Merle Coggins

I don’t believe there is an o-ring at the pick-up screen connection. As for that other o-ring instruction, that is correct. The rear main cap has a groove on either side that needs to be filled with pieces of that o-ring to seal the seam between the cap and the block. This is part of the rear main seal system as the cap is flush with the back of the block. You don’t want oil seeping out through that seam, which isn’t captured by the rear main seal.

If you had to modify the points spring to make it fit, you probably don't have it installed correctly. One time I didn't get the points spring anchored properly and the copper strap was the only thing making tension for the points. It would start and idle just fine, but when I tried to drive it, it would sputter and loose power at higher RPM. I went back and retraced my steps and discovered my mistake on the points spring. After correcting that it ran great again. Without a properly installed spring the points will bounce at higher RPM and greatly effect the dwell, and ignition timing.

That polar vortex is due to hit us next week. This week we're having a fair amount of snow events. Next week they forecast negative temps, but no more snow, which is good for my wife as I'll be out of town and she won't have to shovel. I don't mind the cold either, as I can dress for it. However, I'm glad I don't have to work out in it full time as I did when I was younger.

Around here you could say we have only 2 seasons... shovelin' and swattin'

Me too... Oddly enough, I even like the snow.

It's been pretty minimal up by me, so far. It looks like it snowing much more down your way. It looks like you guys are getting mostly rain out of this storm, at least for now.

You should be able to get 55+ out of your truck with the 4.10 gears, although the engine will be close to max. RPM's. Replacement gear sets for these axles are non-existent. You can find a differential assembly from a Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, or Chrysler car from the same era, that has a suitable gear ratio. There was a change in spline count for the axle shafts and side gears some time in the early 50's, but otherwise they're a direct swap. I have a 3.73 diff from a '50 Plymouth in my truck. Or you'll have to go with a more modern axle from a Jeep Cherokee, or similar. I have no experience with this type of swap but I've seen many here that have done it. The Cherokee seems to be the favored one.

Understanding how the gauge operates helps to troubleshoot it. As you can see in this image, the gauge has 2 electro-magnetic coils inside. Both receive voltage from the Ignition Switch. The Constant Field coil is grounded, through the gauge mount, to the dash. This coil magnet is trying to pull the needle towards the 'E' position. The Variable Field coil is grounded though the sender in the tank. The sender is a variable resistor. The higher the fuel level the lower the resistance will be through the sender, which will create a higher amperage through the Variable Field coil. This will make this coil magnet stronger and will pull the needle towards the 'F' position. As the fuel level drops the resistance gets higher in the sender, the amperage is reduced in the Variable Field coil, and it looses strength. The Constant Field coil will then start to pull the needle back towards the 'E' position. If you have good voltage supply to the gauge, the next checks are to check the continuity of the wire going to the sender. Check resistance between the wire terminal, at the gauge, to a good chassis ground. You should get a reading between 10 and 90 Ohms, depending on fuel level. If you have an Open Circuit to ground on this wire you then need to be sure that the wire is in tact and connected to the sender. Also, a check to be sure that the sender body has continuity to ground is warranted. If you temporarily ground the GA terminal to chassis ground the needle should peg to the 'F' position. This indicates the gauge is working properly and the problem lies in the fuel sender, or the wire to it. Another failure I've seen is the gauge not properly grounding through it's mount. This will cause the gauge to be pegged to 'F' all of the time. Some of the gauge mounting screws have insulating washers. You don't want that on at least 1 of the fuel gauge screws so that it can properly ground to the gauge housing, and ultimately the cab. The insulating cup washers are usually installed near the 'hot' terminal to help prevent an inadvertent short circuit to the adjacent wire terminals.

Are you depressing the clutch pedal to start the engine, out of habit, (no knock) then releasing it just after it starts (knock starts)? If the noise came from the clutch replacement that’s where I’d be looking first.

Defrost ducts look like this. Sorry, nothing to show scale. I never pulled them out of the cab for stand-alone pics.

As Ken said, the sockets are easy to replace. I picked up a couple of replacement sockets from my local big box auto parts store. A little heat on the old socket melts the solder and they'll just about fall out. Clean it up and solder the new ones in place. My next challenge was finding amber bulbs in 6 volt. They are non-existent. You need amber because the lenses are clear. I ended up finding LED bulbs in amber and they've been working great for many years.

They attach to the front cab mounts and the front of the running boards. This is the best pic I have.

I agree with what Brian and Mark said. Your picture doesn't show the damage to the exhaust manifold. You are showing us the casting number on your intake manifold.

Is that Ed's truck? He didn't want to take it up to the cabin this year?

Use your timing light to set the ignition timing to TDC using the markings on the crankshaft damper/pulley. With today's gas many people will advance that some. I run my truck at 5* BTDC. To be able to check the advance at 2240 RPM you either need to have marks on the damper/pulley that you can read at that advance, or use a timing light with an advance setting. The light I have has a dial on the back. As I increase the RPM I can turn the dial to keep the TDC mark in view. The dial will register how much advance you are getting. Either #1 or #6 will work for checking the ignition timing as they are both at TDC at the same time. One will be at the end of it's compression stroke and the other will be at the end of it's exhaust stroke. I've also heard guys recommend just clamping your timing light pickup to the coil wire to get a brighter light. I've tried it and that works too. It's not really brighter, but it's flashing 6 times faster so it appears brighter.

There was a guy on the forums here many years ago that has a Pilot-House truck with a slant 6. He was in northern IL, so I went down to meet him and check out his truck. It was well done. He didn't have any info on the swap as he bought it that way. It didn't look out of place in the engine compartment. I don't recall if the firewall was notched to allow for the extra length.

Sounds good to me. Are you going to build it for me? I don’t have the space for that type of project anymore.

Nice project. Look for a casting date on the block, down on the skirt area. That’ll confirm it for you. If it has a ‘50’s casting date it couldn’t be from a ‘37, or vice verse.

I have a 2020 F150 XLT with that same trailer back-up assist. I've never set it up. I learned how to back up a trailer a long time ago. My truck (actually a company truck) has the 3.5L Ecoboost engine. It has surprisingly good towing power, but it gets thirsty if you tow anything big. We currently only have a popup camper, but have been considering upgrading to a travel trailer some day. I just need to not get too big. I carry a fair amount of weight in the tool box, so I have to be conscious the tongue weight. I don't want to exceed my GVRW too much.

I'm in the Appleton area, but we get up that way at least once a year. We usually do a camping week/weekend at Clear Lake Campground just east of Woodruff.

@46Chris, where are you located up north? Maybe I'll see it cruising around next summer?

They probably saw the shift lever on the steering column and assumed that it was an automatic trans, not knowing about "3 on the tree" shifting.

I ended up using short pieces of line at the carb and distributor and connected the two with a piece of vacuum hose. If you do that you could purchase a short pre-made piece of brake line and but 2-3 inches off each end. Connect those ends to the vacuum advance and carb fitting, then use vacuum hose to finish the connection. No need to worry about how long to get the brake line, or worry about how, or where, to make the bends. I would also recommend testing the vacuum advance as someone else said.

Sounds like it could be a failing throw out bearing.

Oddly enough, that’s called a drag link socket. They’re not too expensive. It would be a worthwhile purchase if you plan to do drag link work.