Desotodav

Great job Mark, and well done too Dave. The project so far is a true credit to the both of you! Desotodav

Welcome to the forum, and well done on the panel truck Paneleer. I am rather partial to the panel trucks, but I don't own one yet! I may have located one but I am yet to chase it up with a contact. I do own a 56'ish people mover van (pictured) which is sitting in the paddock for now as I am unsure what I want to do with it. I came across a van a few months back which intrigued me (also pictured). The owner would not part with it (unfortunately) as he uses it as a 'cubbyhouse' for his children. I am obviously too far to be able to assist you with parts etc, but I wish you well with your project. Be sure to keep us (here) updated with the progress. Desotodav

Great job Bob. Sorry mate I couldn't resist (see attached)... Desotodav

Ah, now that's an interesting confession Ed. I don't recall Mark making any admissions to the offence as he was trying to avoid the long arm of the law! Is your statute of limitations for simple offences 12 months over there, as it is here? Great looking truck Ed. And yours is coming along very nicely too Mark. Desotodav

Welcome aboard Bob - from one of the Oz members. Use the search function on generators if you haven't already done so. I don't recall too much mentioned on high output generator's though. Be sure to post some pics of your trucks for us. Desotodav

It appears to be a right hand thread on my truck Bob - and that's even after allowing for the difference in yours and my passenger-sides! Desotodav

Link to Ebay item... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&_rdc=1&item=280789123650&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4634.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D280789123650%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1# . Desotodav

Bob, I've seen a few posts on spring shackles in my limited time here. Check this one out as it might assist you in your venture... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=26019&highlight=spring+shackles . My post at # 5 "I have found that by gently wedging a chisel between the flat side of the spring and the end of the spring was just enough to ease some pressure on the spring eye." Desotodav

I took my digital caliper measurements for you from the existing bar mounting holes Mark. The mirror mount hole in my truck centre bar is 3.348" down from the top mounting hole and 2.192" up from the second hole down in the centre bar. I used an original centre bar in my truck - it has a slightly recessed area where the mirror mounting arm secures to it with a square nut affixed to the centre bar at the back. Desotodav

I did something similar with my air filter. I added photos of my modified filter at post # 33 in this thread... http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=26823&highlight=bath+filter . There have been a few threads on air filters started in recent times. Desotodav

Nice pair of NOS knobs on Ebay - just in case any of you are chasing some: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-1956-NOS-Dodge-MoPaR-Heat-and-Defrost-Knobs-vintage-Chrysler-made-part-/120820558180?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item1c21776964#ht_606wt_1396 . Bid starting price of $44.99. No bids yet with only a day to go. Desotodav

Email sent to you Mark. Desotodav

Many happy returns for the day Tim. It sounds like you are spending the day in a way that would make most of us happy! Have a safe journey and a great day. Desotodav

Well I found the culprit for my door locking problem. It turned out that my remote door mechanism did not have the spring required to raise the internal door handle and activate the door lock. I rectified the problem by installing one of my spare mechanisms (which still had the spring attached). I can only assume that the spring was lost during the zinc-plating stage. Now I just have to have look to see if the left side door has the same issue. Desotodav

Many happy returns Mark. You only have a couple more rotations than me! Desotodav

Great link Don. Thanks for sharing. Desotodav

Thanks for the reply Merle. It looks like I'll have to have a closer look at my locking mechanism/s. Desotodav

I was just doing a little research on door locks and came across this post. I'm about to head off to our car/truck club Christmas party and wasn't sure if my door locks were working as I've never had to lock the truck before. I will be at a venue later today which is some distance from my truck, so locking it would be preferred. I find that my left side door will lock fine with the key. The lock mechanism springs in both doors seem to have stretched or sagged and will not return either of the handles to the horizontal position (as shown in attached pic). Am I correct in assuming that these small lock springs cause the handle to rest in the the horizontal position? Would this cause the doors to lock automatically each time the door is closed? I am thinking that if this is the case, I might try to tighten the springs with a 360° rotation (if possible)??? Hank: Did you have any luck having springs made over there? I know that my current Spring Maker only works with rounded spring steel, but I also know that he enjoys a challenge! I recall asking him previously about similar springs, but maybe I wasn't persuasive enough at the time!!! I would need to make sure that our springs are the same here in Oz as yours over there. I should have a few more of these springs down at the shed. I'll drop down there tomorrow and have a look. Desotodav

Welcome aboard Greg. Nice old truck. I am confident that you will find all the information you require for the rebuild at this location. Desotodav

Knighthawk: Maybe you could just go and buy one of the 150 brand new 1997 Chrysler Neons (with zero mileage) that are for sale in Singapore for $1350 each. Nobody knows how the company was able to acquire such a large stock of brand new (14 year old) cars. Apparently they come with a spare wheel but no stereo. I heard about it in my club newsletter and found a link on the internet for the same... http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/10/singapore-company-selling-off-150-brand.html . Desotodav

I came across this interesting Dodge gas tank whilst out west last week. Can anyone ID this one???... Desotodav

Wendleburger: I have found Andrew from RSA most helpful for our truck rubbers etc here in Oz. He will supply the rubbers made up and ready to install. Details as follows... Restorers Hotline or Rubber Seals Australia http://www.netwarehouse.com.au/rsa.htm Andrew Haywood 384 South Road Richmond SA 5033 Ph. (08) 8354 0900 or (08) 8354 0777 Desotodav

Sorry to hear of your incident Dan. I had an 'off' on one of the work trail bikes around 6 years ago and as a result tore my rib cartilage and did some other minor damage. The pain was excruciating, but sitting around at home doing nothing was more unbearable. I ended up getting full medical clearance after a week off work and going back to work on light duties. I had had enough of that within another week so I convinced the boss to let me back to normal duties. I did recover eventually and only have minor long-term issues to contend with now. I have ridden a road bike for work (full-time) for near on the past 7 years now. I'm thinking that it is fast approaching the time to go back to working on a patrol car, but I enjoy the bike too much! I'm presently on a Yamaha FJR1300, with the option of a Honda STR1300 as my next ride. I have attended the scene (and assisted with investigations) of numerous motorcycle crashes within our district with the majority of them resulting in fatalities. Maybe the big fella upstairs was on your side this time! I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery. Keep you chin up mate. I am only one of the many well wisher's from your extended Mopar family! Desotodav (Davin)

Merle: How true. I have found that the wifey comes in handing for stomping on the starter pedal when she's in the passenger seat. Although she tends to stomp on it a bit too long and make the starter motor work for a living! She was also good for a left hand indicator until I installed indicators on the truck. I'm not even going to start in the left side versus right side thing as it took weeks for the last discussion on that topic to be resolved. I am willing to concede that Chrysler branded vehicles were made in USA and therefore our controls here in Oz may be considered by you folk to be on the wrong side! Todd: I believe that my 52 truck was 'flat packed' from Canada and assembled here in Oz (Keswick SA). We had other vehicles listed as 'Australian Made' but I don't know to what extent. I have learned that Richards built and assembled numerous vehicle makes here, which is why our International trucks are very similar. I have found numerous small differences between our trucks and trucks from your side of the world. My 53 coupe truck that I have started working on is an 'Australian made' vehicle. The dyslexia continued through to the external door locks, with the door lock located on the left side door only. There is also only 1 wiper installed on my 52, which is fortunately on the right side of the truck. There are 4 pads on the head liner here. I have had a couple of long thin bars attached to mine (under the roof lining and out of sight) to prevent my roof lining from ever sagging. Our dash area is mirror imaged, which is all good until you try to install a radio or heater as the firewall was unchanged in our trucks. I had enough problems installing my radio so I'll skip on the heater idea. Desotodav