Jeff Balazs

Forgot to attach this photo:o Jeff

Hello All and Happy Fathers' Day; I have a Carter DTG1 carb on my fluid drive truck. It looks like it might be missing a screw. I have attached a photo of it and you can see a small hole in the air horn (inside the horseshoe shaped ridge) that looks like it might be missing a screw or fitting. Can anyone who knows' about these particular carbs shed some light on this? I have looked at all the diagrams I could find but this area does not show in the views I have seen. Thanks, Jeff

Hi Ed; I hope you don't think I was being critical of Mark's approach. Quite to the contrary I have the utmost respect for what he has accomplished. My comments were meant to convey my own fears......cause if he is having these sorts of issues.......God knows' what I am in for! As for the show thing? Well......I did say my perspective could be irrelevant. I do get it...... it is just that sometimes we allow these sorts of deadlines to interfere with the end results. Jeff

Mark; I feel for you buddy........and you are scaring the crap out of me at the same time. As I read of the trials you are going through I can't help thinking ahead on my own project. When I disassembled the old beast it didn't seem that there were so many potential fit up issues facing me. But of course I was not looking past the relatively decent fitting sheet metal I had purchased. I suppose once it has been taken apart and fussed over and then new gaskets etc.....are thrown into the equation that this is the time when the real issues crop up. I also wonder how much of this is due to the different lives each of our old trucks have lived? Accidents.....cobbled repairs by past owners.....and 60 years of heavy wear and tear. I know when I bought my truck one of the biggest factors was that so much of it had survived these wars. It seemed to me that there was an almost indestructible quality about it. This appealed to my greatly as I truly despise the disposable society we have become. But now you have me wondering how I am going to get this all fit back together. It seems like there are potential draw backs to almost any reassembly scheme. I suppose put it all together loose and slowly bring it back to a good fit is the only prudent course of action. But it would be nice if there was some way to prevent some of the grief you have gone through. One thing which may work in my favor (at least in my eyes) is that I want to use my truck as a daily work truck. I have never wanted a fancy paint job as I know how quickly it will get scuffed and scratched. I will be totally happy if I can come up with the right combination of a decent fit and utility. I am just not sure what that is yet. You hang in there. I know you will be able to solve all this. Your efforts to date have been impressive to say the least. I wonder if having artificial deadlines like getting ready for a show has added to your stress on this? I am not a car show guy so perhaps my perspective is not relevant.... but I do know you will have this truck long after the show is forgotten. Jeff

Oh well it was worth a try. Jeff

Or even remove the glove box door etc... and go in that way? Jeff

Hey Guy's; If you do go..?...I need the "Job Rated" casting that goes in the center of the grill circa 51-53. I am not super particular about the quality.....just want something sound enough to fill the pits and do a painted finish on. I also need the trim strip that divides the middle of the center section of the dash on a 52? Thanks Jeff

Oh Jim; That sucks. You are right it does seem to be "always something" Jeff

Pressure caps are just that. They function like a PRV and don't vent until the pressure goes a bit past the stated operating pressure. Or on some, if you lift the lever. The old honeycomb core was never intended to operate at much pressure. Everything I have seen says our flatties don't require a pressurized system. That's Ok the lower the pressure the less likely to develop a leak. Modern replacement cores can go pretty high if the tank, etc is up to it. The fellow that re-cored mine said he tested it and would warranty it to 12# if I ever decided to do an engine swap. Jeff

Hi Guys; The only other problem I have run into is that with very small leaks it takes awhile to work. Flow is what carries the components to the leak....and if it is just a weep it takes awhile. Other than that it does work. I can't imagine the residue causing much of a problem.....there is plenty of room in the water jackets for it to settle & solidify without affecting the cooling. It is a very small quantity of solids. Hope this helps. Jeff

Todd; I am not a tractor guy.....but what a great story. I would leave it just like he finished it and try and preserve it the best you can. Jeff

I think JB Weld is a very useful product. I just don't think it should be the first choice fix for something like this. In my opinion removing additional material could make things a whole lot worse. And if it opened up much it would very likely take the block sealer option off the table. For what it is worth if there is an actual leak on Marks block I would clean the surface and clearly mark the area of the crack or hole. Then I would use a block sealer and watch it closely over a period of use. Make certain it gets up to operating temp more than one cycle. There will be some pressure involved and to really test it you could use say a 7# (or higher) cap on the radiator. They way the block sealer works (from the inside) once it has stopped the leak it is very unlikely to dislodge. And if it doesn't work you can still try the JB Weld method. Jeff

Mark; I really hate to say it....but it seems like Hank was right. That darned silver paint show's everything! It may be nothing or at worst a tiny pin hole type leak that block sealer will take care of. I imagine though that it probably ruined your day when you spotted it. What a roller coaster ride these old trucks are huh? Hang in there man. Jeff

Hi Paul; VPW sell a low profile magnetic drain plug. I installed one in my truck. You don't (or shouldn't ) need 2" of magnet sticking up. The magnet is just there to snatch up small shavings and errant bits of metal and keep them out of your oil pump, etc...I think they are a great addition to any engine. They ought to be standard equipment. There is a side benefit as well as the obvious one. They are actually much harder to lose or drop into the oil receptacle than the non magnetic ones. Jeff

Hank; Yes I will have to do a bit of searching to find the right fitting. They want to be located in the outboard edges of the deck. If I were going to haul machinery or ore I would think that a sheet of heavy CDX plywood or even OSB board would work well. Bolted in place over the existing deck it would spread the weight out nicely and provide a good working surface. Jeff

Hank That is interesting. I suppose it is all in how you intend to use your truck? I was thinking that it would actually be more useful for the type of hauling I will be doing if the metal strips were recessed below the surface of the wood. My first preference would have lumber and wood products riding directly on unfinished wood. Less likely to cause damage to what I am hauling and infinitely better non-skid characteristics. Another item that is a must have (for me) is recessed hooks in the bed itself. You hardly ever see this ....at least in useable locations but it so useful it should be mandatory. And I have yet to come across a truck that had too many tie down points. So is it any wonder I have a negative reaction every time I see that fancy bed of yours? Again .... it is all about what you expect from your truck. Jeff

Thank you Hank; Yes my two speed switch is shot. Had the motor shop take a look at it and they had no luck either. They were able to repair the motor at least. I will have to make a bid for this item. I am also going to try and repair my heater.....don't need it here so much but you never know when I might take a trip to Frostbite Falls............... Actually the defroster function would be useful once in a while.....if it works? Jeff

Paul; I got the stud set from VPW recently. It had everything you need except the 4 bolts that hold the manifolds together at the heat riser. They have been very good to deal with. Also got the heat shield from them. When I removed the old studs I had 3 that would not respond to the wrench treatment alone. But heat them and hit it with some PB Blaster and out they come. This is an area you definitely want to chase all the threads on. Also I think it is wise to apply a thread compound like Permatex on all the new studs when you put them in. All but 3 go into the water jacket. I trued the surfaces that mate to the engine on a large piece of tempered glass covered with silicon carbide sandpaper. It took a while but I think it is probably worth the effort as you don't want air leaks here. I did a tiny bit of cleanup on the ports of the intake manifold. There were a couple of pronounced ridges inside the manifold just before the mating surface that I worked slightly with the die grinder. I doubt if any more than this small cleanup would actually be worth the effort on a stock engine. Hope this helps. Jeff

Barry; For what it is worth I have a new bushing that I need to put in my truck and it sure looks like it threads through the spring. Jeff

Hank; You are too easy to tease. Actually.....I am not planning on anything fancy. I get enough woodworking during the course of each week. The old material is 95% OK. Maybe I will just paint it black and throw a sheet of plywood over it. In my case it really does have to be functional for heavy hauling. We will have to see how "Job Rated" translates into my world. Fortunately all the original leaf's are still in place on my truck. Jeff

(and piss Jeff off too in the process) Pissed off is not the right description........ It is more.....dismay ? I mean aren't they supposed to be painted black ? Aren't you the same guy who asked me why I didn't paint my engine silver? You crack me up. I would have thought there would at least be some girlie in the bed pictures? I will say that your bed is ........ pretty? Cute even. It's just not exactly what I think off when I think of a truck. But to each his own. Jeff You must hate it when the Santa Ana's blow.

Mike & Hank; I will look at reusing a couple of these items but for the most part the electrical system in my truck was really trashed and quite beyond reasonable repair. When I asked to question it was to try and ascertain the quality of readily available replacement components. To put it another way to find out what has worked for others who have chosen or were forced to find alternative switch gear. I am into reusing as much of the original truck as is reasonable and safe. After all I am sticking with the original drive train and 6 volt positive ground major components. Jeff

Hank; I have a bead blaster. It isn't going to fix the corroded and frozen switch internals. I will save what I can as spares but most of it is truly past saving. Interestingly I just got my generator back from the rebuilder. Biggest issue with it was that it was full of blast media from the previous owner. Good thing I didn't run it...... I think I have a much different philosophy about what to spend money on for my truck than you do. I would much rather spend a couple hundred on new electrics for it and not have to worry about it again. For the most part these are one time expenses and this is going to be my daily driver. Don't worry though.....I promise.... I will save a ton of money (over what you spent) on the paint job. Jeff

Hey Karl; Reasonable sounding questions to me. I think it is old hat to some....but it is new to you and me and takes a bit of getting used to. I see you were or are a Triumph Guy I had a couple years back. 70 GT6+ and 74 Spitfire.....both with Weber motors. The GT6 was blazing fast....partially due to very tall gearing. 55mph in 1st but it ate clutch's for breakfast. Due to way the car was designed the fastest way to do a clutch job was to pull the tranny into the interior of the car. Other than that it was a lovely little car. The 2 liter 6 cylinder engines were practically bullet proof. Jeff

Tim; Good point about the relays. Napa lists one for the horn.....but I did not see one for the headlights. I am just trying to get a handle on what is available and what has worked well for members of this site. Jeff