Jeff Balazs

I looked a bit at the torqueflite. It doesn't seem to have the sort of ratios I think this truck needs but I could be wrong. Has anyone put one of these mated to a flathead in a truck? Fred yes ideally I would want an automatic. I am going to have to look very hard at what is involved though. I would have to have some confidence that once I tear into this it can be accomplished over perhaps a long weekend. Right now I would say there are too many tasks involved for this to happen. What I may do is start gathering the bits needed to give this engine a little boost in power first. I think what I want to do is find a 2 bbl manifold, get some headers and shave the head a bit. If I could pick up 15 to 20 HP this way it might just do the trick. As I said the truck is drive able the way it is. The other thing i am wondering about is the lack of synchro in 2nd on the existing transmission. I don't know if this is something that could be modified during a major overhaul on the transmission? .....but if it could it would make it much nicer in traffic. Jeff

Or just go on a trek across the Atacamma (sp)

Thanks for your input Guy's. There is a lot to consider when making these types of mods. I do know I would like to simply retain the Grand Cherokee rear axle. The 3.55 ratio without an OD transmission should be fine at speed. The more I think about this the more I am convinced that I need to concentrate on finding an automatic with an acceptable set of ratios that will fit in this truck. Not sure what the options are there? Putting another stick in even if it is a modern one is never going to be great in the crap traffic here. Just so we are clear the truck is drive able the way it is.....I just think it could be better. I did look at the 833 trans but lowest 1st is the same as my second is now.....and it feels a little too high with the 3.55 rear. Also I don't know about how it might fit into a truck. If anyone has used one in a truck it would be useful to hear about it. We all know a bit more power would not be an awful thing either. I am considering this as well. Jeff

Hey Tony glad you chimed in. We can definitely hang out but I am afraid pot lucking it is out. I have no facility for that and there probably won't even be much room inside the shop with the work we have going on. Jeff

Yes I am not really sure how useful the fluid drive really is either. You can use it sometimes but often in stop and go conditions you don't really get the chance. You do have to use the clutch every time you shift and it seems like I often just have time to roll to a stop and then it is time to go again. With no synchro in 2nd the process get a bit busy. If the fluid drive does rob power I could certainly live without the occaisional benefit. It has some other negatives that I could live without too. What I think would be really nice would be to have a 3 or 4 speed automatic with ratios something like 1st) 3.5 /3.3 2nd) 1.9/ 1.8 3rd) 1.4/1.3 and 4th 1.0 I don't know if anything like this could be found that would fit? I don't really have any experience with transmission swaps of this sort but if I go to this much trouble it needs to be very close to perfect. Jeff

Now that I have begun to use my truck on a daily basis I am starting to think about how I might go about optimizing the gearing. My truck has a 54 230 truck engine with a fluid drive 4 speed and a Grand Cherokee 3.55 ratio rear axle. I feel like the 3.55 ratio is a little too tall for the power and gearing I have available at the moment. It is probably fine at freeway speeds but it feels a little tall for most of my stop and go commuting. With the power I have on tap and this final gearing I do not think OD is anything that would be useful. The existing 4 speed ratios are 1st) 6.4 2nd) 3.09 3rd) 1.69 and 4th) 1.0 There is no synchro in 1st and 2nd. Not fond of that on a daily basis. First gear is pretty much useless and I almost always use 2nd gear for takeoff. I could be wrong about this but I feel the combination of the 3.09 2nd gear and the 3.55 final drive ratio is a bit too high for maximum clutch life. At any rate I think something a bit lower would work better. Maybe 3.5 not sure. The truck is heavy at a little over 4000#. An automatic with the right gearing might make it much nicer to drive in the conditions I have to face daily. I am not sure how to proceed with this. If any of you would like to share ideas for a workable solution I would appreciate your thoughts. About all I know is that this sort of conversion would require a bell housing swap and mods to the driveshaft and parking brakes. I removed the parking brake provision from the Grand Cherokee rear axle but that wouldn't be too hard to rebuild. Thanks in advance, Jeff

It is best to store glass vertically ... just look into any glass shop. Looks like you are labelling things and that is good. I like PB Blaster Corrosion Stop for bare metal items that may sit for a while before you get back to them. Hope this helps. Jeff

Nice save Brent. Jeff

They are a "might work" option at best. They work by causing the sealing gasket to swell. If the gasket or seal is in good shape and is just weeping a bit they might work. At best they may buy you some time before you have to make the real repair. At least that has been my experience. Jeff

You wood bring that up. You realize we will just be a splinter group of a much larger family tree. I hope I am back on a wood diet by then. Have been working on a free form large leaded glass project and I find the shards everywhere are much harder to chew. Jeff

I watched a couple of episodes of Cuban Chrome this week. I have to say I like it and especially the spirit of the people. And with a bit more shiny stuff my truck would fit right in. Me and my little buddy might just have to get kicked out of here. If he chews another pair of Mama's shoes she might just have us extradited. It's cheap...and sunny....the foods good....so is the rum.....they love old cars.....and there is some fairly untapped fishing there. What more could a guy ask for? Just call me Cuba Libre. Buddy will be the one wearing the fidel hat.

9am is just fine with me. Hopefully we will have our traditional warm mid January weather. Jeff

Fred; I really enjoy this forum and I believe that most of us here do. We have to understand that we are not always going to agree with each other. I did not weigh in to defend anyone but rather to remind the participants that it is OK to disagree. Everyone reading these threads are perfectly capable of taking the disagreeable aspects with a grain of salt. We need to find a way to leave it at that. IMO calling for censorship solves nothing. Let's all find a way to get beyond this. I had a Triumph GT6+ that was like that. Spill a cup of water anywhere near it and you had to replace the condenser. I kept a handful of them in the glove box all the time. This problem could be reliably predicted. Jeff

We were discussing reliability here. And there is bound to be many opinions about how far you can take modifications before these engines become tempermental. We have to weigh all this when we go down that path. I don't think this thread needs to be locked. We have to be able to agree to disagree on some things. Censorship is not the correct solution. It rarely is. Jeff

Guy's you tell me what time works for you.......I was thinking 8am or 9am. Give us time to gab and gawk and it is only about a ten minute run over to Knowlwoods. There are other eating options nearby. I will have a coffee pot going.......but no latte. My shop is literally a minute off the 5 & 405. Address is 8 McLaren, Unit H, Irvine 92618. Phone there is (949) 461-9558. The complex is located on the corner of Rockfield and McLaren. And yes the street is named after the famous racer.....Oldfield is just past one of the driveways in. There should be plenty of parking on a Sunday. Jeff

Or not!

Fred; As you know I am now using my flathead powered 52 truck daily. I am counting on it being reliable. So far it has been. And mind you this engine was revived and not rebuilt. I have not put gobs of miles on yet but the miles I have put on are in heavy stop and go traffic. Not a healthy place to have a breakdown or drive like a poke. Since I am committed to making this work long term I will continue to tinker with it until I get it just right. Some of the mods I have made have contributed to my confidence in the old truck. Certainly the 4 wheel disc brakes along with the 6V alternator, full time electric fuel pump and the pertronics ignition are already a success in my book. As I move forward I will address some short comings. It could really use a bit more power and I would enjoy driving it more if it had an automatic instead of the old gear box it has now. Whether I go to an automatic or just a different stick I feel it would benefit from a more "optimized" selection of gear ratios. I believe this is the one thing that would really make a difference to it's driveability in todays' traffic. . I will look at getting a few more ponies out of this engine. I will probably go with a set of Langdon headers , a 2 bbl manifold and shave the head to get a slight boost in compression to begin with. That may be all it needs to get the gain in power I am after. I will continue to update my daily driver thread and post my findings and failures. Jeff

The suspension on my 3/4 ton is stock and the ride quality is very comfortable. It could easily handle more power. I did a 2 for 1 swap on the rear axle so I have a 3.55 ratio and disc brakes all around. The truck stops as well as it needs to and that is in crazy a$$ Southern California traffic. If I were to do anything else it would involve adding some more ponies and a modern automatic transmission. Everything else is pretty much just fine as it is. I have been told by a couple of pretty knowledgable people that the ride is far more comfortable than the competitors offerings from the same time period. Jeff

We could try Sunday the 17th if there is any interest. Jeff

I was thinking a Sunday in the middle of the month. It is a woodworking shop in an industrial complex right across the street from the Irvine auto center. Plenty of parking.....with HP air & water. Jeff

It had better be reliable.........it is all I got. Jeff

I could host a small gathering at my shop in Irvine after New Years. It's located right off the El Toro Y (5 and 405). Knowlwoods Burgers is a short distance away at the old Citrus Packing plant next to the 5 and Sand Canyon. Jeff

Roberts Motor parts sells this item. Jeff

You can use a small diameter wood dowel. Keep it vertical in the hole. Turn the engine back and forth by hand and make a pencil mark on the dowel when you think you are at TDC. Check it a few times and mark the dowel in red for TDC. Then check the timing marks on the pulley and pointer and remark or highlight TDC if necessary. Now you have a proven mark to use your timing light.

Amazing backdrop. I keep hoping to see Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino speed by. Jeff