Jeff Balazs

Wally; I am certain that you will get the big one back at it. As far as a daily driver goes a 3/4 T is about as perfect a platform as you can get. The longer wheelbase really works and they ride quite nice. As with all projects like this there were a few things I should have done differently. Some of these I have since corrected. ? But for the most part I pretty much got it right. When you are ready to do this I would be happy to share some my observations and input. I was thinking about this whole experience last night. I have to tell you it really helped me to have guys like you and DollyDodge, Merle and a handful of others actually using these trucks like they were meant to be. At the time I was building my truck I was pretty much surrounded by naysayers.........but seeing what you all were doing got me through it. Now many thousands of miles later I am enjoying the last laugh over the naysayers. Nuthin' much sweeter than that....... Jeff

Hi Tim; I don't think volcanic ash makes it to us very often. Most of this stuff we have here is actually human generated. The kind that comes from way too many cars, construction activity and dry windy conditions. Because our arid climate the roads don't get washed down by rain very often and it all stays put and gets stirred up by heavy traffic. At any rate it is present and is generally very abrasive stuff. Jeff

Hey Wally; Sorry to hear about your engine woes. I feel certain you will get it properly rectified. You know some of your exploits really kept me going during my build. Love the ice harvesting expeditions!!! It really helped to see guys using their trucks as they were meant to be used. I have been enjoying driving mine. They are very cool trucks. It took a bit of getting used to at first but now I feel strange driving anything else. Driving one of these definitely leaves a lasting impression.......and it is all good. Jeff

I have another viewpoint to share on the air cleaner topic. Here is Southern California there is a large amount of very abrasive airborne particulate matter around our roadways. There has been all kinds of studies done about it. I have several friends who have auto repair shops and they see it all the time. Replacement cycles often need to be more frequent here than manufacturers requirements. For years I have run K & Ns on my vehicles. Often with a foam element over them.That is exactly what I did when I put my old Dodge together. I clean these every few thousand miles and believe me they get very dirty. Washing them in a clean tray will show you just how much nasty stuff gets trapped in them. Once you have seen it for yourself it isn't a hard sell. My feeling is that if you want to protect the internals of your engine and you live in a dry and /or dusty area this type of filtration needs to be considered. Hth, Jeff

That is very nice. Doing something like this truck is about as good as it gets. And very rewarding when you start using it. I really enjoy driving mine. I don't know what your plans are but I use mine as my daily driver at it is up to the task. After 5 plus years I can't imagine wanting any thing else. Have fun, Jeff

Wow. That does look nice. Taking your time and doing things right definitely pays off. I have been using my truck daily for over 5 years now. These trucks are very reliable when done up correctly..........and have way more character than the new stuff. Jeff

I have the same unit in my truck. It is open when pushed in and closed pulled out. You have to think of it as a flow diverter. When it is open you get much less flow to the defroster vents. It doesn't get too cold here but we do get heavy fog and humid rain which can fog up the windows badly. I decided to use one of these to deal with those conditions. I added the fresh air intake as well. It worked so-so until I came up with the idea to cover the other air outlets in the heater assembly. I made a couple of covers from thin aluminum and stuck them over the outlets. Now with the fan on high and the defroster knob pulled out all the air flow is pushed through the ducting up onto the windsheild. It works really well like this and will still heat the cab up plenty quick for here. Hth, Jeff

Fwiw I like the NGK BR 6S plugs in my truck. Heat range seems like it is spot on. I run them with a Pertronix module and matching coil. Even though I still have a 6V positive ground it starts like a 12V and never stumbles. Hth, Jeff

Nice.....very nice. I would say you are in....whole hawg! Jeff

Quality Power is another option. I have their converted GM single wire in 6V positive ground and the bracket they sell. It's been flawless in daily service for over 5 years. Seems to me it cost under $200 at that time. Hth, Jeff

Early Hillborns by the look of them. Buddy of mine has them on his T bucket. If you need help setting it up Pm me and I can get you hooked up with some help and guidance. My buddies engine runs sweet but I know he has a high pressure electric pump feeding it and some sort of electronic controller that Don at Hillborn set up for him. He told me it wasn't really street friendly when straight mechanical. Jeff

Roland; IMO you want to just remove and blank off the old mechanical pump altogether. Other wise it can become a potential source of fuel getting into the engine sump. Not good! Best thing is to put a regulator in. Yes on the safety switch. Ground the pump to the frame. Hth, Jeff

The optional 2 speed electric wipers that I have on my truck have worked extremely well. Pretty sure they can be found on Ebay from time to time. I don't think installing them is that difficult either..... Jeff

Hey Tim; I do understand what you are saying here. What I ended up with does insert fully into the opening and with the outer washer flush to the block. I tried at first to use the 1 5/8" size plug but you cant get these far enough into the block. So I tried 1 1/2" plugs. I ended up using a stone on drill motor and cleaned up the inner recess and then put a slight taper on the rubber plug. A couple of passes and I ended up with a very snug fit. Tightened them up and I feel very good about it. I then pressure tested it for an hour or so. Honestly I am pretty confident in this. As I mentioned one big plus with this is that it will be very easy to flush the block. If upon inspection these plugs do show any sign of deterioration they can easily be replaced.. Jeff

Keeping one of these almost 70 year old trucks in daily service sometimes requires creative solutions. One of the locations had some metal loss at the bottom of the recess in the block. I tried using the correct item which held for a few days and then fell out just as I was leaving work one day. I suppose I could have done a metal repair with epoxy but I found these expandable plugs and with a little lathe work got a really good fit. Held 12# of pressure and I am not using a pressure cap so I am totally comfortable with these in place. As to how long they will be in service? I plan on draining the system about once a year so if they look bad I will replace with new. They are super easy to remove and replace......unlike the standard item. Jeff

I built my truck several years ago now. I am fairly certain my WDT was one of the worst ones ever. I have attached photos.... The PO must have left water in the poor thing and then parked for around 30 years. I figure it sat there doing its thing until the radiator rotted. To say I removed a mountain of scale from this engine is not an over statement.Interestingly I did not have to rebuild the engine to get it back on the road. That had been done at some point I suppose shortly before the truck went into a long hibernation. It still runs great and does not smoke or burn oil. I drive it daily. Jeff

Who said anything about sand? Just scale etc.... The lower two soft plugs had been weeping slightly the last few months. As I suspected there was a fair amount of scale behind them. These blocks are extremely difficult to flush stuff out of. Those two plugs are in the lowest spot on the water jackets so present the ideal collection location. When I built this truck I spent a lot of time flushing and fishing junk out of the water jackets. It has since been flushed a few times but never with these soft plugs out. But I have put more the 25k miles on it. So this time I pulled them and replaced them with expandable rubber plugs. From here on out it will be much easier to get and keep the cooling system clean. Jeff

So in keeping with the spirit of things on Saturday I pulled a couple of weeping soft plugs and flushed the block. Nothing worth taking pictures.....but needed all the same. Good for another 5 years. ? Jeff

Keep at it Roland. Sounds like you are getting it narrowed down. Fwiw I am not too keen on running with an original style pump and this stuff that passes for gasoline these days. As I was building my truck I decided to ditch the old style pump and install a big Carter rotary style pump back at the tank. I installed a large canister type pre-filter ahead of this pump and another just ahead of the Carb. This has functioned well for me in daily use for 5 plus years. Some might consider this overkill but I feel it was a prudent thing to do. Also I dose every other tank full with MMO. Jeff

Thanks for the info. I think this will work just fine for what I want to do. Jeff

Thanks for the info. That is the sort of thing I am after. I want to get it off the engine and perhaps mounted on the fire wall or fender. Are those flex lines you have on it? The oil lines on the filter I have were hard lines and are it the way when removing the starter or soft plugs. I want to eliminate this situation and make other things easier to get to. Jeff

Hi Gang; I have been running the remote oil filter that came with my truck for 5 years. It is the type that takes the Baldwin sock type element. It is hung on the side of the block and shares one mounting hole with the spark plug loom. I would like to upgrade to something easier to service preferably with a spin on canister and mount it on the fire wall. Anybody out there done something like this and have any feedback? Thanks in advance, Jeff

I would like to comment on this installation. First off it looks like you did a first class job on it. Bravo! As far as adjustments go I think what you did is just fine. In reality you may make a few adjustments early on to get the correct balance in your braking system. But once you have got it where you want it you won't actually need to touch it. I have had my truck in daily use for over 5 years now and have not had to make any further adjustments. Of course I don't race it....but it has been used more than most trucks here. Hth, Jeff

You may also want to do a careful check on the condition of your distributor cap and rotor. Another thing to check is the ignition switch itself. They contacts and wire connections can get dirt and moisture in them and this could cause problems. Doesn't hurt to clean and spray them with WD40 once in a while. I am not saying that you have an ignition related problem........just suggesting possibilities that can be eliminated. I suspect the gas you have may have actually gone bad. It happens. If that is the problem no amount of tinkering will solve the problem. Jeff

When you originally installed the Pertronix module did you also install one of their matched coils at the time? Or were you running it with an original ignition system coil? Doesn't sound like a typical ignition module failure....but I suppose it is possible? You might consider rigging a temporary fuel supply with fresh fuel before you go much further. It is possible that the quality of the fuel it is getting may be causing this. Hth, Jeff