Jeff Balazs

Tim; You could use it instead of a pop up to provide shade for the crowd at the BBQ. And there is probably room for a couple of hammocks strung up between the axles for the over-nighters. Or just park it in a prominent place and use it like P.T. Barnum used the Big Top. Jeff Hey if it ever does rain it might make a decent mud truck to get you out to inspect the south 40.

And this "little jewel" is still for sale........I am a bit surprised 48Dodger has not added it to his collection. Might need a ladder though. To my eye these are no sillier than the lowered look ........ at least this has fair amount of ground clearance. Jeff

There has been a lot of talk about lowering these trucks...yuck!....I think If I was going to do something it would be more like this. Kind of takes things to a new level......and no need to stop at the speed bumps. Jeff

Well......what a joke this show has turned into. The episode aired today had no more than about 4 minutes of time on the Command car project.......and it is being heavily glossed over. Lots of adverts and foo-foo winery crap though. Unbelievable that this sort of stuff stays on the air. It doesn't seem like there is one decent automotive show produced here in the States. Wheeler Dealers out of the UK puts them all to shame. The level of detail on that show makes our shows look very sad indeed. Jeff

Hank; From one old dingo to another......I think a tube of Permatex #2 belongs in every tool kit. I use it on sealing surfaces and on any threaded fasteners that could leak like these water pump bolts. As far as I am concerned it is the cat's meow. I don't recall what length the fasteners are but I matched up some grade 8 bolts to the originals. I suppose this was inevitable. Of all the issues my truck had when I got it the cooling system was probably in the nastiest shape. I don't know how long it sat with water in it.......but many years. I will keep after it from here out. Jeff

Ok so I flushed the radiator into a 20 gallon pan about 10 times. Got a lot of stuff out.......the last few runs it became cleaner and cleaner until there was almost no rust particles. Flushed the block too. Then I reassembled and fitted a 160 thermostat.......now it runs at 160/165 so it is good to go for the time being. I think I will do another flush in 3 or 4 months. I will probably pull the welsh plugs then. That ought to be good enough to take care of this. Jeff

Scott; After thinking about it that axle shop is probably off Lambert between La Habra and Harbor. It was still going strong a year or two ago. You should be able to handle a 3.55 ratio.......my 3/4 ton does easily and I don't think even a 3.23 would be an issue. If you found something like this that fit it would surely be the most cost effective solution. I graduated/escaped in '73. Old J.W. Burch was still around and the dealership did quite a business including fleet and heavy truck sales. He was quite a character. He had been the sheriff of Jackson Hole back in the day.....and started the dealership in 1929. There was even a rumor that he might have used "found loot" to open the business at the onset of the Depression. When I worked there he had a home in Palm Springs......next door to Bob Hope......and he spent quite a bit of time at the western White House counseling or perhaps consoling ........ Nixon. At any rate he took a liking to me and I spent a couple of days every month with him running errands and collecting rent checks from his considerable commercial real estate holdings. He was in his 80's, as sharp as a tack and downright formidable. When he was out and about on his own there was always an old Colt under the seat. First time I saw it I about ****. I asked him if it was loaded and he said "You don't ever want to find out the hard way." I imagine his Grandson Marty was at the helm when they closed. He was a useless used car salesman back then. He wasn't allowed to step foot in the Main dealership when I worked there. I clearly remember the old man confiding in me that "That boy will be the death of me yet" Heis probably still rolling over in his grave. Good luck with the truck . Jeff

Hey Guy's; I was careful to use the correct old style coolant. I have the system completely drained and will flush the radiator and the block before putting it back together. It is not a big deal......I was just sort of surprised to see so much junk in the system. Not sure if these remaining rust particles caused it to run warm? There was a fair amount that collected on top of the thermostat. Davin; Yes our climate is very similar. The area I live in is known for gum trees which were brought over .......from down under. Warm and very dry.....but no Dingoes.... other than Hank. Sounds like a fairly regular flushing routine is a good idea. I hadn't thought it would be necessary but I can see the wisdom in it now. Jeff

I am using the green stuff and it has only been in it a short while. I have drained the coolant into a big pan and it looks fine...it is not brown or rusty looking. The rust seems to cling to stuff like the inside of hoses but comes off when scrubbed and flushed with water. Jeff

Hi All; I suppose many of us....maybe even all of us?....... that have been through the cooling systems in our trucks have come across this issue. When I began revive my truck after it's long period of inactivity I put a lot of work into getting the cooling system up to snuff. Re-cored the radiator......pulled the old water distribution tube......flushed the block....pulled the head........new welsh plugs......new water pump and distribution tube....etc.etc. Heck I even spent hours with a magnetic wand fishing rusty crap up out of the cooling passages. And I flushed again and again. Did a 50/50 mix of fresh coolant and distilled water. The coolant looks really clean.....or so I thought. A couple of weeks ago we had a hot spell here. I had run the truck for about 20 minutes when I noticed the temp up at about 195 - 200 range. I shut it off right away........and got to thinking about this. I had fitted a 180 thermostat and an electric fan and it was warm that day and most of the time the truck was just sitting and idling. I decided to get a 160 thermostat and see how that worked. It arrived so today when I had a few minutes break I drained the cooling system and pulled the thermostat housing. Wow! There is quite a bit of suspended rust in the system. The coolant looks clean but the thermostat was caked......the inside of the radiator hoses were caked.......and I have to assume the radiator and block have a fair amount in each. I am going to go ahead and flush things as best I can again. Unbelievable.......I would have sworn I had gotten 99% of it out before I ever started it up. Engine has maybe 35 to 40 hours of run time now. Just goes to show you that what you think is good to go........ isn't necessarily so. Jeff

Welcome Bumpside.......from a La Habra alumni. Go Highlanders! My folks lived off Beach and Imperial for years. As a youngster I worked at Burch Ford......gone now but quite a place in it's hayday. Have you looked at Dana 44s ? Might find something that would work there? I think there is still a custom rear axle builder off La Habra blvd. That might be another option. I have a 3/4 ton with a Grand Cherokee rear........each model Pilothouse has differences that effect the install. As you have already found out this group is the best resource for anyone with a Pilothouse. Doing one without it is just plain silly. Jeff

On the fluid drive 4 speeds it is just possible to remove and replace that spring with the tranny in place and the inspection cover off. Heavy emphasis on just. At least I was able too once. Would not want to do it often though. I am not certain if this is possible on the non fluid drive models as I suspect access is slightly different with the other bell housings that were used on the standard trannys. Jeff

Mark......No siphoning? You have lead a sheltered life. Paul's method....... while a good one ....... won't work in all cases. You can't always make the situation work with the existing conditions. Those little outboard motor siphon bulbs are much more versatile. A good 10$ addition to most tool kits. I worked with a fellow years ago who died from doing this the wrong way. Got a slug of fuel in his lungs and no one was around to call for an ambulance. I did it myself many times when I was younger........usually out in the desert after we had exhausted all the fuel we hauled out for our dirt bikes......and then resorted to siphoning from our trucks for just one more ride. That was in the days before cell phones and GPS. If it had gone wrong it would have been ugly. I am a bit more cautious these days. You know things must be radically different these days? I don't ever remember taking or drinking any water the entire weekend on those trips. Jeff

Jeez Mark I thought you were a bright guy....?.....siphoning is no big deal with the right set up. All you need is a siphon bulb for an outboard motor and some fuel line. Easy, safe and no unpleasant aftertaste. Honestly.......you can wind up in a hospital or worse sucking on gas like that. Go stand in the corner!!! Jeff

When I first got my truck the filler tube fit loosely too. I dug around in some old plumbing fittings and found a reducer that I could use as a forming spud. You could use something else......just needs to be something with a taper that will slide into the tube and snug up. The idea is to slightly expand the tube until you get a good interference fit. Once I got a good fit I slipped a heavy o-ring over the tube then put a little permatex on the tube and tapped it into place. It does not leak and the o-ring helps to keep water etc... out. Hope this helps. Jeff

Thank you Charles. I will look forward to following your progress. For what it is worth I like the idea of making these trucks truly usable. I am sure you really did some soul searching on this. We all know the woodies are extremely rare. Now if you were doing something silly like chopping the top ......or some other form of butchery then I probably wouldn't be to into this. But as it is it sounds like you are going about this very respectfully. Hope to see it in person some day. I make my living doing custom woodwork. I have seen a whole lot of woodies over the years too......even worked on a couple of fairly rare Buick's years ago. I am not just saying this because I am a Pilothouse guy..........but what you have is very special. I am sure you know that. You obviously have a great deal of emotional connection with this truck. Jeff

Charles; Should be a very interesting project. If possible please post photos of the fabrication process as it develops. Thanks and hope it all goes well. Jeff

Y....E...T I really think that is just about to change. Based on what is out there right now the Dodge trucks are certainly the best value for the buck. Wouldn't surprise me to see them go up dramatically in the next 2-4 years. Vintage trucks have caused a lot of eyebrows to go up at the auctions lately. I say get while the getting is still good. Jeff

Congrats to all you Seahawks fans. Watched the game with son-in-law and his family.........all Boeing folks from Puyallup. We had fun. I love it when the underdog spanks the crap outta the favorites. Yeah! Jeff

There have been several threads on this topic which you can access by using the search function. I did a Grand Cherokee axle swap and gained rear discs as well as a 3.55 ratio. It is relatively easy but involves a bit more work than a Cherokee drum brake swap. Either way there is plenty of info on each swap. I believe that the earlier trucks used a different type of u-joint than my 52 model and this complicates things some. You will need to read up on this aspect. Jeff

Davin; In general I am not a fan of wide white walls on trucks either. But in this case it looks pretty darn nice. The trim rings really do help. I like 'em and have them on my truck.....along with burgundy rims and the wrong hub caps I guess all I have to say is whatever floats your boat. Your truck is ...... drop dead gorgeous. It is a good thing you are not bringing it over with you.....as I am sure there is a high likelihood it would go missing right around the time of the BBQ. There has been a lot of discussion about colors and tire selection and lowering these trucks. It seems like it really is up to the current owners taste. One trend I have noticed lately looking at the auctions of vintage pickups is the how many are fitted with WWW. Obviously that look has a lot of appeal to some. I feel pretty certain that back in the day this would have been a rare sight and would have garnered a fair amount of derision from most truck owners. But what the heck? it doesn't hurt anything ...... and can easily be changed back to black walls should the next owner feel as I do. Jeff

Richard; You can get teflon anti- friction pads to place between the springs and I have heard this really helps. I couldn't say if one finish is better than another in this application. Seems to me they would all wear off quickly in the contact zones between the springs. I have been using PB blaster Corrosion Guard spray on mine. I did not take mine apart. This treatment seems to have penetrated the contact zones and lubricated my old spring packs helping to restore the full range of movement. I like this stuff.....it clings well and does not wash off. Seems to me it would do very well in harsher climes than ours. Jeff

Rich; The trucks were just like the cars at that time. And even if the law is still in effect there are far more situations when you are not in a parallel parking situation and it does not apply. In my case it made good sense. But rest assured that if I was in a situation where exiting via the drivers door was dangerous I will opt to slid across. Busy weekend traffic on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach certainly warrants this method of exit. Jeff

Yes using the Australian mechanism is about as easy as it gets. Just have to drill 3 holes.....one 3/4" dia. for the cylinder, one for the set screw and one small one on the inside inline with the cylinder and in it goes as easy as can be. Could not be simpler or look more like it belongs. Jeff

Bob; Again thank you very much. I apologize...I missed that...must need new glasses. This is just exactly what I was hoping to find. Hopefully this information will go on to help a lot of us sort things out. Hank. Cudos on that find. Just the sort of effort we all have come to expect from you. I owe you a pastrami sandwich and a cold one. One step closer....heh? Jeff