Jeff Balazs

Paul.......please change the thread title to "The Phoenix was caught napping" Maybe it is just a cat nap? Jeff

According to the factory option lists there were at least 2 different filter housings used on the lighter trucks. One was a HD 1 quart oil bath. There may have been changes in the housing design during production as well. Mine looks taller than Merles and did not have the slotted inner skirt like his. I would think any of them could be successfully converted to accept these types of filter elements. As far as engine color goes it should be silver if you plan to put it in a judged show. Otherwise do what you like. I am not a car show guy so I have made many mods and changes to suit the way I will use it. Jeff

These gaurds were available as a factory installed option ($5 for a 1/2 ton for all three) according to the option lists in Don Bunns book page 145. This seems to be supported by a couple of photos of them being delivered to dealers. It seems reasonable that some dealers added them as well. At any rate they are relatively rare and as already mentioned not really meant to take much abuse. Jeff

Oh Geekay you are very ..... very welcome. You will thank me again when it doesn't overheat. Jeff

Couple of ideas. You could try hooking up a temporary fuel supply that is gravity fed and see if that makes a difference. Also this would allow you to run the engine with the fuel line off and get a measure of how well the pump is delivering fuel. There are other fuel related items that could be checked as well. Condition of lines between pump and tank? Wear is or should be a concern with these old carbs. One area I had some issues with was the bore and fit of the power piston. You might want to take a close look at yours to see if it is operating smoothly. I would think that if it were hanging up it could contribute to the problem you are experiencing. Sure wish someone made brand new replacments for these carbs. Hope this is of some help to you. Jeff

Did you check the float level? and verify if the check balls were in place and seating properly? If all is truly well in the carb then I would look towards the fuel pump as the next step. Could be a fuel delivery issue? Jeff

Yes factory option on the earlier models including 1/2 tons. 51 on do not use these center pieces as license plate was relocated. If you really want to get familiar with this sort of stuff the best place to start is with Don Bunns book on these trucks. Jeff

We might be able to call it a tie.......as soon as you show us all the bits that are still down inside the water jackets. Oh yes.....that one was never coming out in one piece was it? Jeff

The K & N and foam filters will last the life of your truck. Just clean and re oil from time to time. They are extremely effective in dry and dusty conditions. Also here we have a lot of airborne particulates that are very abrasive. You would be amazed at what is collected in these filters after a few months of driving in the greater Los Angeles area. Quality paper element filters will catch it too but the can get restricted pretty quickly and need frequent replacement. Those red spots were points I was taking infrared temp readings as I tracked down hot fuel issues with the carb and manifold. Got that taken care of now with the elimination of the heat riser and then some added heat shielding. Jeff

Here is a photo of what mine looks like installed without the foam boot. Hope this is of some help. Jeff

Congrats! Seems like maybe I still hold the record for the worst one? Jeff

I am not sure if this could actually be caused by the accelerator pump itself. Seems to me that the cycling effect would more likely be caused by the float level being too low? Or perhaps dirt in the accelerator circuit ? Or maybe a fault with the fuel pump......not keeping up with demand under load. Jeff

Yes I am running a Carter B & B......but no it does not look quite like that. What I did was remove some of the internals of the stock oil bath housing. I then found a pretty tall K & N that fit inside. I believe it was made as a replacement for a Toyota Supra. I think the K & N element was around $40 with shipping. It is pretty tall maybe 6". I then found a oiled foam sleeve to fit over it. In essence what I have done is very similar to how a serious off road racer protects his engine.....just inside a modified oil bath housing. It looks the part but I am fairly certain it works even better. If you do a search on the subject here there are a few threads on the subject. I have seen all sorts of aftermarket filters mounted on these engines. For the most part I don't care for the way they look. IMO when you open the hood of one of these trucks you just expect to see that oil bath housing......to me they just look sort of naked or incomplete without it. Jeff

As others have said the original oil bath filter housing looks most correct. With a little work in can be modified to use modern elements. I have a K & N element with a Uni foam sock over it. Breaths well and prevents anything but air from entering the engine. Pretty much a state of the art conversion really. Some folks like the oil bath as is. I think they probably work very well at highway speeds when they have good air velocity flowing through them. I am not convinced of their effectiveness at idle or low engine speeds though....that is why I converted mine. Jeff

Yes there is usually a few here for sale at any given time......but as I said they are mostly candidates for a long term frame off project....and by the time you are done....lots of money will have been spent. IMO that blue 53 was as close to factory stock and fresh as you would ever be likely to find. All it really needed was some new window gaskets and a bit of tidying up. There was no rust or rot either. Jeff

Ya Mike.....Sean is wise to that notion He has been around for my entire project and helped with a lot of the dirty work. Let's just say he knows better. There has been a 49 panel truck listed in Costa Mesa for a while now.....have you seen it. Looks pretty decent in the photos....... I suspect there may be a few hundred of these trucks in SoCal including the desert. Based on what I have seen so far the one in my photos would have been the best find. I am really glad I was mistaken about the identity of this particular truck....means it is probably still intact and that is the way it should stay. Most here run between 1k and 4k......and are really only candidates for the truly serious builder. Mine was one of the 1k ones Jeff.

What you don't understand is that the market here (SoCal) has over 25 million potential buyers. Makes a difference to be sure. The one on C/L wont get that price.......more like half if he is lucky. The one in my photos and sorry they are not better was a bargin at $7000. Nicest survivor I have seen to date. Jeff

Well as it turns out I was wrong about this being the truck I had looked at. Thank goodness as it would have been a crying shame. I will post a couple of shots of the one I saw up close and a link for the one on C/L. The one on C/L isn't horrible......just no where near as sweet as the first one. That one was special. I feel better now..... Jeff http://sandiego.craigslist.org/ssd/cto/4950645100.html

I was able to get mine off with a 12 point socket and a long extension. Don't remember the size? 5/8" perhaps. A crows foot wrench which fits on a 3/8" extension may work as well. If you have some you should spray some penetrating oil on bolts like these to make them a bit easier to remove. Also if you have access to taps and dies you can benefit greatly from chasing threads like these when you have them exposed. Clean threads makes life a lot easier as you progress with things. Roberts has the replenishables for the door windows. I don't know of anyone who makes the hard parts. They are something that either need to be salvaged and reused or found on ebay or swapmeets. There have been several threads on this site with the details and photos for working on this. If you do a simple search you should find plenty to read up on. The lock and latch mechinisms have some heavy springs in them that are quite difficult to find. Be very careful with what you have as none of this stuff is easy or cheap to replace. Hope this helps Jeff

No not rat rod.......more like messed about with and then he gave up. Shame really as all it really needed was some elbow grease and a few ....very few missing parts, He was certainly very enthusiastic when he first got it.......but I suppose he just wasn't in it for the long haul. His C/L ad says he has too many projects. And my guess is that many people fall into that trap and hardly ever truly finish anything. This is one that would have made an exceptional patina truck but it looks like he ground off too much of the paint for any hope of that now. Jeff

I just saw a pilothouse on C/L that bums me out. A while back a fellow down in San Diego area bought it and joined this group. It appears to be a truck I came across a year ago or so. If it is it was and I am fairly certain it is....then it was by far the best survivor I have have come across. Would have been a relatively easy project ....very complete and had great patina. Now by the looks of it not so much. I sure wish someone serious would have got to it in time. Really bums me out to see this happen. I don't know how the rest of you feel when something like this happens.....but it kind of makes me sick to my stomach. When I looked at it it was a very clean time capsule. This kind of truck just doesn't come along that often. Jeff

Well Paul unlike that other fellow does it to himself instead of others. He cracks me up!

Sorry Paul but at this point I have this mental picture of you driving around with a big sombrero and a pair of bandaleros. You can call the truck whatever you want but you will always be "El Scorcho". . Jeff..

In the tradition of the good old serial westerns this thread should be re titled "El Scorcho rides again" or "Viva El Scorcho" Especially when you consider the recent torch escapade. Jeff

Uh huh. Making this tube out of steel definitely wasn't the brightest idea. I think there are many different levels of deterioration that can be found too. Mine came out in many small pieces. And then more was fished out of the water jacket with the head off using a magnetic wand. Photo does not include all the bits that I flushed out using a pressure washer and a small wand. I think the biggest single piece was about 4" long. See attached photo : These can only come out in one piece if they still have more structural integrity than a piece of swiss cheese. I think the majority of them are in better shape than what I started with......it just crumbled and tore every couple of inches. If anyone ever needed proof of how stubborn I can be this is it. I probably spent 15 to 20 hours on this lovely little operation. The patient survived and runs quite well....but the Doctor will never ...ever be the same. Hopefully you will have an easier time of it than I did. If not.....well at least you will know that there is one person out there who has cussed this adbomination as much as you have. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Or so the saying goes..... Jeff