JBNeal

My '48 had a shorter cable than MC's, and judging from the bite marks from innumerable jump starts I reckon it was the original cable. I salvaged a set of cables from Dad's 1206 Farmall after a JD mechanic used an air ratchet to tighten the cable terminals and split the ears off. With new terminals, I routed the cables from the battery towards the transmission, then made the left turn behind the brake pedal for the starter. The lug on the starter is bent to allow the cable to be snug up against the switch as shown. Yeah, the cable sorta hangs in mid-air, but I'll remedy that when I tear the truck down to make it purty here shortly. On a side note, after the '48 sat in the garage for the last 9 months, I fired it up & backed it out a couple of days ago and took this pic this morning. I had left the battery connected and didn't top charge it, and the untreated gas is almost a year old. Ten seconds cranking on the starter, three pumps of the throttle, and it fired right up...no smoke, no farts, just a smooth idle and some drips out of the timing cover & rear main seals that I need to replace. Another testament that the factory 6V system is adequate for these old trucks as long as everything is in good working order and electrical resistance (i.e. corrosion) is held at a bare minimum.

FOR SALE in Oregon...

Terrill Machine in DeLeon TX can rebuild the vacuum advance, they also sell fuel pump rebuild kits that replace all the gummed up innerds & rotten diaphragm. I sent my vacuum advance & mechanical distributors to Burton L. Norton in Michigan to be rebuilt. They went through and replaced the breaker plate & mechanical advance weights, rebuilt the vacuum advance, and tested with a Sun Machine to get everything within specs. It cost some $$$, but turnaround time was quick and with a little preventative maintenance oiling & cleaning, they have operated well in the past 10 years.

Pendleton is just north of Temple, and I've driven most of Old 81 from Salado to Waco, which is kinda fun to see the old iron bridges & where the gas stations were back in the day & whutnot. I've driven a good section of The Brazos Trail, and will finish that up after rebuilding the '48. Oddly enough, I turned a friend onto the Dublin DP and bootleg her a case every few months up to Chicago cuz she cain't make it down this way much. Anyhow, reading about y'all's trip to Taylor made me think about the last time I went to Cooper's (or Schoepf's in Belton)...I particularly get a kick out of picking out my pork chop from the pit. But heck, ain't no way that all the neat stuff can be done in a day, it'd take a small spring vacation to see travel the back roads & sample the local cuisine.

Modern engines have tighter tolerances than the flatheads, so the synthetic oils benefit the modern ones most after initial break-in. Our flatheads originally specified SAE 30 grade, but from what I've read, even the cheaper store brand 10W30 provides better lubrication than SAE 30 from the 40s & 50s. I also read that the store brand oils are packaged at the same facilities as the major oil brands, and the packaging is the same even if the labels are different. Knowing these two things, I've switched from Mobil or Chevron SAE 30 to whatever store is having a sale. I've run the '48 & '49 on the cheaper 10W30 and so far, so good. No blue smoke or oil out of the tail pipe, but I've been told by several mechanic veterans that the older engines would always leak some oil somewhere. I drive these trucks less than 3000 miles a year, and I change the oil every spring when flushing the engine. I rigged up a swab to sample the crankcase for deposits at the drain plug and the dipstick, and I also crack open the valve covers to see what's been going on in there. A small amount of sludge collects in the valve chamber and I clean that out annually. These flatheads were designed to take some abuse, heck I think that filtration was optional on these engines. IMO if we drive these machines occasionally rather than daily, then we don't have to use cutting edge technology to maintain them. A good engine flush annually, then adequate multi-grade oil + filter, and not over-revving the engine, should make the engine last a long time.

As hot as it was today, I hope there was a dose of Blue Bell and some Big Red or Dublin DP to trim out the Lone Star experience...maybe even a lap around the courthouse square.

I reckon you're talkin'bout elevator bolts...Mar-K sells a few, they look decent.

The truck should pull it as long as you aren't in a hurry. Start out in 1st (LOW) to optimize the torque of the 230. If possible, have at least surge brakes on the trailer to help out when slowing. Trailer signalling might be tricky if you've still got the original 6V system, I reckon you could rig up a 6V relay to a 12V battery to run trailer lights.

Yep, looking at each wire connection is required, starting with the power source. My guess is that the coil is not being energized, possibly from a ignition switch failure or a coil failure, maybe even the amp gauge isn't working properly. Has the new voltage regulator been polarized? I can't remember if that would affect the ignition circuit.

FOR SALE in Minnesota...looks like a good candidate for a Spring Special clone.

First starts for the '48 & '49 were a li'l rough & smoky at first, but once all the residual oils got burned off and the engine got up to temperature, I was able to smooth things out a little. Definitely get some new gasoline running through the lines, that should help out, the clearer the gas in the fuel bowls, the better. Maybe you've got a spark plug wire that ain't seated properly, so you can check by pulling one wire off at a time while it's running to see if that changes anything. And the shorter the ignition coil lead to the cap, the better.

FOR SALE in the Land o' Lincoln...looks like an "easy" finish.

Itellyawhut, I was thinkin' more like poppin'm right square in the mouth, but knocking them last two teeth out would'a been like trying to nail a 7-10 split.

Fuel Line Replacement: Why It's Important... My '49 had a disasterous failure nearly two years ago that I ultimately decided started with clogged fuel lines. I had gotten the fuel tank cleaned & sealed with Renu, as it had pin holes along the perimeter weld. I had rebuilt the fuel pump & carburetors, but retained the original fuel lines. That was an oversight on my part cuz I reckon I just flat forgot to replace those rusty things. It had a hard starting problem that eventually was rectified with new battery cables with soldered lugs. During my shake-down cruise into town, the truck just cut off while going 40mph up a slight grade. I coasted to a side street and noticed that the fuel bowls & carb were empty. Using ether, I was able to start the truck, but it would quickly die. Filling the fuel bowls & carb with gasoline, the truck started right up & ran fine until the fuel bowls emptied. Attaching a temporary fuel line to the fuel pump from a 5 gallon gas can, I was able to start the truck & keep it running. That's when it dawned on me that the original fuel lines were clogged, cuz I recall seeing sediment in the fuel bowls when they were dry. The disaster was getting the truck towed home. The wrecker that I called (cuz I knew the owner) dispatched a boom wrecker rather than a flatbed. Since I was on a sorta bad side of town and had already had a few trouble-makers eyeballing me, I just wanted to get outta there asap so I didn't think ahead about what could happen. Two-tooth Timmy tied a rope around the steering wheel & cinched it by wrapping it around the door hinge before closing the door. He then hooked the truck by the rear axle, and when I questioned this, he told me it was safer that way. After pleading with this big-mouth redneck four times on the back roads home to keep it under 40mph cuz of the unbalanced lock-ring rims, he topped a hill and started to pick up speed when I saw the front fenders of my truck flapping in the breeze and a cloud of rusty dust billowing from the front wheel wells. I yelled at him to slow down, and right then & there the front end broke loose and nearly clipped a light pole. As I looked in the engine compartment, I could see the steering box adapter that bolts to the frame had busted, rather than the mounting bolts. Seeing this, Two-tooth Timmy pops off "it was like that when I hooked it up". Along with the cast piece busted, the steering tube has a kink in it above the steering box, and the cross link ball joint is nearly split open. I found an NOS link on eBay, and will try to coax my welder out of retirement with some BBQ pork chops to fix the cast piece or fabricate a new bracket myself. I have a donor '51 steering box, but it has a different frame mounting pattern, I'm kinda wondering if I could use it anyway and make some modifications to make it work. Anyhow, looks like the floorboard will have to come out for the steering column to be removed. Heck, I might go crazy and slick up the steering wheel while I got it apart so it'll match the re-covered bench seat.

Burton L. Norton Company in Grand Rapids...found'm in the Hemmings, they advertised that they used a Sun Machine and they did a heck of a job on my '48 & '49 distributors. That was 10+ yrs ago, so I don't recall how much they charged, but it was worth it I reckon. Take a good picture of your ID tags though cuz they'll come back bare after they strip the crud off.

Yep, I had one of those in the head of the '48...pulled it out, it was purt'near the length of the head. I never could figger out why it was up in there, so I guessed it had something to do with the casting.

This probably ain't an original idea, but I figger I'd float it out there: the PANEL switch next to the HEAD light switch seems kinda obsolete as all it does is operate the gauge back lighting. Modern autos have this lighting operated by the headlight switch, and this is a modification I'm going to implement when I re-work the '48. But the panel switch as a dummy knob kinda bothered me until just a li'l while ago...has anyone tried to wire the PANEL switch to the dome light? Or even mounted a couple of lights above the driver's & passenger's footwells under the dash? Post yer photos here if ya got'm...

FOR SALE: nice truck bed trailer with custom bumper, but looks like there are parts o' plenty available from this seller. Maybe y'all left-coasters can duke it out for this stash

I dunno, for $5k I'd want a decent set of tires on it and no obvious sheet metal damage. That rear fender will require some work, but the sheet metal lines appear to be where they should be & the truck doesn't seem to be leaning one way or the other. I'm guessing this is an older restoration from the looks of the interior paint gloss on the dash and the surface rust under the glove box door. The quality of the paint on top of the cab usually gives me an idea of how well the paint was applied. Faded paint, runs, uneven texture or gloss & oxidation are things to look for there. As for the motor, I'm guessing the valve cover gaskets have been leaking from the residual oil gathered on the engine block to crankcase pan flange. I'm curious as to why the fuel pump supply line is routed so close to the oil pump before it makes its break toward the carburetor. There is no halo on the radiator honeycomb, so that's good. There is no obvious corrosion at the lower radiator outlet either. Definitely get a look at the steering mechanism, any slop there will cost $$$ in repairs & elbow grease. Also look at the door hinges & latch mechanism on the driver side. Slop there or hard to operate handles usually indicate lack of lubrication and can be an annoyance to repair. Another place to look is the cab mounts, especially the ones at the rear. If ya see an odd zigzag rusty line in this area, then ya got a real headache on yer hands. Oil dripping out of the crankcase vent is normal. Going with a PCV system here would eliminate the drips. Fuel & temp gauge repairs are nice little projects to attempt to fix, there are enough details that have to be addressed to make it cheaper to fix yourself if you've got the know-how. If you drive the truck for more than 20 minutes and the oil pressure gauge drops to near zero, then the oil pressure relief valve will need to be removed and cleaned off as it is hanging inside its bore. If there is corrosion around the freeze plugs on the motor, them things are leaking & will need to be fixed, and that can get a little messy sometimes. Bottom line, if the truck's title is clear, you could sink up to $1k into this to get it to be a driver and not have to worry about something falling off or blowing apart or leaving a trail behind it that Stevie Wonder could follow.

When looking for hard-to-find truck parts, this is the kind of place where purt'near anything can be found. Why? Rows & rows of BOOKS, with a computer on the side. Also note the roll of paper shop towels ready to go when needed, special orders pulled & waiting for pickup, and the Pontiac GTO on the calendar. Where are the guys behind the counter? At this particular moment, they had all gone to the warehouse through the door to pull parts. And it is a warehouse, not a closet, as it has a loading dock and a forklift and street access on two sides. Yep, this ain't no AutoZone or even Advanced Auto (formerly Western Auto, which most stores used to be like this), this here is A-Line Auto Parts in Waco. NAPA is close to being like this, but most of those stores are going to the AutoZone model with everything on the computer. So when the kid behind the counter gets stumped at NAPA, it's usually because the computer is telling him nothing useful, bless his heart. I bring this up because of my '03 Buick Regal, a car that was in production for 9 yrs, and has been out of production for 6 yrs. This car is my commuter car, with a powerful & efficient V6, air conditioning & a smooth ride. I went to get the brakes overhauled as they have 80K on them. The rubber bushing with the accordian bellows was damaged on the front calipers by me, mistakenly soaking them in the parts cleaner with the caliper bracket to get all the muck off. The rubber swelled up & tore apart, so I went to get new ones. PART DISCONTINUED?!? I went to O'Reilly's, Advanced Auto, NAPA, AutoZone, Pep Boys & even the Buick dealer with no success. I tried A-Line as a last resort only because they are waaay downtown and the other places were within spitting distance of each other. They confirmed it was a discontinued part, but a couple of phone calls to warehouses in Houston later, and the parts I needed were on their way. The parts arrived as promised the next day and were exact replacements from AC Delco. As I get ready to do the tear-down on the '48 & repairs on the '49, this was a nice exercise in patience and a reminder that hard-to-find stuff can be found if ya look in the right place. NAPA has been a good store in the past, but as I have noticed the disappearance of their parts books, I have also noticed that the younger guys running these stores can't hold a candle to them beer-bellied cig-hanging-from-the-lower-lip dudes who knew how to get things done.

Wellllll it sounds like your return line on the oil filter housing is plugged up. Pull the filter out & get a small stiff wire to snake through that tube. Put it back together, fire it up & let it idle for a good half hour or so to see if the overflowing housing persists. As for the water in the oil, that might be condensation from the air in the crankcase. But if you are running water as an engine coolant and the oil level in the crankcase is going up during engine operation, you could have a bigger problem on your hands, such as a leaking head gasket or a crack in the block. If the smoke was white instead of bluish black, then you definitely have an internal problem that will need the engine tore down to find.

That's what I've always had to do, floor the throttle on a hot engine without pumping it. I figger that opening up the throttle causes the carb to purge fuel & vapor in the float chamber, allowing a higher pressure differential from the fuel pump to the carburetor float.

I picked up some line-trimmer cable shaft lube from the Echo-Stihl dealer. I removed the cable assembly from the 1 ton and soaked it in the parts cleaner reservoir for a day to loosen all the gunk up, then removed the cable from the housing. The housing was flushed out, the cable was scrubbed, & both dried with compressed air. Then the fun starts cuz it takes three good hands to do the actual lubrication. Lightly clamp one end of the housing in a vise so that you are looking down into the housing. Squeeze some lubricant into the housing, then feed about 3"-6" of the cable into the housing, but pull it back out and rub the lubricant onto the cable. Re-insert the cable back into the housing and move onto the next 3"-6". Repeat this until the entire cable has been coated, and it's ready to install.