stvB3B

That is one cool looking mirror. Did you make it yourself?

I was told that there are trim pieces, the metal divider piece in the center of the windshield, that is made with and without a built in mirror bracket. Mine does not have a mirror bracket built in and I really miss my rear view mirror. Does anyone know how to add one to my existing trim piece or where i could find a trim piece with a mirror base mount? Any suggestions? thank you

Does anyone know how to properly adjust a 3 speed column shifter? Having issues going into 3rd gear after a rebuild. Is there a certain way that the shifter handle is properly adjusted? It can be raised or lowered by the thread just under the shift handle inside the steering column mount. I'm not even sure mine has all the collars, etc. Anyone that can help with this, I would appreciate any help anyone can offer. Steve

The engine shop gave me something that looks like a rat bait block to put in the engine before I start it up. It is supposed to melt down and seal any leak in the water jacket system. He said it is an engine re- builder thing. They all use these blocks to be sure customers do not have small leaks here and there after they finish with their repairs. Hope it works in mine as well.

Sorry I have been away from this post for a few days. I talked to many, many engine rebuilders and was told that unless I wanted to gut the block I should not weld it. I really do not wan to go that far with it even though that is probably best. I was going to have it stitched at $40.00 per inch when I thought the crack was 4 -5 inches long. For short cracks that is even better than a weld. However when cleaned and inspected I had a foot long upper crack and a second crack almost as long several inches below the first crack. Must have really froze solid and bulged the whole side out, The engine guys tell me they have repaired tractors that have run hard for years with a good JB Weld job on the water jacket. Belzona is really good stuff and the rep here in Houston would make me a great deal of only $250.00 for a pound of the stuff! Wow! I went immediately to option B. JB Weld. The guy that did it said that if done properly, a water jacket crack is should hold up great. They did drill the ends of both cracks, sweated the metal clean and v ground the crack. If this holds up I'll let everyone know. This is probably a worst case crack and would be a good testimonial.HA All done now just need to remount the engine and see what happens. Wish me luck.

It will all be fine in time, Just a little stressful for now trying to figure out what to do. How do you like the new white dodge pics?

That's good advice. I had been considering that option. I really would like to have an old original and one I could put AC in and hot rod around in though.

I am still in the middle of rebuilding my 52' B3B to, as original as possible, when I found another 52" that I want to upgrade to a newer engine, suspension and disc brakes. The body and frame on the new truck is in perfect shape! So I bought it and now I have 2 trucks in my shop that don't run. Go figure! The frame and body are awesome but someone with the same idea has scabbed on a 1987 Dodge ram 318 v8 with automatic transmission. The mounting job is terrible, the rear end if frozen up. The drive shaft does not fit. Other than that its perfect. I've looked into buying a new front end and rear end and getting the motor and transmission mounted properly but this is really more expensive than I had considered. Not to mention that I don't even know if the motor runs or if the transmission works. I was told that I would need to cut the firewall back a little to get the motor pushed back for proper radiator and fan clearance from the front grill. It was suggested that use a Mustang 2 front end and a chevy truck rear end. My question is has any one done this before that could offer any suggestions? I was also curious if this body would fit on top of another vehicle with minor alterations to get the cab to fit on a new frame? Is anything built have a close enough fit to do this? I thought it would be much cheaper to buy and old vehicle and mount my cab on it that to retrofit my frame to the engine, radiator and transmission and to install a new updated front end, rear end and driveshaft ! Right now I am staring at a nice looking old truck, wondering why I bought this one and what the hell I'm going to do with it from here???????? Can anyone offer any suggestions for this mess I'm in?? Steve

Hey there been away from the computor for a while. Its been crazy busy at work today. Thank s for all the good advice. I'll definitly look into all options suggested. Steve

I talked to a motor rebuilder in Houston that told me the block being cast metal is not compatable with anything I would seal it with such as welding or sealer and would not expand and contract with the cast. It would end up comming apart on me down the road.

One year into my rebuild, I was about to mount my cab on my newly painted frame with a newly painted engine when I noticed a small freeze crack leaking oil behind my oil filter just below the head gasket. I'm told this cannot be reaired and must get a new block. Now I have to tear verything down that I have done so far and replace or rebuild my engine. Does anyone have a rebuilt 218 flathead 6 engine or block that is crack free, for a 1952 dodge B3B, that I could rebuild??? Angry and depressed! Steve

If the line stays where it is , I could run the Battery cable beside it. There should be adequate room for both between the cab and the frame , correct? I just hate to start bending lines again once I get them set nicely and looking good.

I cannot get my three speed column shifter to work properly. It is pretty basic and figured I would have no problem taking it apart to paint and put back together, unless I have lost a part or two in the process. The shifter worked fine before I took it apart. Both transmission shift levers worked great. I have attached the parts list for the column but it does not tell you how to assemble it properly. I have everything on the parts list except for the spring seat and the lower bushing on the column. I can’t find either of those, if they were even there to begin with. The gear shift lever is working but the angled transfer lever from the top will not move forward or backward when I raise or lower the shifter lever. When I raise or lower the shift lever, the top bracket or bushing just comes out of the large bracket that screws on to the steering column. The lower shift lever at the bottom of the shift column does not move. The shift lever on the transmission side moves forward and back as it is supposed to. I have tried everything and am at a loss as to why this is not working. Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I doing something that is obviously wrong to you? Help!

I am rebuilding my 52 B3B and am attempting to make my own wiring harness. I have found a nice set of wiring instructions and drawings called david's wiring harness. It only lists B2, B1, B4 everything but my B3B. Does anyone know if the wiring is the same for all of the types and year models? Some of these have much more wiring than I pulled out of my old truck. I have attached a picture of my truck wiring laying on a table, if I did this right? any help here would be appreciated. I need to send a list of wire colors, wire length and gauge to Tom's engine barn and order the wire I need for the harness. Also Does anyone have a B3B with a courtesy light not on the ceiling but on the back wall above the rear window? I need a picture from someone to show me where it is supposed to be installed. My trim was gone when I got the truck and the light was just hanging on the seat. If anyone out there can help me out I would very much appreciate it! Thank you Steve

Does anyone know if the rear end is the same for a 1952 and a 1957? Someone has a 57' but is not sure which years use the same differentials. Does anyone know?