Desotodav

The tow hitch on my 53 truck looks very old and 'home-made'. It may well be different to your truck (as Dave said) because of our 'ute' style trucks here in Oz. You will most likely have to notch the left side of the hitch plate to cater for your spare tire carrier (as you can see in GTK's hitch). I attached the PDF file as it may be able to be used as a template if printed in 'actual size' (or 100%). Be sure to post some pics when you get yours made. Hitch end plate.pdf

Your car seems to be like most other old MOPAR's here in Oz - they run but they don't stop! I sent you a PM.

Where are you located Kelly? I have a friend who is restoring his 48 Desoto 4-door sedan just south of Brisbane. If you are close to Brisbane I'm sure that I could arrange a meeting for you, or alternatively I could attend his place and take photos/measurements for you.

I say go for it Joe! Looks too good an opportunity to pass up to me. It took my wife a while to work out that my truck 'hobby' had become a 'habit'. We have a saying around here: "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" .

I've attached photos of the hitch that was fitted to my 53 truck Fred. I can drop back to the shed and measure it up for you if that helps you.

I have a spare one Ryan. Send me an email and I'll post it to you.

Looks great Ryan! Sure has come a long way, even with your other major side projects! I've been talking of heading down your way (possibly later this year), so hopefully you have it registered by then and will take me for a drive.

Boy those two green trucks look good parked side by side! Where was that little Italian place not far from Rod's parents place that the 3 of us went for lunch on our big day out? They sure did good food! Rod, my 53 truck had the column shift removed and a floor shift installed. It appears that they did just as Mike said in post #16. I will be converting it back soon, but it is an easy enough option of you want to go that way. I recall seeing that floor shift gearbox in the back of your truck when you dropped around Hank's when I was there. Hank, I found that gasket between the bell housing and the engine stopped the oil weep that I had from that area. You may have to use some sealer on the transmission case where the counter-shaft comes though the transmission case there though as the gasket doesn't cover that area.

Welcome aboard GK. Glad to see you finally made it here! You're not wrong there Jeff. Garry and I have been chatting for a few months now and I've finally lured him over to our forum. I have a 'suburban' truck similar to his but mine is a later model, and it's in much worse condition than GK's. I expect that you will see a big change in appearance of GK's 'suburban' truck soon. He has already 'caught the bug' and recently bought a second truck. I reckon that there's just no stopping at one!

That's a good looking sign Bob. I found one on the weekend that I thought would look good on the door/s of my next truck (first sign in attached pic), and then I went looking on the internet for other options when I got home....

Looking very professional there so far Don. I spotted the attached picture on a local truck forum (here in Oz) this morning - how not to wire?.... It sure is funny what one finds when acquiring an old vehicle...

I read the guys comments to your blog so far and have to say that I would have replied with those exact thoughts myself. I can well relate to your situation as I have my 53 truck frame off for sandblasting at present, but find that I continually receive different stories from the Sandblaster as to why the job has not been completed yet. I consider myself somewhat smarter and wiser now having completed my previous truck restoration a few years back. I completed the restoration of my 52 truck a few years back by undertaking one small job at a time. The whole train of thought during that build was to 'do it once and do it right'. Things must have worked out well on that truck as I only occasionally take it to truck shows and there are some 20 trophies sitting on the desk beside me at present. The 52 truck was never intended to be a show truck, but I found that it was quite a nice truck in the end as I did in fact take my time (6 years in total) and did it right - unfortunately there were many lengthy delays during that time (including the same Sandblaster 18 months and the Panelbeater 12 months). Time and money are valuable commodities. The best advice that I can offer you Mike is to make the most of your present time by considering and arranging your next small step, and make the most of the time with your dear old Dad for those may well be the best times of your life.

Sorry to hear of your injury David. It is good to see that you have the strength and determination to overcome your 'setback'. May you be an inspiration to many!

I recall messing around with the steering column in my blue truck Hank as I had a similar issue as Rod. They are not easy to get off the steering shaft with the steering box still in the truck. From memory you can undo the steering box & drop it down a bit to give you the length (or height) you need to slide the column off. The column tube is light gauge & easy to blow holes in when welding if not careful (don't ask!). I have had some of those springs made & can send one over for you/Rod if you need one.

I'm glad that it was an easy fix for you Rod. You should be able to tell if the drum is on far enough by checking the distance it has slid past the lip of the backing plate. I really enjoyed hanging out with you for the day when I was over that side of the globe.I do regret not having gone for a cruise in your old truck at that time. Maybe next time?

Great job DB. What a transformation! Now all the fun is in the driving.

I like you Tim, and I must say that I couldn't be happier that you've finally decided to give me that delivery van of yours and ship it all the way to Australia for me! It is true what you say about seller's on Ebay. I was only saying to my mate Keith on the weekend that it's funny to see people advertise stuff on Ebay saying they have no idea what the part came off but they put some over-inflated price on it anyway. Although, sometimes it works in reverse as I picked up a good set of DODGE hood badges for Keith last week from a fella on Ebay for $20. I won't use the local dealer's for my wife's GM vehicle as they are rip-off merchants. I have my own mechanic work on wifey's car as I know that I can trust him. Her car is actually out of warranty now so I see no reason to visit the GM dealer's again. You and I have much in common when it comes to helping others out with truck parts. It has been sometime now since I have charged anyone for anything from my spare parts stash, and whenever I have asked someone for money for an item it has not been much. In saying that though, I do try to recover the production costs of the stainless steel springs which I have made. It makes me happy (as I'm sure it does yourself) helping others out with parts that I know might just be the piece that they need to finish a job. I may actually have one of those friends who I have helped out with parts bidding for me at auction on another 5 trucks in a couple of weekend's time - fingers crossed!!! Keep up the good work my friend!

Sounds like you had a lucky escape Rod. Good job on your quick thinking temporary remedy. SO there was more than one nut loose behind the wheel of your truck at that time... Let me know if you get stuck mate and I'll send you a washer and nut over.

If I read right Thomas, your engine is still out of the car. It would be easier to replace the seal while the engine is out (as Greg said). I replaced the rear engine seal in my 218 engine recently while the engine was out. The picture you showed from your car manual above was of the neoprene style seal. I used a Felpro seal (photo attached) and have had no further oil leak from the rear of my engine since.

Ed, congratulations to you and Carmon on the addition of your latest little bundle of joy to your family. 5lb 13oz is a little bub, but I'm sure that baby Eli will grow into a full-sized MOPAR fan in time! I reckon that big brother looks almost prouder that dad in the attached photos! All the best to you and your family. Davin (aka Desotodav)

It's funny how people here in Oz ask way too much for parts like this which are usually sourced from USA. I had 2 people quote me $270'ish per kingpin kit (that I know they were sourcing from USA ) and they then told me that delivery would be in about 2 weeks. I was fortunate to know a good fella (here in Oz) like Les who happened to have a couple of sets of them among his NOS parts stash and I paid $260 for the two kits. I suspect that having a spare kit might come in handy in the event that I do ever have to change the ones out in the blue 52 truck (or if I need a set for the 55 truck?). I did find that Andy Bernbaum had them listed for $55/pkg, and I saw a couple more sets listed on Ebay USA for around $50. I didn't see them listed on the VPW pages. The issue that I find buying items in USA is that the freight to get them here to Australia often costs more than I paid for the item!

You're a bad man AndyD !!! LOL :-)

Thanks Hank, but I picked up a set today just before leaving the hometown of AndyD - I actually picked up 2 sets today (see attached photo). The chassis was supposed to be at the Sandblaster's yesterday, but I was out of town so will have to chase him up tomorrow. Thanks for the information Bob. Our trucks here in Oz seemed to have different models to the B1, B2 etc. models that you guys had in USA. The truck which I was chasing the kingpin set for is a 1953 truck, so I suppose that would account for the thicker (0.871") of the 2-sized kingpin sets required.

I have the truck kingpin measurements written down at home - from memory they were something like 0.871 x 5 23/64 inches (or similar). I will have a NOS set in the morning AndyD, so may stop by your shop before I start my journey home again.

Was good to catch up with you again AndyD. Pity your spare NOS kingpins were too thin for my truck. I will chase some up when I return home in a few days time.