Scruffy49

Side boards are too low, how you gonna stick nice oval signs on those things? Mine is a standard cab. Completely ignorable in a sea of modern trucks or fish bowl cabs.

Does your bearing actually still turn? I've had them dry out and fail in other same era vehicles... looks fine, but it is frozen almost solid, puts a bind on the clutch fingers, throwout assembly and the transmission input shaft. Next to impossible to shift once the engine is running, shift into every gear pefectly when not running.

Go for it, worst case you have to sleep in the truck for a few nights... I've seen a couple Utes that were shipped over at car shows on the west coast of the USA. I'd love to get my hands on one. They look really nice with a restored/modernized vintage camper behind them. I'd say the original poster's silver one is about as close to perfect as you are likely to find. Maybe add some nicely sealed and polished gumwood or eucalyptis burl trimmings and enjoy driving it.

Classifieds on this website, put up a wanted ad. Vintage Power Wagons sometimes has long block flywheels and ring gears. One or more of the Sweptline forums/sites, as the 251 was in use in one ton 4wd conventional cab through end of model year 1963 (very scarce, but you stumble on a parts junker ocassionally). Some top level machine shops can rebuild your existing ring gear teeth, but it is a course of last resort. Phenomenally expensive. Figure on a dollar per tooth, per step, plus heat treating fees.And add in the shop labor rate... at least, that's how they work around here (Memphis TN area). There is nothing cheap about repairing an L6, especially the bigger blocks. But it is definitely worth it for a period "hop up" like you have. Nice looking engine.

Haven't seen that one, don't have satellite or cable, just antenna television, got tired of wasting scarce money for iffy programming. Anybody tackling a Sweptline better know what they are doing... That body series is notorious for the levels of rot that crop up in them. And replica body panels are pretty much nonexistent. Turning mine into a farm stand for the time being, at least it can earn its keep while the wiring, upholstery, floor and door rebuilds, etc are going on. Your average Swepty is going to have rotten door bottoms, rotten or missing floorpans, rotten cowl, rotten wooden bed mounting blocks, suspect if not outright disastrous wiring issues, tweaked if not cracked frame (they got used, hard, like trucks should be)... Bad gauges, bad fuel system components (tank seams rot, even in the cab), dried out rear wheel bearings (greased, not splash lubricated, not common anymore so overlooked)... Nearly impossible to repair windshield and back glass leaks, rotten hood lip, damaged irreplaceable grill panels... Good trucks, but you really have to love them to justify the expense in time, cash and materials. And plan on a few years to fix the issues, I've owned and been driving/working on mine since September 2004 and it has a long way to go to be "right", let alone "restored"... Which shop bit off more than it could chew this time?

sounds like you got in planned in your favor as it would surely look tacky in the coupe...(No radio in the power giant by the way) Naw, I'm going with an underdash if I bother adding a vintage unit, have 2 horizontal mount types, AM only dual voltage capable, and an AM/FM/SW dual voltage capable... don't much care for either one except as decoration. Anyone have an old radio for sale cheap? Might could be persuaded... can't decide if I want the functional one to be tuner with cassette, tuner with cd, tuner with 8 track, plain old tuner... probably with cd, not overly fond of analog tuners. And since I have an extra cd head unit or two floating around my parts bins...

Surprised? Not really, my inspection when I lived on the Gulf Coast was give the shop $5 and get my sticker. Friend on the city police force asked me why I bothered... Just because he didn't enforce it, doesn't mean the state trooper having a bad day feels the same way about it... County I live in is in violation of federal clean air standards. City was paying for every resident's smog test, decided they couldn't afford to keep funding it... county and state told the city too bad, we aren't taking it over, city council couldn't pass a $10 per vehicle charge for smog tests... Have a friend in Colorado who's hot rod 70 Sweptline (overbuilt 440) has to pass safety AND smog every year... And my home state was talking dropping smog, since all new vehicles sold there supposedly have to meet CA standards anyway. Strange world we live/play in...

I just tell the Dodges before hand that "You F*** me over on this, you're getting scrapped and will come back as Kia sedans".... usually works. Or if it is running and screws up, I threaten to burn it and buy a Chevy... usually makes the problem go away. Now, when I pulled the clutch side case off one of my mototrcycles and saw the timing chain tensioner is 2mm away from dropping out and destroying the engine... you'd have thought I was back In Rota with the SeaBee battallion...

Tim, just swipe the radio box out of your Power Giant. Make a clone of the casing, add modern guts and speaker. Mount on the windshield header, if it looks tacky in the car, send it to me for my truck...

You need to have a 60 something year old truck inspected? Wow... figured they would be exempt past a certain age. I know most safety inspections are just lights, horns and wipers, but the old stuff has different requirements that newer techs tend to not look up. Glad to hear the new stuff works, both my engines have rotten stats in them.

Fixed it.

Really nice truck. I would love to have one like that for our small farm produce hauling needs. Much more eye catching market truck han an American 1/2 ton.

More like the bottle hauler?

So, something like the baby rollback in the pic or...

Has it changed again in the last month?

At least you can get in easily, I kept seeing an "internal server error" message. Thought the site had gone away, tried via googling "pilot house forum" today and was able to log in again...

Anyone can restore a classic car, but it takes a real hotrodder to cut one up and make it cool! Gotta say, I agree whole heartedly... Stumbled across an underdash mount 45rpm record player...may just have to figure out how to install it... not exactly what I'd call cool, but definitely an interesting add on. Doubt it works anymore at any rate.

It has been drilled into their heads at the indoctrination centers that the state knows all and has your best interest at heart... I blame all the "ding dong daddies and moron mommies" that want to have kids yet take no responsibility in their proper upbringing, leaving it to the commies in the school system and on television. Now, around my place, only sportbikes, tuner cars, and thug infested suvs get messed with... really lax motorcycle laws, my apehanger equipped no muffler and no functional turn signals bar hopper is actually street legal. Dash board mods? i'm not that far into it yet, but it will have round gauges replacing the stock rectangles that don't match the round speedometer worth a hoot.

Check your pm folder...

Depeends on the wheel in question, and the year of the hub in question... My 85 F250HD 2wd used the same rims as a 90s Dodge 1 ton van. My 69 D100 is currently running 1978 L'il Red Express steel wheels, has also been test fit with 14 and 15 inch FORD alloys from the 60s and 70s, but Ranger 14/15 alloys don't fit. My 49 is wearing 1978 Ramcharger 4x4 rims, has been fit successfully with Ranger alloys, Ranger steels, Crown Vic steels, Diplomat steels, 57-60 D100 steels, 60s and 70s alloys... if the cars had the same tiny hubs as the trucks in the 40s, the selection of modern wheels that will fit is rather mind blowing. Some ride the hub, some ride the studs. None have popped off due the mounting style.

As much as I loved Deltron and Delthane, my 69 D100 is bug bomb Rustoleum Dark Hunter Green and factory white roof, my 49 B1B is Rustoleum bug bombs in whatever was handy when I got through for the day. Except the frame, brush on Rustoleum flat black, and, I just found a couple gallons of lead based yacht paint in my father in law's basement... I know what I'll be using over the lead based primer that has been on it since 1958 or so... the aircraft enamel is flaking off, the marine grade (Todd Shipyard surplus, yep, Seattle area truck originally) red lead primer is rock solid. Good thing I shaved off the fulf facial hair last week, going to need a GOOD respirator for that mess.

Styrofoam board in the ceiling. Cut it in narrow strips and it will bend. And it is light, a good (industrial) spray adhesive will hold it in place just fine. Did a 35 Ford coupe with it a couple decades ago, it's still in place. My uncle drives the car all the time. I know you do wood working Jeff, a wooden strip headliner a la CrisCraft kills a lot of heat and noise. My stepson's mid 50s Ford Squire (2 door English wagon that could drive down a municipal sidewalk) was done in western red cedar furring strips, no other insulation, and it cut the noise level by close to 60%.

Get a slightly overlength .690 knurl and have them swedged in. Finding replacement PH era drums isn't the easiest task in the world.

It isn't as tricky as it sounds, IF you have access to decent materials. PPG is my favorite to work with, Sherwin Williams has a decent line of automotive paints, Martin Seynour is fine to work with. Tricky paints? The pre-mix Duplicolor from the big box parts store, any other lacquers, and House of Kolor (great shades but water thin). If you just want color on a driver, go with industrial alkyds, marine/yacht paints, tractor enamels, or good old Rustoleum. They all need thinning, and the tractor paint could use an activator/hardener for best results, but they are all very forgiving when learning how to paint. Valspar/House of Kolor has a line of tractor paints that not only has a good open time and pot life, but has pretty decent color selection. The old truck standard Sahara/Mojave/Dodge Truck Cream is... Cub Cadet Beige. You can do the entire vehicle for under $200 if you have a compressor and even a cheap siphon feed gun. Perfect? No, but if you are entering it as a learning experience and end up liking the process, pretty cheap fun. You can always sand and respray it later... octogenerian you say? So, there was a 100 year old lady on the news here that still drives, volunteers at the hospitals and "old folks" home... Your truck should have knocked at least 20 years off your age spirits wise... so you're now late 50s or early 60s.

What? My 32 Ford has wood in the floors, from the factory. It isn't what I'd consider optimal, but it works. Actually transfers less heat into the passenger compartment than a metal floor does. And it's quieter. Ash tray? No smoking in the PH, it doesn't have flame resistant/retardant upholstery. And I'm pretty sure a tank seam is letting go, the smell of varnished gas has gotten pretty strong the last couple of years. Whatever it takes to fix it Wolfman will be worth it in the end. Some of my happiest days were when I last had my grandpa's 49 B1B-108 running and driving. Mine is in the early stages of clean and paint the under carriage, replace the rear axle/brakes and rebuild a bigger/newer L6 right now. It's a money pit, but, keeps me happy tinkering with it. Wish I'd repainted it 19 years ago when I pulled it out of the barn it had sat in for 20 years, would be in much better condition.