Jeff Balazs

Real nice job on this truck. Love to see another one back on the road! Jeff

Radials and an inexpensive set of gas shocks from Napa are quite effective on these trucks. Take the time to check the kingpins and make sure to inspect and grease things up. These trucks are capable of a being very good commuters for their age. Just takes some attention to details. Jeff

You'll shoot your windshield out!........

These pivot points need to be well lubricated in order for the wipers to work well. I used Mobil 1 synthetic wheel bearing grease on all the pivot points and it has worked quite well. Stays in place too. I also packed my steering gearbox with the same stuff. Doesn't leak either. Hth. Jeff

I have had luck braking stuff like this loose using repeated cycles of penetrating oil and heat. Try soaking with your favorite penetrating oil then applying heat to the surrounding area. Doesn't have to be a torch....even a heat gun would get the surrounding metal hot enough. Allow it to cool and soak again. Repeat the process a few times then see if it will move. Usually 3 or 4 cycles of this is enough. Hth, Jeff

Los Control; I do get that. But that could put the "ideal" height in a pretty broad range depending on the owners stature. My view of this is that the height of the vehicle was well determined by the manufacturer during the design process. We are all free to treat this as we wish. My hope is that we all treat this with some respect towards the longevity of these fine trucks. They are after all pretty sweet just as they were built. Jeff

Merle; It is not an argument.......just a discussion. And you are quite correct about the longer wheel base part of the equation. I intentionally held out until I found this 3/4 ton for this very reason. I reckon my comments are of a cautionary nature. I just hate to see a perfectly usable truck potentially messed up. And doing this sort of modification is one of those situations that need to be very carefully thought out. We have all seen the results of too much alteration and not enough careful thinking. That is all I am trying to say. Jeff

Paul; Hardly a day goes by that it doesn't get at least a thumbs up. But that is just the nature of these trucks....and the people who actually appreciate them for what they really are. When you pulled springs out to change the ride height or stance you most definitely changed the geometry. And more importantly you altered the amount of suspension travel available. This may not of had any adverse effect on your steering but it certainly changed the loading characteristics of the springs and shocks. No one ever complains about how my truck rides with the stock spring packs and I am still able to carry heavy loads safely. I have carried in excess of 1000# several times in the last 6 months. Blows a lot of peoples minds...... I can't tell you how many times I get asked why I am using this to haul stuff like this. My response is always the same....it is just an old work truck. Drives the car show guys nuts......

Paul Top of my front bumper is 17 1/2".......rear is 19 1/2". The only reason I commented is that in my opinion messing about with the standard spring set up opens up a can of worms. When you play around with this you alter geometry that was designed for a specific ride height and spring rate. Yes it can be done but it needs to be done very carefully as ride quality and alignment is pretty much as important as good brakes. Jeff

I am constantly baffled by all the talk of lowering these trucks. Not sure why there is so much interest and effort put into this process? I have about 10,000 miles on my B-3-C now and am extremely happy with it's ride qualities. I just can't imagine messing about with the standard set up. It is easily the nicest riding and handling solid front axle vintage truck in these parts. IMO the factory got it right from the beginning. And no.....I don't think they look any better lowered. Jeff

I have Goodyear Wranglers in that size on my B-3-C and am very happy with the ride quality. Jeff

Ed; Sure it can go in like you mention but I think this is a bit misleading. I bet they all left the factory installed in the same position. A study of the manual seems to confirm this.

Driving one of these trucks in dense ground fog is real interesting too. I was down to about 10mph the last bit this morning. Glad I added extra lighting for this very condition. At least others can see me......... Jeff

I got a real kick out of you saying that Dolly got to hang out with all the cool cars......'cuz there ain't nothing there cooler than Dolly Jeff

Yep. All I can say is that there is a lot of spots in these old engines for crud or sludge to hide. Then you can add in the unknowns regarding the maintenance or lack there of. What we are left with is the definition of a gamble. I wasn't about to run mine without pulling the head, inspection covers and oil pan. Everything got cleaned up as best I could. Then frequent oil changes. Even with that there was stuff hiding in it. Didn't really start running like it should until a few treatments with MMO. I never thought it would work out as well as it has. Made me a believer....at least in this application. Jeff

Keven; This is just a suggestion based on my experiences with reviving one of these engines' You could try adding a pint of MMO and running it for a little while. Some are afraid of loosening up crud in the engine........but I figured this would actually help. And it really has for my engine. I wish I would have done it sooner. Reviving one of these old engines vs rebuilding is I think always a bit of a gamble. You never really know what is going to happen. MMO acts a bit like a solvent and helps flush junk out. Doing this has worked out well for me.........might do the same for you? Jeff

It has been a very hot summer here. I had some struggles with this issue as my route home from the shop includes a long steep grade with lots of stop-n-go traffic. Timing adjustments had no effect. Finally had the head gasket go. It was made by Felpro. Replaced it with one made by Best and have not had a problem since. Best must actually be best because the truck has never run better. Jeff

I had my upper pillers reinforced before I installed my 3 way belts. No point in having these unless they are actually going to hold up to an accident. Jeff

The other option is to use a heads up display GPS speedometer. Mine is smaller than a pack of smokes and is plugged into a 12 V cigarette lighter. It is very accurate and is super easy to see. They are about $60 on ebay. Hth, Jeff

most likely........

Just completed two years of trouble free daily motoring. The old truck has been as good as gold. It's never left me stranded and has only required normal maintenance and adjustments. It just goes to show you if you start of with a good foundation these trucks can still handle the job. With a few carefully thought out mods that is. It really makes me glad I took on this project. Jeff

I have a metal one in my truck. Bought it on ebay a few years ago. They do come up quite often. Jeff

I hate to say this but it kinda looks....... sorta like a flamethrower to me?........And awayyyyy we go!

Might as well make it a Long Island Ice tea.........have fun!

Here is what I ended up doing with my truck. Never even considered this until I was pretty far into the build. Just didn't like the way the Dodge cream color looked on the wheels once I had the truck painted. Got inspired by the maroon-ish color of the truckmaster heater I bought from GGDAD. I have since made a horse blanket cover for my seat to make it better for the dog. It is maroon/black with a bit of white in an southwest type pattern. Works out great and is actually more pleasant than sitting on vinyl. I would add that a "little" red goes a long way.......This and the wheels are plenty. Jeff