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Everything posted by Jeff Balazs
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Guy;s I should probably clarify question this a bit. 1) This truck will be my only road vehicle and my daily driver. It will be asked to work like it was originally intended for. And I also want to be able to take some trips with it. 2) I don't know what the real history is on the truck. I bought it from the previous owners Daughter a few years after he had passed away. All I do know is that it sat for several years. I will add that I think the head came off too easy.....like it wasn't torqued down and the manifold bolts seem loose as well. Like perhaps the last owner had it apart and just slapped it back together. It did have clean oil & decent compression of around 120# but that is really all I know about it. 3) Since I have it all torn apart it seems like this is the best time to deal with any necessary heavy work. I am not made of money...... but since intend to drive this truck until I drop...... I want to get it as right as possible. Jeff
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Hi Guy's I have been thinking about how best to proceed on the engine for a while now. I guess I really want to get this project moving. Today at lunch I decided to pull the head and take a look. After reading many post's I figured I would just get started and make a little bit of progress. Well........... it was off in 20 minutes. Was a lot easier than I expected. And no broken bolts. It shifted on the first tap of a rubber mallet. So basically it looks pretty good. It has 40 over pistons. The cylinder walls are not scored or rusty. There is some evidence of light pitting but it is clean and not rusty at all. There is some carbon build-up....but not more than you would expect. The tops of the exhaust valves are all tan in color. There is no sign of head gasket failure or water in the cylinders. The deck is clean and the mill marks look pretty fresh on the head. I am trying to figure out how far to take this and would appreciate some input from Y'all. Well Y'all ??? except for Hank () who really hurt my feeling's with that Kenny G remark. How far should I take this ? Thanks in advance. Jeff
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Chris; Thanks for your valuable input. I have another related question. Probably the biggest turn off to me about diesels is all the "racket" most of them make. I work around noisy machinery all day.......the last thing I want is to subject myself to more noise. What could you do to quiet an engine installation like this down if you were putting one in a Pilothouse? Thanks, Jeff
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Rockwood; I am not familiar with Corn head grease......but yes this stuff is about like sour cream I believe it will stand up to a variety of applications. I plan on using it in my Pilothouse steering box. I have used it in antique motorcycle gearboxes that were supposed to have either motor oil or 90wt in them. These boxes were fairly leaky by design and didn't shift all that well with the original type lubricants in them. The switch over to the Morris Semi fluid grease made a huge difference.....no leaks at all....and even better it totally smoothed out shifts. The improvement was amazing for something as easy as a lubricant change. Jeff
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Rockwood; Morris Lubricants makes a semi fluid grease that I have used to good effect in leaky old gearboxes in the past. Great stull. Just my take on this. Jeff
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Guy's Just out of curiosity what do you think the fuel economy would be like if you did a swap using the 4bt? I've never owned a diesel but I do know you have to have good fuel filters on them here. A few of my friends that have them have had issues with dirty or contaminated fuel. Jeff
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Kenny G?.....that is real mean Hank.....you hurt me real bad. I did have the hair though.....long before these guy's. I will have to find a picture and post it. I have been trying to figure out how to do a Tie-Dye paint job............. just to see the look on your face.......so now it is between this one and Desert Camo. Jeff
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Tom; Ooooh! I like that.......I've been thinking of painting the old truck myself. (mainly just to give our Hank summat to grumble at ) If I had any paint on it I would go for the patina look..when it's good it's really good......but the previous owner didn't leave me any to work with. Now I have something to shoot for. Thanks, Jeff
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Thank you guys. I will give these two a shot. Jeff
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Hank; Thanks for the info. I was thinking that these would be available. Geez another supply surprise. I guess I should have known. Well mine doesn't look anywhere near as nasty as yours does. Your outer jacket is really pretty ugly. Wonder what it looks like on the inside? On my truck the linkage between the cable end and the E-brake was really crudded up. A couple of the clevis pins were frozen and the springs at the brake band were of course totally shot. I have made up many control cables over the years for motorcycles and will have to take a look-see at the box of fittings I have. It's not that big a deal to make a new inner up especially if the outer jacket is in decent shape. Btw: The ball you refer to is actually a special cable fitting that is size specific to the cable diameter and application. The cable passes through the fitting and is flared out slightly, pulled back into a small recess and soldered on. Jeff
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Hi Chris; Well you pretty much confirmed everything my buddy said. He thought the 4bt would be a bit anemic......but then he build mostly racers! I still plan on going with the 230 I have. I need to do some research on rebuilding it properly.....but if I can find a 3.73 rear end it should be able to do all the things I need it to. And of course there are things you can do to get a little more zip out of these engines if required. Jeff
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Tonneau Cover Installation
Jeff Balazs replied to Merle Coggins's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Merle; Yes that would be an adventure. Up on the pegs riding a Gold Wing Trials bike......now that would be something. My 49 AJS at around 325# is a handful in anything but bone dry conditions....I can only imagine what your bike would be like if it started breaking loose. Young Ed; I love your truck. Those fenders are amazing. Way cool! Jeff -
Hi Guy's; Was wondering if any of you might know of a source for replacement cables for the E-brake? I have mine all disassembled at the moment to clean up the linkage and replace rusted out springs. My cable must have really stretched out over the years.....there are three of those old "U" shaped cable "adjusters" on it now.... Thanks in advance. Jeff
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Tonneau Cover Installation
Jeff Balazs replied to Merle Coggins's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Merle; That is a really nice installation. Will have to look into to doing something like this when I get it to that stage. First class! I understand you are a motorcyclist. Here are some pictures of my vintage off-road bikes that will be transported to the desert in my Pilothouse. Can't wait! Jeff -
International Work On Your Classic Truck Day....
Jeff Balazs replied to 48Dodger's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Spent the entire day under the truck. Sore today. Bed is ready to lift off. Lubed U-joints. Removed old tail pipe. Removed, cleaned, chased and reinstalled all axle to spring mounts. Mounted new rear shocks. Jeff -
International Work On Your Classic Truck Day....
Jeff Balazs replied to 48Dodger's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Hi Dodger Guy; Great Holiday idea! I got a bit of a start today. Finally rolled it out into the sunshine and flushed out the engine block. Tomorrow the bed comes off.....at least that's the plan. It's coming along......have managed to get something accomplished almost every day this year. Not as much as I would like but...... Jeff -
3 speed vs 4 speed spring questions
Jeff Balazs replied to pflaming's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Paul; My 52 3/4 ton (WC) has 7 in front and 7 in the rear. I don't know what was "standard equipment" but this looks to be the unmolested original arrangement. Sidenote: I believe my truck may have belonged to the Navy or some other branch of the Govt. It very definitely was in a fleet maintenance program of some sort in it's earlier life. I suspect that there were many different spring variations available within the "Job Rated" program. I would not be surprised to see similar spring counts with completely different ratings. Also time and usage can affect the spring rates. I spoke with Deavers Suspension a couple of weeks ago regarding having mine rebuilt. The foreman told me that they have spec's on these and can re-arch them to factory spec's or modify the arch to change the ride characteristics as required. Maybe you should discuss spring modifications with someone like these guy's. Their number is (714) 542-3703 Jeff -
Merle; It is probably a "drifter" as it is....... I am still waiting on the guy from the frame shop to take a look at the bent frame. Last thing I want to do is get "sideways" in this truck. Jeff
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1952B2B23 Is your Cummins a 6BT? My fabricator buddy has been making the suggestion to me that this would make for a very cool and reliable swap. He say's they can be had fairly cheap.....and that the early ones don't require much in the way of electronics. Jeff
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Hi Lugnut; Honestly I am not really contemplating this............ although a watered down version wouldn't be awful. I went in to a friends shop the other day and he was working on this drift car. It was pretty impressive... and does look like it would fit into a pilothouse. But can you imagine what around 700hp and a 7000 rpm redline in one of these trucks would be like? Sort of scary and totally inappropriate to say the least. Besides.... way too much plumbing! I have always been a fan of inline 6's. Have owned several different makes and they all have had more good points than bad. My all time favorite car to drive was a Austin Healy 3000. I loved the way it would pull in 3rd from way down low......the smooth power delivery ..... and the snap it had when I flicked the overdrive switch. You don't have to have 8 cylinders to have fun.....and a lot of inline 6's will perform and go farther between rebuilds. Jeff
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Little things I wish I had Known
Jeff Balazs replied to pflaming's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
1) How significant broken lugs studs are on a 3/4 ton. Especially if there are 3 broken on a rear hub! 2) How truly hit and miss the parts supply is...........some items you would expect to be a bugger are fairly easy....and then some small rather mundane but necessary items are practically non-existent. 3) Apparently being a Mopar owner involves some masochistic tendencies. 4) How fun removing a rotted out water distribution tube truly is. 5) Invest heavily in companies that make penetrating oil. 6th) and most important Never.......never allow Hank to post off topic photo's or otherwise change the subject of a thread Jeff -
Hi Guy's; I have enjoyed several of the engine swap threads here..... some real clever stuff! Here are a few shots of what I think might make an interesting swap in a Pilothouse. And it looks like it would fit without hacking up the firewall. I know....it's not a Mopar......but it is a straight 6. Jeff
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Critical Dimension Needed
Jeff Balazs replied to Barry Maxwell's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Barry; 10 1/2" exactly on my 52 B-3-C Hope this helps, Jeff -
Hank; I got a pair of these and made the relief cut. They fit perfect. Jeff
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Tool for brake return springs
Jeff Balazs replied to Jeff Balazs's topic in Mopar Flathead Truck Forum
Hank; It's probably too late for me....... Don't you just love the internet? Where else can you totally alienate people you've never met? I guess I won't be going to any Pilothouse BBQ's any time soon. el Guapo btw; I managed to get the truck off the stands and on to it's new tires yesterday.... it's good to be on solid ground again......even if it is only for a little while.