Merle Coggins

I just saw the news and realized that those tornado's were right in Bob's area. I just logged in to send him a similar message and found this one from Norm. bob may even be without power right now even if he survived the storms. We're thinking 'bout you, Bob. Best wishes for you and your neighbors.

I have no idea. It's the switch that came with my truck. The key also works in the door lock, so I have to assume that it's the original key and switch. Merle

It looks like you should be able to remove those bearing inner races from the shaft. You may need to use a torch since you can't get behind them to press them off. Just be easy with the torch and shave away a little at a time. You'll be able to tell when you're through the bearing. Once you have split the race it chould come off easy. You may also try a die grinder or Dremel with a cut-off wheel to cut it. Just be carefull not to nick the shaft too bad. A little nick won't hurt it, but a big gouge may. You may also get lucky by just heating up the race good and hot and trying to drive a chisel under it to pop it loose. Once you can get underneath them you chould be able to press/pry them off. Merle

I just looked at the back of my switch (because it's sitting here on my desk yet). It has 3 terminals. One marked AMP (ammeter), one marked COIL, and one marked ACC. I don't have a continuity meter handy to verify it, but I'm guessing the coil wire attaches to the COIL terminal and any other accessories would go to the ACC terminal. This would give you what you want (I think) Merle

I second that, Wayne. There's nothing like the smell of nitro in the morning. I get dizzy watching those NASCAR boys chasing their tails around an oval track. Road courses are much more exciting. But Drag racing is my favorite. I haven't seen the Aussie racing yet. I'll have to check it out. Merle

When you say it wouldn't start without pulling it, will it not crank over, or just not fire? If your battery isn't up to snuff, or your battery cables are bad or too small, it may not be getting enough juice to the starter for proper cranking. And this may also be causing enough voltage drop so that you have weak spark while cranking. If it'll start by pulling it, that tells me that your ignition system is working. So, double check your battery cables and connections. You should have at least 0 guage cables in good condition. If they have been replaced with modern off the shelf battery cables, they may be too small. 4 or 6 guage is fairly popular for those type of cables. I have 2/0 cable on my truck and it cranks great. Be sure your battery is fully charged, and try again. It's also possible that your starter needs to be cleaned or rebuilt. But you should check these other things first. Good luck, Merle

I thought I've still been hearing adds on the radio about their "Lifetime Warranty" on any new Chrysler product.

Ah Hah!!! That's what I suspected. Now... What are the circles for? And did these trucks come with a jack? And if so, where would it stow?

E-85 in NOT a reccomended fuel in my '06 F150. You need to check your operator's manual to see if you have a "Flex Fuel" vehicle.

I don't have a choice around here but to run 10% ethanol blend. It's mandatory 'round here for emissions. I don't notice any difference in any of my vehicles, but some claim that there's a significant difference in mileage if they drive 30-40 miles out of the regulated counties to get "regular" gas. Also, like Ed says, the E-85 is 85% Ethanol and 15% gas. The alcohol that you ran in your go-carts was probably Methanol. That's a different alcohol and isn't as corrosive.

When I pulled my trans out, during engine removal, I ended up pulling the top cover, shift lever and all. There are 6 bolts and it lifts right off. Then cover the top with something to keep debris out. Once the cab is on, the hole in the floor is big enough to reinstall the cover. The lever may come out of the cover, but I don't know how to do it. My shop manual doesn't show it either. Merle

Why would you need to pull the pedals off to remove the trans? You must seperate the trans from the bell housing. Remove drive shaft, disconnect speedo cable, park brake and shift linkage, remove 4 bolts that attach it to the bell housing, and slide it back and out. I also had to raise up the front of my engine so that the park brake drum would clear the cross member, but mine is a Fluid Drive with the big 4 speed. If you tried to pull the bell housing with the trans, it'll never come off. The bell housing wraps in behind the flywheel. You either need to remove the flywheel to get the bell housing off, or be able to lift it up over the top of the flywheel. I can't think of any way you could do that with the trans attached. You will need to pull the pedals off before removing the engine. I pullled my engine with the bell housing attached. Just removed the pedals and master cylinder. I installed the engine and trans as one unit, but the cab was off at that time.

I don't know of any other places. That's the aproximate location where I found mine too. That's not my truck, nor my picture. As I said, I borrowed it from the DPETCA site. http://dodgepilothouseclub.org/know/vin/model.htm I recall that Don Bunn mentioned another location for the serial number in his book, but I'd have to read through it again to find it, and I don't have it handy. This is a very handy book to have if your working on a B Series Dodge truck.

I was going through my camera today and came across this shot of a Culvers sign that I took this past summer. I wonder what Double Strawberry Chicken Salad ice cream tastes like? I was afraid to try it.

Over this past weekend I got quite a bit of cleaning and sanding done on my cab. When I started sanding the floor, under the seat area, I was noticing the different shapes of the ribs in the floor panels. I understand that these ribs create stiffness in the panels, but there seems to be some very specific shapes to the stampings. Were there some special tools or options that would fit these areas? I was especially intrigued by the 'one corner rounded off'- square area with the "X" in the middle.

Clean up the left frame rail just ahead of the front axle. You should be able to find your serial number there. I borrowed this pic from the DPETCA site for reference. Then once you have the correct S/N go to http://www.t137.com/registry/help/decode.php to decode it. A B-3 would be a '51 or '52 model but there should be another letter after that. "B", "C", "D", etc. "B" indicates 1/2 ton, "C" = 3/4 ton, and "D" = 1 ton. And "116" would be the wheel base in inches, which would usually indicate a 3/4 ton, except in the later Pilot-House years the 1/2 ton's were available in 116" wheel base. However, you seem to have a discrepency. It's possible that someone swapped the cabs, tag and all, at one time.

Yea, Norm. I liked how that last show hung in the trees like that. It sure was a beautiful site around here. The warmer weather coming will be nice, but once the snow melts again, it'll look ugly 'round here.

You guys don't know snow. I just cleared out close to a foot of snow out of my driveway, and my girlfriend's driveway, this morning. It snowed almost all day yesterday. It was all melting away pretty fast just before Christmas, but it's all nice and white again today. Merle

When I cleaned mine up before painting, I saw remnents of silver paint down near the pivots, and it looked like they may have been black up on the "in cab" parts. I just painted them all silver with the rest of the bell housing and etc. I may paint the upper portions black later on. Merle

I thought there was someone a while back that was looking to repop those. I sure would like to find one also. Merle

My compliments on the calendar, Bob. Thanks Merle

Ed, I wouldn't be supprised if them telling you that you needed new ball joints was just a ploy to get more money out of you. They probably didn't even put it up on the rack. Just looked at the odometer and figured a truck with that mileage must need ball joints. Now when you go back there for tires and an allignment, you can give 'em hell for trying to rip you off. Merle

Since you guys seem to enjoy the holiday recipes, I'll share this one that I just received. JOSE CUERVO CHRISTMAS COOKIES 1 cup of water 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup of sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup of brown sugar 4 large eggs 1 cup nuts 2 cups of dried fruit 1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila (Reg, you could probably substitute Vakka;) ) Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Turn on the electric mixer… Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup.. just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, Pick the frigging fruit off the floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuer vo to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who giveshz a hoot. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher. Cherry Mistmas!

There's something familure about your pics.

As I recall it basically the same as brake line with inverted flare fittings. You could just get some 1/8" brake line and make up a new one. Or get some inverted flare fittings and route a good vaccume hose. Merle