Jeff Balazs

Roberts has the vent seals. For what it is worth these glass seals are an very important part of preserving the truck. Leaking windows can do a lot of damage over time. I am bringing this up because doing this correctly is a lot of work. You should expect to have to use sealer of some type and it should all be tested as you go. Ask me how I know. Jeff

It is in nice shape! Looks like you have a set of radiator struts / hood supports for that year model truck. Jeff

Hey Mike; Congrats on getting it fired up. Did you have the tank lined? Is the fuel line from the tank new? I have a fuel pump rebuild kit you can have. My fuel system has been modified and I don't have a mechanical pump fitted any more. So the kit is yours if you want it. Jeff

Hey Tom; That is a very nice panel you have there. You really did get a great deal. I was new to these Dodge trucks a few years back so I appreciate where you are at with this. The best advice I can give you is to spend some time studying up on your truck. Get the maintenance and parts manuals. Spend some time using the search function on this site for good measure. But don't be afraid to ask questions. This site is really the best source of information and help you are ever going to find. We all want to see you get this back on the road. Jeff

Quality Power makes a 6V Positive unit that works very nicely. Jeff

Paul; I can't really see a problem using the aerosol product you used as a sealer. I wouldn't count on it doing much as sound deadener though. Even the heavy material I brushed on in several coats probably only accounts for 5% to 10% of the sound insulation I got in my cab. And I even laminated several rubber sound deadening strips into this material. It did help with reducing the tinny sound when we did the hand slap test on different areas of the cab but even all this was nothing in comparison to adding the Hushmat. I figure that stuff is responsible for at least 80% of the noise reduction I got. Upholstery and doubled layers of foiled bubblewrap got the remainder. Don't count on the bubblewrap for sound insulation as it is really there to deal with thermal insulation. You can tell a lot about how effective what you are doing is going to be by slapping your hand against the cab in several areas. When the sheet metal sound changes to something similar to slapping your hand against a slab of concrete you can be sure you will have a quiet ride. Jeff

Hi Phil; Man that looks a lot better than what I started off with. Enjoy it and have fun with it. You have found your best source of help and moral support. And please don't let the photo that Paul posted scare you off ........ I feel fairly certain the fire was not the trucks fault. Jeff

Davin; You know you got me wondering now. Are the wheel studs opposite of our configuration too? I can just about picture Don in his little car with goggles and a flying scarf. Some of the "work around" engineering that the designers came up with back in the day just cracks me up. Very quirky stuff really. Got to love the imagination that was employed in some of these designs. Some of this was pretty darn cool though. One of my all time favorites was the Gradua motorcycle that had a variable sheeve pulley in its belt drive......and an adjusting crank the rider could operate while riding down the road. Jeff

Davin; Oh that is interesting. Maybe they should have made the engine spin in the other direction to fully compliment this regional change? Before you laugh too hard....did you know that several vintage motorcycles were designed and built with the engine running backwards in the frame? In other words the flywheel spun the opposite direction from the wheels when moving forward. It's true. In fact I have a AJS Stormer ported 2 stroke that is timed at TDC....and it will sometimes fire and run fairly well in reverse. The first time it did this was on a very steep game trail and I thought it sounded a bit funny. Imagine my surprise when I slipped it into gear only to find I suddenly had reverse. My riding buddy....who was behind me on this trail was not as amused as I was. Jeff

Yep. I agree all exposed areas should be painted. You could brush on rustoleum to all the hidden areas......and then use a brush on rubberized bed liner material as the first stage of a good sound deadening job. It is a bit messy to work with but it helps eliminate some of the squeaks, wind noise, etc. in the cab structure. Once it has cured products like Hushmat stick to it just fine. Jeff

Davin; Glad to see you are having some fun with the "Pop" project. I am sure it will be extra special when it is complete. I reckon all your UTE's are.....but this one in particular. We went to see the King of the Blues.....BB King .....the other night. Still recovering..... I wanted to have him autograph my passenger side visor but they wouldn't let me take it in. It wasn't him.....but the bouncers at the HOB. Would have made a nice addition to truck. Jeff

Hopefully your WDT is still in one piece. Slide hammer or vise grips will work well. Mine was very badly rusted and was in pieces. About 15 pieces. This condition makes for a much bigger job. I had to pull the head and fish chunks up out the water jackets. This was my baptism by fire into the world of mopar flatheads. You will probably be luckier. Jeff

Before I bought my Pilothouse I looked hard at a 57 that had diamond plate aluminum in the bed. It looked like the owner had just left out the divider strips and cut the metal to fit in place of the wood. I walked around it it and it felt pretty solid but the rear axle was locked up so I never got to hear if it squeaked a lot. That would be the one thing about metal in the bed that would bother me. It has to be done carefully or it can be noisy. Jeff

I can understand how you would be ticked off over that. I would bring it to his attention and see what he does about it. Jeff

Yes I got mine from Gary. I always call and speak to him personally. They do have stuff that does not show up on the website or catalog. He has always been helpful and if he doesn't have something I have needed has at least got me pointed at someone who does. Jeff

Here is a couple of items to consider. If you have a vacuum leak at the distributor it may be a tear and gets worse under acceleration. Try blocking it off and see if that makes a difference. The other thing I would look at is the leather seal on the accelerator pump. If it has been sitting dry for any length of time it would probably be a good thing to give it a soaking in oil. Hth; Jeff

Did you call Gary? If he left them out of your order I feel certain he will make it good. I have had nothing but good service from him. Jeff

A buddy of mine dropped by today in this. Not a mopar.....but it goes as good as it looks and it sure is real comfy. Got to give the vintage air a pretty good test as it is very toasty here. Jeff

I have read many threads here that talk about sticking valves. How common is this on a clean rebuilt engine? I can understand how this might occur on an engine that is well worn....full of sludge and carbon deposits.......and sitting dormant for a long period of time. But is it really that common of a problem with an engine that is fairly fresh and has clean internals and modern oil in it? It would seem to me that if this is happening with any frequency on fresh engines that there must be either a lubrication issue or a problem with the crankcase ventilation that is contributing to this. From what I know of Merle it seems very unlikely that he has anything other than a clean relatively fresh engine. If it is an environmental factor that causes this would using a product like storage seal prevent this from happening? Does a dose of MMO function similarly to storage seal? I do know that trying different lubricants can have fairly dramatic effects on how things function. I have witnessed this time and again on different sorts of machinery. Quite often with older machines there is clearly an optimum type of lubricant and often every thing else you may try falls far short. I have an 65 year old machine in my shop that only works well if I lube it with a graphite based grease. Run out and use anything else and it starts to seize up very quickly. Jeff

Yes it does ....... and it seats into and seals against the internal port in the fitting I mentioned. You need to make certain that it shuts off the fuel supply when the top of the float is 5/32" below the top of the bowl. Jeff

Well that is what I thought......but I was looking at some cross references that were 12mm meach instead of 10mm. I wasn't sure if maybe the later flatties got a different reach or if maybe the head was revised. Thanks, Jeff

Hey Guy's; I have been looking at some options for different spark plugs to test. But the first thing I come across is some conflicting reference data on the proper reach for our L6 engines. The plugs I have been running are 10mm reach. Is this the correct reach? or should it be a 12mm plug? I just want to be certain before I go any further. Thanks in advance. Jeff

Some of the noise is wind related and making sure you have the correct seal and gaskets does help with this. I think the biggest reduction in sound can be had using a product something like the Hushmat Ultra I used. I started off using 3 coats of brush on rubberized bedliner on the entire inside surfaces and underside of the cab. This stuff was effective at getting rid of squeeks etc. I even applied it to the inside of the doors. I then went over the surfaces with Hushmat. I covered everything I could reach with at least one layer. This included the entire floor even under the seat. I put two layers on the inside of the firewall and one on the engine side. This stuff really made a difference. I then put a double layer of foil bubble wrap insulation pretty much everywhere. I don't think it did a lot to quiet things down but it does help with temperature insulation. This was installed behind the upholstery kit I got from John at Pilothouse Interiors. I carpeted the are behind and under the seats. I even put a double layer of the foil insulation under the cab. If you are willing to put the effort in you can really make these cabs very nice. It was a lot of extra work and $ but I am very happy with the results. I managed to quiet my tranny down by using semi fluid grease in it instead of 90w. Heck I even insulated the back of the dash and stuff like that. Every little bit makes a difference. Jeff

Cory; I have one of these alternators installed. They work great. As long as your wiring is in good shape you should be good to go. Some people use the old voltage regulator as a terminal block for this but I went straight to the ammeter on my truck. Say goodbye to charging issues. Jeff

De nada It certainly has been a long process. But hey......what could be better than a fresh engine? The time waiting will all be forgotten soon. Jeff