41/53dodges

Last I checked they were a nice golden brown color, The brakes aren't hanging up, went through them last week to find a leaky wheel cylinder, cracked union, and plugged up master cylinder (causing a slight hangup) Like usual the truck spent some time idling around, plus idling while doing the adjustments, so probably round 2 hours of total idling. would that be enough to chug 2 gallons of fuel? actually that makes sense...

So I was filling up the truck yesterday, it got less than 8 MPG now! what the heck is going on here? valves were all adjusted and the distributor was timed recently. Why would the mileage still be not good?

OK, I want it!

Does anybody ever have a "shaky" speedometer needle? not like bouncing everywhere but more of just a few miles in either direction, and only when I'm on the throttle! if it's coasting or on decel, it sits nice and steady like it was supposed to. What the heck is this? Btw, I just recently lubed the cable too Thanks, Josh

If you have a really, REALLY, REALLY stuck motor, there is no substitute for heat. I had dealt with a truck left in the woods with the plugs out/broken since the 70's. only good fix for that block was fire, but I somehow doubt you have one that bad, this is a last ditch effort to get it apart. -Josh

I ordered em online, there are shops that make them and ship -Josh

Are you running 6v or 12v? Theyre slightly different. I have a 12v system with turn lights and some helpful connectors if that helps.

Ouch! Cant really tell if they have the same top tank as stock, almost thinking an aluminum would be better for the cost/use

Huh. Does that car radiator keep it nicely cool when just "tractoring" around with it?

Thanks ed, but thats a car radiator! The truck radiators are really tall compared to their width. The aluminum one i found should fit, just is it really any good?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?index=0&sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=111115741741 So how about this radiator, it has a center fill neck but that could be changed with a little welding

Ah, that thread. that was more figuring out why the thing wouldnt make beans for powert, which turned out to be the throttle rod hitting something *facepalm* and spider webs in the dizzy If anyone would like, delete this thread and i will use the other one!

if there was I don't remember it! there was a thing asking about radiators, but I don't think one came up for this particular one.

i had a thought. We used the little mustang radiator because it was available and decent price, and with it the truck tends to get rather hot on warm days and at speed. The difference is, if you look at a stock radiator it has a large hose on top and small hose on bottom. We adapted the mustang radiator, it had larger on bottom. could that make a difference?

Has anybody found a decent radiator to put in a 1/2 tonner? I have the stock flathead, and a mustang radiator wont cut it! Aftermarket is definitely an option, just a question of what has worked for others? I think ive got $250-300 left in my project stash... Thanks, Josh

I hope I'm not the only one to overlook that... The aftermarket pedal in the truck had multiple positions, and it was set in a way that maybe 1/3-1/2 throttle the accelerator rod would hit the toe board, making it seem like full throttle. Fix that and it's like gaining a whole new engine! Thanks for all the help guys! -Josh

You wouldnt happen to know the model number for that filter or what it goes to, would you? -Josh

the oil is actually about 1/8" lower than the mark, but somehow it sucked oil up through the middle and into the carburetor. Not through the hair, but up the middle (between the top and bottom halves). odd issue really. anybody else ever have this happen?

There is a wall somewhere that should have an indent of my face on it, All I have to say is, stupid oil bath air cleaner...

Well I adjusted the valves again yesterday, .008 intake, .012 exhaust (hot) and it quieted right down. Today I tore into the distributor, the points were a little pitted, but not bad. The fun part was the centrifugal advance! it was completely covered in spider web! so that got all torn down and cleaned up. Timed it with a vacuum gauge, now it runs like a top, plus the engine seems much smoother at all speeds, and nearly silent at idle. But of course, every silver lining has to have a cloud. When I lay on the gas, the thing leaves an enourmous cloud of oil smoke behind it, and seems to do it at idle too. So now for a compression test, hopefully it didnt get damaged somehow...

I would say the power went away after the engine was all put back together, likely some adjustment. maybe it didnt like me taking the timing chain with 2" of slop out! it did run very well when first assembled however, just never really go the chance to road test it much. It has never boiled over, just gotten warm enough to a point of concern. It was honed and ringed, cylinders were still in good shape and checked out with a bore gauge (must have been cheap rings in it?) It did also recieve a different head that was shaved, but that shouldn't do this? -Josh I did just remember though that the points are the ones I got with it, certainly wouldnt hurt to replace!

52' dodge B4B, 3.55 cherokee rear axle, 230 flathead with new rings 300 miles ago, 3 speed on the column. Original radiator was no good, so clearly if it fits in the hole it's good enough... Ignition timing is set to 4 degrees advance at idle, the valves still tick some but not nearly as bad, they were really loud to a point where it sounded like a diesel. With the little car radiator it will never work right as a real truck anyways, so that needs fixing.

There is definately something wrong, the engine seemed to be vibrating more, even at idle. Hopefully the valve adjustment helped some, plus I think the brakes may be hanging up a little bit. should be fixed tomorrow, but it really would be nice if it would cruise decently at 55-60. but it simply won't do it! it runs out of steam, plus does not seem to have the power it used to. keep in mind, Ive only known it with the 3.55 -Josh

Im attempting to adjust valves, but .014 exh and .010 int is still really noisy!

Hey guys, It's been awhile since the pickup got some attention on here, an my trip today to the flea market brought out some issues in it. The mustang radiator in it is likely too small, doing 45-50 most of the way it was bordering on overheating on an 80 degree day, but like I said likely the dinky radiator. The real issue(s) are more to do with the engine itself. The truck seems to top out around 60-65, running a 3.55 rear end, and the engine is just stupid noisy at those speeds! 60 is pedal to the metal, which seems like it should do more... I remember the engine having more power than this too. The fuel mileage is in the toilet, maybe 10 mpg at best. Does anybody have any suggestions? I tried to adjust the valves but I don't think I'm very good at that... Thanks, Josh EDIT: It also seems to have this odd miss at idle, it doesnt act like one cylinder down, but like it just randomly misses on occasion. i can't seem to get it to go away regardless of carburetor adjustment