Desotodav

One more sleep!!! We leave Torrance at 4am and head up the 5. Should be there by 10am if all goes well.

Oh no... hope you just stopped off for a meal & ran into them - better that than have dealings with them because of a towing your old truck to the Q incident. Hank & I were in Burbank today... we sure have an interesting story to tell around the fire pit on Saturday night... and yep we have photos!

What a day!! Hank, Rod & I went through sheds full of MOPAR car & truck parts at a place in Cudahy today. We suggested that the parts owner come to the BBQ, but we'll catch up with her again at Spring Flling at Van Nuys on the 8/9th April if she doesn't make it th Clements. We will bring photos to the BBQ of the 4 trucks which she is selling.

I was last here in CA in 2014 - too long ago! i was hoping to do a trip along the coast road through Big Sur., but wasn't sure whether the road was still closed from the mud slides. Thanks for the information Merle. We'll have to stop off in Lodi on the way through as we'll need some cold beers for the camp fire on Saturday night. Might get something better than that lollie-water that Mark drinks!

I got you covered for #8 Brent as I arrived in CA early this morning after an almost 14hr flight. Best news just confirmed is that I'll be heading to the BBQ with both Hank & Rod. We arranged a hire car just before a should arrive at the BBQ around 10am Saturday.... see you all then.

Only about 9000 miles out of my jurisdiction! Maybe I'll keep a few work items (souvenirs) in the car for our trip before I post them off to Dan at NYPD?

Seen on Facebook today - Dodge Brother's first Ram prototype?...

Nup. I was just very impressed at the idea when Rob posted pictures of it in his DD build thread... .... (post #128 on page 6 of that thread has more information). I'd really like to (one day) install one the same as that in my blue truck. I'll have to show it to my gauge fella and see if he can find me a 6v tach from Westach! I look forward to chatting with you again Jim at 'the Q'.

JPP, Tim (aka 48D) has good videos on shackle removal/installation if you do a forum search. Your threads for a left-hand drive truck should be as follows: Front left shackle: right thread top and left thread bottom Front right shackle: right thread top and right thread bottom Rear left shackle: right thread top and left thread bottom Rear right shackle: right thread top and right thread bottom ... the shackles threads are reversed (or 'mirrored') to the USA ones over here in Oz - we have our right/right shackles on the left of our trucks. I believe the reason for the threads being particular did have something to do with preventing them from loosening off with road travel.

My favorite tach is the one installed in DD...

My 52 clutch pedal rubs against the floor panel as well. Must be a common thing with these old trucks hey? You can adjust the travel of the clutch pedal to prevent it from hitting the floor on return by turning the bolt in on the 'collar 65-45-5' (see attached manual picture). My pedal doesn't hit the floor as I have adjusted it to stop just before there.

Hi Rod. I felt for you when I spoke with Hank about your gearbox woes recently. i look forward to catching up with you again in March. Drop me a PM with the parts you need as I have spare trannies & will bring parts with me (if you can wait about 8 weeks).

Both Hank and I had to do the same repair to our sump. Hank used EZ Weld (1st attached photo) and I used a product called QuikSteel (2nd photo). I believe that sealants are easier to fix the leak in that area as engine oil gets caught between the surfaces and makes it hard for any weld to stick. We both used our Dremel tool with the wire brush attachment to clean up the area. I gave the area a clean with Acetone before applying the sealant. I cleaned up my repair (with a small Dremel sanding attachment) before the black paint was applied and I reckon that anyone would be hard-pressed to see it now. I was on the same mission as you a while back trying to stop ALL of the oil leaks in my 52 truck. I was mostly successful (apart from a present annoying sump plug leak). I find these truck engines share a similar feature to the old English motorcycles ... "when it stops dripping you're out of oil"

I only wish I could make it to 'the Q' more often. My vacation leave form is lodged, my flight is booked... and my excitement is mounting!

I reckon that's good news when you end up keeping another old truck! If you do decide to part it out... I'm still chasing a horn button for my horn ring that I mentioned in that PM a while back.

Sad to hear Mark. Hank and I are traveling up in his convertible Nissan. I'm not sure when we will arrive yet as I am yet to book the flight to LAX.

I have my gauges in at my mate's shop at present. He does a lot of work on calibrating gauges for the mining industry. He tested the temperature my gauge was reading and said that it was a little low, so he topped it up with ether. I seem to recall that Keven was fixing temp gauges a while back so might be worthwhile chatting to him - B1B Keven.

Mine is still at the panel shop. They were checking the door gaps yesterday before reassembling the rear section. We call them a 'coupe' truck. There is nothing behind the rear seat - the load area just extends into the undercovered area. A selling point on the trucks back in the day was the huge 17 inch parcel tray behind the driver. I will update my build thread (on the truck forum) in the next few weeks as I suspect that there will be a fair bit of progress made. see link attached...

Merle, I recall seeing that in a post of an old training video clip. They showed the comparison between Ford and MOPAR highlighting the fact that the higher front engine mount and lower bell housing mounts provided diagonal mounting points for better engine stability. All of the trucks which I have owned here in Oz have been fitted with 25 inch engines. I know that it might seem a little radical... but could a fella (with a smaller engine) think of drilling out the rivets and cutting the welds to slide the whole front cross member forward to cater for the larger engine? One would have to mess around a little to re-line the radiator u-frame mount. I'd be happy to provide measurements as I am yet to put the 53 truck body back on the chassis...

Thanks for the offer Brent, but I'll be landing at LAX and spending some time with Hank and Blanca. It's entertaining hanging out with Hank. I remember the last time I was there in 2014 and we were cruising the streets in Hank's truck until the distributor played up... and then we nearly got into a punch up with the tow truck driver after they sent the wrong type of truck. I hope to catch up with RodFru whilst in that part of town as well. Maybe even a trip out to see Jeff again before he moves out to where life is slower? Wifey won't be with me - she's on vacation with our Daughter in New Zealand at present. Work gets busy for me around this time of year so I tend not to take leave, and the overtime which I work (around 28 hours per month at present) is what funds my truck builds! I look forward to seeing you there brother.

I got it marked on my calendar too. Just waiting for word back from Hank & I'll book my flight. Will be good to catch up with my forum brothers again.

Nice cars there John. Should be a big party night in Hobart tonight with the winning yaught pulling in to dock at around 2am this morning. Seems they broke the race record by about 5 hours. Andy... I'll have to look around for that truck later in the new year. I'm thinking of dropping down your way for a short stay at the farm after I get back from California in April.

Hi John and welcome aboard. I'm sure that there are others here who would like to see some pictures of your car. Just as a matter of interest... where did you order your water distribution tube (WDT) from? I replaced one in the engine for my 53 truck recently - I obtained the WDT from Les Sonter. There is a section on WDT's under the 'Technical' - 'Tech Tips' tab in the toolbar towards the top centre of your forum page.

I've changed my mind for my 55 truck since then Jeff. It seems like a turbo Ford engine would be a lot easier to do as it is just about the same dimensions and similar cubic capacity to the original MOPAR engine. My only issue now is that wifey told me that restoring 2 trucks is enough! Looks like it went well for this fella though...

... I made all of the brake lines and have them installed. I removed samples from various trucks and used them as templates. I had a new fuel line made at the same time. I searched around and found a ceramic fuel filter for the Carter glass bowl attached to the carburetor. I have found a number of trucks with rusted out lower radiator pipes here in Oz... so I had one of them bent up out of stainless at a local exhaust shop. I have had a few small pieces painted along the way. My Painter often paints old Harley Davidson frames for one of his clients, so he hangs my parts in the both and paints them at the same time. The list of small chores for me continues whilst I have the major body parts at the shop. How can so much fun be legal! May all the beauty and blessings this Christmas season has to offer be with you and your family. Merry Christmas to you all.