MBF

Sounds like the contacts in the switch are dirty. I've taken the headlight, dash light and heater fan switches apart and cleaned them. They were pretty easy to do. Bend the tabs that hold the covers on and clean up the contacts and slider. Never did an ignition switch, so I know know if it can be done, but it sounds like a similar problem. Mike

Neat looking project. Watch that first step coming out of the cab-it's a lu-lu. Did that once in a White Road Commander I drove-the thing was so nice I forgot about how high up I was sitting and stepped out of the cab and went right down to the fuel island. Had been driving for a wee bit too long that day.

Going back to my 50's and the PW rally are both on my list to do, but I don't think the first one is gonna happen. A good friend of mine trailered his out last year and had a ball.

I stand corrected, it looks like that large center nut does have to come off to get the yoke off the shaft. I don't recall having to do that with my B2D116, but that may be a later design. We should write this stuff down, and the memory (well-mine at least) appears to be losing some of its retention capabilities. Sorry for the misinformation. Mike

I was in the same situation a few years ago. While I had the manifolds off I took them apart to replace the gasket. I heated the blind hole area of the 4 corners of the plenum until they got red hot. I was able to walk all of the bolts out w/o breaking a single one. The machinist told me that this would work because the cast housing and the steel bolt don't heat at the same rate, and that is what allows this to work. It's easier to do now than to have to take it off again in the future. Whatever you do, neverseize the studs, use brass nuts wherever possible, and try to stay patient. Good luck-you'll get it done. Mike

If I remember correctly, removing the 4 nuts will allow the universal flange to be removed from the brake drum. It may have taken a liking to the brake drum so some persuasion may be necessary. I think that center nut only needs to be removed if you're going to take off the tailshaft yoke from the rear of the transmission. Mike

I'll second what Todd said. This a day to remember those that gave all.

Paul, if you're going to put a headliner in the truck, I don't know that you need to cover the entire interior with soundproofing. I bought two packs of Eastwood's version of dynamat and put 3 pcs on the roof. I used the rest for the firewall covering (inside the cab), and a couple for the floor under the seat. The luan backed headliner and side pieces did most of the quieting down of the cab noise. For the rear of the cab, I used the double foil backed insulation sold at Lowes and used a contact cement to attach it to the rear wall. I don't think the whole project including the luan and vinyl material cost more than $200.00 to complete. Comparing the sound in the truck that is done to my other truck-well there is no comparison. I saved my patterns for the headliner and will be doing the same to that one very shortly. It was a fun project, not perfect, but suits me and made a huge difference in the level of cab noise. Mike

The cab needs to be solidly mounted because the pedals come up through the floor, and the steering column housing is clamped directly to the dash requiring a fairly solid mounting of the cab. The left front corner mount is slightly different than the others and is basically used as a locating point to keep the cab from sliding around. The cab can't do a lot of floating or moving around on the chassis (like a modern air ride cab on a big rig) with the original column and pedal design. Mike

Paul, the wheel I had packed and ready to ship to you when you asked me to hold off on shipping it got badly broken when the contractors were residing my garage. I had the package up on a shelf, and the hammering that they were doing must have knocked it off the shelf and a lot of the bakelite got shattered when it hit the floor. I should have shipped it as soon as I had it packed. Tried to PM you,but your inbox must be full. Sorry- Mike

Wow - you've been busy. Nice job in s short period of time.

Congrats. That sounds like a thorough inspection that they do on your side of the border. Never seen anyone check rear drums here.

I think he may be right. My B2D has no helper springs or stops on the rear, but is a dually with the 16" Budds and original u bolts on the rear. I've been told its a heavy 3/4 or light 1 ton. I do have a parts truck that has the helpers and stops that is listed as a B4D. Probably some more of the choices offered by the "job rated" choices available at the time. Interesting too is my B2JA has no helper springs (was originally a firetruck) or stops. My antique John Deere LI didn't even make it squat more than 1-2 inches although it only weighs 1800 lbs. Mike

Noel, if you get it running, you can try giving it a dose of Marvel Mystery Oil down the throat of the carb. It may not free up badly stuck valves, but it will help loosen up the ones that are slow. Expect a pretty big smoke cloud!

As Dodge B4YA says, It's definitely a 1 ton with the 6 lug Budds and no fender extensions.

Nice find. Looks solid from what I can see in the pics. I got a carb kit for mine a couple of years ago at NAPA. Good luck with the project. Mike

If there is a zerk fitting on the u joint you can minimize the possibility of losing bearings by greasing the joint before removal. I'd also put something under the joint during dis-assembly to capture anything that may fall out. Mike

Wow-the videos were most interesting. Thanks for posting the links.

Paul: I have a friend that has a very high performance Roadrunner. He was telling me on Saturday that he has switched back to the original water pump fan from the electric ones he had installed on the advice of the engine builder. He says the car now runs 15 degrees cooler. If you're having overheating problems being your in CA, you may need a shroud around the original fan to force the air to be drawn through the entire radiator core area. Something else to think about with the relocated radiator is to make sure that the hood clears the top of the tank. Just my 2 cents. Mike

Not to be a stick in the mud, but think it's going to make us harder to find in a generic online search. I know we're here so it isn't a biggie to me.

Paul-there is work to be done to the distributors if it hasn't already been done. On a slant, the distributor drives the oil pump, and on the flatty its the reverse. I.E on the /6 the gear drive is on the distributor, and on the flatty it's on the oil pump. You'll need to get the input shaft from the flatty mounted on the /6 distibutor. I also believe that you're going to have to cut down housing from the slant so that it fits snugly into the hole in the block of the flatty. After that you'll need to convert to a neg ground in order to use the ignition module for the /6 electronic distributor. I just did a recurve on the dist in my 78 pickup, and I had a dist from my 2.5 ton on the bench that had a bent shaft that I was working on repairing. I should have taken measurements while I had them out to see if that discussion was accurate. Mike

Welcome to the forum. I really enjoyed your story and photos. Good luck with Grandpa's truck. Mike

For 200 lbs of copper scrap you could get a paintjob and not have to worry about tarnish!

Good find-looks to be pretty solid. You can't beat what you got for the price. I'll bet that front grill section is off a larger truck that had a grill protector on it (that's what I think the 2 holes between the headlights may be for). Good luck with your project. Mike

The long one looks like the one in the 230 in my 1 ton, the short one like the one in the 218 in my 36 Plymouth. The 36 doesn't have a tube-the dipstick goes right into the block behind the distributor near the bottom of the block. Mike