Merle Coggins

I believe Kanter Auto Products has engine rebuild kits. I don't know what is all included in them, but it may be what you need. www.kanter.com

Depending on what type of fuel pump you are using it may already have a check valve built in. The 'clicker' types certainly do. I have mine mounted inside the frame just in front of the pump. It seems to work well when ever I need it.

I recall the Ford 7.3 Powerstrokes used a belt driven vacuum pump for the heater system controls.

There are DC to DC converters available that can give you 12 volts for things like power outlets for charging phones or GPS units. It would be much easier to use one of those than to do what you are trying to do. It looks like your lights are LED. Have you tried them on 6v to see if they work? LED's don't require a lot of voltage to function.

You would be better off doing a full 12 volt conversion rather than trying to run 6 volt and 12 volt systems off the same battery bank and charging system. Without a quality Battery Equalizer between the batteries and the alternator/generator your batteries won’t charge equally. One will over charge and have a short life. I’ve seen it happen multiple times when someone connects 12 volt accessories to a single battery of an 24 volt system, which is what is in the machines I work with daily.

I believe there should be a press on clip that retains the escutcheon onto the handle.

If you don’t have the proper press tool, or a pickle fork tool, a couple good sharp blows with a hammer right on the outer perimeter of the eye (where the stud comes through) will usually loosen the bond and they’ll pop right out. I found this video on YouTube that helps explain it better.

I believe Batteries Plus carries Duracell auto batteries. I believe I have one in my motorcycle and it is fine.

There are basically two ways to stake the pin in place using a center punch. You could use the center punch to make some dimples in the housing around the pin to swell the aluminum body and shrink the hole for a tighter fit. Or, I may opt to use the center punch on the end of the pin itself. A couple of well placed center punch dimples in the ends of the pin will mushroom the end of the pin making it a tighter fit into the bore. Maybe even combine both methods and then cover it all with JB, just-in-case…

My Westach still works, but acts differently, after installing Pertronix ignition in my truck. The Pertronix triggers the hot side of the coil instead of switching the ground side like the points system does. I believe I still have my tach connected to the + and - terminals on the coil. At lower RPMs it seems to read low now, but when it gets spun up it seems to come into line to where it should read. I’ve double checked it with an inductive pickup tach on my multimeter. I also find that after startup the tach won’t move until I rev the engine a little bit, then it’ll settle in and show RPM, but a little low as mentioned.

One of these things is not like the others…. ? Looks like it would be a fun day.

SWEET!!! Excellent score, Tom.

My thoughts are similar to what Los_Control said. I suspect it’s a connection issue, most likely the contacts inside the starter switch that is operated with your foot lever. I also agree with his observation about the battery cables. They look like ‘off the shelf’ cables from the local auto parts store. They are fine for modern 12v vehicles but quite small for a 6 volt vehicle. I also notice that you have an 8 volt battery installed. Once you get it running you’ll need to readjust your voltage regulator to ensure it charges properly.

I always just use a long punch, drift, or wood dowel. Run it through the hub, past the outer bearing cup, and against the inner bearing. It should only take a light tap with a hammer to pop the seal out with the bearing cone. I’ve also heard of the castle nut on the spindle trick, but I’ve never tried it myself.

Just because it’s a 1/2 ton doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll have a 3 speed. 4 speeds were also available in all light trucks.

Before tearing it all apart I would remove the grease zerks and dig around with a wire or pick to remove as much old caked up grease and gunk as possible, then see if they’ll take grease.

If it runs now don't turn your distributor 180 degrees. The fact that it currently runs tells us that the distributor is setup properly, even though it may not be pointing in the direction you desire. The timing may be off slightly, or the points may not be adjusted properly, but it's close enough to make it run. You just need some fine tuning from here.

Assuming it's a 3 speed... You may not be able to use your column shift trans cover to convert it to use the column shift, but if you're OK with having a floor shift trans it'll work. You'll just need to cut a hole in the floor plate for the shift lever to come through. If it's a 4 speed trans your bell housing may not be drilled to accept the mounting pattern.

I've heard of an alternative to having a puller it to loosen the axle nuts about 1/2 - 1 turn and reinserting the cotter pin. Then drive the vehicle around the neighborhood swerving back and forth. When you hear a "POP" that usually indicates that the hub popped loose on the axle, Then limp it back to the shop nice and easy and pull it off easy. I've never tried this as I have a puller, but I've seen it mentioned here a few times. Of course the vehicle needs to be drivable too...

Rich reminded me of the ‘Rusty Jones” treatments from the late ‘70’s or early ‘80’s. I remember seeing many cars with the “Rusty Jones” decal being rusted worse than other vehicles of the same era. “Guaranteed Rustproofing” … should have said, “Guaranteed Rust-Out”

You can angle the drift to focus the impact towards the outer rim to help avoid damage to the center area.

The lip must face inwards, as it seals the oil within the the axle housing. I believe what you are seeing in the post you linked is the outer metal housing of the seal that he was using. As for your seal driver, you may want to fabricate a flat plat on the end of it. A good seal driver is flat on the end to provide a solid surface to press against the seal body. By just using a pipe it is hard to spread the load out over the entire surface, especially when you can only strike your hammer on one spot around the perimeter. Most times when I don’t have the proper seal driver I use a blunt tool such as a brass drift, I also have some steel drifts. If have to use a punch I find one with a larger blunt end. I then use gentle taps with the hammer working around the perimeter of the seal until it’s seated.

Sweet. Love the older stuff too.

A friend, and former forum member, had a truck with this throttle pedal ‘modification’. He has since sold this truck

I have a pedal that I got many years ago, I believe from Roberts. It is very light duty compared to original pedals. It'll bend rather easily, but it's worked well for me over the past 15 years.