Desotodav

I haven't met Mike, but those other two guys that he's with in that above photo look 'dodgey' !!!

Mark did a post with good photos a while back. Hope the link works...

I had some made a while back but not sure if I have any left. Will post a photo when I get home from work later.

Use the search button in the top right corner of your screen and look for a thread called 'hand brake'. Tim (aka 48D) explains the e-brake in the second of his 3 video's in a post on that thread.

You talk like an Aussie mate. I reckon you'll be wanting to throw a shrimp on the Tim's barby next April I was playing around with Desoto and Fargo hood emblems as I have a friend who works at a foundry. Those are a little rarer than the Dodge hood emblems here in Oz, so I thought I would look into having a supply made. I'm still waiting on my Chromer to tell me how much they will end up when finished, but I expect that they will be too pricey as chroming is not cheap here - DCM has the Dodge hood emblems listed at $52.50 there in USA so maybe I need to send him some good samples and he could forward them to his supplier for manufacture? We did a couple of samples (see photo). The casting metal they use comes out gold-colored, but they should look quite close to the original ones when chromed. I was messing around with some of my gas tanks at the shed. I already have tanks repaired for the 52 and the 53 trucks, but I still need one fixed for the 55. I have a friend who said that he could repair them, so I was looking at having them repaired (if the price works out ok) and I might sell a few of them off. They are quite hard to get here in Oz and I suspect that they will fetch a good price once repaired. Wifey keeps telling me that I spend too much on my trucks so I need to sell off some parts to recoup some outgoings. My friend (Kenny) who is looking to repair the tanks was thinking of widening one of them for his V8 Dodge truck as the extra gas capacity would be good for him out west there. I must check back with him to see how he's getting on.

Time sure passes by quick these days. Thanks for the reminder Tim. I have been away with charity work, and working plenty of overtime at work while I have been back home!... but things have been happening on my old 'Pop truck'. I had all of the LUCAS electrics refurbished by our local Auto Electrician and now have them all back together, but I am yet to have them painted. My smaller side projects on the coupe truck have seen me playing around with transmission speedo adapters (to cater from 4.1 to 3.54 diff swap), dual horns, handbrake cable, gas tanks, casting of Desoto and Fargo hood emblems, external door locks, horn ring, and steering wheel. The panel work on the truck has been slow (mostly my blame as I have been directing funds toward our investment properties of late), but our coupe truck is nearing completion. I thought the truck was looking good a couple of weeks back with both doors and hood pieces fitted, but we have had a minor setback with one of the doors since then so the truck looks less complete at present! The process now involves working clockwise around the front of the truck from the dash area to perfect gaps and undertake minor adjustments. The external door lock will soon be installed on the opposite side door with the use of a USA door latch mechanism (thanks to Mark aka ggdad1951). I was hoping to have the truck in final paint at the end of January 2018, but this may not happen until April/May 2018 now as I want the truck to sit in primer for a couple of months prior to paint. I should also have the running boards back all repaired and looking new by this Christmas. I have been looking at all of the screw/bolt holes in the firewall over the past few days as it seems that quite a few holes have been added during the many years that the truck spent out west as a pig shooting truck. I didn't realize that there were so many holes to identify in the firewall! It has been a long and costly project... but it appears that the end is finally in sight!

That's how I made it to the BBQ in 2014 and 2017 . I have suggested to wifey that she will be with me when I'm back in 2020.

Are you talking about the in-line sediment filter Dennis? If so, there should be a small spring between the filter and the bottom of the glass bowl.

I had to take my old floor jack in for a new seal when it started leaking oil like that. If yours is new... I'd be contacting the seller to arrange an exchange jack.

I tap a cold chisel in where the end curl of the spring meets the flat section as that seems to release some pressure on the spring eye.

What a timely thread as I have been playing with steering wheels today. I received my steering wheel horn ring back from my Chromer yesterday, and only today fitted it with my recently obtained horn ring button (thanks again ggdad1951). I found that the trucks here in Oz seemed to progress from the steering wheel with the closer 'Y' spokes to those with a wider 'Y' spokes within the steering wheel ring. Our Oz trucks 48-52 seem to been fitted with part # 1272165 with the closer spokes, and the horn ring (part # 1272411) was a match for that steering wheel. Our Oz trucks from 53 seem to have been fitted with steering wheel (part # 1195035), and our 'coupe' trucks even had their steering wheel painted white! So, I have had to find an older steering wheel down at my shed and will now clean it up to fit on my 53 coupe truck as I reckon it will look better with a horn ring attached. I'm not sure what you guys did over the other side of the pond... but that steering wheel which you have shown in the above picture would be a match for a 48-52 truck here in Oz. If you do happen to buy that steering wheel and horn ring from your friend John, the straight spoke in the steering wheel center is said to be positioned to the top so as not to block view of your speedo when driving.

Cool photos John. Looks like they just assembled a couple of 'Spring Special' trucks in the background of the first 2 photos!

I am pleased that you chose to start and share a project thread on your truck here John. I am sure that stories of your progress will be enjoyed by many of us here. Thank you for sharing... and keep the updates coming!

I suspect that the 4 speed would be no different to the 3 speed when it comes to the speedo gear drive seal as it appears to have the same fitting (as the 3 speed) where the speedo cable connects to.

I have found a few drums with outer springs fitted on my trucks over the years. There are a few theories to the spring around the outside of the brake drum: used to dampen harmonic resonance (vibration), used as additional surface area to disperse heat when a drum has become thinner due to machining, used to prevent the drum from over expanding and breaking. I find at least the first 2 theories plausible. Keep up the good work Paul - gently as it goes for now though!

Size does matter hey! My trucks all have 3-speed column shift... so it might be best to confirm the actual speedo cable length with someone who has a fluid drive fitted. The length of my cables depends on how you talk: 54 inches, or 4 foot and 6 and 1/4 inches, or 1375 millimeters (from and to outside edge of end fittings). I have 3 cables out of the trucks at present as I have been messing around with a speedo correction fittings to correct my speedo from a diff change from 4.1 ratio to 3.54.

Looks to be the same fittings to the speedo and gearbox which I have Dave. I've attached photos for you.

I'm back home again. Have been quite busy with charity work. Will message again soon RD46.

That's a good looking truck. It has some good wax beads in the water on the paint too. She won't get far on that spare rim though!

Hi Andy, Welcome to the forum. It's always good to see another Aussie pop up here. We would love to see photos of your truck. I'll send you a PM.... so click on the envelope icon in the top right of your screen to open.

It is better to remove the hood and the radiator first as it makes the front clip ('dog house') a bit lighter. There is only about 8 bolts which hold it on at the rear - brackets down the 'A' pillar and up under the rear of the guard at the side of the firewall... and 2 more bolts under the radiator support channel piece. You also have to disconnect wiring for head lights and parker lights, but that's about it. I have found it best to have 3 people to lift is as you need to spread the rear section of the guards a little to get them around the mounting brackets.

Thanks for the update Mark. I was wondering what you were up to a couple of weeks ago. Good to see you back in the game again my friend.

I was looking into parking brake cables for a friend here in Oz recently. The inner cable seems to fray with age. I pulled 4 of them from my trucks and found that 3 of them needed the inner cables replaced. I found a fella at a brake and clutch shop down the road who has the machine required to crimp the ends onto the inner cable. He said that they plastic coat the inner cable when they make them as that prevents the inner cable from getting caught up inside the outer case. They charge $55 for the new inner cable (if the outer case of the park brake cable is ok). It would not be cost effective for you to send your cable here to Oz, but it may be worthwhile checking with a brake and clutch shop in your area as they may well be able to do the job. There are a few part numbers for park brake cables for the different sized trucks... but the most common part number (which is for the 1/2 ton truck) is A1272599.

You're not looking hard enough mate !!!

You are welcome. Dodge truck, B series Parts Manual, 1952 The steel tubes are known to rust. I found that there was a brass tube fitted to my 52 Desoto truck. I have had a stainless steel tube made for my 53 Dodge coupe truck.