JBNeal

truck picture Spring Special: ...just saw this b&w pic on eBay the other day, a B-2 SpringSpecial :

That's a good lookin' setup, but I have a concern with this cut on the rad.support. The formed flange provides rigidity for the fenders, and as they move around, this cut area will flex. In time, a crack may form from vibrations. I suggest welding this flange back together and allowing your lower bracket to be this angle piece with a notched end to look like a flat bar in this area as opposed to the continuous angle as shown. You've got support from above that will share the load of this radiator's weight.

The leaf springs are best re-worked cold. The '48 had an awkward looking stance when I got it on the road, so I dropped it off at the local big truck spring shop. They re-arched the leaves while it was on the truck for twenty bucks, and it has sat nice & level since then. The rear leaves were rusty and stuck together, so I loaded the back with about 800# of rock I picked out of a hay field and drove it over lumpy roads & railroad crossings for about a hunnert miles. I did the same on the '49, and both ride a LOT smoother. The trick is to have most of the weight over & behind the rear axle to get the most spring displacement.

if your springs are all rusty, they'd be stuck together, and it's gonna take more OOMPH to get them to deflect.

if you're having trouble stopping, ya might want to go through the entire 50+ yr old braking system. If there are no visible leaks, the master cylinder is at fault; could be from worn seal, could be from pits in the bore. I've seen new kits on eBay, far cheaper than the route I took in '99 of having my master cylinder & wheel cylinders sleeved. If the pedal is firm, then the shoes will need adjustment, requiring pulling the drums off & using a special tool (use the search engine here to find out how to fabricate one for a modest cost). A warning on brake cylinder rebuild kits on eBay: if it's 50+ yr old NOS, the rubber is practically useless. It may be the correct size, but more than likely it has set too hard to seal properly. The same goes for NOS seals (rubber or leather).

There is a drawback to using the pipe extension for the coolant drain on non-stationary engines. The threads on the pipe can crack at the block from the combination of vibration and the torque from the weight of the drain assembly. This can lead to coolant loss and possibly the extension breaking off. What I've done in the past is use some duct tape, a used quart oil jug, a length of old garden hose, and a bucket to fabricate an engine coolant recovery system. Clean off the area below the drain and tape a funnel-ized jug to the block, with the hose fitted to the funnel leading to the bucket. Rather then coolant going everywhere, I can focus (most of) it into the bucket. It doesn't get all of it, but it vastly reduces the mess.

judging from the proximity to the freeze plug, I reckon the top arrow is pointing to the old coolant drain plug...feel free to replace that with a hex head pipe plug. the bottom arrow is pointing to an oil pressure supply line...I don't reckon I've seen one located in that area, usually they are closer to the rear of the block. If ya look on the left side of the pic, above the generator mounting bracket bolts, there's a hex head pipe plug; there should be two more out of frame on the right. These four plugs tap into the oil pressure galley that supplies the engine block.

have ya tried heating with a torch? warm them until they start to change color, allow to cool to ambient temperature, then try to turn with a wrench, repeat this cycle until they break free. The cast iron will not expand as much the machined tappet, and the heat cycles should "flex" the surfaces enough to shed any oxidation that is binding the parts. Above all, be patient, as it took years for that machine to get into a poor state; it might take weeks to break everything loose.

Fuel: running 87 octane for 10 years has not been a problem; in the spring, I've put a can of injector cleaner in an empty tank & then fill'r up to clean out any gum in the lines/carb. The '48 has practically been in storage since '08, but occasionally I'll need to move it outside to get something out of that garage. With 2+ yr old gas, full choke & part throttle, it fires up within 10 seconds of cranking every time, and within seconds it idles smoothly with no choke or throttle. Oil: running store brand 10W30 is adequate for a stock engine. These are slow turning motors that have peak torque just off of idle. Keeping the sludge out of the crankcase by installing a PCV system & 180 thermostat will do a world of good for the internals. I dunno if any high performance additives can come close to lenghtening the service life of these flatheads compared to these performance modifications.

that's a nice car, but the accordian style rad. hose made me look at the water pump, and that looks to be late twentieth century technology. The upper tank neck appears to have been re-soldered, and I reckon the green paper tag says something about the radiator being serviced. Anyhow, it's a looker...good luck to its new owner.

Here's a couple of pics of the '49 tank. The front bolts stripped out the tank weldnuts, so I improvised as shown. A ground wire is run directly from the battery to a stud I fabricated on the fuel level sender.

Those brass fittings are available at NAPA or a good hardware store. One end is NPT, the other is a flare fitting; bring in (what's left of) your old one & they can match it up. The seal in the top of the cap can be replaced with a copper washer (not brass). This can also be found at NAPA or a good hardware store. I recall using a leftover copper washer that was used on a Farmall M rebuild.

When I rebuilt the rear end on the '49 in '04, I sourced a lot of parts from AB Linn on eBay...he was selling surplus M37 parts, and emaling him back & forth on part numbers, I was able to cross most of his stuff to my parts manual. I assume VPW would have the same stuff, cosmoline & all.

Check it out: the PCV system can be seen on the manifold & block; the sealed oil fill tube is in the background, and more than likely one of those lines crossing over the head is routed from that fill tube.

if you're going to an auto parts store that uses a computer to look up its parts inventory, you will be continuously disappointed. Auto parts stores are getting to where they maintain their databases going back 30 years or less. There isn't much profit in catering to less than 10% of their business, so they opt to focus on volume sales. The people who work there, more often than not, are not familiar with anything other than what they can look up in their computer system. One of the reasons I decided to sell my Diplomat was the blank stares I got when I told them "I need a [blank] for my Diplomat" without saying DODGE. Recently, I've had trouble locating parts for vehicles that are less than 20 yrs old. Just last week, I was told by the local Dodge dealer that the (leaking) sliding rear window on my '02 Ram is listed as 'vintage' in his computer database. The only reason he was able to locate the part at all was that I was able to find a part number through on-line research, which clued him into what database he needed to search rather than the database he normally searches. My suggestion is to have as much information as possible to bring to a good auto parts store. Using on-line resources and factory parts manuals, it's possible to cross the old part numbers to the new manufacturers. It's more time consuming, but when you go to the store, you will come away empty-handed far fewer times. And the store employees are more helpful if you have done most of their job for them.

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.