Tony WestOZ

After the disaster of trying to sell the OZ made Holden 2 door coupe (not even available here now) as a Pontiac in the US you would think they would be a bit gun-shy about trying it again. The ute will never die in OZ. its just a shame Chrysler don`t do one. PS. Here they are called a sports ute. They are definitely not a truck. PPS. I don`t understand why someone said, GM`s new range of rwd technology. Rwd never disappeared in the Holden's (GM) here. GM Australia along with Mercedes are recognised as the top two in the world at rwd technology.

The high octane rating is note an issue, it’s more of a waste. The combustion chamber design is not good enough to take advantage of the high octane rating and the advantages it offers. One of the biggest problem is seals and gaskets. With modern engines, it’s not a problem as they are made to coupe with a wide variety of modern fuels. It’s a bit like the older diesels are having problems with the modern reduced sulfur fuels. Gaskets and seals start to leak just a little bit more. One problem with ethanol that has arisen here is that because of the continuous drought the produces used in the manufacturing of ethanol are now too expensive. Two plants have already shut down.

Bob it works the same way down here is just back the front. We have a lock on the left hand door and not on the right hand side. I was thinking of getting a US right hand door mechanism and lock and fitting it to my van so I could lock both doors from the outside.

I was sent some pic`s of some trucks from New Zealand. They are not Pilothouse but I thought I`d post anyway. 1954 & 56 models. In the 50`s NZ imported direct (I am not sure if they came from the USA or Canada), and not from Australia as they did in the 60`s. Note, steering wheel is on the right (correct) side.

XXXX (barbed wire) That`s the reason I started drinking Bundy.

Are... Foster`s. The drink we sent out around the world because no one here drinks it.

They could be made in China, but that is not necessarily a reflection of bad quality. Cat equipment produced in Japan, Europe or England at the moment doesn’t seem to have followed this trend. It only seems to US made products. PS. what is a Molson?

What a great set up.

I think you guys are being ripped off. 11/16 and 7 3/8 does not convert to our common metric sizes. I have the same thing happening here with US made nuts and bolts (mainly used on Caterpillar gear). Where as before a 19 mm (3/4") spanner would fit, now I have to use a 18 mm spanner. This is a pain if you are buying a new tool kit (because of some low-life steeling some of my tools) 18mm is not standed out here.

Here we call them a Suburban. This one is a 53-54 model. Originally this one had a 218 long block (Canadian). When it’s finished it will be fitted with a 250 long block, which was optional at the time

It`s the only thing that looks good on me. I think I need a trim all-round.

Thank`s to Bob Koch for organising and sending me T-shirts and other club merchandise to the other side of the world. Now all I have to do is finish the truck.

Now that I have cleaned out the garage I have some space to keep it safe and dry. I could throw in $50 myself, and I promice I will only drive it on sunny days.

Reg it`s even worse now. He has added some extra pic`s and it looks to be in pretty good condition.

Sorry I might of confused things. The ute, in either Standard cab or Deluxe cab is a one-piece body. The Express body is similar the US model pick-up but the sides are wider apart than the US one.

I don`t mine to get picky but the one on ebay is a Standard ute body. The one below is what we call an Express body. It`s different to the US ones in that the sides are wider apart. Note tailgate on this one is not original. It should be like a US one`s with Dodge stamped in it.

Ian your truck will be imperial (SAE) sizes. Most of the bolt threads will be UNC but there are a few UNF`s used. From memory gearbox, engine and steering box bolts that are used to bolt to the chassis are UNF. UNF take a higher loading than UNC and suffer less from vibration. Don`t spend a lot of money on tools if you not using all the time (for work) most of the Chines made stuff is good enough. Get a couple of cans of what ever penatrene product you can buy and spray all the nuts and bolts you can find ever time you are up at your truck. After a couple of weeks you will find most will come undone. The smaller panel bolts are the worst. Tony WestOZ

Greg, In a past life I worked in several foundries (nearly 20 years ago now) and to me there is nothing better than making your own castings. However, (and I don’t mean to put a dampener on your enthusiasm) be prepared for a lot of work and a lot of early failures. Making lead sinkers is child’s play compared to casting Aluminum. I don’t know what size town (or city) you live in but I would first look at getting someone else to cast them up for you. (At this point I won’t go into the sand and chemicals you need plus the furnace to melt to 500 deg C.) Making the pattern is the most expensive part of the whole process and this is something you could do to cut your cost right down. Remember metal shrinks when its cast so a pattern has to be made oversize compared to the original casting. (From memory about 3/8 per linier foot) Stay from ally cans you will need thousands of them to do even a small job, and it’s the wrong grade aluminum for what you need. It does not cast very well. As I said I don’t mean to put a dampener on it but it is a lot of work. If you want any advice let me know I am more than glad to help. Tony WestOZ

I know I have been through this before to some extent but its time for me to get serious on getting some parts out to OZ for my truck. Being in Australia there is not much chance of returning items if they are wrong or do not fit, so I am in need of advice from you guys in the US. The rubber parts that concern me the most are the front window rubber and the vent wing rubbers. Steele’s seem to offer the best as far as quality and fit go. Prices are more than Roberts and Andy Bernbaum quote but Steele’s seems to be the only one-piece front window rubber like the originals. There are other rubber parts I need i.e., fender welting and door seal kits but I was thinking of going to Roberts or Bernbaum for these on a cost basis. I am also after a complete engine gasket kit with a couple of spare head gaskets for the 250 big blocks. 2 or3 carby kits (Ian might be still be after one), oil pump gasket kit and maybe a few other bits. Other parts might be suspension shackles (I have not checked all of mine yet). If any one can offer some advice or help on were to get parts that would be great. As mentioned before these parts need to come to Australia so I cannot afford to be sent the wrong parts. If anyone were able to act as a collecting point to check what is ordered and possible help with shipping it would be of great help. (Don’t worry all monies would be sent in advance) Thanks for any input Tony West OZ

Great to see you have made some progress Ian. Unfortunetly the old carbs I have all suffer the same problem as yours as far as the shafts go, all a bit loose so not much luck there. The price you were quoted for the carby kit does not sound to bad. I got a price off one supplyer in the US at $35(US) each. With postage etc it would come close to $60 (AU). Someone on this site might be able to help with what is available in the US.

Ian if this is the kit you are referring to it is for the 230 engine run in the cars. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=015&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=250113449136&rd=1&rd=1 From my carby parts book they were a BBS series which have an auto choke and not a lot of the part numbers correspond to the parts list for a DTF1 carbs. I have had troubles with old gasket kits before. They tend to dry out and shink causing problems with fitting. Where the shaft is loss in the body, the only way I have found to fix it properly is to fit brass bushes. Finiky little job. I shall go through my stock of carbs tommorrow and see if I have a good base I can send you. Tony

You would probable have to measure the stroke to confirm the engine size.

T335, for some reason there listed as being 228ci or 251ci. 25 inches Dodge Truck Canada C1-B6, C3-B6, Fargo FC1-B6, FC3-B6 1954-1956.

From 48 thru to 52 when the trucks were imported to OZ from Canada ( fellow Commonwealth Country), they were just a mirror image of the steep cross-over steering column of the US & Canada LHD models. In 53 when we started producing the Pilot-house models the steering column changed to a fore- aft type. The box was moved forward on the chassis and inline with the front cross member. (I think its the same system was introduced in the 54 C models over there. I `ll have to check). Clearence on either steering colum is not a problem. The clutch pedal is one we have a problem with. The throu the floor, pedal models require a different manifold setup compared to the US-Canadian models. It`s causing me a few problems with the split system exhaust I want to build for my van.

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