Veemoney

Periods correct electric wiper motor for the 39-47 trucks. Electric switch for each is mounted in the motor access panel.

I would add in my opinion that anyone considering installing highway gears should shave the head to bump up the compression as well otherwise your not getting the most out of the gear change. When I run a compression check on each cylinder shortly after shaving ~.080" from the head I was getting 130-135 PSI on my motor. Very noticeable improvement when driving at speed and mashing the pedal.

My 47 has a 230 with stock manifolds and single B&B. I shaved the head to bump compression as well. It came with a 4.10 gear which I changed out for 3.54 gearing from a 48 car. Truck is a 4 speed and I use 2nd,3rd & 4th now with the new gear set. I honestly think if they had a 3.23 option for the original rear it would be ideal for me but then I don't have the long steep grades to deal with.

I have a Ford 17HP that was purchased from the Reed Randal Ford dealer which was just down the road from me till it closed shop. The mother of an older friend purchased it new in 1987. He inherited it and worked it pretty hard for years until the driveshaft wore out and that is when I took it in. He provided all the original paperwork from the purchase and maintenance over the years. I was just out charging the battery and preparing for the first cut of the year. It is a hydro-drive and runs strong but is in need of some TLC. I fitted a craftsman 48" deck to it when the original rusted out and the charging system has not worked for the last 2 years so requires a manual charge about every third cut but I love keeping it going. I have a JD 212 and 317 that are sitting under the pines dying the slow death but the Ford gets all the work and attention.

Nice to see the truck has some paint on it. Be interesting to see how close it blends color to color once you get to sanding. The die profile should get the floorboard back to presentable condition.

When in my early twenties attending a machine shop trades class at the local college, I witnessed first-hand the lathe scenario one evening. A classmate I did not know personally was turning a test bar between centers while wearing bib overalls. The strap on his left side slipped off his shoulder and got caught by the spinning dog. It happened fast and he was a stout kid but could not break free and went over the top in a matter of seconds. He got messed up bad but was lucky someone was close to him and hit the foot brake as it pulled him over the top. It was a bloody mess that as they say you can't un-see. Glad no one was hurt and the sharing of the identified safety point brought about some positive ideas for reducing the likely hood of future issues. I think the painting of the is something that would work well for my open motor car. I attached the front and back of the 2-Minute drill card every person carried on the job, on a lanyard and used prior to starting a task. Team leads for a task were responsible to run through it and collect and act on feedback. I thought it was overkill when issued but it worked out well to identify potential problems and prevent accidents. May work for some to help on their job or in your shop.

Just some thoughts. My only experience I can add here is in regard to AC where split units were used on most of the portable office containers I used. They either froze you out or had a tough time keeping up and the fans on some were noisy. If you closed a door your room would heat up and the other room would chill up. First home I purchased had boiler heat with 1 window AC in the kitchen. It was a solid brick home on a slab with joists and baseboard radiators. My friends called it the adobe because it would bake you during the summer even with the AC on. I moved the 1 window AC unit ~15-18k BTU to the utility room where the boiler was and installed it in a window close to the ceiling. I purchased tin ducting from Home Depot and fabricated it to attach to the front blower portion of the AC unit. Cut 2 holes in the ceiling to route the cool air up and through ductwork I ran in the attic using registers I installed in the ceiling to the far rooms. 1 line branched to feed the living, dinning and kitchen, the other the bedrooms. I ran no ducts for the return and just left the door of the utility room open to draw return air to the AC unit as it was designed. That 1 unit could not be turned up all the way after that or it would freeze you out. Since you have duct work in place already for heat, no matter what system you decide on it may be better to consider tying it into the ducts you already have for better more efficient distribution. This keeps the fan noise away as well. You would simply connect whatever system you chose to existing duct main and install a shut off damper somewhere behind the connection to keep cool air from backing into the furnace.

As Sam identified the front U-joint A couple thoughts on this. Does the rear driveshaft wobble as it rotates as well? When you had the driveshaft out did you separate the 2 driveshaft sections to grease the spline? If so did you install them together with the alignment marks on the 2 components, so they are correctly indexed? Are the u-joint phased correctly? With no bed or load on the frame in the rear the driveshaft spline is likely out of travel or close to it. If it is out of travel it could be influencing the shaft. You can throw some plywood or boards on the frame and load some weight on to simulate the bed and give the splines some travel as Los mentioned. I agree as Ken mentioned that the front flange surfaces don't seem to be seat square and need to be checked.

Really looks like a nice truck. For that kind a money I would say you stole it rather than bought it. Looks like the drive was worth the time invested.

Nice to see these undisputed numbers for juice. Since I sold my blue wrench set-up years ago, I now go the propane/PB Blaster/cut-off wheel route these days.

Check this thread with pictures of where to find the gear ratio marked. They can be easily missed.

Red paint fades faster than most. could be the sun is working it's magic or you have some oxidation going on, but I wouldn't call it orange just yet. If it does go orange just provide pictures in black and white and tell everyone it's red Folks sometime think my truck is painted with primer when actually the paint shines nice if I buff it out but a few days later it is chalky again. Oh well.

I find the flux-core wire you purchase makes a difference as well depending on the brand. Lincoln wire seems to run a lot cleaner than some other brands I purchased. Some flux wire is single pass only also so make sure you are aware of what you are buying. Here is a link that covers some details and pros/cons of MIG vs FC welding applications Flux-Core vs. MIG Welding: What's the Difference? (weldguru.com)

The issue some LEOs may have with blue dots mounted in taillights for Illinois at least, Taillights are considered safety equipment and called out by the DMV "Rules of the Road" for required equipment as follows. • Taillights — Vehicles must have two red lights visible for 500 feet from behind. Only one taillight is needed for mopeds and motorcycles. I think they look nice on some vehicles but will share a story for why I don't run them. Was out 1 night on the motorcycle with 2 other bikes in Wisconsin heading back closer to home in Illinois. My friend Dave was last on his blue dot equipped panhead. Shortly after we turned onto a 55mph road a car tapped Dave pushing him forward and fortunately he just ended up with just some rear fender/taillight damage. The blue dot was identified as modified safety equipment and partly responsible for the accident. I am guilty of running them in the past and also some red trailer lights under the front wheel wells on an old gasser. So run them but be aware of the risk. Car folks who have seen them before may recognize them as brake lights but an old man not familiar with these on a dark night did not. Becomes a greater issue with the smaller taillights and dimmer lighting of our old cars compared to the larger newer ones from the 60s.

Very cool and fascinating to see this practice is still being put to use. Truck pictures and process information has me smiling as I looked it over checking out the tools used. My guess would be those are 2 brothers looking at the camera in the last picture in anticipation of the next block. Not exactly the same but I had a sparkplug launch from an old Harley years ago as I was going down the road. Threads pulled from the head and the plug wire tethered it to the bike. Was able to drive it a few miles to get it home and repair it with an insert. Really got to appreciate the sound sitting right next to that open hole.

Los, Looks like the same one I have. I believe I see some of the wires marked in your photo which I circled. You are correct that it is over-kill since it is made to accommodate many items our old vehicles don't have. So yes you will eliminate some and the easiest way to map for me was with a pencil scratching through the ones I wouldn't use during planning. Added a pic of the wire marking which corresponds with the schematic colors and markings

Los, See if this matches up to the harness you have. Hope it helps. ez2wire-manual.pdf

I used a wire harness that came with a project some time ago. After reading and looking online I found it matched a universal type and some instructions. I look and pass them on if I locate them. The other thing was each wire was marked in very small print for where it went, I just had to use a magnifying glass to make it out. Once I did I labeled them for easy reading.

Will hold my thoughts for the finished project.

When I checked my head before milling it , I first took a measurement on the block with the valves raised to the deck. Then measured the head from deck to valve pocket. I added the thickness of the gasket and clearance to determine how much I could remove safely. For me I wanted the actual clearance of the hard parts rather than assuming from the .500 casting or cc of the head. I probably have the notes but doubt where to start even looking for them.

Item 6 on the list pictured is the draft seal and part number that mounts on the pedal shaft in the engine compartment and will butt up against the firewall when the pedal is released.

The road to recovery, slow and steady will get you there. Seat looks good and if you don't like the head rests down the road they may just pull out for a more traditional look. Door cards could be colored to help them blend in till more funds are available or cover yourself with some material by wrapping them with fabric from a local store like "JoAnn's fabric" or "Hobby Lobby". I have even used Berber carpet or rubber backed front door mat with nice, raised patterns that can be found at places like "Home Depot" on the cheap. Bathroom carpet floor mat has rubber backing and can be found at Walmart cheap on the floor for now. I put 1 over the hump first then 1 on each side in my everyday truck rather than those vinyl/plastic mats. They look nicer in my opinion, keep the stock carpet clean and unworn and add additional sound deadening for you. I found nylon reinforced waterproof foam rubber insulation at "Menards" which is another home improvement type store near me. I used it and carpeting I found at that same store to do a car of mine and it worked really well. Realizing money may be tight these options are cheap ways to stretch a dollar and still be presentable that may help. Good luck

I installed a 6v Howards negative ground alternator about 8 years ago. Ran quiet from the beginning and still going strong. The other night while pulling trees my old skidsteer started making a hell of a noise as I would rev it up. Sounded like the hydro pump was cavitating but the oil level was was fine when I looked. Check the alternator belt next by checking deflection and it was tight so I loosened the belt next and when I fired it up the noise was gone. I pulled the alternator and serviced it but it was fine so before I went to install it I checked all the pulleys and the belt. The width of the belt measured fine but it did seem the pullies had worn enough that the belt was riding down on the bottom of the pullies rather than the at the V so I purchased a slightly wider belt and it runs quiet again. Had I not been working outside in the dark and cold I might of caught the real issue sooner but at least I got some new grease in the bearings along with the belt so maybe I'm good for another 25 years on that one. What I can say is the noise being made by the belt did not sound like any belt whine I ever heard and what a racket it was making when reving it up to normal operating RPM. The belt used is a notched belt so I assume those notches were singing as they slipped across the bottom of the pulleys.

Enjoyed reading thru the article. I could see myself banging my head during loading and unloading but I learn quick and wouldn't change a thing.

Early last Spring i was picking up some manure and ran across this model AA. I spoke with a man at the property and he said they decorate it up at Xmas which explains the remnants remaining in the pictures. On my way home with a full load of prime aged crap I spotted a second piece of vintage art of a slightly newer model I believe out on a corner lot not more than a mile from the first one.