Kensoldtruck

That's where the problem is, that area has been ground smooth and there is no stamped information.

Just completed an axle swap on my 1949 Dodge truck. The new gear is a 1986 Diplomat 2.9:1posi from a police car and is coupled to the original engine and transmission. The engine does not appear to be original as the stamping has been ground off making it more difficult for me to identify the engine block. The head has the big "P" casting along with an indication that it was cast during the night shift and has the following additional casting information, 16168237. An "A" appears over the casting date, 1-3-55 on the head. The block casting appears to be 65 cast over CWC 3 and then further toward the rear of the block the cast information is F23. I am trying to figure out which engine I have. All help is appreciated. BTW the truck now has the modern rear drum brakes from the Diplomat and front disk brakes. Thanks

I have been looking through the forum to find the 1st and 2nd gear rations for the 1949 B1B 3 speed trans but can't seem to find them. If anyone knows them can you please post them or direct me to an existing posting with this information? Thanks

Where are you located. I did the front brake disk conversion and am currently installing a different rear end so I have all of the parts. I had a brake job done on both the front and rear brakes just before the conversions.

A lot of the Model A guys just install an inline fuse in the starting circuit. Remove or partially remove the fuse and unless the vehicle is towed it isn't going anywhere.

I must agree with Young Ed. I've done a few of these and found that if the bleeder is frozen then the system has not been maintained and most likely water has been drawn into the system which can cause pitting in the wheel cylinders and master cylinder. If you are that far into the system you will ultimately be money and safety ahead to replace all the components including the lines. For the amount of money you will spend in order to do the job properly the safety that you, your passengers and all those around you gain is priceless. Do it right the first time and save yourself a major pain.

At a car show in Florida I ran across a guy who out AC in his 49 Chrysler. He used the generator bracket to mount the compressor and rigged up a bracket above that, using the same 2 bolt holes as the AC compressor was using as the lower bolts for the generator bracket. The top generator bracket came off of the water pump. The way he has the compressor and generator mounted made it difficult to see the ac compressor which makes it look almost stock. The condenser is mounted in front of the radiator and the hoses are routed underneath the car so that they did not "stand out". The evaporator was mounted up under the dash out of sight and had hoses routed to dash vents that he had managed to blend in nicely with the rest of the dash. A heater is not a necessity in our area or Florida and I have a 49 truck which will get AC this winter so keep us posted on your project.

I got all of my rubber for my 49 resto from Roberts. Everything is still holding up well and it has been close to 20 years. The only problem that I had was the rear window rubber was just too thick to fit in the corners of the back glass and I had to have the rear glass put in by a window shop using their own gasket.

Mine 49 is one of the priceless ones. My Grandfather bought it new and I can remember riding in it shortly after he purchased it. I bought it from my cousin who got it from my Grandfather's estate but I can't remember what I paid him for the truck. I did the complete frame off every nut and bolt restoration of the truck myself with the exception of the final color paint. I put close to $20K in the restoration but as I said it is priceless to me. If I was to sell it I know that I would get no where near what I put in to the truck. But even though it is priceless I will end up giving it away to one of my grandchildren. I currently have another 49 being rebuilt as I am at an age that prevents me from doing a lot of the work. I paid $4500 for a nice looking original truck and the work that is being done will run another $4K to $6K so $9K to $10K in the truck and it should be worth that much when it is complete. I have also bought and restored or repaired at least half a dozen other 1948, 49, 50 Pilot House trucks. I bought them for anywhere from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars and generally sold them for about the same as what I had in them. But when it comes down to it each buyer and each seller has to decide what a specific vehicle means to them both monetarily and emotionally.

http://www.wilcap.com/chryslerfh.html#230350BOPAT auto or manual transmission adaptor

Here is some adaptor info. Quality Engineered Components: Quality Engineered Components has an adapter for the Late Torqueflight to flat 6 & 8 inliners. The adapter will mount the small block 904/A500 or the 727/A518 as well as the small block manual bellhousing. email to: bacchus_lane@yahoo.com phone inquiries to 888-Hemi-Parts (888-436-4727) M-F, 0700-1700hrs. No special parts or odd-ball modifications, just nuts and bolts and all MOPAR. This guy knows his stuff, and is seriously all Mopar. This is hands down the best and simplest adapter to do the job, period! And it's cheap by comparison to anything else!!! This is a copy of a post by OldDaddy.

An adaptor for an automatic is available from a guy in Washington. I am having one installed in my 49 B1B so my wife can drive it. There are also adaptors for modern manual transmissions, I have noticed that info posted elsewhere on this forum. It will take a little research but keep checking older post on this forum and you should be able to find it. Best of luck in your project. I had a similar situation with another 49 B1B and I got some heavy duty rivets to reattach the "knuckle" at the top of the steering column. The problem was compounded by a bad bearing in the slider gear lever, I ended up putting a 47 3 speed floor shift in that truck and it worked great for me.

I just finished a 6 to 12 volt conversion and rewire of my 49 B-1-B using the 21 circuit EZ wire kit. I went with the 21 circuit kit for a couple of reason. Reason 1, safety. The original truck did not have fuses and the old wiring had been reworked and added to over the years. So a complete rewire eliminated a lot of concerns. And 2, the 12 conversion had already been started and the truck generator had been removed. The 21 wire kit is vinyl coated wire so does not look original but the truck is a driver not a show truck and the 21 circuits gave me the option to add "creature comforts" such as a modern radio and maybe even vintage air to the truck. In my opinion it all comes down to what makes you happy. Good luck with the truck, and I agree with one of the earlier post, save the patina, don't repaint the truck.

Hi all, I am located near Kankakee, IL about 50 miles south of Chicago. I have a 49 B1B that was my grandfathers and I am the second owner. The truck was all original when I restored it several years ago but since that time the tranny has had to be replaced. If a get together is planned for WI or IL I will plan to attend. I have already committed to an around Lake Michigan trip with my Model A club Sept 7 through 15 so will not be able to attend during that period. Ken

Sorry guys, I had to have it so it is now in my driveway.