Scruffy49

Try Chevs of the 40s or a vintage Harley catalog, some of the springer front ends ran a 6.5" sealed beam. If you find a source, carry spares... Industry standard is 7" singles, 5.25" duals.

Mine has a delete plate and the speaker grille had a black paste board backing. I'm going to put a memorial plaque there instead, my grandparents bought my truck brand new, seems fitting.

Truck is missing its stripes... CSS packaged shipped with hood and roof stripes.Without them it is just an HP (high performance) package. There is a one of two in Seattle that shipped from the factory with a 426 Hemi. Nice guy, tows his matching race car with it. I've got a 413-3/727 sitting out back to maybe go in my 69 D100-128 (long wheelbase slab side bed).

Always use SAE numbers for vintage engine displacement. Use metric for more modern stuff. I tried it the other way at Autozone, told the parts kid I needed a full set of plugs for a 144 cubic inch twin plug 4 cylinder Ford. He got a serious Duh??? look until I told him 2.3L 4 banger, dual ignition. Would have loaded his britches if I'd said what it really is: a fuel infested PINTO engine with a bunch of useless doo-dads tacked on so Fraud can charge you more... Using metric displacement on a vintage engine WILL get you the wrong parts. A 69 318 takes a different plug than a mid-90s and newer 5.2L V8... Different filters, different fluids... Even a Fraud 5.0 and 302 are different animals. Same displacement, different everything else.

Old style lock ring. Think internal snap ring. At least, that's what it looks like. When I grenaded my last Chevy 4 speed those rings were everywhere inside the case.

If you get an early aftermarket unit from the junkyard, many are self-canceling. There is a small rubber wheel in them that is drilled with an eccentric (offset) hole. Rides on the steering wheel base collar, as the wheel turns the signal gets shut off. My truck has had one since 49 or 50, when my grandpa had turn signals added. Works great if you get the height adjusted right. Some tractor shops sell them as well, same style. About $60 or so. Older tractors need lights added if you take them on the paved road while changing fields you are working in. And don't buy the square or rectangular "hot rod signals". Most are cheap Taiwanese junk that was designed to go on Japanese street bikes from the 70s and early 80s. Soft chrome, really cheap potmetal, really thin insulation.

I like the peep mirrors. Never have liked the stock driver side on mine, even before the factory glass broke. Replaced with stainless generic round and the screws stripped... Red wheels look bad. Like the caps and trim rings though. Never fond of the stock black bed, they look so much better solid color or Spring Special style paint. Restored? Yeah right. Stainless strips, furniture finished bed, wrong wheel color... It has potential.

She was driven pretty much 7 days a week from early 49 to June of 74. Multiple trips all over the Pacific Northwest, down into central California, way up into northern British Columbia. That old truck hauled many head of cattle, towed horse and boat trailers, hauled thousands of tons of firewood (grandparents had a wood fired kitchen stove). Hauled half a dozen redwood starts home from the big coastal stands in Cali. Hauled thousands of tons of produce out of eastern Washington. Original engine fell apart in 63 and was replaced. Remainder of running gear is original to the truck (less clutch disc, brake shoes and a couple wheel cylinders). Still has stock spare and I have her original wheels and hubcaps. It will fire as it sits, but the rings are gone in 3 cylinders. 230 sitting in the yard waiting to get painted and installed.

LMC truck has those all the time. So do Freightliner dealers, they came stock on FLD series and some Columbias. Can often find the same or quite similar at Pep Boys. In case anyone wants one without the E-bay headaches.

Here she is. Only usable pic at the moment, I have others on the computer, somewhere. Driver side is currently holding up a bed set so didn't bother taking a pic. I will though to get opinions on the current full wheel cover (15" stainless wire wheel look). Anyway, it really does have over 338K miles on it. And you can see a lot of the use it got, front bumper minorly tweaked, center bumper guard loose, standard front fender rivet rot... Tailgate is in the process of being hinge "sleeved". Never had the center mount support/hinge, makes it easier to cover rotten hinge pipe.

Close enough for me. But finding a 39 in any condition is proving difficult. The 2 I've found here haven't been run since the early 50s, they got worn out during WW2. Too far gone to even think about building one from the two. My wife keeps telling me I can't have a 59. If my 69 Sweptline had been a first series 65 I wouldn't have it either, she hates 4 headlight trucks. I'd settle for a 57. One headache at a time, I already have too many 4 wheeled projects.

The black B1 with L'il Red bed boards looks good. I've been considering that particular mod for years. I'd love to make that gathering some time. Goodguys had gotten so ridiculous I stopped going years ago. Those W series you guys showed just reinforce that I want both 39 and 59 1/2 tons to go with my 49 and 69.

Heck I've batted about putting one in a B1B truck. They kinda fit the trucks. Fit pretty nicely in the cars. I'm eyeballing a 54 sedan for sale in the next town over, have a 413-3/727 in the motorhome. If the motorhome leaks I'm putting that monster engine in something around here. I'm leaning toward the sedan over the truck though. Helped a friend put a 383 in a 51 Dodge coupe, 50 Plymouth can't be that much different can it? You really want to find a complete donor car though, you'll need a lot of the little bits that add up quickly. 60s sedans are still cheap, you'll recoup most of the investment selling the front end to someone with a wagon or 2 door.

Many Dodge truck based class A motorhomes through the 70s used the same buckets and trim rings. My 49's new parts are likely coming off a 1970 Ungers Coach (that will donate its 413-3/727 to my Sweptline). 1948-52 F series parts are pretty close, and easy to get hold of new. If you weren't restoring I'd recommend the halogen upgrade kit from LMC. It is on sale pretty often, comes with everything needed. You can also get new bucket, retainers and trim rings from several motorcycle shops, Emgo makes them in insert type halogen or standard sealed beam configurations. A 7" headlight is a 7" headlight.

That pic convinces me that spotlights on a Pilot House look goofy. Ditto the cab corner lights. Saves me some aggravation and some serious cash. I'd been planning to use Indian Chief Roadmaster front fender lights as cab markers... And add a set of dummy spots right above the cowl.

My 49 truck, 69 truck and horse trailer use the same cap. $4 at any real trailer supply. No clue about the part number, I just took in a drum/hub and said "this size".

Customized. My 49 is being readied for a 230 out of a 57 Savoy, maybe a 5spd and rear axle assembly from my 92 Ranger parts truck. L'il Red Express rims with 235/75-15s, or basic steelies with full wheel covers (Lancer, Caddy, Fiesta). Mahogany strip headliner, aged copper (thin layer on fiberglass) door and kick panels. Two tone paint after I repair some rust out (very minor). All visible exterior fasteners will be stainless with acorn nuts or nut covers. My custom VW Super Beetle is going pink and black in honor of a motorcycling friend fighting late stage inflammatory breast cancer. She's doing well, but the really trying/tiring part is coming up. Car just collects dust at my place, so I'll match it to her bike for the days she doesn't feel up to riding. She can bring it back when she's in remission. I don't leave anything stock, even the John Deeres and Massey Ferguson on the farm have been modified.

Are you planning to run aluminum rims that take a deep seat lug nut? Something like real Cragars or Americans that use a washer under the nut? Any steel wheel should work fine with the stock mounting bolts. My 49 truck is wearing 1978 4x4 rims on stock drums and studs. Ranger 14/15" wheels will work, steel or aluminum, but you need to break off the small stud sticking out of your drum. I'm planning to run 1978 L'il Red Express rims on my 49 truck, they work fine with the stock system. Just need to order some spider caps to cover the lug heads. Or swing by Pilot, Love's, Flying J, etc and get some nut covers. Just don't take the whole car to the tire shop, the kids behind the impact wrench don't understand the concept of reverse threads. Take your drums to a machine shop and have them press the studs in if you need to run deep seat (mag) lug nuts.

Nope. I have a 69 D100. Center fill radiator, shorter and wider than my B1B's radiator, .. 51 did still have the butterfly hood with offset cap top tank, right? But if it is free, have at it. Pilot House radiators cool better though.

Rewiring my 49 with an EZ Wire kit. Replacement engine has stock 12v accessories. Modern wires with micro-fuses. Rewired my stepson's 54 English Ford one wire at a time. Marine grade "tinned" 10-14g for every circuit. Modular install, used marine grade junction blocks to seperate out each light and the gauges. Used a fused junction block as the main power feed. Glass fuses, boat shops still carry them. We got all our supplies at West Marine. Wiring is easy, just a bit time consuming. Well for our "old" cars and trucks anyway. My 69 Dodge truck will also be getting an aftermarket pre-fab harness with modern fuses. That truck is one big rolling short right now, nothing behind the cab works right. Factory fuse block is crumbling.

Art Brass Plating in Seattle. Great work but very pricey. There is a plater in Surrey B.C. that does excellent work for 1/2 what you get charged in Seattle, Portland or NorCal. Can't remember the name though.

Gonna have to bookmark that site. Kinda pricey but where else can you find some of those...

Flexible shotgun cleaning rod and a brass or bronze brush. Not a perfect fit by any means but helps break the crud loose. So does pre-filling the cooling passages with kerosene or ATF. Scrub the cooling passages, then pull the freeze plugs. Have seen many an old engine cleaned out this way. Gets a whole lot more crud out when you power rinse it. You have to pull the head anyway so...

Later model Exploders have IRS...

Nice pics of the point. Haven't seen that since 1990, last time I visited family in Riverhead, Water Mill and Sag Harbor.