wallytoo

i learned a little bit more about the way the rubber works on a ph-cab. i installed a new robert's gasket back in october, when i had to replace one of the windshields. it fit decently enough, and i used rope to pull the seal lip through from the inside of the cab to the outside. however, the lower corners did have a slight leak all through the winter (not as bad as my CJ, though ). fast forward to today. it's the first solid, heavy rain in the last month. over the weekend, i finally got around to installing the interior trim/retainer and inner/outer center bar on the windshields, and used slightly oversize screws on the lower part, allowing the retainer to really pinch the gasket all the way around. and, low and behold, the leaks have stopped. i should have finished with the retainers a long time ago; i could have avoided the stalagmite/stalactite formations over the winter. oh, and my cowl vent rubber that i installed a few weeks ago is working, too.

bummer about the broken lens, but it sounds like you've found one. around here, $313 for all the glass is a heckuva good price.

i just run regular 87. can't get it around here without ethanol during the winter.

with the many complaints about the robert's seal, i was a little worried about mine. i bought it from robert's back in september, but i waited to install it - today. frankly, the seal fit with very little problem. there is clearly only one correct way to install the seal, and it can be installed upside down and left/right transposed. it is indeed about 1.5 inches "short", but in the warm sun, using four clamps and four clothespins, it easily fit. prior to putting it in place, i ran a bead of rtv blue around the channel, and then put the seal in.

i've retained the stock setup on my '48 1.5 ton. i replaced 1 front and 1 rear wheel cylinder, and rebuilt the other two. the drums are huge - 14.5" in front, 15" in the rear. master cylinder will be rebuilt soon. this also has a booster cylinder, operated by vacuum. stops the truck very nicely. i have no plans to significantly alter the original configuration.

since the speedometer in my 1-fa doesn't work, i decided to take it apart to see why. i used a dremel cut-off wheel to remove the four bushings that keep the bezel attached to the body, through which the dash mounting screws go. after getting the speedo mostly apart, i could see what the problem was. the shaft that the needle (pointer) rides on was broken where it passes through a bracket, just below where the return spring is attached. that looks to be a difficult to fix issue, with replacement of that needle assembly the only real solution, other than doing nothing, and living with it (i did get the odometer to work, so at least i can track mileage). even though the speedo has the 2-speed adapter, i believe it's the same speedo as for the other b-trucks. i might even try to solder the shaft back together, since it doesn't work as is, but that probably wouldn't last very long.

it's gary, not larry.

if it was created for export, it wasn't for the UK - left hand drive. could be a US-truck that was later exported, though. '51 or '52.

as noted above, if mine fails, i can go to virtually any autoparts store and get one - in stock. the same cannot be said for the mopar units. fact is, that "old dead chevy out in the field (or behind the barn, etc.)" probably has an alternator that i can swap directly into my conversion. no new wires. no new brackets. universal.

how what's done?

nh got left out of new england with my old, slow truck, i don't travel too far with it. but, i could use one of the other vehicles.

looks great, merle. nice.

a little curt, sure. but, in truth, you aren't a customer . i know many folks have had problems with roberts, yet i've had great luck with them, and have had no "attitude" over the phone. just my lucky days? wally also, fwiw, i've got the wix 51011 for mine. i haven't installed it yet, but i'll let you know, as that should be happening soon.

i think i'll stay out of it, and keep to trucks.

dave, the cast arms on the "chassis" trucks are a little different than the ones shown from roberts, although they have similarities. wally

hadn't noticed, but you caught it - i hadn't listed the year. it's a 1948.

i agree, but i'd also be careful of going too big. seems there's probably an upper limit for the size of the master bore. otherwise, i'd anticipate issues with blowing out the wheel cylinder with the same pedal effort of the original mc bore. i don't know what that upper size would be, though. however, if the new mc bore was the same as the old one, that would be ok.

thanks, dave. the major project for getting it road-worthy was to replace/repair the wheel cylinders, and for this size, those are somewhat difficult to locate. however, once obtained, the replacement was pretty straightforward. i also cleaned/repacked the wheel bearings (based on info from the forum here), and replaced the inner seals on the wheels. the minor issues were some rewiring, and adding directionals to the back. the cloth wiring was brittle, so i replaced some of it. i'll continue to replace sections as i get time. got the dump body fully raised the other day. the cylinder reservoir was more or less empty, and the fill plug was in a very difficult to reach location, especially with the bed down. i've also greased all the fittings on both the chassis and dump body, in addition to the fittings in the engine compartment (water pump). finally, before i took it out on the salty roads, i sprayed the entire chassis and inner side of the body panels (and inside the doors) with used gear oil from my jeep diffs. no acids in it (unlike used motor oil), and with the high viscosity, it adheres well to the metal surfaces. i applied it with a wagner power painter. it actually rides pretty decent - better than my '75 jeep. wally

merle, my dad's 52 b-3-c has no cab corner windows, but it does have the vent windows. i always assumed it came that way, rather than someone adding the vents. i figured the "deluxe" cabs had both, but wasn't sure about the "custom" cabs. perhaps not all the custom's had corner windows? wally

update. took the truck for its maiden voyage. success. after a minor carburetor issue (inlet needle not seating - old fuel line gunk), it performed quite well. wound it right up to around 3200 rpm up a few hills, in 2nd. near home, decided i'd give high range a shot. more success. it works. the rear end shifted into high range after pulling the "button" up. bonus, as i wasn't positive the unit would shift into high range. that makes "hiway" travel a little better - 45 mph is fine. all in all, a good day. looking forward to working it. wally

rockwood, i'd check the needle/seat inlet assembly first, based on your description. it sounds as if there's a little bit of "debris/gunk" preventing the needle from seating properly all the time, so you get intermittent leakage. the float setting, if it's a problem, should show itself every time you drive, rather than once in a while. wally

thanks for the info. i'd seen that link via search, and determined that in order to use my 5 wire turn signal switch, i'll need a separate set of lights in the rear to function as turn signals. i can't use them with the brake light function. not a problem. there's plenty of space on the back of the dump body to locate another set of lights, or two, or three. i took the unit (sig-stat 700) apart anyway, in order to check/replace the pilots. the bulbs were burned out, so i replaced them. they work now. wally

in a sort of related question, i've mostly got all of my exterior lights wired and working, except for the brake lights. the only "problem" is where to connect the "lead" from the brake switch - my temporary jumpers will work, as long as the turn signals aren't on. as soon as i use the directional (with the brakes applied), the light just stays on - no blinking. they work fine independently, but not together. obviously, i need to figure out how to get the "directional" to blink, rather than stay lit, with the brakes applied. any thoughts? sorry to hijack. edit: after a little more inspection, it turns out the turn signal mech. is a sig-stat 700, and only has 5 wires. after doing some searching, it appears i'll need a separate turn signal harness, and rear turn signals, rather than integrating with the tail light/brake light. unless there's a way to alter the 5 wire sig-stat to work with brake lights. wally

according to the literature, the 236 was standard from the beginning (1948) of the series - for the 1.5 ton trucks.

236.6 standard others available, 250.6, 265.37