Jeff Balazs

Paul; While I get Tim's "priorities" .......Buddy isn't likely to be as understanding. The little fellow takes rides very.... very seriously. I am pretty certain he is not going to put up with any monkey business either. Jeff

Well now Tim we will have to clear this with my new dog. I would be proud to have you ride shotgun.....but you will have to let Buddy ride on your lap.otherwise there will be problems. He is small but he can be very "persuasive". Jeff

For sure the gearing needs to be addressed. We can all easily agree on that one. As far as a safe top speed goes it should easily cruise at 65-70. Much beyond that and I think you are pushing what is reasonable. One thing about running one of these engines in traffic is that they do need to be in a good state of tune. There is no over abundance of power so however much it makes...... It all needs to be present and accounted for. I really like my Pertronix ignition set up. I can't speak for the rest of you but the various sets of points I tried before converting this distributor were more that a bit fiddly and seemed to go out of adjustment quickly. That went bye-bye with this modification and I would not go back. I would not hesitate to suggest this mod to anyone who has had the same experience with the stock set up as I had. And it is hard to beat that 40K spark.for quick starts. Jeff .

I am pretty happy with the way mine rides and steers. It is a 3/4 ton with the 116" wheelbase and I think this makes for a the nice ride. There is room for a bit of improvement ....maybe better shocks...but honestly it is OK the way it is. Seat belts are easy and I have upgraded the lighting and visibility because I think this makes good sense. Jeff

Maybe taking a step back is the "Wise way tu" go for now? Sometimes we come up with a plan and it has a few flaws. Doesn't mean it is a totally bad plan.......just means it needs more thought and work. Unless you have unlimited time and money this was never.... ever going to be an easy project. We try something.......learn from it and come up with a solution. You are absolutely correct ,,,,,,, it would be easier to open a catalog and buy a kit. There are a fair amount of frustrating things about doing one of these trucks. In fact I am pretty certain the "M" in Mopar has something to do with masocisim. I know I would do some things differently if I was starting again. Take a break.....mull it over.....most of the time there is a relatively easy solution. Just gotta give it some time. Jeff

Amen. If ever there was a plot for someone like Peter Sellars to exploit! Jeff

My approach to this has led to some modifications. Better gearing and disc brakes on all four corners. I don't feel like there was really any choice on these upgrades as this will be my only vehicle until I kick off. With the 3.55 rear ratio it keeps up with the reasonable drivers on surface roads. But only a fraction of todays drivers maintain safe following distances.......so the better brakes I feel are a must. As far as keeping one of these on the road goes I think one has to understand and compensate for what one is dealing with. Having a good set of spares and being able to do most of the work yourself is certainly a plus. I am not a fan of calling for a tow so I keep a pretty comrehensive set of spares and tools on board. And because this is my only vehicle and I plan on keeping it I will find and rebuild a spare engine. Also I have made many small modifications and upgrades to the basic package. Some of these were done to improve reliability and other have been made to make it easier to maintain and service. Yes the old flatty could use a few more ponies. And no it will never be a hot rod. That is OK with me. What it is though is a sort of time machine. When I get in it I feel like every drive is an adventure and that is a feeling that has been gone for a long time with me. Would it be that way if it was a old body sitting on an all new chassis? I kinda doubt it. Does any of this make any real sense? I am not sure if others understand any of it........and I am pretty sure I don't care if they do. I can't wait until it has been thoroughly tested (and it cools down some) to go out exploring. And if I am not going fast enough for some of the folks on the road ...... they will just have to get over it. Jeff

I am shocked!!!!! or is it confused?

Jerry; No problem at all. I knew right where they were. For once. Jeff

Paul; An engine that is in good tune generally starts quickly. This usually means the mixture is correct and the spark is good and it is timed correctly. I think a lot of hard or slow starting can be an indicator of poor carburation or fuel system issues. If the mixture is too rich or flooding occurs and you continue to turn it over you will wash the oil from the cylinder walls. When that happens you will shorten the life of the engine. An engine that is running too rich all the time or floods frequently will suffer from oil dilution......and is usually a poor starter. I still run my truck on 6 volt positive ground. And it starts in about 1 second. Honestly it can't be much more than one revolution. I have a cold starting drill that I adhere to and I get this sort of start all the time. Choke out about an inch.....then light pressure on the gas pedal and pull the throttle knob out about half an inch......then step on the starter pedal. When it fires I push the throttle knob back in and then set the choke to about a half an inch. Once it has run for a minute or so I can dispense with the choke. It turns over like you would expect from a 6 volt system......not as fast as a 12 volt. But it really isn't the speed in which it turns over that makes it a good starter. It is the right mixture and a good hot spark. Oh yes and a big thumbs up go to Optima....Pertronix....and the factory fresh Carter B & B I found recently. Jeff

If you are still using the original 6 volt starter you will have to keep crank over time down to keep it from getting damaged. I mention this because of what you said in another thread. Properly set up and with the correct starting drill these engines will start very easily with a 6 volt system........12 volt should be even quicker. If it still has a foot starter then it is probably a 6 volt starter. Hope this helps, Jeff

I wonder if it doesn't boil down to mainly a gearing or ratio thing with running these old flatheads. My 230 has plenty of torque........I just wish I had some different gear ratios to choose from. With my 3.55 rear axle and the fluid drive 4 speed first is still way too low to be of much use. Now if first was just slightly lower than the existing second......then second could be a shade higher ......same with third and then it seems to me that the optimum fourth would be a slight overdrive gear.....like .95 or maybe .92. These are just my seat of the pants observations so far. I do think the combination of the slightly later 230 I have and the fluid coupling makes this set up perhaps slightly more flexible in traffic than some other rigs. I don't know how one would go about creating this combination and still retain the fluid drive. I don't think it is possible or at least practical to do this with a T5. I really feel like the moment you swap the engine out of one of these trucks you might as well buy something newer. That old engine is the heart and soul of these trucks......and I just can't see them any other way. Jeff

Hank; A 4 x 8 sheet might work in one of those silly little 1/2 ton beds.......but it ain't going to cut it in a 3/4 ton bed. They are wider and have wheel wells. And oh yes this is one of those size matters situations. The larger beds are best assembled on saw horses Square it all up and check the distances on the mounting points. My 3/4 ton has 8 mounting points. Some only 6? Once trued up 4 people can easily set it in place. Worked quite well for me. And no scratches either. Jeff

Jerry that match's with the badly scratched ones I removed from my 52. Jeff

Let me be the first to say congrats. It wont be long now. Jeff

Tim; As far as I know it is the only one with "factory" locks on both sides. Should keep the zombies out. Jeff

I put an Ozzy lock mechanism on my drivers door. Was an easy conversion and works great. Might not be stock......but sure looks and works like it. Thanks again to Davin. Jeff

He sounds great John. I have not had him in the truck yet. I need to figure out a "seating" arrangement for him. I may have to get clever and make something special up. Buddy is only 21# but he has a real long reach. I am thinking about making something up from a mexican blanket and maybe some sort of scratch guard on the passenger door. I will make up some sort of secured lanyard to clip to his collar. I have had a lot of friends get there dogs into trouble or injured doing this without some sort of restraint. We will get it figured out. Jeff

Too funny. We are still adjusting to each other. Buddy has been through some stuff......just not sure what. He does suffer from separation anxiety. That was supposedly why his last owners gave him up. He is a pretty smart guy though and I think he will settle down nicely. He is quiet and good on the leash. Doesn't play with toys though ? He hasn't chewed anything but boy can he dig. Dig doesn't do him justice......he is an excavator!!! I figure it will take a couple of months to make some adjustments. I hope. Buddy Boy's name comes from the old TV series Streets of San Francisco.......it is what Carl Malden called his partner... a very young Michael Douglas. Jeff

I found this for my Pilothouse.......had to have it. This is Buddy Boy. He is a 3 time loser from the local animal shelter. Just like our last dog. He is a little camera shy so please excuse the photos. Could be he is wanted for something...somewhere. I think every old truck needs somebody like him to ride shotgun. Only had him a week today but he is already the best road dog I have ever had. Jeff

As Todd mentioned Poplar does not generally do well in exterior applications. You will have to be very diligent in keeping the finish up otherwise it will get blue spot fungus and start to rot. Hopefully you have plenty of finish on the underside. Jeff

I thought about adding a voltmeter when I put the alternator in my truck. But to be honest the altenator works so well it just isn't needed. To me at least this has been pretty much a fit and forget installation. It always keeps up and that is with several accessories. Oh yeah...... I am still running a 6 volt positive ground system ..... just powered by an alternator. Jeff

James; I didn't think you were worried about shifting. The question is how is the fluid drive going to behave when at idle. My feeling is it will work OK as long as you don't get a fluctuating vacuum reading.at idle with this cam. If you don't have a steady vacuum reading of 18" or above at idle then I believe you won't be able to get it to work properly. Good luck finding some one with this exact combination. Jeff.

You might even check to see if some debris or burr is preventing the wheel itself from seating evenly on the drum. Jeff

It is a 52. Here are some more photos. These sure were a lot fancier than the trucks. Jeff