RSB

For what it's worth on the generator pulley... Air cooled Volkswagen engines have a single pulley which drives the generator and engine cooling fan. They sell a "power pulley" kit which is just a smaller pulley (5.7" v.s. 6.7" diameter). Horsepower is saved (at the risk of overheating) because the cooling fan actually turning less at a given RPM. VW literature makes no mention to electrical problems as a result of using a smaller pulley. I would expect that if your electrical system works properly at an idle you shouldnt have any issue with the smaller pulley. -Brian

Thanks for the info! Sounds fixable. I will let you know how it goes. Brian

Is this a problem? (Front axel, left side, rear hanger) Is it difficult to replace the spring hangers? Are they hard to find?

I was thinking more "Rat Rod Project" = "Daily Driver capable truck that is running on parts from a wide range of vehicles". I am not much for following a "look". My phoilosophy when it comes to cars is put your time and money where it counts. To me that is drive train, suspension, steering, brakes. The end result is something that looks about like when I started but is mechanicly sound. I am not really sure what you call it. Maybe "Hood Ride" would have been better. For starters I need to pull the mustand gas tank and replace it with a cheap universal that doesn't leak. The factory tank is long gone and someone had filled the original filler location in the cab. I will probably keep the same location at the back of the bed and make it a top fill, instead of having the filler neck between the bed and bumper. Also need to get the wipers and headlights more reliable. Long term I was thinking pick up a universal harness. Short term, I think if i just replace all the spots where the wire is just twisted together with actual connectors and tape up all the bare spots I should be able to get it to work reliably. I will also need to look at fixing that sloppy spring hanger before I can really start thinking of this truck as a driver. I also need to tear the astroturf out of the cab get it cleaned up, and see how much floor I have and how well the cab is attached to the frame. Also need to look into replacing the bed, it is just several sheets of plywood now. I am also unsure what is holding the bed box to the frame... definatel not the front panel.

I used a spray can undercoating product when I rebuilt the front suspension of my Volkswagen. It builds up pretty thick and stays soft.

Thanks for the kind words. I figured Rat Rod sounded better than "rolling abomination"... Someone put alot of work into junkyarding this truck back on the road. This is my first experience with mixed makes or 50's tech. So I figured learning about what this truck was would give me the best idea of what it is now. I just hope to do my part in keeping it rolling down the road. That site you pointed out seems like a pretty good resource. My truck drives pretty good, accelleration and top speed seem to be pretty good. The speedo is out, but it was out-pacing my jeep cherokee going down the highway. It has the original single circuit master cylender, so stopping definately takes some forethought. The rear spring hanger on the driverside front is super sloppy so there is some interference between the chasis and streering as well as some unpleasant slop in the handling. The steering it self also seems really loose. The electrical also needs to be totally gone through, headlights and wiper motor are not exactly reliable either. It is pretty fun to cruise it around though!

I picked up my 1952 Dodge B3B back in Novemeber. I had been wanting a truck for a while, and was originally thinking 78 chevy like I had in high school, except they are pretty wide and my garage is tiny. Then I saw an old international for sale in the next town over and got me thinking an old truck might be a better fit. After several months of sucessfully avoiding buying that international, my girlfriend found this Dodge for sale on Craigslist and the rest is history. It is a running driving truck, but it is in need of a lot of work. What exactly, I am not sure. I have been holding off on a close inspection until I get the rear suspension finished on my bug and the weather drys out a bit. At this point I just drive it once a week to keep everything moving. What I know about the truck at this point is that it has a late 1960's Ford 302 V8, 1970's Mercury automatic transmission, 1970's Dodge rear end, Lincoln springs, Chevy radiator, and a Pugoet heater core, on a 12 volt electrical system. -Brian

Thanks a lot. Pictures would definately help. I am new to these trucks, so i have no idea what it is supposed to look like, but that heater box set up is way better than what I have. Any idea if the fan is a 12 or 6 volt? Here is my heater, it makes hot air, but that is about it. -Brian

I want it! looks way better than what I've got. My 52 B3B came with a peugeot heater core and a computer fan. Do you have any pictures of when it was mounted in your truck? -Brian