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Sure would be nice to find some new 1951 B3C hub drums! I see B3B available, but not for the C (bolt pattern). I guess I could take apart a new set of the 11" B drum hubs and mate my B3C hubs to the new drums, but lots of $ to do that...

One more related question Bill, that perhaps your book will answer if you dont mind? It looks to me as though rear axle drum/hub, brakes, backing plate are identical between B3B and B3C 1951... It looks to me as though front axle B3B has 10"drum/hub and associated backing plate while front axle B3C has a 11"drum/hub and associated backing plate, while front axle spindles on the B3B and B3C are identical. Can you confirm this in your books or do you find different? Thank you inn advance for any additional help!

thank you Bill. Very helpful sir!

I have a 1951 B3C that I am restoring and a 1951 B3B that I am using for parts. One of the axle shafts on the B3C is damaged and I am wondering if anyone knows if the shafts in the B3B are identical? I am guessing they might be as it seems both take the same axle bearing and axle inner and outer seals, but reaching out to see if someone can confirm before I go through the effort of pulling the B3B axle apart... Thanks in advance for any wisdom here.

Yokes are tough to find, and what you do find is likely worn. Mine on my 51 B3C has a bit of play too. Worse case scenario, a good driveshaft shop can make you up something new that will work, but of course you no longer have a original parts.

Thank you Merle! Very helpful. I think based on your information that I will check overall health of both axle assemblies. If the overall assembly on the half ton is best, maybe I do a total axle swap. If the overall assembly on the 3/4 ton is best, maybe I just swap spindle/brake/hub assemblies, and replace king pins if they are at all worn - since it will all be apart anyway... I assume sterring box output shaft is same on both? Do you know? Thanks again... Very helpful.

I have a '51 B3C I am rebuilding and a B3B parts truck. Will the B3B front hubs/drums fit on the B3C spindles? I had to swap rear axles as the B3C rear axle was shot and now have 16 inch wheels (as came with the half ton) on the rearof the B3C because my B3C 3/4 ton 15 inch wheels will not fit the half ton axle. Looking to put the B3B front hubs on so that I can run the same 16 inch wheels all around. Thanks for the help!

Perfect information! Thanks J.T.

Thanks Merle! I see Proto's got them too... some longer ones that might save me a few exhaust manifold burns on the knuckles! As for specs, I started reading my books (dangerous thought)! The B3 shop manual ( I have a '51 B3C) says 10 degrees intake, 14 degrees exhaust (hot)... My Motors Truck and Tractor Manual, copyright 1952 says 10 degrees intake, 14 degrees exhaust (hot) for the 218... BUT My Motors Auto Repair Manual, copyright 1951 says 8 degrees intake, 10 degrees exhaust (hot) for the 218... Hmmm... This is why I always try to get info from a few different books! Can't imagine why specs would be different for the engine dropped in a car versus a truck? They thinking the truck will work harder and typically be run hotter? Does not make sense... Both are going to have 160 degree thermo's...Seems more likely an error in the car manual? Interesting.

Would someone please let me know what size tappet wrenches I need to set the lash on my '51 B3C? Rather not pull covers until I have the wrenches... Any idea where to purchase thin wrenches for the job? I am finding specs at .009 hot intake and .011 hot exhaust. Is this correct? Thanks in advance for any help here!

Hi Steve, Sounds like we have similar situations. freeze crack in mine may be as long as 13 inches... I have magnaflux red dye penetrant on the way to get a better idea of where the crack starts and stops. I will probably expand the red dye detection to a larger area and check further given what you have found with additional cracks. I came to the same conclusion as you: Welding concerns me unless you tear the engine apart and have a professional furnace weld. I am sure people make cold welds work but seems hit or miss. A solder approach or something like castalloy looks interesting for this type of fix, but opinions differ as to the durability of this fix. I am down to Belzona 1111 or the Stitch-n-Lock product from Calif. Stiching looks like the proper way to do this, but 13 inches of repair will cost me about $600, and that's doing it myself. The other concern with stitching is thickness of the metal... You need minimum 3/16" thick, and of course degree of corrosion on the inside of the jacket is unknown until you start drilling... On the other hand, the Belzona 1111 looks like good stuff used in demanding commercial applications, but I think not quite as good a fix. I did find the Belzona 1111 in 1kg size for around $100... Do a google search.

Thanks for the feedback. I am going to steer clear of trying to weld the crack. It's a roll of the dice welding cast cold and I am not going to tear the engine down to take the block to someone who can heat it to properly weld it... JB or POR15 type approach would probably work, but the engineer in me has me going toward stitching method.... Seems the best way to go... no heat stress and should handle expansion/contraction best. I am calling the guys at www.locknstitch.com in the morning to see what they have to say...

Hello stvB3B, What did you wind up doing? I have a B3C and similar to you have been rebuilding and this weekend started up to find crack in exactly the same place on mine! Talked to a friend of mine who is into model A's, and he said it is common on the model A's. He repaired his decades ago by drilling a small hole at each end of the crack (to avoid having the crack grow in the future), created a v-grove in the crack and then welded it using appropriate rod material. I have researched on You Tube and there are videos out there showing how to cold weld (you typically have to heat cast iron before welding) cast iron... I do believe that a professional welder with cast iron experience could weld that crack with the motor in place. There is a specific rod material for the job. Being that the crack is exposed to the water jacket and not pressure helps. Please let me know what you wound up doing, and how it worked out.

My wiring harness from Maine Wiring Service came with rubber boots... You may be able to buy just the boots from them.

You can also gut the mechanical pump and reinstall it with a heavy, solid gasket. I did this with my Power Wagon and still have a fuel line running into and exiting the stock mechanical pump so it all looks original. In actuality though, the mechanical pump is not operational, and I am running an electric fuel pump located as close to the fuel tank as possible. You want to mount your electric pump close to the gas tank as most pumps are designed to "push" fuel, not "pull" fuel.