wallytoo

nice looking sheet metal on that one. perfect for using as a driver, without worrying about dents and scratches from use. nice sig-stat turn signals, too (mine are mounted on the top of the fender, rather than the extension). the dump body on mine is a flatbed, and i have 4' sideboards i can add for a big box (8'x12'x4').

nice looking paint! this is one reason why i’m glad my truck is dinged, dented, with poor paint. i’ve pulled the hood several times with no worries about paint issues. and my truck is a medium duty, so taller than the 1/2 ton through 1 ton sizes. plus i’m short. still have no problem getting the hood removed and then back on the truck. i do zip-tie the handles together with the wings in the open position, which makes setting the hood in place pretty easy. but, if i had excellent paint etc, i’d need at least one helper.

i do indeed.. just what it’s made for... same gear ratios in the 2-speed eaton 1350 in my ‘48. the rear tires on mine aren’t deep treads, but the truck weighs enough for good traction, even in the snow. i do carry chains if needed (and i have needed), visible on the back of the head board. i don’t know, but i’m not familiar with the straight terminology.

kevin, the 8.25x20s that are on my truck average about 35.75” in diameter, as mounted on the unloaded truck on the stock 5 lug budd wheels. brent, i haven’t noticed any rubbing, even when fully loaded (with ice blocks at 7500 lbs give or take). but, i didn’t do any hard cornering, and only got into 4 low for a short stretch, otherwise used 3 high or lower. i wouldn’t worry at all about running bias ply tires at only 7 years old. radials i’d make sure had no cracking at that age, but they are tubeless.

i have 8.25x20s, not 7.50x20s. the diameter derives from doubling the sidewall and adding it to the wheel diameter. thus, 7.50+7.50+20=35, and 8.25+8.25+20=36.50. no matter the actual diameter, i am running 8.25x20 tires at all six wheels.

and that the instructions are for a sealed canister, as opposed to the sock filters in brad's (and your) truck.

clearly the filters are different. i believe brad was inquiring about the plumbing; from what i see, both of yours have matching plumbing, not matching filters. but i can see from how i worded my statement that it appears as if i meant you had identical filters. my bad.

from what i can see, yours (brad) is the same as bill's.

those 7.50s on 20" wheels run to about 35" in diameter, while the 8.25s on 20" wheels run about 36.5" in diameter. i'd guess you could safely run the 22" rims and tires if you wanted to do the conversion. fwiw, all six tires on my b-1-fa are 8.25x20s. i doubt you will wear out a new set of 8.25x20s or 7.50x20s. i'm still running 5 of the 6 tires that came on the truck when i bought it back in 2007, and i've put about 15k miles on the truck. most people will only put a fraction of the mileage on these bigger trucks.

i ordered mine back in 2008, from classic parts of america. #24-996 for the motor resistors, and #24-995 for the gas gauge resistor. no idea if they are still around, etc. edit: just checked, still in business. a bit more expensive ($21.95 vs the $12.95 i paid back then).

mine was converted to 12 v prior to my purchase of the truck, but the previous owner didn't use resistors for the wiper motor, heater motor, or gas gauge (i don't recall if the gauge was even hooked up when i bought the truck, but it is now). i added resistors to all three about 10 years ago; all work correctly still. i did have to take the heater motor apart to solder the windings, as only one or two were still attached. what i used for the heater and wiper motors:

perhaps 12 v?

nice door cards in the last pic. my tray is in poor condition, too. i probably won’t find an oem to replace it.

i went the voltage reducer route in my truck. installed the resistor to the underside of the steering column support, and have been using it for 10 years. also installed a resistor for the heater motor.

look at the 2nd attachment bill posted above. the kingpin set is listed about 1/2 way down the left side column (package - mopar). bob (dodgeb4ya) has a lot of reference books / parts books for vintage mopars.

aftermarket horn button. very common in lots of older vehicles.

the service manual is poorly written as far as procedures go; it assumes the reader understands far more than is likely, especially 70 years later. there are many steps that are either left out from the description, or given scant detail. same goes for the specifications that are listed; too random, and many are left out, including for differences between the models of the series. in my opinion, the manual is merely a reference; other sources must be used to augment and complete some of the tasks needed to work on these trucks. additionally, automotive engineering has evolved over 70 years; things change. you criticized my use of non-stepped wheel cylinders because that wasn’t how the engineers designed the truck; however, i’ve put thousands of miles on my 14000 pound gvw truck, hauling multi-ton loads over the last 15 years. the brakes have worked excellent for the duration. real world experience sometimes carries more weight than 70 year old obsolete engineering ideas, including left-hand thread lug nuts.

it’s a misprint because you believe it refers to the lug nuts? even with compelling information provided by bob as to the torque range these would require? fwiw, my B-1-F owners manual calls for lug nut torque of 375 to 425. i don’t believe the shop manual is a misprint; it isn’t referencing lug nuts. edit: and now i see that brent provided the same info from the online copy.

the oem key switch does NOT have a start position, only a run position. the OP finally clarified that the truck no longer has the oem switch.

well, it wasn’t a ‘53 based on a LOT of sheetmetal cues. if it is a ‘53, virtually none of the sheetmetal is original.

so an aftermarket ignition switch, and no more "foot pedal" starter engagement?

i believe that deleting attachments also deletes them from the original posts.

the dashboard chrome center trim is also from a ‘51 or ‘52. a ‘53 has d-o-d-g-e rather than the plate. the wiper switch is also ‘51/‘52. the ‘53 switch is round.

and another ride-along, this time from the passenger side perspective...

here's a compilation of videos showing the split shifting of the eaton with the spur gear 4speed. split shifting the eaton and spur geared NP