Merle Coggins

A bought a book about Metros for my wife. I haven't read it yet, but I was paging through it and did see some prototype pics that showed a pancake engine of some sort.

T306 is a ‘51-‘51 truck engine, from a 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck.

Love that song. My Dad had a Rambler in the early ‘60’s when he and Mom got married. He used to sing parts of that song from time to time.

What are the condition of the battery cables? They need to be a large size with clean connections. If the cables are too small, or there are corroded connections, there could be enough voltage drop under cranking that the ignition can’t fire the spark plugs properly.

What have I done...? My wife fell in love with the little Metropolitans when we were at Back to the 50’s a few years ago. She recently found one for sale, on Facebook Marketplace, in a neighboring town and it was within her budget. It’s going to need some work, and she knows it. But she is willing to so as much of the work on it as she can. I’m sure I’ll be helping quite a lot as well. It’ll need some structural repairs on the body, including the door hinge supports. The passenger side lower hinge mounting point is pretty much non-existent at this point. I’m a little nervous about the metal work needed, as that’s not my strong suit, but I know she knows how to weld too. Between the two of us we should be able to get it structurally sound again. It runs and drives okay. The brakes seem a bit weak, and they just spend around $2000 on brake repair, and other things. I’ll have to inspect the work and get them better. The engine starts and runs good though. I couldn’t get it into 3rd gear though. It probably needs a linkage adjustment due to all of the mounts sagging.

Measurements are done at the bead seat area. You have 16” X 4-1/2” wheels

Killing a little time this morning... I found a vintage Hastings #101 on eBay and the back of the box showed that it was a replacement for a Fram C4 or C4P2. Also listed a couple of Ford numbers. The Fram C4 crosses to Baldwin's P41, and Wix 51006 (Napa 1006). And if you have a Hastings dealer near you the newer version is LF101, which is basically the same as the Baldwin P41 as they are sort of sister companies. (Baldwin bought Hastings) The Baldwin P41 and Wix 51006 show slightly different size dimensions, most notably the inner diameter, but it looks like one of those will work for you. I prefer Baldwin filters when available.

In my opinion using a lubricant on the tapered shaft when reinstalling the drums is a bad idea. The tight, clean, metal to metal contact is needed to help transfer the torque between the axle shaft and the wheel hub without putting the entire load onto the key. If put together clean and dry it won't come off any harder than any others, if properly using the correct hub puller.

Don’t forget to measure, and compare, the cover gasket size too.

I don’t have my notes with me today but that may have been one of the ones I came across last night. I crossed the ones I found on eBay to Baldwin’s, because their cross reference tool works better for that. Then I crossed the Baldwin filter numbers to Wix since that’s what you were using. The Baldwin P41 crosses to Wix 51006. Compare the listed dimensions in the Baldwin, or WIx, catalog to your old Hastings filter to be sure.

51011 is the sock type that wouldn’t be correct for that canister. Try the Wix 51006, 51100, or 57366. They are all slightly different sizes but all have the inner shaft seal, from what I can see. I was just cross referencing numbers that I found on vintage filter cartridges shown on eBay. You’ll have to compare measurements listed to the measurements of your canister. I’m sure there are others of that style in different sizes but I don’t have a full catalog, or time to research it further at this time.

Yes, that’s correct. However, it seems that there is something missing in your filter housing, or the filter cartridge needs to have a seal on the inside that fits tightly around the center tube. With gaskets on both ends of the cartridge that would indicate that there needs to be end plates, possibly with springs, that seal off on the ends of the cartridge. Without a way to seal the outside of the cartridge from the inside the filter is useless. The oil needs to be forced through the filter media.

This picture is a standard filter, probably made by Fram or Purolator. It would also be plumbed correctly. It likely uses a pleated paper element that would filter from the outside-in, thus the feed on the side of the canister and the drain/return out the bottom center. And this one, which I believe is Tom's engine, would also be that type of filter.

Tim, if you are refering to these 2 pictures, posted earlier, than both are plumbed correctly as far as I'm concerned. These appear to be the HD bypass filter made by the Deluxe Filter Company. It's what I have on my truck and the upper port is clearly marked OUT and the bottom one is marked IN. Internally it looks like this... The oil feeds into the center tube, which is blocked at the top by the cover bolt. There are a couple of holes in the side of the center tube that get the oil out into the sock type filter element. The oil migrates through the filter media and collects above the perforated dome where it reaches the Outlet port and flows back to the sump.

Check with the good folks at Then and Now Automotive (a.k.a. Antique Auto Parts Cellar) for a rebuild kit for you pump. http://www.then-now-auto.com/fuel-pumps/ They are pretty easy to rebuild and their kits use quality rubber components that are compatible with modern fuels. Also, their kits use a pivot pin with circlips to retain it so you won't have it walk out on you like an off-the-shelf replacement pump will do.

Based on the style of filter canister you have I would say that your feed line is plumbed correctly. Is there another port on the very bottom of can? That would go back to the lower port on the block, next to the pressure relief valve.

The explanation is wrong. The filter canister is plumbed correctly, based on that style.

It depends on the type of filter canister. Some feed from the outside and return through the middle/bottom. Others feed from the bottom middle and return out the top/side. Mine is a Deluxe Filter Company filter with the T-handle nut, similar to what is shown in Tom's 1st and 3rd picture. It uses the sock type filter and feed into the center tube via the bottom center connection. The oil then migrates through the sock filter media and pools in a space under the cover where it flows out the return port back to the sump. Others use a different type of cartridge that filters from outside-in. Those would have the feed on the outside of the canister and drain/return from the center bottom port. There may be markings next to the ports to identify which is which. Or the filter design internally would dictate which is correct for your filter.

Good news on the tire... I was out in the garage after work today and decided to pull out the piece and see if it would leak. I figured I could plug it right away if it did. It was just a short screw tip that probably came from my own garage from a project earlier this summer. It was only in the tread and didn’t compromise the carcass. Also, the crack or cut that was noticed in the photo above is just a small flap of rubber left from the mold. Nothing to worry about there either.

These kind of boobies? That would be a strange thing to shake at a passer-by. LOL!!! ?

Check with Kanter

Many looks, waves, thumbs-up's, and other interaction at gas stations.

The most common differential ratio in these trucks is 4.10:1. Other ratios offered were 3.73, 4.30, and 4.78. My truck had the 4.10 gears but I was able to make a trade with a former member that had a 3.73 diff out of a '50 Plymouth and was looking for a good 4.10 diff. The input yolk is different, due to driveshaft differences, but other than that it was a direct swap into my axle housing. With 3.73 gears I am able to cruise down the highway at 65-70 MPH, which puts my engine in the 3000 RPM range.

Off the charts...

I didn’t even notice the cut. I’ll have to investigate that more too.