Jeff Balazs

Actually there are more than two plates. I have seen at least 4. One of the variations is the plate for a fluid drive equipped truck that has the hole farther aft than a standard 4 speed. There is also a blank. Barry you should be able to get the metal repaired. Any competent sheet metal guy can do stuff like this. Welds won't show as it will be hidden by the floor mat. Jeff

Is she getting in confused with Pee Pee Paul? You crack me up! Jeff

I wonder what sort of vehicle you would really wind up with after a diesel swap on a Pilothouse? Would it be truly useful? or just a novelty item? Has anyone actually done one and put serious mileage on it? It seems to me that due to the cab size and construction it would end up being another novelty build. I can't really imagine wanting to spend serious time in it with a diesel droning on and on. Maybe it is just me but it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to if the driving experience could be in question. Craigslist is full of very questionable builds. I have seen several modified Pilothouse trucks up for sale including at least 5 with 440's stuffed into them. They are always for sale.....you never see anyone driving them. Makes me wonder. Jeff

6 quarts if you are draining and changing the filter. There is enough pressure on the filter lines to leak quite easily. You may actually need to replace the old fittings if they are badly worn. Copper would work but a steel line is probably a safer bet. Jeff

Rod; Same here. I know there are a few around here. I don't think the owners participate here ...... but they may be lurkers? I have actually heard reports of 3 in my immediate vicinity including one driven by a lady. Then there is Mike over in Costa Mesa as well as another fellow there that seems to have fallen quiet. I don't know for certain about the guys in San Diego County but there are at least a couple. It would be really cool if we could get 6 or 8 trucks together. We will have to see what we can do about putting something together. Doesn't have to be where I suggested. That was just an idea....but I do know it wouldn't cost anything. Jeff

Geez Don; Are you trying to put me into the corner permanently? Jeff

Another way to tell is to make a list of the expletives used when working on it.

Kinda depends on how fussy it is... doesn't it? Or maybe how long it takes to get ready and go?

I am just finishing up my truck. Should have been done by now but work keeps getting in the way. I know of a few in this area. And I have been told there are two right here in Lake Forrest but I have not seen either. There is always Coffee and Cars at the Spectrum on Saturdays and 10 minutes away the World Famous Knowlwoods Burgers at the 5 and Jeffrey. Lots of car clubs meet up there....very retro SoCal burger joint at the old citrus and avocado packing plant. Could be a decent mid-way point if anyone from the San Diego area wants to meet up. Jeff

Brian; Finding a non original engine in one of these is probably the norm. Swapping in a rebuild or low mileage runner was pretty common back in the day. I have a 54 230 in mine. In the Don Bunn book he makes a statement the the Dodge Truck (DT) engines were designed specifically for use in the trucks but I have yet to determine what differences there may be. As I mentioned earlier getting to know what you have is important. Take some time to study up on it before you do too much. You will probably find that a lot of the original components are worth preserving. Jeff

You can get aerosol PB Corrosion Guard at Home Depot. This stuff works really well on things like leaf springs etc. Jeff

Up through the mid 90's I did a lot of engineering work on Navy fueling systems inside the sub base at Pt. Loma. Much of the WWII era machinery and equipment was still in use at the fuel farm and many other facilities when I working there. You guy's would have loved it. Walking into the various shops you could tell that little had changed since the war. Sure there might be a few pieces of modern machinery........but it was almost always surrounded by old stuff........most of which still functioned to some degree and was in use. I will never forget my first tour of the the main tank farm. We had just been awarded the Fuel System engineering contract and they were most anxious to get us started. Our first tasks were to evaluate the facilities and prepare budgetary requests for modernization. I was expecting to find 60's or 70's era equipment and controls. Well boy was I in for a surprise. What I found instead was a system that had obviously been "upgraded" in a hurry......and probably right after Pearl Harbor. OMG!!!!! The main pump house had 4 old pumps with vintage 30's open frame motors and hand mitered pipe fittings. Gas welded no less. All the seals were leaking like crazy including the block valves...... with no spill containment......and at least a 1/2" of fuel on the floor. I couldn't believe my eyes. If this had belonged to one of our Oil Company clients it would have been on the 5 O'clock news and all involved promptly crucified. Thank god they were not storing or shipping Av gas any longer. Just DFM and JP5 these days. But for years they were the terminus for avgas and how they keep from having a major disaster is beyond me. Two of the pumps still had the Av gas labels on them. I couldn't get out of this old pump house fast enough. Things got better though. We needed to do a major assessment of the Fuel Pier. Surely this would not be too out of date.....after all it is right near the entrance to San Diego Harbor and is out in the open for everyone to see, Well OMG x 2! The pier itself had started off life as a whaling pier in the very early 1900's. It had then been taken over by the navy and cobbled together to serve the fleet. It did have some 60's vintage fueling arms but again much of the piping etc....was pretty darn old. They had a rudimentary spill boom which could be deployed manually with a Boston whaler. And next to no clean up equipment. Nothing at all resembling a normal marine terminal. Tied up and taking on fuel that day was a truly ancient fleet oiler that made the African Queen look like a yacht. I just wish I had some photos to share with you. All I can say was it was an eye opening experience. My first up close view of how the Feds live by a different set of laws than the rest of us. Jeff

Brian; Yes I am in Irvine......my shop is right at the El Toro Y where the 5 and 405 split. I have been watching your truck on CL for a while. glad someone here got it. It looked like it would make somebody a great project. As you have already heard there are some items that are a bit rare on these trucks. While you are studying up pay close attention to this and threads here on these topics. Also recommend you get the Shop and Parts Manuals and Don Bunn's book on the "B" series trucks. All really good to have. Let me know if I can help you in any way. Jeff

Love that brush guard! Have fun with the old truck and please post update photos. Jeff

Hi Brian and welcome aboard. I have been wondering when someone was going to buy that truck. It has been listed locally for several months. Now we know. Sure looks fairly complete. Which way to go with it? That really depends on you and what kind of use you want to get out of it. I would say the best way to handle it is to take a few months to learn about what you have and assess it's condition. In other words take some time and study up on it. There are tons of build threads here to read through and getting really familiar with what you have to work with just makes sense. Have fun with it. Jeff

Hank; The method Dodge used has a separate cylinder and locking mechanism right? This alternative has the lock built into the handle. Actually a simpler system but I am guessing probably not quite as robust as the original design. Either way it works and at the very least keeps all but the destructive folks out. Not a horrible thing. Jeff

Those don't look too bad. Maybe not as aerodynamic looking as the originals... ..but certainly a decent functional alternative. And heck the next owner can always put the original type back on. A much better alternative to shaved doors in my opinion. What is the old adage? No harm no foul. I am all for that. Jeff

Don. No biggy......I've spent my whole life in one corner or another. Besides it seemed an appropriate question at the time Jeff

sorry can't resist........do you have wood for the Airflow?

Nice! That is a step in the right direction. Jeff

I won't......but they have eyes everywhere. I tend to look at something like this the same way I do when we have to do a oil Varnish finish on something. It isn't ever if a fly or moth will land on it...but when. Jeff

Joe; I have a bit of end play in my crank. No knock but a faint squeal or rubbing sound until it gets up to full operating temperature. If I step on the clutch when it is still cold it goes away. I did not use a speedy sleeve when I replaced the front seal so I am fairly certain the noise comes from the end play and the seal against the worn surface of the pulley hub. I will continue to monitor it closely until such time as the engine itself starts making noise. I think it will be OK for a while. And it does go away once warm. When I first started hearing it I was pretty certain it was coming from the clutch and /or the fluid drive. Took me a while to pin point it......at the opposite end of the engine. I would have sworn it was the clutch. This was one that the stethoscope was not as effective a tool as a piece of hose. Once I was pretty certain I found it I proved it with a drop of oil in the right spot. The oil would make it go away for a couple of minutes. Jeff

Mark; You do know that you are tempting fate? It always seems that the spot that doesn't ever have mice is the place they go next. Mice are bad enough.......we have roof rats and they can get in to just about anything. They have teeth like small beavers. Just killed one Monday. I guess it is time to get another terrier....... the owls are just not keeping up. Jeff

Joe; I wish you all the best with this. Noises like this can be extremely hard to track down. They can sound like they are coming from one area and end up coming from the opposite end. A clue might be found in your statement about it all starting when you reversed. Any chance it is coming from the clutch itself.....or the throwout bearing? That grinding sound you heard as you reversed doesn't seem like something that I would associated with the engine itself. Jeff

Glad I could be of help.