Jeff Balazs

Other than the thermostat......and some sort of a warm up period I don't think there is any provision for regulating this on these engines. It does take a while for these to properly warm up because of the mass of the block. Nothing like a modern vehicle in this regard. Jeff

As a side note it is my feeling that it is best if you have confidence in the numbers your gauges are displaying. A cooking thermometer will tell you a bit.....but an inexpensive Infrared gun is a great tool to have at your disposal. You can actually "see" the thermostat cycling and measure temperatures in a variety of locations with the push of a button. Taking temperature readings on the intake manifold and carb on one of these engines is a real eye opener. Jeff

I don't know.....I have seen projects and for that matter even some finished vehicles that could only be described as storage shelves or tables. I know I have had lunch on my trucks tailgate a few times.......and even sat on the running boards gabbing on the phone with customers. When used this way it seems like furniture to me. Jeff.

It is great! I remember seeing it on Craigslist. Congrats on putting it back to work. Jeff

Aren't they all furniture when they are not out on the road? Jeff

Hushmat Ultra will stay in place just fine in this application. And will definitely quiet things down. You do not have to cover the entire surface to get the effect you are after. Jeff

Tim I couldn't disagree with you more. I spent more than 30 years around some of the most highly skilled welders on the planet. Cross country pipeline welders, Offshore platform welders and precision manufacturing welders. One thing I know for certain is that it is not a sport. If anything it is a fine art form in the hands of real talent. The things I saw these guys build or repair just boggles the mind. Years of watching these guys work left a couple of lasting impressions. First and foremost was that most top tier welders work instinctively. They know exactly what they are doing and how to get the results they need. And they are always in control of the situation at hand. Sadly the second impression is a little less positive. Like real musicians good welders have a gift. Just because someone goes out and buys the instruments and takes all the classes doesn't really mean a lot without this gift. It truly is an art form that only a small segment of the population ever master. No matter what we all think about our capabilities we can't all be good at everything. Quite a bit of automotive welding IMO belongs in the gifted hands of a real pro. Jeff

I have an idea for an accessory that would look cool with the 48-52 truck hubcap design on it. Was wondering if anyone knew what the font is? Thanks, Jeff

If you have an old school radiator shop near you.....you can ask them for a quote. The one that I found cleaned. repaired and lined my tank for $200. He even called me over to see the condition of the tank after it had been cleaned and to show me what needed repair. I was very happy to pay for his work. Jeff

There is a lot of good info in past threads on this topic. It is not as daunting as it seems to begin with. Once apart clean up all the metal parts and repair or replace as needed. You will want all new expendables. If you are replacing some of the glass you may want to consider all as you can use the old pcs for patterns and then it will all look the same. Jeff

James; It is perfectly OK if we disagree. It is a matter of preference really. I do think you are pretty much right on about the resistance thing. I have had vehicles with points that were fairly trouble free. But I have had others that would crap out if you spilled a glass of water within 10 feet of them. I bought a set of points from one supplier that looked like it had been made around a fire in Cambodia. Very...very rough....and brand new. (Maybe) If you have a reliable supply of OEM parts and a distributor that is in perfect shape there is probably no reason to consider a conversion. Jeff

I think there are a number of reasons. First off the quality of point sets out there isn't what it used to be. I tried 3 different sets from different sources and they were all inferior quality. Plus even if they are decent they will wear ......the trigger does not. And then there is the fun you can have trying to run the new fuel formulas. My set up fires up instantly no matter what......including hot starts. With the matched coil these units are capable of throwing out a huge spark. Saves grinding on the battery too. Then you can also look at how points react to moisture and dirt. The trigger just keeps on working. I used to be OK with points but I am familiar with their short comings too. I have yet to have had to fiddle with the trigger. I do carry a spare just in case but I sorta doubt it will ever get used. Jeff

If you throw rear discs into the equation then I feel very strongly that you need to have the ability to make this adjustment. Now that I have a few thousand miles on this I think it is time to readjust the valve. It is starting to feel like the rears are picking first. Those calipers appear to be a more efficient design than the fronts. Again not surprising as they are from a different technological era than the front calipers. I originally put residual valves in but they were not needed with the discs all around. They had to be removed as they cause significant drag. Jeff

Well I thought so too. Until we did a bunch of testing. I think it is real easy to get fooled by disc brakes ....especially on an archaic old truck. They will feel nicer than the stock brakes. Fortunately a buddy of mine had convinced me to put a Wilwood adjustable valve in so that I could fine tune the reaction from front to rear. He and I spent 3 or 4 hours testing it on dry and wet pavement one weekend. Initially I thought it felt very good with no tendency to lock up at all. And this was before we made any adjustments. In other words with the valve wide open. In reality the rears (which are larger than the fronts) were picking more than the fronts. It was almost impossible to tell this from inside the cab.......but watching it from the sidelines you could see it clearly. Especially on wet pavement. And when my buddy did a couple of extreme panic stops on wet pavement in front of me I knew he was right all along. If you think about it this it really isn't so strange. Even with a M/C that is the exact one that was matched up in production with the calipers on the rear axle. The front calipers are from a earlier GM car.....and the whole package probably has slightly different hydraulic volumes and certainly different weight distribution than either of the donor vehicles. It makes sense to build it so you are able to adjust for this. You don't want to find out the hard way on a real panic stop that you have done all this work but it really isn't right. Jeff

Actually if you try to use just the Grand Cherokee M/C with the Grand Cherokee disc brake rear axle you will end up with a rear brake bias. You need to add in an adjustable proportioning valve so that you can balance the system. Without this added component it will stop quickly but feel like it wants to swap ends on you. Jeff

Donald; There are a few things about the Pertronix set up I really like. Once it is dialed in you can really enjoy it with no worries about points, etc degrading. Since installing this I never worry about having a good clean spark. Try making very small adjustments to the timing until you have it where it works best. I have found that NGK BR6S plugs gapped at .040" seems to work absolutely perfect in my engine. I get a steady vacuum reading of a tad over 20" at idle when it is fully warmed up. It has not faltered once. This mod gets a big thumbs up from me. Jeff

I used the M/C from a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I chose that because that is the M/C that match's up with the disc brake rear axle I installed. Others have used M/Cs from Cherokees that only had discs up front. You will need to make a 1/2" adapter plate but other than that it is pretty straightforward. It is a good idea to replace all the lines. I put 3/16" lines in because that is what the later disc's were fed by in the donor application. I also installed an adjustable Wilwood proportioning valve. My brakes are better than excellent and this is one of my favorite mods. Jeff

I bought a Goodyear hose from Sears a couple of years ago. They hold up well. I have had problems finding rubber grease seals for tie rods that last. I think they are all made in China these days. I have two that tore apart on the truck and they are the second ones I have replaced. Not sure if you can even find good ones anymore? Jeff

I kinda doubt that the combination of OD, a 218 and a higher than stock ratio rear axle would result in a very useful truck. Maybe if all you do is cruise without any sort of load in it ever? Perhaps I am in the minority and not too many others expect their trucks to do any work? I am not in love with my transmission but it definitely does not whine at 65 mph. I agree it would be nice to have full synchro.....and a more useful set of gear ratios. 1st is way too low.....and the jump between 3rd and 4th is a little too big to be called optimum. I would consider a swap if I found the right transmission......but so far none of the ones being discussed come close to filling the bill. Jeff

I think your results with OD might have something to do with having a fresh larger than stock displacement engine. Jeff

I think it is important to consider that with any mod or conversion that what works for one of us may not satisfy another. A conversion on a vehicle other than one of this period of trucks is IMO totally off topic. Unless they have been re powered these trucks have a set of driving characteristics that are unique to them. All you have to do is look at the lack of aerodynamics combined with the available power and weight and this is obvious. Trucks and cars are two very different animals. Add in all the different model variants and the ways they may be being used and this topic gets a lot more complicated. There just isn't going to be a "one size fits all" optimum conversion solution. Many of us pickup or express model owners have already changed out the rear axles for something a bit higher. This mod by itself changes the picture for what is going to work best with the old flatty. I know for certain that I would not have any use for the overdrive gearing in either of these transmissions. About the only time it would get used is on a long downhill stretch. The only way either one of these transmissions might make sense is if you have retained the stock rear axle ratio. Jeff

I had a feeling you would not know his music. Look up the song " a tiger in your tank" by him. Everyone needs a theme song.....this one could be yours. Jeff

Maybe? It has been my experience though that you can start almost anything with ether....as long as it is getting a spark. Flooded or not it will usually fire and run for a while. Probably enough to get it past the flooded stage.....or for a iffy fuel pump to catch up with demand at idle. Lowering the float level slightly....a couple of 64ths should not cause starvation or make it run any leaner. I would think that you should test this carefully to be certain all is safe after making this adjustment. Jeff

You should be able to get a breather type cap at Napa or one of the other chains. Jeff

Give their Tech group a call. Web sites are not always up to date on stuff like this. Jeff