Merle Coggins

dpollo, I agree with you. Most vintage bypass filters I see on these engines have the drain/return port at the bottom and are fed from the upper side. However, I also know that mine is clearly marked IN at the bottom port, and OUT at the upper port on the side. It is a filter from the Deluxe Filter Company of LaPort, IN., and it uses the "JC" sock type element. This was marketed as the Heavy Duty filter from Dodge Trucks. Any of the other cartridge type element types I've seen flow from outside-in. Any pleated paper filter element needs to flow this direction as the pleats are more open around the outside, providing more surface area for the filter media. You have reminded me of an issue with a failed bypass filter that I experienced early on in my career. I was working on a Cummins V12 (1710) with bad turbos. The turbos failed from lack of oil pressure. Upon further inspection I found the oil pump suction screen packed full of what looked like shredded cotton. This engine had a pair of Luber Finer bypass filters, along with the spin-on full flow filters. I found that one of the Luber Finer filter elements had split open and spilled its guts through the return port and into the oil pan. What a mess. Now that I think about it, I have to wonder if it had been plumbed backwards. I didn't know any better at the time to investigate that. Now I'll never know...

Is the filter element sealed against the center tube? That type of filter element should be. Then you would be correct in your statement that the oil coming in from the upper connection point would fill the outside area of the filter element, flow through the filter media into the center. The center tube will have at least one hole for that oil to go through and it will then exit the bottom port. Did you get any pictures of the inside when you had the cover off? It may be worth the effort to thruroughly clean in inspect the inside of the canister and replace the filter element so that you can get a clear picture of how it functions internally.

If it's that stuck you may have to do what I did with my engine. There was no way it would turn over, no matter how long of a lever I could have put on it. The cylinder bores were too rusted up. I flipped the engine over and pulled the crankshaft out of the bottom. Then with a large block of hardwood, and a BFH (Big F..... Hammer) I drove the pistons down slightly, then wire wheeled the cylinder bores to clean them up. Then I could use my block of wood from the bottom and drive them up and out. I also found that all of the valves were seized into the guides. After rocking the cam back and forth, with a large Channel Lock pliers, I was able to get them all fully open. Then I could pull out the cam and tappets and drive the valves out with a long punch from the bottom side. But I was able to salvage the block with a trip to the machine shop, and it runs good to this day.

I wouldn't necessarily condemn the filter as being plumbed backwards without knowing exactly how it should be plumbed. Some have the inlet on the bottom and filter from inside-out, with the outlet being near the top-outside of the canister. Others feed in from the outside and filter from the outside-in and return out the bottom center. If there are markings on the canister for IN and OUT that would determine exactly how it should be plumbed. Otherwise the cartridge type inside would also determine that. The pleated paper filter cartridge will typically filter from outside-in, whereas the sock type would filter inside-out. (according to the filters I have seen anyway)

When I first built my truck I used some Peterson trailer tail lights that I picked up at my local Farm & Fleet store for around $6 each. The both had the license plate illumination lens in them. I blacked out the one on the right side. They looked very similar to your Grote lights. They looked good and served the purpose for several years. I finally took the plunge and purchased the reproduction tail lights from DCM Classics. I wasn't all that pleased with the design of the lamp socket. It seemed a bit cheap and didn't seal out the elements well. After a little modification I mounted them and have been using them since. Now I have a more 'vintage' look with the "DODGE" script on the lenses.

I've done 70-75 "all day long" in my truck, and 80 to pass, with 3.73 gears. Most recently during our trip down to Chattanooga, TN for the WPC Club meet.

I would use a little Ultra Black silicone sealant in the corners, where all the gasket pieces meet. Otherwise I don’t like silicone gasket sealant, especially with cork gaskets. I like to use a tacky type of gasket stuff, like Permetex’s #9 Tack and Seal on one side to hold it from moving around. Then s light coat of grease on the side against the block. Don’t over torque the bolts. Just snug them up, and go back after a while and recheck them.

Pilot-House engine/oil pan with dipstick tube attached...

That would make it a 5 speed. Definitely not a standard Dodge light truck trans. Can you get pics of the trans itself for identification? If you truck has the original 3 speed it would have this shift pattern; R. 2. ——N—— 1. 3. If it has an original 4 speed, it wouldn’t have synchros, and would have the following shift pattern; 1. 3. ——— N ——— 2. 4. R.

I'm not familiar with that name. Maybe back up and get a general overall picture of the apparatus. It's difficult to tell what it is by that closeup.

That sounds like the 4 speed trans. 1st is a Granny Low, stump puller gear. Normal driving only uses 2nd - 4th.

Find an older Signal Stat 900. Maybe search eBay...

The price listed on that web site is $345.00

Can you get a close up of the logo, stamping, on the end? I've never seen anything like that. Are the tubes open all the way into the base unit? Is there anything else connected to it, outside or inside the firewall?

Yes, likely just carbon build up in the hole. Poke through with an awl, or similar. Also, the “bolt” you refer to is an 1/8” pipe plug.

If you’ve been moving the distributor around have you taken the time to static time it with a test light? You may be close, but off enough that it won’t start. Get the timing dialed in and try it again. Also... I remember the first time I fired up my engine, I had everything right, even double checked everything, but it wouldn’t fire. I finally cracked the throttle open a little and it jumped to life. Turns out that my idle circuit wasn’t providing enough fuel to start. Once I got that sorted out all was good.

The first service truck that I had, when I became a field service technician, was an ‘86 GMC 3500 with a 454, 4 speed, and 70 gallon LP tank in the back. It ran on gasoline or LP. On LP it would run really smooth, but didn’t have as much power. However, you could lug it down quite low without the chugging that you’d get on gasoline. In the winter months you needed to remember to switch back to gasoline before parking it for the night. If it was too cold in the morning the LP regulator couldn’t provide enough LP gas for the engine to start. Once started on gasoline, and warmed up, it could be switched back to LP. Engine coolant ran through the LP regulator to keep it from freezing. And in regards to your carbon comment, you are right. It burns much cleaner, but spark plug life was much shorter. They seemed to deteriorate quicker.

And yet it was only a few winters ago there was a “shortage” that caused the price to sky rocket, and people were being rationed. I called “BS” at the time, but it really didn’t effect me directly.

Yes, the air filter should clamp down tight against the carburetor. Are you missing the gasket? There should be a rubber gasket at the carb flange to aid in the sealing. Without it you probably won’t be able to tighten down the clamp enough to be tight against the flange.

Keep in mind... This likely being an Austrailian built truck our minor model year changes may not apply. I’ve noticed that with the B-series trucks. The Aussie trucks are a bit different and they carried the cab design an extra year to two, from what I’ve seen in pictures.

How do you figure that? There’s a seal that separates the coolant from the bushing. Coolant shouldn’t get out and lube shouldn’t get in. The grease should just lubricate the bushing and seal.

Interesting... It would be an easy enough test. Put a spring, or bungee, on the starter arm to ensure it’s staying up and go for a drive.

Both are good guys that I’m happy to call “Friend”.

The ‘fresh air’ side of a vacuum pump is pushing air out. It wouldn’t need a filter. If anything, your filter acts as a muffler and keeps unwanted critters from crawling into the pump when it’s not in use.

Welding in shorts and flip-flops??? Yikes!! ? The stock rear axle may be a little light if you are going to push a fair amount of HP through it. I don’t know what you have available in NZ, but here, on this side of the big puddle, Jeep Cherokee axles seem to be a good fit.