Merle Coggins

Nice Welcome aboard. Lots of help here. These trucks aren't very complicated once you get into them. It's just a matter of reverting back to old school technology. I still can't find the socket to plug in the code scanner Merle

If it's the "eyes" that I think you are refering to, there is just a pin that connects them to create a pivot point. How is it scraping the floorboard? Might things just need a little allignment? By the way... You keep posting your questions on the car portion of this forum. If you take them over to the Pilot-House area you may get more "truck guys" providing help. Many of us cross back and forth, but not all do. Merle

I don't remember any gasket on mine when I removed it. And nothing went in there when I installed it. However, my floor shift 4 speed didn't have any of those shafts in the trans housing. And from what I can see of the column shift 3 speed in my parts truck, all the linkage appears to be in the top cover too. Merle

Every project has to start somewhere Ed. Acrually, I don't know that there's much there that I need. I had thoughts about altering a front bumper to work at the rear, but I don't know that it's worth the effort to get that one down here. The one on my parts truck has some HD guards welded to it. It's a hack job and pretty much ruined it for me. Merle

Certainly looks like it. Good price if someone needs one. Would be interesting if it still has the original wheels. They are sometimes sought after. Wonder if they're 15"ers or 16"ers. And the front bumper looks OK too. There you go Ed. A start for your "late model" truck. Merle

Cool (no pun intended) Glad it worked out for you.

Yea, on the parts truck that I just got the engine is the same rusty color as the rest of the truck. Sorry Chris, I couldn't resist. Merle

That's about what I paid this past summer. I think one was $35 and the other was around $25. It was all part of more work, so I don't remember exactly. Merle

I don't believe the drum should be touching the seal. The seal should be sealing against the axle shaft. Here's a cutaway drawing from my truck manual. I believe your car axle would be the same.

If you can get away with just a hone job, and the pistons clean up OK, that could save you some on your budget. However, I caution you about cleaning methods on the pistons. Don't use a wire wheel or such to clean the crusty stuff. It can damage the ring lands, especially if the rings have been removed. There is a tool available for cleaning the ring grooves. It will keep everything true and square. Then you really should measure the ring to ring groove gap. There are specs for it in the manuals. However, the ring lands often get worn to a taper over time and they won't hold new rings properly. This is why I recommended new pistons. I didn't miss the part about doing it on a budget. I was thinking the same way when I did mine. But as you get into it, that thought that Norm mentioned creeps in. "Just spend the money now and do it right. Otherwise I'll end up doing it again later" Shop around, if you can, with local machine shops. The one that we often use here (at work) quoted me $100 to bore my block. I didn't ask them for any futher quotes. A friend told me about another shop. This guy has a farm tractor shop, but also does other engine work. I talked to him and found that he was very familure with flathead Mopars. He quoted me $80 to bore the block. I also had him shave the block deck and head, replace the valve guides and seats, and install wrist pin bushings. The total bill, which included new pistons and rings, was $735. Everyone I talked to about it said I got a good deal. Then, with around $600-700 in parts from other sources, I reassembled it and it runs great. Another thing that's often overlooked is the cam bearings. Unless you have the proper tooling to replace these, I would recommend having the engine shop do it. I understand trying to keep the budget as low as possible. So try to do as much as you can by your self. As you can see, half of my cost was from the machine shop. Merle

Make sure you have a good ground to the bed and light bracket

How bad are those scratches in the bores? Can you catch a fingernail in them? If they're not very deep a hone job may clean them up enough to go again. Otherwise you'll need to have it bored. I recommend rebuilding/replacing the oil pump and water pumps as added security on a fresh engine. I would also consider new pistons. for $20-25 each it's not worth the gamble on those old crusty pistons. They may clean up OK, but why take a chance. However, if you have to bore the block, you'll be needing new pistons anyway. If you do take it to a machine shop, have them grind the valves and seats and check the valve guides for wear. It's also a good idea to check the head for flatness or have it shaved flat, and if you're doing that, you might as well do the same for the block deck. And you might as well have them install new wrist pin bushings in your con rods. They are difficult to install without the proper tooling, and usually need to be reamed to size. Other than that, clean it thouroughly and reassemble with all new bearings and etc. I also recommend a new timing chain and sprokets. They may look OK, but are probably worn. Happy rebuilding, Merle

Cool. I don't recognize the truck, but it's obviously had some mods. Looks interesting. Is that a bamboo grill? Merle

Chain Lube is kind of a misnomer. You really don't want anything on your chain that will attract dirt. As you say, the O-ring chain is lubed and sealed to keep the lube inside. On the outside you just want to keep it clean and free of grit and grime. Most "Chain Lubes" are a type of cleaner with a lube that should dry up after a few minutes. I'd clean the chain, but not with any harsh chemicals that can harm the o-rings, then install it and spray with some Chain Lube and RIDE. merle

I think I might know who he's refering to. I won't mention his name, but it starts with an Andy and ends with a Bernbaum. When you have to call them you end up feeling like you were bothering them by calling. I even had him hang up on me once with a "I gotta go. I'll call you back. Click" He didn't even ask for a number to call be back with. Merle

YES!!!!!! I'd gladly trade you my 4.10 diff in my truck for that 3.73 diff. Merle

I borrowed this stand from a co-worker. With the block sitting on the bench, I took the adaptor out of the stand to bolt it up to the block. This is much easier than trying to suspend the engine from a hoist and bolt it up to the stand with it all together and not exactly sitting straight. Even so I had to flip, twist, turn, and readjust the arms in every way I could think of to get it to bolt up to the block. Then lift the block off the bench, with a crane, and slide the adapter bracket into the stand. Maybe it'll be as simple as drilling an extra hole or two in the bracket to get a different angle with the arms. Good Luck, Merle

When I cleaned up my filter housing it was clearly marked as being made by the Deluxe Filter Co. and required a JC element. I looked in our Napa Master Filter catalog, in the cross reference setion, and found the listings for Deluxe filters and a cross for the JC element. They had to order it, but I had it the next day. I don't remember the number now, and am several hundred miles away from my manual where I kept record of the number. I guess what I'm saying is, if you can find any identification on your filter, take it to Napa and have them check their filter catalog for a cross. Merle

Could your paperwork have the engine number? I've heard that was the case in some states back then. Of course if the engine has been swapped out, you're S.O.L.

It should be on the left side of the front frame, just ahead of the front axle. There are pictures on the DPETCA site. I found mine in that exact location. You may need to take a wire brush on a drill to find it. Merle

Was it this one? http://www.mar-k.com/bedwooddimensions.pdf

This is what it looked like before I started. Never mind the oil filter in the photo. That's another story. I cut around the sides about 1/2" up from the bottom of the upper section. Then it came apart pretty easy. I then ended up cuting a little more off to expose more of the filter element. I then cleaned everything and repainted it. I toyed with the idea of filling the bottom with something to level it out, but then cut the plate to fit in instead. That worked quite well. I then measured it up as close as possible and got out our Napa Master Filter catalog and found a few elements that would work. Since they didn't stock any of them, I picked the one I thought would fit the best and ordered it in. It worked out nicely. You have to take a little time to center the filter element properly, otherwise the cover won't sit on straight. But with a little readjusting it'll fit. Then tighten the wing nut and you're done. You'll notice from one of the first pictures, that the filter element gets crushed a little bit when the cover's tightened down. This doesn't appear to hurt the element, but I then know that I'm getting a good seal on the top and bottom. Merle

I would thing that it would be best to have only one person maintaining the data. Otherwise it's to easy for changes to happen on one and not the other, unless there's a way to sync them. Merle

You will only measure voltage on the key side of the coil if the points are closed. They are then providing the ground for the coil and you can't read voltage on the ground side. If the points are open you should see voltage on both coil terminals because the circuit isn't complete without the ground through the points. If you can't measure voltage at the points side of the coil with the points open, either the wire is shorted to ground, or the coil is bad. Merle

I could, I have plenty.