Ralph Pearce

Customization is fine if that's what you're into, but in my mind it just means one less old pick-up. Btw, love the feeling of riding up above the crowd.

As I'm still restoring my '48, I thought I'd put up a few of my former Dodges for fun (a few of my 1980s bachelor years trucks). The '25 had a strong flathead four with a silent start combination starter/generator. Paid around $1000, sold it for $3000. That's a '37 Ford behind it. The '35 was a beaut, all original, steel bed, hydraulic brakes, a fun daily driver. Bought it for $2200, sold it for $3500. The '52 looks pretty much like my '48 with the longer bed and side mount. Thought it was a 1/2 ton, could it have been a 3/4 like my '48? Paid $600 for it, put in a new battery, gas, oil, and air and off I went. Drove it for a long time without so much as a tune-up as I recall, was very impressed with its durability. Sold it for $2000. Shoulda kept them all.

Okay, so as soon as I post the question I can suddenly find the answer. The book is Truck by John Jerome. It's available on eBay and Amazon.com. The earlier cover has the blue Pilot House Dodge that I remembered, but for some reason the new cover has like a '55 Chevy pick-up on it.

There was a book written many years ago (70s-80s?) about a guy restoring an old pilot house pick-up. I'm not sure if it was fiction or non-fiction, but it was written like a journal and not so much as a how-to. I had it in paperback over 20 years ago and I seem to recall the pick-up on the cover was blue. I'd like to find the book again if anyone can recall the title, thanks.

In terms of my own taste, it depends on the individual truck. White walls on a truck can look great, though I wouldn't feel like they "belonged" unless the truck was a commercial or business vehicle that would have had them at the time. Otherwise, it's like putting on dress shoes when you're wearing overalls. For a farm truck like mine, I prefer solid black tires. Red, black, body color rims can all look good and are all valid (unless you're a factory purist). I think that body color rims look pretty smart, and a drop shade (going a shade lighter or darker) can look even better.

35# in new radials for my B1C

What a beauty, would love to get my hands on her! Of course some girl would have to be in the way of the shot.

With a little encouragement, I gave it a little heat, a little more juice, and a little more pressure. The results were quite satisfactory, thanks Keven.

Hi guys, Just a quick question here. I'm trying to remove the rear wheel cylinders for replacement and want to be sure that I'm on the right track. I'm working on the drivers side upper cylinder at the moment. Am I correct in my understanding that the nut attached to the adjusting screw (bolt) needs to be removed in order to remove the cylinder? I'm not seeing any other way for the cylinder to come off. Please see photo. The nut is rather frozen on the bolt, and I've been soaking it with Liquid Wrench. If I'm on the right track, any helpful hints on breaking the nut free? Thanks! Ralph

I've enjoyed reading the variety of responses, and in general the various stories, experiences, and perspectives of folks here in the forum. In the 1980s, I was a younger man and I had about as many trucks as girlfriends. I think the most I paid was around $2250 for a '35 Dodge pick-up. They were all daily runners, even a '27 Chevy stakeside that I made runs to the dump with. I've had five Chevys, four Dodges, and two Fords. In my mind, the Dodges from every era (1925, 1935, 1948, 1952) stood head and shoulders above the Chevys and Fords. The '25 had a strong flathead four with a silent start and a body that made the '27 Chevy look like it was made out of tin. The '35 had the flathead six, factory hydraulics, a steel bed, and was a very reliable, practical vehicle. The most I sold any of these trucks for was $5000 for the '27 Chevy (wound up on Cannery Row, Monterey, Calif.), and then $3000 for the '35 Dodge. I've had dreams of getting these two particular trucks back. These were all healthy, running, stock trucks. I sold my last truck ('51 Chevy) in the early 1990s for a couple thousand when I became a dad and felt that it wouldn't be practical. Some months ago, I gave myself permission to find another truck. After searching on eBay, and our local Craigslist, I was hit with sticker shock. That couple thousand I got for my '51 Chevy would now buy me a rusted hulk with a frozen engine (or no engine)...and I could pretty much add $1000 to whatever I found on eBay for transportation, not to mention not seeing the vehicle in person. Having just put my son through college, I was hoping to give my son one of the family cars and get my truck without having to take out a loan. The only vehicle that came close was the '48 Dodge 3/4 ton that I found in June. Being a city slicker, I was looking for a shortbed, but it was probably the 7.5' bed and not being a Chevy that gave me the opportunity on it. I picked it up for $1800 with a rebuilt engine, my most difficult and expensive task being the brakes. After brakes, tires, new bed wood, some paint, and plenty of etceteras, I hope to have a healthy runner for around $5,000. I'd like to think that I could get something more than that if I decided to sell it, but then it's not a "Chevy." Btw, I owe a debt of gratitude for the generosity of the many on this forum for that have assisted me both directly and indirectly in my search for parts and direction.

Thanks Mike. I've just put in an order with Hagen's for shoes, cylinders, and hoses, but that's good to know. I've got some vacation time coming up, any guesses as to what I'll be doing with my time? Can't wait to get this baby back on the road again.

I pulled the wheel off again last night and it's actually not as bad as my dad's fears made it out to be. There's a dark mark, but I can barely feel anything in terms of wear. I keep an eye on it though. The wheel cylinders have been sitting for over 20 years though. I pulled one off, but couldn't get the pistons out (soaking in liquid wrench now). May be toast. I notice various places offer them, any recommendations on quality/price?

Thanks Merle, very helpful. The wear appears to be in the bearing area.

Thanks for your comments and posting the pics Merle. Would still like to determine if the grooves in the spindle are an issue and/or how to address. Thank you too Webmaster. The keyway is intact and a wheel puller is still in order. The other side looks okay, so it'll be interesting to get some comparative measurements. Thanks again for your comments.

Hi all, A couple of months ago I picked up a 3/4 ton that's pretty straight, complete and original for $1800. It's got a rebuilt engine (receipts, looks and sounds good), though most of the "peripherals" need attending to. I'm rebuilding the carb, new fuel pump, rebuilt starter (old one would sometimes grind). No rust to speak of, but it's been sitting for over 20 years (fuel tank being cleaned/repaired). Keven's been very helpful and did a beautiful job on my speedo and gauge cluster. This is my eleventh old pick-up ('25 Dodge - '57 Ford), and while I've done all kinds of work on these old timers, I am to a large extent still a "learner." I've also been without a truck for 20 years while in family mode (though I've had dreams about my '27 Chevy and my '35 Dodge). My dad's been coming over once a week and helping on various projects. Today we pulled off the front wheel to take a peek at the brake situation. I'm familiar with the basics, but my dad had a concern about what we were looking at in terms of the spindle. There's some torn thin metal surrounding the base and a bit of a groove as well. I'd be grateful for any comments regarding this. I'd also be grateful for suggested resources for new cylinders (front and rear) and possibly drums, bearings, etc. I'm also including a shot of the rear drum. I'm used to seeing some gap between the drum and the rear plate, but this seems a bit much. Any thoughts? Attachments: 1. Front spindle showing torn metal and groove in spindle. 2. Drum with rear spindle in place (pressed?). 3. Rear drum showing gap between drum and backing plate. With thanks, Ralph San Jose, CA