johnsartain

I bought another engine just to expand the parts assortment in case the engine rebuilder needed found parts too damaged to work with.

This is the other engine.

You can see in the previous picture that the bed was full of stuff. 2 218 engines, a T172 that came out of the truck, no head, no oil pan, no flywheel. There were two buckets in the front wi an assortment of parts from god know what. Some were engine parts for the truck and the rest were junk. The other engine was a Plymouth engine that had seen better days. Bother were locked up tight, pistons frozen in the cylinders.

I know this is a little late in getting started as I'm getting pretty close to finished with the project. Still, I know you guys like photos so here they are. I bought this truck around May 14, 2016. It was pure Arizona Patina, deep and thick. I know alot of guys like em that way, I aould have been go with it had it been a lot more old paint and a little less rust. Given that I decided to strip and restore as a driver. I never got into the show/museum quality stuff you have to haul in a trailer and never drive. It never appealed to me. I like to look at them, but I like to drive them more.

I am glad to hear that. I'm sure the B2B is a heck of a lot lighter than that Durango. In my opinion, the B2B will be a whole lot classier ride too. Thanks guys!

You might could invert an old brake disc and bolt it to the hub, then use a c clamp or other device to fasten a bar to the disc. As a matter of fact, I think I'll give that a try myself. My hubs have been modified. The rivets were drilled out and the drums and holes countersunk and threaded to use Hex Socket Countersunk Head Machine Screws.

I was curious as to whether anyone in the forum had experience with the Model B Pickups as a towed(toad) vehicle behind a Motorhome? I don't see it as a problem, particularly models with a standard transmission. My only concern might be how the Drop front axle might track. I have towed a Durango behind mine since 98 so I don't think weight is an issue. Building a tow bar to fit my Blue Ox wouldn't be an issue either.

Don, they pulled that on me at O'Reilly Auto so to speak. I asked the guy fora radiator petcock and an engine petcock. one is 1/4' npt and the other is 1.8" npt. He insisted on year make and model, good luck on parts for a 1950 B2B at O'Reilly. Said the computer didn't show one and they couldn't help me if it's not on the computer. So, no such thing as a real parts person anymore. I got on Amazon and looked one up from Dorman in like 15 seconds, sheesh!

Yeah, Dodgeb4ya, has a good take on it. There's a bit of variation I suppose across years. It may have been on account of cheap sockets but the plain style for me was 1-1/2 and the crank style pictured on the left of Dodgeb4ya' picture was the 1-5/8, I too have a 1-13/16 in that same style. If you only want to buy one socket, get a digital caliper and take a measurement. Measure twice, buy it once, so to speak. Unless you have multiple engines or parts of different sizes

I had to go buy one just for that, it was larger than any on my 3/4 drive socket set. I'm not at home to look but I think it was a 1-5/8". I'll look when i get in

John, So that's your story. Glad to hear you're getting along better. I hear you about not letting the little things get to us being had to do. It seems the older we get the shorter our patience gets.

Try this link, my truck is a 1950 but I got my wheel cylinders from here. http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,1954,truck,3.6l+218cid+l6,1487770,brake+&+wheel+hub,wheel+cylinder,1952

Mine top hose was a 1-3/4 X 11 Gates Flex hose # 26603. Bottom was a 1-1/2 X 17-7/8 Gates # 20121 molded hose.

... Totally cool. I used that product as well after my rust removal. It was necessary after the molasses bath I used it to stop flash rusting. With your's it was great that you had good sheetmetal. I couldn't see any dents in the picture.

Eastwood makes a Patina Preserver and a rust encapsulator that is in an aerosol can(rattle can). The patina preserver claims to preserve the finish for 12 months. The rust encapsulator penetrates the rust and tends to stop it for a time(not given). Being a California resident, rainy weather isn't a real issue and could mean that the preservation could last longer. Oxidation is an active chemical process meaning that as long as rust remains on the metal surface, the more oxidation that will occur. Another way that I have heard of preserving the finish was an application of linseed oil. This would tend to penetrate the rust down to the metal and maybe make your patina finish last longer without recoating. For sure, if you have deep flaking rust, I would advocate in removing it, possible replacing panels. I personally see no beauty in rusted out holes in the bodywork. Your feeling may be different so to each their own. Whatever panels get replaced, they can be chemically treated to promote rusting to catch up and blend with the other body panels. Everything I have read on the subject only speaks of preservation and indicates that it is not a permanent finish like paint would be. I have heard of other who clear coat it with urethane, but rust being an active process, the clear coat peels after a short time. There may be other methods people use with better results. On the subject of rust I do have a way that can remove AND promote rust. It's an old trick called a molasses bath. 10 parts water to 1 part molasses. Leave it in 2 weeks and it strips rust to bare metal, Just take it out and pressure wash it. If you want rust, take bare metal, put it in for a week and take it out, let it dry. All the rust you could ever want.

I totally appreciate your reposting this video. Yours looks to me one of the best installs I have seen yet. Others I have seen put all the weatherstripping on the door. I didn't think that was right though, I remember stripping paint from my truck and all of the trouble I had getting rubber off of the door frames. Was there a particular vendor you got your weather stripping from?

Like you guys i always used air or grease to pop them out and either grease,Vaseline, or assembly goo to install them back in. I suppose the tool could help to eliminate nicking the rubber seal when installing it resulting in having to re do the job.

Here is a site with engine numbers, http://www.t137.com/registry/help/otherengines/tengines.html The site says it and be either a 218 or 230 c.i. engine with a 23 inch head from a 1954-56 C-1-C6 or C-3-C6

A tool for installing wheel cylinder pistons. It holds the seal collapsed while the bar pushes the piston and seal into the wheel cylinder bore

Tupelo's Auto Museum is a real find. Most people never expect a museum of that size in the area. One thing they have on site is several bays in which active restorations are taking place. Occasionally you can catch one in progress and watch some of the work. I used to live in the area, Belden, MS, before moving out west. I have to admit it was one of the biggest factors driving my need to restore an old vehicle. Frank Spain was the founder, he was a great leader in the North Mississippi, as founder of the local NBC station WTVA. I was also a sort of inventor and a pioneer in microwave communication service beginning in 1959, I had not realized it had been around that long. he passed away in 2006 from cancer. The Tupelo Automobile Museum is his legacy and his life. If you have the chance, don't miss the visit, it is well worth the admission.

The Wilson replacement works fine with the 146 tooth flywheel. Closer examination of the 172 tooth flywheel has 6 holes unevenly spaced with 2 groups of three holes to each side. I will easily fit on the 218 crankshaft. My mistake was assuming that it was an original flywheel and would work since it was attached to one of the 218 engines at the time. The block numbers on the engine it was attached was for a Plymouth car but no t knowing which car presents a problem in which bell-housing and starter combination to use. Switching back to the 146 tooth flywheel fixed my issues and it will now work with the Wilson starter MCH-6106 which uses the starter pedal. The other MCH-6101 was about an inch and a half longer and was a really tight fit between the bell-housing and the oil return tube but did not require the foot pedal. Information I got from the re-builder that I got the MCH-6101 from told me that I could have sent it back where he could reduce the shaft size to fit the bendix for the 172 tooth flywheel. Since I already had a 146 tooth flywheel it was good to go. If anyone needs either I have for sale the refurbished 172 tooth flywheel - $75, new 11" 23 Spline Clutch kit. $120, and a reconditioned and rebuilt 6V MCH-6101 starter for $300. All of these are priced less than what I paid for them, my loss is your gain.

weasel... I wrote up my experience in adapting a Dodge NP435 from a 89 D100 pickup in a different thread. No pictures but i am totally open to any discussion of it. Only gotcha was I needed to use the Throw out bearing from the 50 Dodge and combine it with the 89 dodge 10" clutch kit. The output shaft was the correct length for me. Your 54 may be a lot different.

I got questioned once on using the pvc as a bushing. I works great. Most throwout bearings these days are coming out with ABS or softer plastic instead of the forged iron castings that they used to have so I don't get where they make the difference. Other guys have used a T5 tranny as a swap. Thats a good one too but the NP435 is a truck transmission where the T5 was used in Light trucks like the S10 and cars. They had heavy duty versions of the T5 used in Camaro's and Mustang's coupled with V8's but they are getting rare and the gear shift is totally in the wrong location being too far back on the tail shaft. Last thread I saw for using a T5 in a Model B was to swap the internals of the Heavy Duty T5 from the Camaro and Mustang into the one from an S10. There is a thread on here somewhere for the T5 swap details.

I know this is an old thread but for your and anyone else information here it is. You can adapt a NP435 from an 89 Dodge pickup fairly easy if you're not using a fluid drive. Use the Clutch kit for the 89 as well. you will have to use the release bearing from the 50 model though. The bearing retainer on the input side of the transmission will need to be turned down a 1/2 inch or so and the bolts replaced with Allen Bolts. I also re-drilled the bell-housing. I cut off bolts to fit the ones originally in the bell housing and welded then in place, the drilled and tapped the new holes in the right location for the NP435. The extension on the retainer is smaller than on the one on the stock transmission. I used a piece of SCH40 pvc as a bushing and pressed it onto the bearing retainer. Works like a charm and a have a modern 4 speed transmission with synchronizers.

I looked at that. The new holes would have been half on - half off the flywheel's clutch face. I just ordered the clutch kit. Your good on what you're doing DJ, drilling and tapping a 11" to 10 " works good.