JBNeal

from what I've seen, the B-1 had uncoated square thread bolts screwed into J-nuts, the B-3 had fine thread bolts screwed into a type of U-nut...I haven't replaced any yet, but I'd see about using a phospate coated extruded U-nut with a zinc-plated coarse thread bolt because they are easy to get and are rarely seen. The extruded U-nuts distort at final bolt torque to lock the bolt in place, similar to a helical spring lockwasher. They work really well in sheet metal applications, and the modern coatings virtually eliminate corrosion at the threads.

If the entire brake system is being replaced, this would be the best time to switch to DOT 5 fluid to keep the moisture out. I've had DOT 5 in my '48 since '99, and so far, so good...the only leaks have been at a couple of tube flares that I had to do over, and the pedal is just as firm as it was after the first time I bled the air out. I tried to buy new master & wheel cylinders back in '99, but I could not find a supplier, even Roberts was out of stock. So I shipped my existing heavily pitted master & wheel cylinders off to White Post Restorations for brass sleeving, and $700 later, I had all "new" components. Of note, I had two "L" front wheel cylinders, and the truck brakes fairly straight. I later found one "R" front wheel cylinder, and plan on sending that one off to be sleeved someday on another project.

the problem with these cast iron bores is that after sitting for years, the moisture-saturated brake fluid starts to corrode the bores and pitting will be present, which is purt'near impossible to hone out without having to go back & sleeve the bores for a rebuild kit. By this point, it's easier to replace with new than bother fixing up the old stuff.

NICE

duct tape on the seat cover, vise grips for a window crank...that looks familiar BTW what is the dash knob in front of the steering wheel?

that sounds like the 230 + dbl.clutchin' spur gear 4spd that's in the 1 ton, complete with the bull gear...that's a work truck setup for sure. Them mirror brackets look purty sharp, too. Itellyawhut, after seeing that interior, yer SpringSpecial is the best preserved one I've seen...this'n I dragged out of the weeds is gonna be a chore to spiff up...but not as bad as this'n

I worked on the '51 sector shaft threads for a good while, carefully grinding & filing the threads to work off the distorted thread area. But the big nut spun when I threaded it about halfway down the threads, and removing that nut required a cheater bar. The nut threads were now distorted, so I opted to pull the steering from the '52 parts truck and start over, working a lot more carefully this time around. The trick I used this time was heating the frozen pitman arm with the blowtorch after soaking the sector teeth a couple of days in Marvel Mystery Oil. After the smoke cleared, I put the arm puller to work, and the arm slowly eased off of the sector. It looked like there was some old gearbox oil that oozed out from the pitman arm teeth, and the heat liquified it enough to get it flowing again. Disassembly of the gearbox showed that the heat also partially liquified the grease/oil/crud, and the sector shaft was worked out slowly from its housing. No 5# hammer was needed for removal, and the steering shaft/worm gear were worked out of the gearbox as well with a few careful taps on the shop floor. The sector & worm gear appear pristine, with no pitting or gouges present. The steering tube is a li'l rusty, but it's straight and I think it'll clean up decent. The '52 originally was a column shift that the previous owner removed for a 4spd; the brackets were removed but there are holes in the tube that can be filled with a li'l JB Weld. Anyhow, it looks like I have the replacement parts lined up after finding the replacement gearbox seal in the garage...I recall ordering that from Roberts back in '99 for the '48

The water passages between the block & head will probably have corrosion build-up, and the head will not budge until that build-up is broken. After removing all of the head bolts, take a dead-blow hammer and clobber the four corners to get a little torque action on the head. Preferably lift the head straight up, using the thermostat water neck and the oil filter bracket as handles. This is quite a chore to lift over with the engine in the truck.

I've seen some mention about a downloadable index that has information posted before October '06 and was wondering if these archives were available. The Archive link at the lower right appears to be for the current forum and not the previous forum...

I set up a separate account to link to my PayPal and keep a small amount of $$$ in it...I am very leary with linking up my everyday checking account with anything that can access it without my consent. Yeah I know there are safeguards to keep them thievin' folk out, but I know for a fact that it takes weeks for an account to be fixed after being wiped out electronically, and months to clear up any checks that may have bounced in the meantime. I have been notified twice in the past 3 years that my credit card information may have been accessed by an outside source (Chase & Wells Fargo were both hacked), so the separate account seems like a decent safeguard from fraudulent activity.

truck picture B-1-D-126: 4/8/07: brief snow on bluebonnets, and the 1 ton was 15 months shy of that tow truck mishap...

have ya tried the trick of tightening a stuck bolt before trying to remove it? put the hub nut back on, tighten'r up, then take a hammer and rap that non-crescent wrench a few times (without a cheater bar), pull the nut off, and see if the hub will budge. Hammering on the shaft might damage some bearings or seats; likewise, hammering on the hub might transfer that force into some unwanted area.

since those are stamped steel, I reckon it's possible to carefully form them back into shape and re-use if they are not cracked. A quick way to check for cracks is to submerge them in water for a few days and see where the rust starts to bleed out. Any cracks can be gouged out, welded up & ground smooth.

The original mounts I've replaced look like pancakes compared to the replacements. That old rubber was hard & cracked, while the new rubber was stiff but pliable. The clue is that the original mounting bolts were not snugged up.

Before the next round of cold weather hits, I was doing some work outside and eventually grabbed a can of Liquid Wrench to oil up sticky door hinges & latches. I was surveying the engine compartment, got a hold of the fan and gave it a tug. The fan, generator & engine all turned with that decades-old cracked belt, and after several spins I could hear the wheez of air being pushed out of the bores. It made no creaking noises like the spare T306 was making when I spun it a few minutes earlier. Anyhow, I'm interested to see how the innards look as the blue paint on the engine make me think this is a rebuilt motor that may or may not be original to the truck (the block & head casting dates are 7/22/53).

this looks familiar...

FWIW, my '49 B-1-D had the brown seat, door panels & interior, similar to a '48 B-1-D I raided in OK. My '51 B-3-B has black cardboard panels, with a black seat cover. My B-4 SpringSpecial has the burgundy looking seat cover, cardboard & door panels. The interior of my '48 B-1-B was redone back in the '60s with a light tan vinyl seat cover and light tan door panels; most of the cardboard was gone, but there were a few scraps behind the seat that looked brown. The literature I have doesn't say explicitly what interior colors were available, but the B&W photos and color illustrations in the B-1 & B-2 brochures appear to show tan interiors.

I didn't catch this the first time I looked at your pics, but it looks like that starter switch can be adjusted to vary the length of the shaft between the button & contact. I had a similar problem before, and it looked like the contacts were not meshing fully, as arc scorches were present on the contacts, as well as some of the melted slag look that you have. I cleaned up the contacts to make for flat surfaces, and turned the button to increase the length of the shaft to put the button closer to the lever. This allowed for shorter engagement of the foot pedal and more pressure on the contact surfaces, eliminating any arcing that could occur.

if ya wanna attack some of that caked on oil+dirt, maybe poke at it with a screwdriver or gasket scraper. I spent about an hour scraping crud off of the rear axle on the 1 ton when I finally found what was left of the fill plug, and another hour on the transmission housing that resembled a Tootsie-Pop cuz it was so caked over. I ended up scraping enough crud off of those items that I when I scooped it off of the shop floor, I nearly filled a 5-gallon bucket. Afterwards, pressure washing was quick & effective. If I'm looking at the engine pic correctly, that rebuild tag is below the boss where the original engine number was stamped. Don't be too surprised if ya got a Plymouth flathead in that truck; my '48 B-1-B has a '53 Plymouth 218, and a spare motor I removed from a '57 1/2 ton is a '55 Plymouth 230. The transmission is a 3spd, and the rear axle ratio will be somewhere near the fill plug.

the deflection might be from the gearbox internals that need some fine tuning adjustments to get rid of the free play, or a tie rod might be a little worn. If ya can get a prybar in there, see if the gearbox moves away from the frame any. I took the gearboxes apart, and the B-1 steering shaft is bent, but the worm gear is purt'near pristine. The B-3 steering shaft looks straight, but the worm gear on it is a little pitted. The sector gears are both good, but I booger'd up the threads a li'l during removal. The B-1 tube sheared off at the gearbox mounting clamp; I can probably straighten out the bend with an old wooden closet rod. I could flip the tube over and cut it to match what broke off, then sleeve the end that is towards the steering wheel. Or just make a new tube from a piece of conduit or chain link fence rail. Anyhow, I'm gonna stew on that for awhile, as well as figger out how to rig up some kind of mounting bracket for some Signal-Stat turn signals I want to install in the future.

The mounting holes on the steering boxes just aren't the same; I didn't get around to comparing the bolt holes in the frame to verify the angle of the columns.

After numerous delays, it is CONFIRMED: the steering column for the B-3 is different than the B-1 in several ways so that a direct swap is not possible. The steering boxes do not have the same mounting holes and the pitman arms are not the same angle. The steering columns are not the same length, but according to the parts manual, the steering shaft is the same part number for B-1 & B-3. Measuring from the top of the steering wheel to the windshield, the B-1 is 3" while the B-3 is 6", something I hadn't noticed before. Next is to disassemble the damaged B-1 column to see if the mounting tube is the only part that needs to be worked on (or replaced). I laid the column on the corner of a flat surface and turned the steering wheel, and it appears the shaft is straight, with only the tube with damage to be repaired. I found a replacement steering box mounting bracket awhile back, so I reckon the B-1 steering box will be cleaned up & refurbished (once I find the replacement seals I squirreled away years ago). And that box will get greased up instead of going back with oil, that's for sure. But first, removing a couple of vintage steering wheels to get them cleaned up...I'm stoked.

Ol' Gene took my starters apart, cleaned out old oil&dirt that had accumulated over the years, put in new motor contacts and cleaned the starter switch contacts (did similar work with my generators)...cleaning out the crud reduces internal resistance, making for less current draw for the starter and more current output for the generator when in use.

these trucks were originally built with that ground cable running to the transmission case cuz it's a short run (cheaper to build). But over time, corrosion at all of the thread surfaces of bolts & tapped holes increases resistance cumulatively to put a drag on the starter motor, etc. Ol' Gene at the starter/alternator shop in town told me awhile back to run that 1/0 cable from the battery to one of the starter bolt mounting holes to reduce this cumulative resistance. I did so on the '49 with new 1/0 cables with new soldered lugs, and WOW that starter spun fast and cranking time went waaay down to get that 230 to fire up. It's an easy modification that yields instant results and only the trained eye would know that this cable routing is not accurate to the original manufacture but could have been done back in the day because the technology (i.e. longer cables with soldered lugs) existed back then.

welllsir this is a new one on me, I ain't seen a '48-50 grille panel modified with part of a '51-53...looking closely at the front, I can see discoloration that parallels the welding that was done to get the top of the '48-50 grille panel modified to use the filler from a '51-53 grille panel where the hood meets...how'bout that! knowing that black dirt like I do, I reckon that front axle and part of the rear axle are into the ground...that beast will need to be dug out or dragged out, don't think it'll roll without quite a bit of effort to get it clear.