighting chance at having something respectable. The other trick is to bend the tubing about 1/8 of a turn, rotate the bender about 20°, move the bend centerpoint about an inch, and repeat. It's not perfect, but it's close...I reckon the pigtail was original done on a jig to account for the 3D forming. And yes, quality tools have no replacement; I've got a tubing bender, flaring tool and cutter that reside in my "box o' shame".

there's a bolt in the oil filter housing clamp; he probably fab'd a mounting tab from some sheet metal and used that bolt to mount the resistor. I dunno why the coil clamp wasn't used, as there is a provision on it for this purpose.