MBF

If you look closely you can see the ancestry back to the pilot house era. Notice the fenderlines continuing through the door panel, and the shape of the hood. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Mike

I haven't done it yet, but I'm taking my rubber flr mats to a carpet guy to make a pattern out of using a short pile black carpet. I'm going to ask him to bind the edges so it looks better. Hoping it quiets down some of the noise from inside the cab too. Mike

Reg-please add me to the list-I've heard good things about the results folks have had using your patterns. Mike

Reg-where did you purchase those? The one's that I got from Roberts have a much shorter tail on them. Mike

The motor should come out by removing the two large phillips headed screws found at the center top of the dash. You'll need to remove the actuating arms and the linkage for the switch too. I'll try to take some pics over the weekend of how the arms are connected to the pivot arm on the motor. Mike

Could it be the smaller version from the Dakota? Mike

Make sure the actuating arms going to each pivot are corrected to the bar on the the vacuum motor properly-been there-done that! On my 49 when they're parked (off) they are on the outer sides of the windshields. Mike

For the rims that I have in my inventory, the rims designed with the single use only offset do not have the (flanged) coned lug holes, and their offset will not allow the lug faces to touch each other when placing them side by side. The tire sidewalls make contact first leaving a space of over an inch between the rim faces. You may get by with 1 of each type rim space wise, but if they're not flanged for the dual setup I think you're going to have a problem keeping the lug nuts tightened. With only a 1/2" spacing between the tires when stacking the rims together I think your tires' inner sidewalls will rub against each other with any type of a load (maybe even unloaded) when the weight of the truck is placed on them. I like the looks of the single use rims on the front (nice offset) but I carry a spare for the duals which will work front or back. Just my $.02. Mike

I'm in the same situation w my 1 ton. I'm currently running 16" bias ply all the way around with duals in the back. There is a drop center 17" (maybe 17.5")rim used on late 50 Dodge 1 tons that will bolt up to this pattern-but I think finding tires for them may be a problem. I had a set offered to me, but turned them down when I couldn't find tires to fit them. The type of rim in the photo has the offset for a single rear wheel application. If you try to use this type of rim in a dual application the tire sidewalls will touch with a gap between the rim flanges. The rims for use as duals have a different offset. I think I may have profile pictures of the 2 different styles-they look basically the same, but when you put them side by side the difference is obvious. Hope that helps. Mike

I've been through the brake system on my '36 Plymouth a couple of times in the 45 yrs we've owned it. The DOT3 fluid wicks in moisture since it is alcohol based. This is probably the worst thing for a car that sits 99% of the time. I'd recheck the inside of your front cylinders-if they're starting to gum up or corrode in the bore-that will slow up the brake realease process. You also said that your show lining went all the way to the end of the shoe-I wonder if with these type of non self energizing brake (shoes are anchored on bottom end) if that small section of the shoe lining isn't dragging too. I use the brake caliper tool when setting up the brakes on my '36 and my 52 dodge 1 ton and then dial them in with the major and minor adjustments. I also got into the habit of flushing the brake fluid out of these vehicles on an annual basis to slow down the corrosion process. Whatever you do-don't mix the DOT5 and DOT3 fluids together-that will turn all of the internal rubber parts to a black mush. Mike

A couple of years ago I converted my '36 Plymouth to 12 volts. The only thing left to do is to convert the gas gauge. I accidentily smoked it when I turned the key on after doing the conversion. Does anyone know of a source to have this repaired and coverted to 12V? The car has the sealed beam conversions in it which I've never been crazy about-is there a 12v bulb that will allow me to use the original reflectors and lenses? Thanks-Mike

Dutch-the '52 parts truck I have came with an electric tach mounted in one of the removable dash panels(homemade installation) with the sending unit mounted on the firewall. I was going to use it, but I don't want to cut a hole in my dash, or block off my speaker panel. I was also thinking about making some type of underdash mount for the tach, but after banging my knee on the cb that I had under there I'm look for alternatives. Mike

I've asked this before, and hopefully someone will be able to help me this time. I have a 49 1 ton that has no vent or corner windows in the cab. I bought a set of doors from CA that I want to use. These are for the 51-53 Pilot house because of the short fend flare. These doors also have the vent windows which I'm not very fond of. What needs to be done to convert these doors to the single pane style? Has anyone done this conversion, or does anyone have a set of doors with the single panes that they'd be interesting in swapping? Mike

Yup-you've got a lot of work, but it looks like you've got a lot of very solid pcs and a good assorment of spare parts. Good luck-looks like a great project. Mike

Dutch-I'm pretty sure its where you took it to get it inspected. I've got GREEN parking light lenses on the front (actually marker lights under the bumper and converted the parking lights to just signals-but left them clear. Mine passed-but the guy is a fellow officer in our local ATCA (Antique Truck Club of America) chapter. Mike

Yup-I remember an old mechanic telling me that you had to shift those old vacuum 2 sppeds like you were born on them. Ok when its warm, but when its cold they're a whole other animal. I've got a '39 Dodge dumptruck that has a mechanical (lever operated 2 speed) behind a working 5 speed. That was one you could feel you way through whenever you were driving it. I actually kinda liked it better than the electrics since you could control it better. Mike

Being behind the curve is a good thing! I live there-it's ofter easier and less expensive to learn from the mistakes that other folks make thank to make them yourself. I said I'd never have a computer in the house (wrong), that 8 track tapes were a passing thing (I was right on that one). I got a digital camera from my wife on our 25th. I said I didn't need 1 that the Minolta 35mm was fine. Wonder how women know about those things? Enjoy the camera, and the rest of your holiday season with it. Mike

I think the equally segmented wheel is just for use with the black round center horn button. The one with the distinctive "Y" or "V" shaped spokes is the one to use with the horn ring. This wheell also has a lip around the center opening that fits up under the horn ring. The equally spaced spoked wheels do not have this lip and not only will the horn ring spokes not align with the steering wheel spokes, the center portion won't fit down to the mounting dog. Just my 2 cents. Mike

Make sure the rubber weatherstripping (mounted on the cab for the rear side of the door) is in place and pliable. The weather stripping pushed the door out against the striker plate. Mike

That's where my connects too. I also ran a heavy jumper wire from that same tranny bolt to the firewall to make sure that I had a good chassis to body ground. Good luck

Hi-does anyone have the NAPA or AA p/n for the driver's side tie rod end for a '36 Plymouth? This is the one with left handed threads. Thanks-Mike

Bob-I can't tell for sure but are the lights at the top of the front grill in the bottom picture just the flat amber reflectors that were popular during this era? Mike

I believe that NAPA has an assortment of these type of filters-p/n 1050 or 1051 seems to ring a bell. There was an interesting article in Vintage Truck a couple of months ago about how if an engine is clean inside, and a hi detergent oil is used that these "bypass" filters can be removed since they only supply limited filtering of the oil. I'm of the mindset that some is better than nothing, but with the advent of the newly formulated oils they may be right. At the time these were designed the oils aren't where they are today. I'll look in my shop and see if I can get you a definite p/n. Mike

Reg-those deep cycle batteries don't have a lot of cranking amps. The power output of a deep cycle battery is at a lower amp rating over a longer period of time compared to a conventional automotive battery. They also have a different charging profile over the charging cycle. Likewise-an automotive battery will give you a reduced output cycle when used to power and electric vehicle. Learned this during my CUSHMAN factory training, and training with batt companies. MBF

So I take it us '48-'50 guys aren't offered this option??? What does it require a horizontal radio cutout? Mike