Jeff Balazs

So not all rebuilds are the same. When I was building my truck a few years ago I had two identical starters rebuilt at the same shop....at the same time. I put one in and drove it for 3 to 4 years. It always started.....but not always on the first try. Because it is a 70 year old truck and 6 volt I just thought it was just the way it was supposed to be. A buddy suggested I put my other starter in when he heard how it cranked over. Bingo! I barely have to touch the starter pedal and she starts right up. So like I said even though they are identical units.......one is much better than the o

When I put the head on I used Permatex thread sealant. I did not have any leaks until just the last couple of months. W hat do you guys think? Is it safe to just pull one head bolt and re seal it? Or should I wait until I am ready to do a valve job? Jeff

Mr Neal; Nice to hear from you. It's been a while. I have thought about doing what you suggest. My concern is that if it is a crack starting (?) it could make things go from tolerable to much worse in a hurry. I did go through re-torquing several times when I replaced the head gasket a couple years back. As it is right now I probably lose less than a teaspoon of coolant a week. And I have put a bit of BlueDevil in it to see if that will stop it. I have never heard of one of these actually leaking at this location. It is the head bolt closest to the distributor. Your

I have had a kind of odd little coolant leak at the center driver side head bolt on my truck for several months now. It is not getting any worse but it is troubling. It does not amount to much as far as volume goes but it is visible after driving it a few days. Has not effected the way the truck runs either. My truck could probably use a valve job and that is one of the things I would like to accomplish this summer. This truck gets' driven daily and a bit of a freshening up is in order after more than 30,000 miles. I thought I would start getting parts together now. What I am wondering is

Just to clarify what I was suggesting and the issue I had with my vent seal. The gasket I cemented into place when I put my cab back together started cracking after a couple of years. I used black silicone over it to help improve the sealing. This has worked just fine......but my vent door seats as it should. It had not been tweaked over the years. I use mine pretty much everyday this time of year. It would be get way too stuffy in the cab without it. Had it open on my drive to work this morning at 530am. To me this vent is an essential item and needs to work correctly. Jeff

In my mind there is no question that getting that vent door to seal is important. The rusted out floor threat is ever present. Mine does pretty darn well. I have had more problems with the windshield gaskets to seal....and stay sealed. Again black silicone is effective here. Things shift and dry out with time and mileage. This is an area one really needs to keep an eye on. Especially if your truck lives outdoors like mine. Dont worry you will get this to seal. But don't forget to keep an eye on these things as time goes on. Before I ended up getting my truck I was looking at a 57 D

The vent mechanism should pull the "lid" down fairly tight to the gasket. If it doesn't then it will leak. My gasket started cracking after a couple of years. Our hot dry climate 😂. My fix has worked really well. I carefully went over the gasket surface with black silicone and let it cure for a few days. Hth, Jeff

I use a 6 V Optima battery and have never had an issue. One of my buddies just started his hot rod with an 8 year old Optima. Started right up. They last. Hth, Jeff

Yep.......and it only takes one bad experience to change that. Might be a bit safer in a cold damp climate? Here where it is very dry and warm most of the time it just doesn't take much to get a fire going.

I stay away from oil based finishes for the most part. Had a good buddy hobbiest that built a dining room set for his home. Got it all done and started finishing it with tung oil. After a day of finishing he went in to use the restroom and fortunately he was not long. Walked back out to the garage just in time to see the rags smoldering on his work bench. Got his attention right then and forever. Called me a few minutes later to tell me about it. Could have been a disaster. If I were finishing this way I would have a metal can with a good lid and soak the rags in water with the lid on..Aint no

47 Dodge 1.5 Ton; Your flat bed looks great. As a professional woodworker I truly appreciate the effort that has gone into this. Just be careful disposing of any rags etc.... as spontaneous combustion can happen with this sort of finish. Had a good customer building a custom home in Oregon years ago. They had a finisher do an oil finish on the flooring. The finisher left some oil soaked rags laying around....and the house was a total write off the next morning. Jeff

So I guess there are not as many choices out there as I would have thought. With all the interest in vintage vehicles ...... and advances in shock technology I figured this topic would be better covered. But then maybe I am one of very few that use my truck a lot.

Hey Guys; I am planning on doing a few upgrades to my daily driver truck. I have put about 30k miles on it and I think it is probably time for a new set of shocks. I put a very inexpensive set of Napa Gas shocks on it when I built it. They worked well but I think the ride is not as smooth as it was. I am wondering if anyone has put a higher end shock on their truck? and if so how do you like them? Thanks in advance. Jeff

Interesting. Mine has a 4 speed fluid drive. It would have been miserable though with the 4.10 rear end. Luckily I figured that out while I had mine apart. I put a 3.55 Grand Cherokee rear end in it and that has worked out well. It can cruise at 70 no problem. But the truck feels best when moving a bit slower. It doesn't shimmy but I don't think the "aerodynamics" work that well above 65. 😄 Have fun with your truck. They are awesome when set up correctly! Jeff

Very cool Jim. Should be much more pleasant to cruise now. Which transmission did you have in your truck before this? Jeff