JBNeal

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.

Orientation of the PCV valve depends on the type of valve. Some older valves have an internal spring, so they can be installed vertically or horizontally. Vacuum that can overcome the spring force will open the valve, and when vacuum drops, the spring closes the valve. These valve were hard to test without a vacuum gauge. Later PCV valves are much simpler designs, and are akin to a simple ball-check valve. Vacuum pulls the valve off of its seat, and gravity re-seats the valve since there is no internal spring. This type of check valve can only be mounted vertically so that it can function properly, and can be tested by shaking the valve & listening for the rattling noise of the freely floating check valve. The 'closed' system described is a bit of a misnomer as the modified oil filler vent caps do not have a true sealing surface to the oil fill tube. Closing off the oil filler vent vastly reduces the crankcase exposure to the environment, but doesn't completely seal it off. Chrysler's service bulletins regarding the installation of a PCV system on the flatheads shows the oil fill tube changed to accept a vent-less oil fill cap + gasket, as well as a port for venting to the air cleaner. If the oil fill tube is sealed off or the oil filler vent cap is sealed off without a provision for venting to the air cleaner, excess blow-by pressure will likely try to escape through the main seals or the dipstick tube. One thing that I have realized after studying the PCV discussion threads is that much like today's modern gasoline motors, the flathead requires two PCV sources, with one source using a PCV valve to the intake area and one routed from the crankcase to the air cleaner. At idle, the engine produces high vacuum at the intake, which opens the PCV valve to allow induction of blow-by gases. As vacuum drops with the increase in engine speed, the PCV valve closes, allowing blow-by gases to be metered by the PCV valve & excess pressure to be vented to the air cleaner. This subtle balancing act of the PCV valve on crankcase gases allows the engine to burn as much combustibles as possible, as well as remove moisture from the crankcase vapors. When adding a PCV system to the flathead, the carburetors need to be reset to account for the controlled vacuum leak being added to the induction system. Otherwise, idle speeds will more than likely be accompanied with an engine stall unless partial choke is applied.

Definitely go with a local muffler shop. When I was ready for the 1 ton to go street legal, I brought the original parts to Lamb's in Waco, they bent the parts using my template and ordered the muffler I wanted to keep things stock. I even had them make a new tailpipe for my 1/2 ton since all it had was a 3" down pipe behind the muffler, right under the bed. They used the 1 ton as a template for the over-the-axle bends, cut it 18" shorter, and it fit like a glove. I think I spent less than $200 for both trucks, cuz I only bought the parts and opted to do my own installation. If your exhaust is too far gone to be used as a template, then definitely have a local muffler shop take a look at it. More than likely they'll know what you'll need right away, only needing to know what kind of muffler you want and how you want the tail pipe to be routed. The $300 quote sounds kinda high, but if that is installed with high dollar parts then ya might just be in the ballpark.

When I had to file for a lost title to the '49 1 ton, eventually I had to get a rep from TX Dept.of Public Safety to do a verification inspection. At the appointment, I was reticent and answered all questions asked of me, without any anecdotes. He looked at the paperwork, glanced at that rusty beat-up Dodge, opened the hood to see the rusty dirty motor, and says to me "Yep, that's an old Dodge" and signed off on it. He didn't exactly verify every identification number because he knew that what he was doing was just a formality, and he told me in passing that his job was to look for stolen vehicles at auto salvage auctions. Unless there has been some obvious vehicle alterations, I don't reckon you should have a problem. btw, the DPS rep was wearing a sidearm, so that helped me in keeping my trap shut.

By putting about 4 capfuls of engine oil or diesel in the cylinders before start up, you are eliminating the dry friction that would result before the oil pump could force oil through the oil rings. I prefer diesel because it can provide some lubrication before startup and it burns off easier after startup. Engine oil could foul the plugs a little, but using fresh gasoline and running the engine for about an hour could clean the plugs off. Another suggestion is after the engine is running sufficiently to use an engine flush to remove any crud that may have accumulated in the internals. I prefer using a flush that requires to be added to the engine after it has reached operating temperature and only requires the engine to idle for about 10 minutes. A trick that I've been meaning to try is to put a plastic garbage back against the inlet side of the radiator so that the fan sucks the plastic against the honeycomb. This should allow the engine to warm up faster, allowing the engine oil to get heated enough to remove any crud in the internals. The mass of the flathead 6 engine block is so high that a great deal of heat is required to be generated in order to heat up the engine oil. Blocking off the radiator's ability to shed heat should allow the block to heat up faster.

ya might want to see if the valves move freely & aren't gummed up. Pull the cover off of the regulator and carefully clean the contacts, check the points in the distributor also. Definitely get some lubricant in the cylinders, the oil cups on the generator & distributor & prime the oil pump either by removing & submerging in engine oil or by cranking the engine with the ignition turned off. Put some compressed air through the radiator to flush out the dust & cobwebs. Consider draining the coolant and replacing with straight water, that should heat the motor up a little quicker, and might give ya an indication if there's a lot of crud in the jackets.

Surgical strike with the blow torch, you can try to blow it out into the water jacket, where it'll make ugly b-b's that'll need to be flushed out. The cast iron can take the residual heat as long as it is allowed to cool with ambient temperatures. If thread are waller'd out too much after chasing the threads clean, try the helicoil repair.