Geekay

Ooops!!!!! It is a Bedford. Moderator..perhaps delete/move this to another forum. Is there a Forum penalty for my blasphemy? I have severely chastised myself.

This is a photo in my birth town, Wangaratta, showing a Bedord (i.e. not a DODGE) truck towing cars through a flooded road. Flooding of that road was a yearly event before a levee bank was built. Apparently the Bedford owners charged for the pleasure.

That's awseome Don. Really zooms in. Althought in Aus. doesn't show me in Wodonga so will have to check my profile.

From down under Oz just wondering which US state has the most Dodge flatheads etc owned by the forum members? And what about Canada?

I have a 6v starter on my 12 volt Suburban and it really whirrs when I hit that starter button. Do you have more Dodge horsepower or four legged horse power? What are the horses used for?

I saw a herd of PH for sale. Is "herd" the official word for more than one Pilot House? What about "Pod" ?? Pilot House relating to ships, and Pod relating to a group of whales/dolphins you might see fro a Pilot House.

Excellent and just what I need to keep up the motivation as mine sits on blocks during the winter. BTW: what is the go with the fluffy dice? They seem to have become an "icon" and necessary adornment for veteran cars/trucks, but I do not know why. I cannot ever remember seeing them in the "olden days"....down under that is. For a while here we had dancing Elvis dolls on a spring too, which I think are okay. Now toy dogs with noddy heads on rear parcel shelves and stick figure families...what next?

Well done..you clever Yanks..

"Selling or giving stuff away" Martyn, my son has just moved from Bendigo Vic to Wollongong to work with the City of Wollongong. And 'whereis" tells me Shell Harbour is not too far away...looks like I might be making a trip to visit him sooner than later...

I asked Valvoline Australia about what to use in the Fargo. Their Technical Advisor says" ' We do have an oil for you, it is called Valvoline Premium Mono 30. It is a mono grade oil, contining zinc, ( great for engine protection ) and sulphated ash level of less than 1%. It is available in 1 ltr, 5 ltr packs as well as 20 litre." He must be right, because after his name he had these letters "M.I.A.M.E" (whatever that is but it looks important) Note that I am not promoting this oil, just passing on the information......

Does this exist. A friend who had been around cars all his life says i should get some for my Fargo 1953 251 flathead. It hadn't run for 34 years until 6 months ago. With some TLC and little else it is now running nicely once it warms up. Now that it is starting to free up again it is starting to blue smoke aftre quick revs (it is sitting on blocks). So far I have just put Shell 20W50 in it but will be looking perhaps to Penrite Classic Light 20W60 when I am ready to drive it (i.e. when under load). Smokelss oil could help get the first roadworthy as do not wish to pull down the motor just yet.

Weird idea to do that Without the DESOTO painted on looks great. One for desotodav to check out.

Fargo's are Go!! The Fargo motor oil system (sump, lines, filetr) and cooling bits (radiator, water pump, WDT etc) are all back on and the Fargo is running beautifully. Although only able to run it for a few minutes as have an oil leak in a braided line brass fitting. I must have damaged it as was not leaking before. The motor is now a lot cleaner and painted a few bits. Still waiting on the new complete braking (pads, pistons, lines, master cylinder) system to be built before it goes anywhere though. Meanwhile, next job is to put back the steering arms etc after cleaning these up up regreasing. Then replace oil in the gearbox, which seems to operate as expected when wheels are jacked up. Clean and grease all the nipples and joins I can find. Then wait for brake stuff to install that. Finally then I will be able to see if I can move it under its own power up and down the driveway. Couple of photos of motor below, before and after.

Thanks guys. Found the old gasket for under the lid but it was stuffed (broken). Made a new one out of thick cork gasket. Solved the fuel problem, I think just an air lock, and motor now runninf beautifully again. Hence was able to see where oil was coming from and discovered it was a leak in the braided oil line brass fitting just in behind the oil filter. This is the line that comes from the oil pressure gauge. I must have damaged it when removing the lines. Now just have to figure out how to repair it (or replace it). See the fitting below in photo clear view above the oil filter. Leaking between the end of the fitting that is crimped and the braided steel line.

Recently removed all the oil lines and oil filters to clean them up. After replacing them I have a leak in the brass connection on the braided line. The oil is being pumped out between the brass and the braid. It seems I must have damaged it when I removed the lines. The brass fitting seems to have been pressed on to the braided line. Are these repairable by re crimping or replacing the brass fitting? Perhaps need to take to a hydraulic repair shop? In the photo below the leaking joint can be seen above the oild filter.

Forgot to say that the pic shows the oil filter assembly in place however there is oil squirting out somewhere onto the top of the motor when I crank it over. (Not running yet..another issue with the fuel pump) and I also want to make sure I have put it back together correctly.

After cleaning out all the oil lines and the filter housing some months ago I am not 100% sure I still have all the necessary pieces back in their correct place inside the oil filter. I looked in the Tech area for an exploded view but cannot find one. Can someone tell me where to find a diagram or answers these questions? The steel canister filter has a rubber seal only at one end. Is that correct, and if so, does it go on the top or bottom? Then there are 2 raised steel "washers", one for top and bottom. And a spring, which I think goes on the top? Is there a rubber seal under the top lid to seal it onto the main body? Should there be a rubber washer/seal under the tube bolt that screws onto the spindle? Here is a pic of the motor and oil filter.

Excellent advice. Thanks.

I had bought a Dodge 1953 which was a bit of a rust bucket. However, one of the bonuses is that it has an excellent aluminium visor. That is pronounced "al u min i um" down under. I think it will be an excellent addition to the Fargo.

The new WDT from Les Sonter is in..see in photo. Spent a lot of time flushing out and blowing out the water channels. Also used a magnet to collect any smaal metal fragments from the vacant welch plug holes. Then installed new brass welch plugs. Had removed and cleaned out the oil filter assembly and lines, the sump and oil pick up. All these re-installed. New gaskets from Jim Robinson on the sump. Had the water pump housing "fixed" as the lug for the bottom bolt had snapped off. My brother-law-law welded it with his MIG. Will be extra careful tightening this. He suggested using a copper washer to absorb pressure of the bolt. Made new gaskets for the water pump and will re-install this tomorrow. The put back the fan and radiator. Cleaned a heap of baked on oil/grease/dust from various parts of the motor and polished it with a wire brush. Tomorrow will be filling her up with new engine oil, coolant, and.....hitiing the starter button again. Hope it still goes after all my attention.

Excellent. It is always satisfying when the apparently obvious "problem" is the cause!

Thanks for the extra info Jeff. The fact that my suburban van is "rare" makes me committed to the task and thanks to this forum i am able to keep making progress. Without this forum i would have given up as I just do not have the mechanical knowledge/experience.

"And then we came across the one forlorn Pilothouse at the event" But surely that is the beauty of owning a Dodge and not a Ford/Chevy! Who would want to restore a car/truck when the first time you took it out for a drive you saw ten others just like it.

A wooden clothes peg????????????? Okay, Davin, I know I am new to all things mechanical, but this is has me stumped /bluffed (i had to check to see it wasn't April 1st). Luckily down here in Oz it is 26 April so Davins outing counts. The wife is away for a few days and I had in mind doing some household "renovations" while there is no Management looking over my shoulder however now I will have to do some work on the Fargo . ggdad, that is one beautiful hood ornamment.

Okay, time to declare my ignorance again...what is a "heat riser spring"? Amazing restoration by Davin...he sets the bar high! And thanks for the info about different painst for the manifolds.