Jeff Balazs

I would. Why not? It was probably used as a personnel shuttle at some point. Mare Island was a busy place back in those days. If only it could speak I'd bet it would have all sorts of good stories. I would think if you searched hard you might find some old photos with these vehicles in that service. Then again it may have been on as a gate pass on a civilian owned vehicle. Either way it is historic and deserves to be preserved. A lot of the military history and sites in California are starting to fade away. The old MCAS El Toro is just a 5 minute drive from my house. It is being made into a park and commercial / residential development. Most people living here now don't know anything about it. When I first got my truck I found a few clues like mil-spec primer on the frame which had me thinking that it may of seen service at some point. I never found any concrete proof though and since it was a Detroit built truck and had a fluid drive and deluxe cab I think it is doubtful. Had I found more I probably would have a military service type paint job now. How cool would that be if it actually had seen service? Jeff

Paul; Back in the day I had a contract with FISC (Fleet and Industrial Supply Center). I think that Mare Island sticker has been superceeded so many times no one would get miffed if you left it on. It definitely isn't going to get you in anywhere. The Navy is infamous for keeping old equipment in service. When I was working at Pt. Loma in the mid 90's there were lot's of old vehicles still being used. My favorites were the old fleet oilers. They made the African Queen look like a bristol yacht. Some of them were built in the early 30's and still saw regular service. Jeff

Bob...be careful what you wish for ......it may be headed your way. This current El Nino condition is the strongest ever recorded. This September and October showed me just how strong it actually is. There were Blue Marlin and Wahoo caught daily here. Both species and several others have been pushed up the coast a thousand miles from their normal stomping grounds. This has never happened during my lifetime or as far as I know since records have been kept. Monterey Bay has seen an incredible influx of life this year as well. Some that were there many years past and many species that belong in warmer more tropical areas. I understand that this fall the waters off BC were home to a lot of Tuna quite late into the year. It should be noted as well that the waters off Cabo San Lucas the normal location for the Blue Marlin and Wahoo caught here are currently too warm to support them. Some forecasters say that this El Nino will dissipate late in the spring. Others are not so sure. I have observed enough very solid changes in our local climate to believe that it is far from over. It has finally cooled off some here but it is by no means back to normal. Scientists are still recording record high temperatures around the Pacific Ocean and we all know where are weather comes from. Jeff

The combination of modern fuel and warmer climes makes this condition a very real situation. I have gotten past this using a full time electric fuel pump and a home made heat shield under the float bowl. I like this set up a lot. I removed the mechanical pump and blanked it off. I have a vane type electric pump mounted back near the tank. A large sealed pre-filter ahead of the pump and another sealed filter mounted on the inner fender a short distance ahead of the carb. Keeps the fuel supply cool until it reach's the carb and eliminates any possiblity of dillution of the oil in the crankcase by a fuel pump failure. The heat shield is held in place on top of the manifold with safety wire. It is in place to slow down evaporation of fuel in the carb when the engine has been shut off. Without it the heat soak effect of the manifolds is enough to percolate this modern fuel in the float bowl shortly after shut off. With this set up I get pretty much instant starts and never have to give it a thought. Jeff

It may not require anything other than checking the fluid level. The suggestion to get a service manual is a good one. Also there are several past threads on the subject here. It would be good to read through them before you do anything. Jeff

Don...... when it comes to that .....happily I don't have any points to make or break. Jeff

Points......smoints. Why worry about that? It's funny but it seems these days that everything has to be justified by some sort of trumped up competition. What a joke that is. How about just having it run reliably? Ain't that enough?

Maybe if we lived in a perfect world and had a stockpile of NOS parts? It is really hard to say what is worn or incorrect after 65 years. I do know that I have driven mine with and without this extra spring and much prefer it with the extra spring in place. Besides eliminating the high idle issue I believe it provides some additional safety in ensuring that the throttle will return even if the main spring fails. Doesn't really matter if it is bone stock or not. To me it is sort of like the difference between using the stock single chamber M/C or a more modern dual chamber M/C. Given the choice I know which one I would pick. Jeff

Same here and I give it a huge thumbs up. Do this and you will never have that problem again. It may have originated down under but it should have been done at the factory. Try it...you'll like it. Jeff

Running resistor type plugs should not cause any issues with how your engine runs. I like the NGK's because they run at what appears to be the ideal heat range for my engine. I have tried several different plugs and these were the only ones that show a nice even tan read. All the others showed more of a sooty black with a white or gray hot spot on the electrode. Hope this helps. Jeff

Well I wish......I did catch about 4 green lights in a row this morning Probably got 2 miles in without having to stop. Doesn't happen that often.....made me feel special. Thanks for the videos. Jeff

Ok....you are off the hook....it worked this time. I am going to have to try doing one of these at some point. No empty roads here though. Congrats on a job well done. Jeff

You are just teasing us........

Yep that be it. The King of Cool had some neat toys. I remember seeing this truck a few times at Indian Dunes and Elsinore. It is sort of an Icon for some of us old dirt bikers here in SoCal. Those really were the days. Jeff

Paul I agree the stock lights are too low. Besides the stock type lights I have an extra set mounted higher. I also added a "third" brake lite that mounted at the bottom of my rear window from the inside. It is a 6 volt LED so it is nice and bright. For turn signals and emergency flashers I added seperate amber fixtures. My approach to using this truck as a daily driver was to add features that other drivers are used to seeing.....that way they don't have an excuse. Jeff

Yes Hank I know and I will only use it as a last resort. I added it as a legitimate back up light and it seems to work well as such. I know some of the lighting package I added to this truck goes quite a bit past the stock arrangement. But I have to say I am satisfied and very pleased with the increased visibility it has provided. The amber cab top lights and extra tailights make one heck of a difference. Jeff

Or I would guess the NOS Mopar back up lamp that I mounted on the rear bumper. It can be used to discourage tail gaters as well.

Paul.......Buddy don't got no fleas man. They are real Indian saddle blankets though.......from India.

Anybody else see this truck auctioned off at Mecums Anaheim? Green 52 Chevy with custom metal camper shell. Very cool with lot's of history. Those were the day's.

Back up light.

Well it has been a couple of months since I started using this truck on a daily basis. Other than an issue with the starter motor things have been trouble free. This week I made a seat cover from a pair of saddle blankets. My little friend approves. I like it too. Jeff Last picture should be titled watching for the fuzz.

While I never met or spoke with him I feel I knew him. His wise posts here will continue to live on. He will be missed. Jeff

Sorry I misunderstood your post. I can see now it was about technique. I was thinking you were talking about generic contact cement and a lot of that stuff does not stand up to any sort of weather. The 3M weatherstrip adhesive I had mentioned is actually a type of contact cement made specifically for automotive use. It is weatherproof.

Interesting. I have never heard of using contact cement like that. I would have thought that it would not weather well and just release after a short while. I have been using a tube of black stuff by 3M for a while now. It can be messy but if you are careful it holds like a son of a gun. Jeff

I think either 3M or Permatex weatherstrip adhesive is what most folks would use. Jeff