Jeff Balazs

Rusty Hopes kit works for the 3/4 ton....but not the 1 ton. You do have to use an adaptor/spacer so a bit more work than 1/2 ton conversion. But the big plus is you can use the stock rims which will take a 235/75R/15 radial which is an easy tire to obtain. And it just looks and feels right. I drive mine every day......and the disc brakes have been flawless and maintenance free for 14000 miles so far. Jeff

US made B series (if it is?) 3/4 ton trucks are all 5 x 5" x 15" with 9/16" studs. No real problem doing a disc brake conversion. And the front wheels will be the same size as the rears...... Jeff

Had mine painted with a single stage and to me it just looks "right" on these trucks. It lives outside and still looks pretty fresh with very little maintenance. One thing I see all the time here in SoCal is clear coat failure. The sun and heat seems to cause a lot of this here. When it happens it just looks like crap. Jeff

I won't argue that a few more ponies would be nice. I just don't think that say tripling the available HP is going to make for a pleasant driving experience. And with a lump like MB has created the complication factor would be silly. I am probably one of the few owners that uses one of these trucks for all my daily needs. That would not be realistic with stock gearing or a few other carefully thought out upgrades. Just last week I took it down to Oceanside on the 5 Fwy. Average speed was 65 to 70 mph....which is not noisy in my truck as it has 3.55s and radial tires. Honestly that is as fast as I need to go in a 65 year old truck. It does it just fine and it actually gets decent mileage. 20 or 30 more HP would make it really nice but it should not come at the cost of over complication. Rock solid reliable is what these trucks can be....if we don't goof them up too much. Jeff

I don't know if the corn head grease can handle the temps seen in this application.....I am sure it is OK in a steering box. The grease I was talking about works fine in high speed and temp equipment. Jeff

It has the consistency of yogurt. Has to be pumped in. Can't remember the brand name I used but it was from England. It was a fix for vintage motorcycle gearboxes that had leaking leather seals......worked great on them....so I figured I would try it in the old Dodge and it has performed just as I thought it would. Jeff

Brent; Filled it with semi fluid grease after draining the "oil". As I said works fine and is a lot quieter. Also doesn't leak nearly as much......... Jeff

Yep I was speaking to the other Tim. I think what is important to note is that most of these trucks here do not see regular use. My perspective as a daily user is that they can be used pretty much as they were built. Just not at 85 mph. To me and I am certain many others changing too much would just ruin the experience of driving a 65 ear old truck. They are in effect a functional time machine that you can use everyday. That is truly what is very cool about them. They are always going to be happiest on a country road. Jeff

I run a semi fluid grease in my 4 speed and this quiets these old trannys down quite a bit. Also makes them shift smoother. Been driving it daily for 3 years and no change. Jeff

I am a huge fan of inline 6 engines. But that over complicated thing that MB built would never be on my list of transplant candidates. Honestly I would be much happier just doing a careful rebuild / build up on the original engine. One of the best attributes of these trucks is the rugged simplicity of the original engine. I have driven mine daily for about 3 years now. Try doing this before you start changing the basic design. You might just find that the original build wasn't too far off the mark. The only serious mods I made to mine was swapping in a Grand Cherokee 3.55 rear axle and going with 4 wheel disc brakes. I never even rebuilt the engine or the transmission. It cruises happily at 65 mph and gets fairly decent gas mileage. 15 to 17 Mpg. Not horrible for a 65 year old 3/4 ton truck. Best of all it is 100% reliable and has never once left me stranded. Tim I know you love these trucks....but love them for the right reason. Drive a more or less stock one every day........then tell us what you would change. ? Jeff

This set up looks almost identical to the B series unit. You probably need to take it apart carefully and clean out all the old dried out grease. I used Mobil 1 synthetic wheel bearing grease in mine and it has worked great in daily service for about 3 years. The switch can be taken apart and the contacts should be cleaned as well. Almost any motor can be repaired....but it isn't necessary most of the time. I picked up a complete spare on Ebay for mine and cleaned and rebuilt as well. When apart they are a little fiddly during reassembly so take pictures as you go. Lots of people are kind of blown away when they find out that I drive my truck daily. I am not.....these trucks were made pretty darn well and with some careful work most everything on them can still be put back into regular service. Try that with the new stuff! Mine sat as a derelict for 25 to 30 years....but it does just fine now. Jeff

Why not try taking it apart and cleaning it up carefully? I got mine and a spare working just fine with a couple of hours work. This kind of stuff was made surprising well.......you might be surprised. Jeff

Merle; Well I was just wondering if they were worn badly. Mine is original and it is still going strong but it probably wouldn't hurt to replace it at some point. This was one of those items that I reused as it was......it and all the spring hardware are on my list of things to do in the future. X2 on getting the slack out of the steering box. It is easy to do and this adjustment made a noticeable difference on my truck. One other thing I did early on was pack the box with Mobil 1 wheel bearing grease. Great stuff truck steers nice and smooth .......and no leaks. I have put close to 13000 miles on my truck in the last year or so and am very happy with it. Once they are all dialed in they are truly usable classics. Jeff

Hey Merle; I see that you replaced your drag link as part of this effort. Were the ball joints pretty bad on the old item when you got it off? Jeff

FWIW NGK BR6S plugs work extremely well in these engines. Been using them for about 3 years now in my daily driver. They simply run cleaner than the rest of the plugs I tried early on. I think the heat range is dead on for this engine. NGK seems to have a better handle on this very important aspect than many of the other guys. At least that has been my experience for many years and many different applications. Jeff

3X on the spring type mount. These frames flex quite a bit by design. Definitely not a good idea to hard mount this. Jeff

I like it!!!! Looks like it should. Jeff

Not necessarily. May just be a simple adjustment made from the top of the steering box. Was on mine. Look in your manual. Jeff

Brent; I get asked all the time by people who see my truck wanting to know why I never take it to car shows. ? The answer is very simple. It is just an old work truck........ and that is all I am really interested in. Don't really care if anyone else likes it and especially don't want to pretend to be interested in their 60's muscle car or whatever. Jeff

FWIW my friend....?...I think it is best to stay focused on one project at a time. By the time you get it done she may have forgotten the no more trucks order. Or......you may just have done something so wonderful she can't say no. Jeff

This is a fairly common issue with these trucks particularly in hot weather. Better fuel would probably help but it can't be bought in my area. I made a heat shield that wires in place between the manifold and the carb.......it helps quite a bit. Merle's starting technique also helps. Jeff

I don't know about the cars...and this appears to be a posting from the car side....but if you are using one of these trucks you often need all the wheel you can get. The big wheel just takes a bit of getting used to. But you do get used to it. I can only imagine how miserable a small diameter wheel would be in my truck. Jeff

Nice save. Have fun with it! Jeff

Maybe I was one of the few lucky ones. When I got to this on my build I soaked it with PB blaster for a few days......and it backed out just fine. They are not all bad....... Jeff

Might take a real close look at the step up circuit......