Merle Coggins

Y'all need to get a truck. I've got plenty of space to carry stuff... By the way... we are considering going to the WPC in Chattanooga next year. It's a good day drive for me, but we can break it up with with a pit stop to see my Mother in Indianapolis. Maybe we'll see some of you there next summer.

A quick check, if everything is assembled, is to use a jumper wire and momentarily connect the terminal on the sending unit to a good ground while watching the gauge. If you ground the terminal the gauge should peg out at full, hence the momentary thing. That will tell you that the gauge and wire are good. Then you need to check the sender and/or ground connection.

This was my machine shop bill 11 years ago. I did the assembly myself and it's still running strong to this day, although this wasn't my first engine build. Just pay attention to the details, and observe cleanliness during the assembly.

Likely a '48 or '49. Could also be a '50. Nice truck.

OK Mike, I'm confused... Your profile says you have a '49 1 ton and the wiper position on the cowl would back that up. But the hood and grill are for a B3 model and you have a '52 license plate. What's up with that?

That's the first ones I've seen that are weather resistant. That's always been the down side from what I've read. You weren't able to mount them outside of the cab, and there typically isn't a good location for it in the cab. I'd be very interested to see how that would work, grafted into the shaft between the steering wheel and the original steering box.

I believe what I used, and carry in the truck, is Super Lube. It's a synthetic Teflon lube. I was out of town at a WPC meet when it got so bad that I had to do something. I went looking for a hardware store to find something. I found small store and that's what they had available. I sprayed down the joints and my sticking throttle problem disappeared. I then discovered that my idle was too low when warm and I had to adjust it up a bit.

Then the first thing to do is to static time your ignition to ensure you are getting spark at the proper time.

I used to have an issue with my throttle linkage sticking and causing a high idle. I use a little spray lube on all of the connections and friction points and no longer have that problem. Also, you may need to fine tune the carburetor again when it's hot.

Sounds like one of those never ending rabbit holes...

I remember that mine were pushed down when I got it. I was able to pry them back up with little effort. I was worried about them getting pushed back down, and contemplated a solution like Brent showed, but I've found that it wasn't needed... so far. You just need to be sure the seat base is locked onto the pins before sitting on it.

WOW!! Sounds as good as it looks. I'm guessing there are some serious internal modification too. What kind of speed did it run?

Cool, but I wanted to see the engine.

I've never heard of a Mopar flathead engine that didn't have replaceable valve guides. You should be able to obtain new guides and press them in. And there are no valve stem seals needed for these engines. Also, the Spitfire thing is only a marketing thing with a name cast into the head. There's nothing special about that engine that I'm aware of. The Spitfire was used in Chrysler cars only as I understood it. However, some people have taken those heads and put them on other engines. Do you have a 25" engine?

The original door panels had some embossing in them. At least on the B1's and B2's. This is one of my original door panels. I got my interior panels from Quite Rides. They originally sent B3 / B4 door panels, which was the only pattern that they had. The later panels don't have the raised hump over the door handle. I contacted them about it and they offered to make the proper panels if I sent them my originals as patterns. I'm very happy with the end result. They even did the embossing.

OK, thanks. It's not mentioned in my B-Series truck manuals. I guess it's only important on Plymouths.

Where does this idea that "the rotor must point to 7 o'clock" come from? I just read through my Shop Manual and Operators Manual regarding oil pump installation, and distributor installation. There is never this sort of reference. It only mentions to align the rotor to point to the #1 plug wire when inserting the distributor, with #6 at TDC and exhaust valve closing. (This would put #1 at TDC on compression stroke). The only place I recall ever seeing this reference is here on the forum. It seems to get several people confused when their rotor is pointing at a different angle.

Good news... So, were the plug wires off one hole since the change? Or did they get that way after messing with everything else?

(Mental Note: Never cross Brian...).

I just went back to the beginning of this thread and read through it again. If I have it all right you have replaced the fuel tank and lines, rebuilt the fuel pump, and replaced the plug wires. You recently state that you now have gas being pumped up to the carb and that you have spark at the plugs. Now the questions are, is the spark coming at the right time, and is gas getting to the cylinders? Earlier you stated that your #1 plug wire was where the rotor pointed at #1 TDC, but later you said that you think the timing is way off. Oil pump/rotor indexing aside, when you set the #1 cylinder at TDC, on the compression stroke, does the rotor point at the #1 plug wire? Then following around the cap, in the same direction the rotor turns, you should have #5, #3, #6, #2, and #4. If all of that checks out it should be close enough to start. You could fine tune it by static timing. Connect a test light between the 2 small leads on the coil. With your engine at #1 TDC, or set to 2-3 degrees advanced, pull off the cap and have a look at the points. Retard the timing until the points are closed. your test light should be lit if the key is on. Now advance the distributor until the test light starts to flicker and go out. This is the position where the points are just opening, and this is the point where the coil will discharge through your plug wires to the spark plug. Lock down the distributor and reinstall the cap. If it won't start now then you are lacking fuel into the cylinders, or you have no compression. That brings up another thought. I've had valves hang open on my truck after sitting for a period of time. Especially if the weather has been damp after running it. It will crank weird and have difficulty starting. In my case they eventually free up and the engine would start. As it warms up the valves loosen up and work normally again. I haven't had that happen in a couple years now.

One wire should be coming from the Ammeter. This one would go to the BAT terminal. The wire diagram shows 12 ga. Brown. The IGN terminal gets the wire that goes to the ignition coil. 14 ga. Red, according to the diagram. The third wire feeds the gauges, primarily the fuel level gauge, or any other powered accessory. This would go to the GA terminal. Diagram shows 12 ga. Blue.

I've heard that Wix made a change and corrected the fitment issue, but there must still be a lot of the previous, oversized, ones out there. You are the first I've heard that a Wix brand fit well. I only use Baldwin now as they seem to fit better than the Napa brand (rebranded Wix) that I've used in the past

This chart is on the DPETCA site. It shows a deep purple blue with a Duco or Dulux number. I was able to have my local paint store get a cross for a Duco or Dulux number to a modern mix number. They had to make a phone call, but they got a cross that matched the inside of my glove box door.

You might just need to play with your idle mixture screw. It sounds like it's just getting over lean on return to idle and stalling out. I don't believe it's an ignition problem. Also check for any vacuum leaks. They will be exaggerated on deceleration when the vacuum is the highest.