41/53dodges

has anybody bought sealed power piston rings from NAPA? they carry economy ($56) and premium rings ($76), the premiums are $20 more and seem to have a different finish. any recommendations?

I was thinking cast or chrome, but moly would make some sense too. my rings were cast, and only had about .240" end gap! truck had stock 57000 miles, dunno when the engine was redone, but me thinks the cast iron rings didnt last!

has anybody bought sealed power piston rings from NAPA? they carry economy ($56) and premium rings ($76), the premiums are $20 more and seem to have a different finish. any recommendations?

I swapped on my 53'. process was very simple, kinda pioneered it, or at least had no info. a jeep cherokee is a very good and affordable option,3.55 rear end is a little tall, but good for road use. If I remember correctly, the universals would be the same from 49-53, and a stock cherokee universal was a direct swap. I would do some measuring,but if you need info, feel free to ask!

alright, time for an update. rod journals are .030 under, numbers 1 and 5 are grooved up. cylinders are indeed .060 over, with considerable ring groove. timing chain seems sloppy, at least 5 degrees slop (good or bad?) pistons themselves are scored, number 2 has a nice deep gash in the side. these are not mopar pistons either, they lack in the oil area on the side. not sure if a different engine would be cheaper or better, gotta phone a friend! was contemplating a 350 swap, friend has a whole setup laying around,but would hate to do that...

hello guys, I just got done taking the engine out of the 53' for repairs, it ran but made a knock in the bottom end, so it was time. upon disassembly, I found that the engine is a 230 out of a 1953 dodge car (performance upgrade ) on the negative, it is already bored to .060, I can see the rings if looking down past the pistons, the crank seems to have fine grooves on the rod journals. it is quite clear that the crank was redone once as there are numerous markings on it, and a conrod has shims in it. I am slowly restoring the truck, What should I do with this? if I put it back in, it needs a whole replacement eventually, but I would need to find one anyways.

I would get it turning 1st, then the stuck valves stay up, and you can lightly tap em' back and forth. It should probably get a valve job while you are at it, it never hurts to try at least, so removing and cleaning the valves is no big deal.

pop either one, or both. post a pic of your findings, hopefully just stiff.

look closely at the front lug pattern...

seems pretty cobbled together,check out how every axle has different wheels! I wonder where it is today, imagine the looks driving this baby around!

ooh, those are purdy! they cost a pretty penny too!

it is entirely possible that the brake controller could be adapted to run on a 6 volt system, most electronics run 5-5.5 VDC, so in theory it would operate if it uses a regulator. If it uses a resistor, it would require some alterations. the controller would also have a fast and slow gain adjustment on it to determine how much to apply the brakes on the trailer. The brakes themselves would be the object to question, theoretically one could make them operate on 6 volts, but I need to do some testing with voltages and strength. There were older 6v systems, and I think you could make them operate with the modified brake controller to act as a modern setup. I will do some looking into magnets and voltage when I get back home tonight. I am sure you have heard this many times, but other than nostalgia, why not convert to 12 volt? If you are going to haul a trailer, then I would recommend 12V. It would be cheaper in the long run, and likely safer. If the brake controller goes out, that would be special, brakes may be special, you couldn't haul the trailer with a different vehicle due to voltages. accessories would be few and far between, light bulbs would be more difficult. If you are going camping, you would likely want an inverter to do things such as charge phones, laptops, anything 110, and I am yet to see a 6V inverter or phone charger. just food for thought...

I have not tried it, that would require some experimenting. I'm not sure what the brake controller would do either. The brake itself is an electro-magnet that when activated, scrapes against the inside of the brake drum, which provides the effort for the actual pads. I am unsure if it is current based or voltage, but it SHOULD work IN THEORY. -A SIDE NOTE TO PROTECT MY BUTT! THIS COULD BE POTENTIALLY UNSAFE, I AM NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS.

hello again! I picked up an AMMCO 1750 brake gage last year at the car show (bet ya can't guess the price!) and am looking into some instructions for it. I found the ones i think Don Coatney pasted awhile back, but they are kinda blurry. I will likely remake my own with word, but until then does anybody have any clearer ones?

hello again! I picked up an AMMCO 1750 brake gage last year at the car show (bet ya can't guess the price!) and am looking into some instructions for it. I found the ones i think Don Coatney pasted awhile back, but they are kinda blurry. I will likely remake my own with word, but until then does anybody have any clearer ones?

does anybody know about PTO's in particular? my 41' has a 4 speed spur trans, and i would like to add a PTO at some point, but I have no idea what will interchange! I am likely to mount a winch on the back, and hopefully make some sort of remote controls to run it. any info is appreciated!

are you saying you just removed the whole thing and replaced it with an off the shelf light? or are you refferring to just replacing the inner parts?

Has anybody ever found anything close to replacing the parking lights on a later grille? Mine are completely rotted out, so I fear I cannot repair them. any ideas are appreciated.

hmm, there is also erickson truck parts up that way too...

werent some of the fords the infamous widow makers?

haven't tried accuride yet, firewall doesn't like that site or something:mad: I did on the other hand head down to the local boneyard and do some measuring. turns out that daytons would be too difficult to be worth it, as I would have to replace the whole hubs, which would be a pain to find some that fit original axles. The 22.5 budd semi wheels are indeed too far offset and would require too many modifications to work properly, and would most likely wobble. I think it will be safer to clean up and paint the old rims, replace the rotted ones, and just buy new tires. the tires would need to be removed to weld rims anyways! anybody know where to get 20" tires for a decent price? I think some NDT's would look nice...

I run 20-50 in mine, but mine is unrebuilt, so this makes up for loose bearings! either way, it works well once it warms up, keeps nice pressure across the board.

huh. I do have the original rotted out rims off the truck, the centers are OK, why couldnt I weld the centers into a newer model rim? great idea. I am still going to research using 22.5 budd wheels for availability of tires.

has anybody else tried to do this or am i on my own here?

wow! thank yoiu for sharing the pic! I think this truck would have had a 237 under the hood. simply amazing!