MBF

I think you were born 60 yrs too late. What a design that would have been had a widebed been offered. They'd have outsold Ford and Chevy combined. Nice project-please post more pics as it progresses. Mike

I think any of the mid to late 50's car (w flathead 6) starters would work-but I think some of them used a remote solenoid. Good luck with your surgery. Mike

Looking good-the color is very familiar! Turn signals were optional equipment at that time. A lot of folks added stand alone front and back signals with the front lights mounted on top of the fenders. I originally converted mine to use a dual filament bulb in the parking light housings, but moved them to the front bumper because I wanted to retain the old style switch in the cab w/o a lot of additional work. Mike

Old trucks and tractors just go together and seem to draw the same type of folks. Check out our Chapter's last ATCA show pictures http://community.webshots.com/album/574948857USQCty I've got a JD LI, and a styled AO that share the garage w my MoPars-they all go together. Mike

Took the 52 Dodge 1 ton for a ride today, well actually to pick up an appliance at a store. Was heading home and the throttle stuck wide open in a notorious 30mph zone. No problem-I'd let her accelerate to 30, turn off the key and then coast until she lost speed. I knew there was a sideroad just up ahead. I looked and saw a cop was now sitting at the intersection where I wanted (needed to) turn off. With the key off-I had no directionals so I rolled down the window and signalled a right turn and pulled into the sideroad-but I was coming in kinda "hot" so I'd get off the main highway. I opened the hood, saw a cotter pin had fallen out (actually it may have been a nail) and I turn around and there's the cop standing behind me. He asked me what I thought I was doing. Told him I thought I was fixin' my truck, then he sees the new dishwasher in the stakebody and asks me what is going on with that-I wasn't planning on dumping that on the side of the road was I. Nope, not the new one, but I'm thinking there may be a place I'd like to get rid of the old one. Then he asked why didn't I signal for the turn-and why did I wave to him instead of signaling. I told him did signal with my arm out the window, because if I turned the key on with the throttle stuck wide open I'd blow up the motor. My logic was I'd rather risk a ticket not signaling before I had to pull the old Dodge down to rebuild it-already got 1 engine in progress. I had a piece of wire in my toolbox and I made the repair, started her up and headed for home. He followed me awhile I guess to make sure I wasn't going to dump my new dishwasher along the back road, and then turned off. Thank God you can still make roadside repairs with a piece of mechanic's wire. Just too bad young cops don't know what hand signals are anymore. The best part was I went to school with his chief of police, and he's into old cars so he knows exactly what I was doing with my arm out the window if I'd been ticketed.

Nice looking truck. I'd go easy on the honing-you only want to clean up the cylinder-it's easy to get carried away with a hone. Check for scoring or marks left by a broken ring. (vertical lines in the cylinder bore) You're also going to have to be careful with what happens with the honing oil. If your rings are stuck and that gets down into the pan and gets pumped through the system you'll have even more problems. I've never been a fan of honing with the piston in the cylinder just for that reason. Good luck-keep us posted. Mike

I've got a set of Keystone spokes if you're interested. I replaced them with the slotted rims and dog dish hubcaps on my 78 half ton-going for an all MoPar look. Mike

Yup-its a snug fit to say the least. Wait until you have to pull the old one out! If the cover gasket that comes with the filter is the correct one, the filter should fit, but its gonna be tight. Mike

Also check your window channels to make sure that there isn't something binding as the glass travels down the groove.

I end up scraping bugs off my back window everytime I drive mine! I could probably catch the buggy if we were headed downhill. Life is great at 42 mph! I know how you feel-a guy I went to high school with has a 28 Model A he's had since we were in school. Its original, and I'll be damned if I can catch him from a standing start with my 36 Plymouth.

I've gotten pan, and side cover gaskets from NAPA w/o a problem.

I think you want to use something like a 1/2" round drift to set the plugs by smacking them in the center thereby causing them to dimple and expand tightly against the casting of the block. You may be using something that is too big in diameter. Once you have the radiator out, I'd set a chain across the top two radiator mounting bolts to use as a lifiting point for the hoist and adjust it accordingly to get the balance that you want. Mike

Depending on how marked up the crank is you may try cleaning it up w crocus cloth and then using a mic to see if its truly round or how far out it is. That will determine the next step which is to see if you can size and find a bearing

Come on guys-you mean to tell me none of you are old enough to remember how to kick the starter and work the gas pedal at the same time with one foot? Its the PH two-step. 1950's Multi-tasking. The hand throttle is to hang a key ring on. On my big Ford-the original driver said he used to get on the NY Thruway, pull the hand throttle out and let is scream all the way to Syracuse and back-nice-real nice.

Here's pics of the single and dually offsets. There is a 3rd rim used on the Kaiser Military Jeeps of the 70's that has an even shallower offset.

martndaddy-do a search-I've posted pictures on the forum someplace on these from my 1 ton. There are at least 3 different offsets on these locking ring style rims-2 for single wheel setup, and 1 for duals. Fords, IH's, & Dodge used this bolt pattern up through the early 60's. If you want to go drop center, you're going to have to look for 17's or 17.5's from the late 50's to 60's-and then finding tires may become an issue. Mike

I converted my 52 1ton and 36 plymouth to 12V and installed a voltmeter and bypassed the ampmeter. The wiring scheme on all the older mopars ran everything through the ampmeter. If you start adding accessories (big stereo, AC, or high amp lights) the ampmeter wasn't designed for that load. The voltmeter gives you a better picture of what is going on with the charging system (in my mind anyway). If you're going to keep using the ampmeter, you'll have to reverse the wiring on the two posts on the rear of the meter since you'be probably changed to a negative ground with the conversion. Mike

Martndaddy-the front fenders on my 52 1 ton came from a 49 1/2 ton, I have another set in inventory off a 53 1/2 ton I'm keeping for spares that I know will fit. The ton and a half on up have an outer wheel well bolt on lip to extend the width of the fender to cover the larger tires on those vehicle (see Dutch's Ballston Spa pics in another thread). Don't know anything about the fit/finish of the B-Bop's product. Mike

I caught the /6 reference myself. If the timing mark is moving with the vacuum port plugged, and the idle backed down-you may need to check for wear in the timing chain, gears, and the nylon drive gear on the distributor shaft! You can't set timing on an engine with a worn chain/gears and expect it to hold. I'd remove the distributor cap, and rock the engine back and forth with the fan blades to see how far you can move the crankshaft before the rotor starts to move. Excessive play will require digging deeper. Mike

Boy-I wish that was closer-I've got enough parts to make a twin for mine.

GB-tappet wrenches? You're dating yourself man! (I've got a set that I'll be using over the winter. Mike

If it doesn't have a power steering pump installed you may be able to use the bolt bosses from the pump mounting-or even the pump braked to mount the alternator.

I talked with the owner of the ladder truck. Very low mileage-and was in nice shape when he started. That is the longest PH I've ever seen! What a gem. Some other guy had a green pickup that was a real beauty and I understand it was for sale-would be a keeper to me! Mike

Did you you the larger diameter 1-0 style battery cables for 6 volts?(there is twice the amp draw with 6 volts as there is with 12V so the cables need to be of a heavier guage) Are your grounds clean and tight-grounded to the block? After trying to turn it over with the starter try feeling your cables and connections-anything that is excessively warm will be pointing towards high resistance. Battery fully charged? I'd look to eliminate the simple possibilities before I tore into anything. Good luck and let us know what she sounds like when she starts-I'm in the process of a rebuild too on a slant 6. Mike

The box in my 49 1 ton is in need of a rebuild. I'm leary of sending it out because its the only one I've got. I have a tight one from a 52. I know that the steering shaft angles on these two different cabs are different-is it due to the ear placement on the steering box? Are the internals on these two boxes interchangable? I have a 49 parts manual-does anyone have one from the later PH's that would be willing to compare p/n's with me? Mike