wallytoo

and a pic of the dodge on the above job site, back in 2015 (yes, a few years after it started).... note the small leaning birch just above the hood/cab, the same tree is to the far left in the above pic.

yes. but, kind of like left-hand lug nuts/studs. not needed, which is why the bores later were made the same for both sides.

the leak wouldn't be caused by installing on the "wrong" side, so i wouldn't worry about that. you'd probably never notice the difference in how the brakes function, either. if the leak is from the rubber boots, you might need to inspect the cylinder bores for scoring. if no scoring, might be able to get away with just replacing the boots and rubber cups, or even just the cups.

how did it start before the starter was rebuilt? what do you have the timing set to? you need fuel, spark, and compression, in the proper sequence, to start easily. you are in front of your truck. we are all not in front of your truck. help us help you by giving us as much information that might allow us to get you "started", as it were.

i think the “boiling “ gas in the bowl is a red-herring; mine also appears to boil, but the truck runs excellent. what is your timing set to? if too far advanced, it will sputter once the engine is hot.

the one-ton pilothouse series trucks used 6-lug wheels.

my 1-fa-152 has the same radiator as yours do, and that the OP took out of his F.

another vehicle for the collection (the red one): bought if from the contractor doing this job for me back in 2013.

i get about 1 gallon of syrup per 50 gallons of sap. people with south/west aspect orchards get closer to 35 to 40 to 1 [sap/syrup]. this year, i made about 10 gallons of syrup. so, around 500 gallons of sap for that, plus what was in the pans but not syrup at the end (and i dumped about 75 gallons from the tanks without collecting). probably 650 to 700 gallons of sap. over the 40+ years i've done it, i've averaged about 15 gallons of syrup per year. best year was 1992, with 31 gallons of syrup. depending on the year, i put in from 130 to 225 taps (roughly 90 to 175 trees).

finally know what the hoist in my truck is, courtesy of a BaT auction of a 1951 ford. it's a marion hoist, made in ohio. pic from the auction truck (hoist and truck are MUCH cleaner and nicer than mine): mine:

indeed. my own "f" stops very well with the booster.

a few older pics of the sugar house:

the reason for the whole endeavor: temp indicates 7* above the temp of boiling water - syrup 1st filtering, via the paper and wool filters, into the stainless draw-off bucket drip, drip, drip.

collected about 150 gallons of sap today, from yesterday's and today's "sap run"; not bad for my north-slope sugar bush. plan to boil a good part of tomorrow, hope to make another 3 gallons with what sap i've got on hand, and have some left over to boot. pics from the weekend: the evaporator, with it's homemade arch and commercial pans (g.h.grimm co) - 2'x6' setup not the fastest rig, probably boiling 18 to 22 gallons of sap per hour. the arch was converted from a 2x5 drop-flue rig to a 2x6 raised flue rig, thus the added box at the back, and the hole in the side of the arch where the drop flue drain used to be. getting close to the first syrup draw-off of the season. hard to see, but to the back right, the flue pan drain is visible (yellow handle at the back), above the arch and below the sap float box.

after a year off, back to sugaring this spring. made about 3 gallons of syrup over the weekend, but the season may quit soon, as we will be having about 3 or 4 days of 60* weather. at least the overnight temps have been low to mid-20s. new tank for the main line - about 210 gallons capacity using the old main line tank from a different sugar orchard for collecting now about 175 gallons capacity. edit: capacity of this one is close to 250 gallons. i've since moved the tank to be centered in the bed, up against the headboards. sap is heavy, and it made the dump body lift a bit on the driver side when driving over bumps etc. this can be seen the the above pic, as the body is squatting to the passenger side (gap in grille above frame rails is uneven).

entertaining ride. no double clutching? synchro'd?

don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine for 50 to 55 mph. my b-1-fa has a rear ratio of 8.xx in low and 5.83 in high, and i can go 50 easily (55 on flat ground) at about 3100 rpm. granted, the diameter of my tires is 36”, but your truck will still be ok.

nice looking 1-ton. as an aside, kind of funny that mine is "only" a 1.5-ton.

that's a smoking deal, brent. DO IT!

you’ll be disappointed if it has a 218, nowhere near enough displacement to power that truck. much more likely to be either a 265 or 251. not monsters, but they’ll move the truck down the road with a load just fine. the 2-speed rear is well worth having in working condition if you plan on hauling anything. if you only plan to drive it around, it isn’t as important, but it’s still nice to have.

mine have been oil soaked since i bought the truck in 2007. still keeps the dust and dirt out, so i’ve never cleaned them.

to my knowledge, none of the six 8.25x20 tires on my 1.5-ton have balance weights on the wheels. although i put more miles per year than bob, 55 mph is about all the truck is capable of. runs pretty smooth down the road for the 900 to 1500 miles per year i drive it.

i’m a contrarian, so, why not just beat the tar out of the existing 4-speed non-synchro transmission as you learn how to double clutch it? it won’t cost anything, and you might learn how to drive that crashbox 4-speed. i really enjoy driving my non-synchro 4-speed in my ‘48 1.5-ton.

did you use a 12-volt battery to run the motor?

the hose is fabric wrapped around wire (like a slinky, sort of).