MBF

A friend of mine used the rear axle from a Jeep Cherokee. If you're working on a half ton, the Cherokee's rims will bolt up to your hubs and vice versa.

You may want to dress up the contacts of the points, and check to see if that flexible wire that goes from the points to the dist housing (and then eventually up to trigger the coild ) isn't shorting out.

I've cranked many tractors successfully, but I am one who can personally speak about breaking a wrist cranking an engine. Do not wrap your thumb around the crank handle. Lift up on the crank handle on a ccompression stroke only, and do not chase it if it tries to start (keep cranking in a full circle). If it doesn't start on the first couple of tries-walk away from it or hit the starter. I've been through a bunch of really tough gut surgeries, but this wrist injury was the most painful thing I have experienced. I did this over 30 yrs ago, and I can now tell you when it is going to rain with more accuracy than the weatherman. That's my 2 cents.

Given today's engineering advancement in fuel injection, variable valve timing, ECM, tighter tolerances, etc. It seems to make sense to try and build a shorter stroke I-6 as an alternative to V-8's.

Dave72DT I was just thinking the same thing.

I wouldn't remove the rearmost cross member. It's behind the rear shackles for support, and it does offer some protection to the tank.

Hi Al. Not sure if this will be of any help, but maybe they've got an old guy there that can get you steered in the right direction. Good luck. http://www.nationaldrivetrain.com/partinfo.php?partid=NDT:MEASUREKIT&choice=

Gotta get on the soap box. Went to one car show w my 1 ton got parked in the back in the weeds-haven't been back since. I go to a fair amount of cruises, and am always accepted. Don't do car shows anymore. I don't care about trophies or awards-that's not why I'm in this. Truck shows are a whole lot more inviting. These things worked for a living and bear battle scars. Some are restored to nicer than new-mine will never be. I don't look as good as I did 40 yrs ago either. It's all about fun, camaraderie, and shooting the breeze. They can take the trophies and stick 'em. I've been to shows where there were more trophies than vehicles, and everyone got one (hmmm why does that seem familiar today)? Another pet peeve is charging the exhibitors upwards of $30 for the exhibitors, and spectators get in free???? How about no trophies, reasonable registration fees, and charging the folks that are coming to enjoy the show? Off soapbox now.

I made the interiors for both my 49 1ton and 49 2.5 ton. The seat covers were in decent usable shape in both. For the 1 ton I made my own door, overhead and rear panels using 1/4" luan as a backing board covered with black leatherette that my wife purchased for me in a fabric store. For the 2.5 ton, I used the existing door panels (it was an ex firetruck) but used the patterns I made for the 1 ton for the headliner, and rear & side panels. Is it perfect? Hell no, but both truck have held up extremely well over the several years since I did them. I learned something during the process too. Mike

Yea, I'd lap them, but prior to doing that check for the stem to guide fit too.

Great way to look at it Jocko! Good luck with the continuing process.

That's not a drop center front axle. If you were able to have mounts fabbed up that fit your front spring centers, the front end would be 8-10" higher than it is now. The six lug Ford rims that you reference were 17.5" if I remember correctly. Not much luck finding tires to fit them. There is nothing wrong with locking ring rims providing they're in good shape, clean, and mounted by someone that knows how to handle them.

Let me check my shop tomorrow. I think I have the templates that I used when I replaced my door panels.

Got the clutch for my 2.5 ton from Carolina Clutch. Very pleased

If you added a washer between the cup and piston, you may be preventing the piston from returning to its full rest position. I'd also check lube the pedal where the shaft goes through it, and make sure the return spring is present and hooked up properly.

Looking good. Nice job

I'll second what 48Dodger said. Wish they did have the drag link w rebuildable end-would be a lot cheaper than that NOS drag link I bought a few years ago.

Also check to make sure that the steering box bolts that attach the box to the cast bracket, and the cast bracket to frame are all present, accounted, for and tight. Another thing to look at is the condition of the rear shackles bushings on the front springs , and the mounting brackets riveted to the frame. The steering not returning to center is likely due to a caster problem. Mike

I used rubber strips similar to the thickness of an old inner tube in between any of the lips where two pieces contact each other. It won't hold moisture, and probably quieted down some of the noises that would have been made.

I have seen a 1 ton IH pickup at shows that is running tubed radials on the 6 lug Budd locking ring rims. I also think Mark is doing the same thing. I spoke to the guy w the IH, he said it rides and drives much nicer and that he hasn't had any problems in the 3 yrs he's had the tires on the rims. When I was driving tractor trailer in the late 70's, they put radials on the locking ring Dayton wheels w/o incident and they made quite a difference in the ride and traction in snow. I have been told by a local truck tire guy that the narrow locking ring on our 1 tons may not be wide enough to properly support the bead of a tubed radial and advised me against going that route, so I bought a complete set of 7:00-16 bias ply tires. That's just two different opinions, but I'm running duals on my rear, and I know even with the dual offet rims sidewall clearance between the tires would be an issue w radials. Hence my decision to stay bia ply. Short answer to your question, there is a 17.5 drop center that will fit your lug pattern, but I don't know if it will clear the rear drums.

Make a template of the 4 bolt holes in the bell housing where the transmission mounts. A 3 speed will have almost equidistant horizontal spacing while the 4 speed will be wider (I think in the bottom). Each requires its own specific bell housing or a redrilling/tapping of the mounting holes.