Mr.Dids

Current direction is keep the flathead and 3spd, re-gear so it will hopefully drive highway speeds (I know I won't be winning any drag races), and do a mild restoration on the body (rust repair, new bed floor, etc.). I'm not interested in a completely original truck, just something to have fun with so it won't be original paint. Right now I'm leaning toward hot rod black or something similar. I would also like to lower it but the jury's still out on that one.

My initial direction was to throw in a 350/350 (diehard GM fan) and rat rod the thing. I've since fallen in love with the simplicity and just plain coolness of the flathead so it's staying. It was well and truly seized up (rusted, not worn) and much of the internals needed, shall we say, persuasion to come out. Most of it came out in one piece, the exception being a few valves and some guides which were damaged in the process. At this moment, everything has been dealt with and the crank, pistons, cam and valves are back in. Just waiting on a new oil pump pickup screen (which was in pieces when i pulled the pan) and it's ready to seal up. Sorry for the lack of engine pics but my wife tends to get fussy about greasy hands on her precious camera. lol

I've now owned this truck approx. two weeks and this is how it looks now. Things have come apart unbelievably well. I've only broken two bolts which is mind blowing for me considering the age of this thing.

Here's the old girl in all her farm fresh glory! 1949 Dodge B1B 108 wheelbase. Original 218 flathead with 3spd manual. Showing 19,000 miles and based on the wear I'm finding, I believe it may be actual miles. Everything is (at least to my knowledge) original and overall it is in pretty good shape. It had sat for at least the past 40 years and the engine would not spin at all.

I decided to start this to post to document my build. I just joined yesterday and am probably already driving people insane with all my questions. This way folks can follow along if they wish to or choose not to. Feel free to tell me what I'm doing right/wrong and share your opinions on the direction I should take. I'm hoping to lean heavily on some of you as this progresses. Full disclosure: I will take opinions with a grain of salt and I do not respond well to negativity. Please try to keep it light and I hope you enjoy. Thanks so much. Here goes......

Help please. Does ANYONE makes patch panels, more specifically door bottoms, for these (mine's a '49 b1b) trucks? I've overworked my search engine so much it needs a rebuild and I've found exactly nothing. If nothing is available, I realize my options are rebuild mine (about 2 inches of the ENTIRE door bottom is missing on the passenger side and it's the better one. lol) or source some better, also used ones. I just need someome to definitively confirm that, yes, _____________ has them at this site or no, no one makes them and it's time to pick up the welder and cutoff wheel. I'm certain that many of you know these things inside and out, so please put me out of my misery so I can stop wasting welding time on doing pointless searches. Thanks so much!

I recently purchased the truck in my profile pic and it came with three (two small and one large in the center) bumper guards. The only info I've been able to find online is that it was typically found on heavier trucks or something earmarked for commercial use (wrecker, fire truck, etc.). I was about to scrap pile the center one until I noticed people trying to sell them for just stupid money. Was this a factory option on 1/2 ton trucks, a dealer added option, or something the original owner scraped up and installed later???? I'm not really a fan of them but if they were some rare option, it kind of adds a coolness factor for me.

I did a quick search on here and couldn't find any info on this. Wondering if anyone is running this Langdon's hei distributor and what your thoughts are. http://www.langdonsstovebolt.com/store/#!/Stovebolt-Mopar-Mini-HEI/p/1222043/category=361515 I'm not concerned about originality and thought this might improve drivability and possibly give a slight performance bump (at least 300hp I'm sure ha ha). My distributor and everything in it are 40+ years old and I figure by the time I rebuild it (vacuum advance module, cap and rotor, points and condenser, and coil) I'll have a similar amount spent. Seems like a no brainer. Thoughts?

Yes, I know the correct procedure. Hub puller mounted to lug bolts, tighten, smack the center, tighten some more, repeat, repeat, and the drum and hub comes loose while a choir of angels sing.Here's the thing in my situation. I do not have the correct puller. I do have a wife, two kids, a mortgage, and a limited budget for this project. My choices were: A- Buy a decent puller for $100 +. B- Buy a cheap puller for around $50. C- Borrow someone else's puller. So let's say I went with: A- I pull the drums, find they're shot and need replaced. I've been seeing these drums for $200 plus and I would certainly replace the rearend before I spent $500 or more on this one (drums, brakes, seals, etc.). Only problem is I'm already into this one for over $100 (cost of puller) and I could have found a decent late model rear for about the same price. Fail B- I break the cheap puller and now I'm down $50, still don't have the hubs off and am faced with the same choices I had in the beginning. Fail C- I break my friend or neighbor's puller (I've been blessed with the uncanny ability to break an anvil so yes, it's possible). I'm not one of "those guys" who return a tool broken, so I buy them a new one and then either use their now new puller or buy myself one. Now I'm down $100-$200 and I'm still looking at scenario A. Fail Option D, which wasn't mentioned above, is what I went with. Worst case, I break something or find it not worth reusing. I'm out nothing and I spend my limited money towards improving the old truck. As it turned out, I'm out next to nothing and everything is perfectly reusable (aside from wheel cylinders, seals, etc.). The only thing I've cost myself is ten rivets, if I choose to replace them. Win/Win Long story short, I'm not an idiot. I did my homework, weighed my options, and chose the method which was "right" for me. I'm not some "newb". I have 25+ years of experience (just not with machines way before my time) and my state inspection license. Your two cents is always appreciated, just don't expect me to break a twenty.

I was about to mention the same thing. I too read that the taper was designed to be used dry and adding grease was akin to the end of the world. Now I'll start with opinions but it can't be a bad thing to prevent rusting. My driver's side wasn't too bad but the passenger side was rusted together the entire width of the hub. Right or wrong, mine will be anti-seized before it's reassembled. This is what drives someone insane. You guys and girls with 30-40 or more years experience know what has worked and what didn't and that's what I'm looking for. If someone has no experience with these things and begins researching only to find one "expert" who claims dry is the only way to go and another who says the complete opposite, which are they to believe? Then you get the people who have only bench raced (and mechanic'd) their entire lives, never picked up a wrench and yet they're the "expert" and lead people astray by the hundreds. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing this site, just speaking on how frustrating it can be. I'll put my soapbox away and be quiet now. lol

New to the forum, pilothouses and Mopars in general (I'm a life-long GM nut shhhh). So I finally got the rear drums/hubs off and before the lectures begin, no, I didn't do it the "right" way. This truck is a '49 and had sat for at least the last 40 years. After 4 days of puller (3 jaw w/modified plates to attach to lug bolts which, again, I know is not the "right" puller) and a whole lot of heat, beat, and repeat, I finally became aggravated and grabbed the angle grinder. Honestly, at this point I was ready to torch the drums off and just replace the entire rearend if necessary. I ground off and pressed out the hub to drum rivets (I can almost hear the gasps of concern), removed the drum, and pulled the entire axle, hub, backing plate, bearing and all. Today I took the axles and borrowed my neighbor's 35 ton press. We just about maxed the thing and the hub still wasn't having it. Finally we hit it with the torch and it left loose with a sound I can only compare to a cannon going off. There will be those who disagree I'm sure but I don't think any on truck puller was removing these things. But I digress... Right now I'm doing my happy dance at having them off and the fact that rebuilding can finally begin. Now, my question. As previously mentioned, the hub to drum rivets are now gone. I know ideally, they should be replaced but I have no desire to go through this again just because the shoes are worn or a wheel cylinder is leaking. Can I just remount the drums using the lug bolts? Almost every modern car uses this method but I read somewhere (possibly here) that this will result in the drums not running true. Any input??? No offense to anyone but my experience with auto forums in the past has been that the responses are 90% opinion and 10% fact. I would like to stick to, well, "Just the facts, Ma'am." lol If just using the lug bolts is a bad idea, would it work to tap the hub and replace the rivets with flathead screws? Thanks in advance!