Los_Control

With what little I know ... points are like a switch, on or off ... should be .000 when off. If you get some sort of reading ... you know that is not correct .... it may start and run but you know is not right. It could be a bad ground or connection, or points need replaced. Could be a wire ... you will have to find what is causing it. Pretty sure you can remove the points from the distributor and check them isolated from the car. If they check out fine then you are 1 step closer to finding issue.

Torque spec is a 3' cheater bar and 4 grunts. Or 160 + pounds. Possibly some heat on the keyway to break the rust? ... it should just pop out in a perfect world.

You wont need to worry about wire size when switching to 12 volt. With 6 volt the wire is larger then a 12 volt system. What you have will be fine without changing the wiring if you convert to 12 volt. This is why we can convert to 12 volts and keep the 6 volt starter, it is built heavier then a 12 volt starter. Back in the 1970's, when these were just 20 year old beaters to drive around. People would convert to 12 volt because it was cheaper and easier then buying expensive 6 volt battery. Assuming what you have is in good condition. Usually by now your wiring is falling apart, either been replaced already or needs replaced .... or the car has been well stored and original wiring in good condition.

I cant say it any better ....

Only reason why I plan to stay 6 volt is because am a cheap arse .... when I need to start replacing generator etc .... going 12 volt.

you can switch to 12 volt, then run a voltage reducer to certain items like radio or heater motor windshield wipers

I do not think so ... but why would you? 1rst issue is the starter .... you can use a 6 volt starter on a 12 volt battery charging system. I do not think you can use a 12 volt starter on a 6 volt battery. Any modern engine will have a 12 volt starter.

I was messing with my shifter, going to remove it from the steering column etc ... when I bolted it back together, I only had 2nd, 3rd gear. 2 leevers coming off the trans, 1 is 1rst/reverse other is 2nd/3rd I put the gear shift in neutral, then put the 2 shift levers on top of transmision in middle position & everything started working magically again. I assume this means I have excess play and need to do some adjusting, may be what you need also. Other option you can just crawl under the truck and manually shift it into reverse, then start truck with clutch pedal to the floor ... let up on clutch just to verify trans is working.

I am tempted to do the red truck with black fenders theme ... so I can run red wheels .... No just thinking it may be a few degrees cooler in the cab with red paint instead of black, some good insulation on the headliner, red paint .... maybe get a few degree's cooler but doubt would be enough to help. But yeah, me and the wife going to jump in the car and go for a drive today because it is such a great day weather wise to do it.

I stick with the grey plastic conduit, easier to work with for a old carpenter Although seems impossible a electrician could get by without owning a conduit bender, they have their purpose. I love me a good hammer drill, I have a dewalt 1/2" with hammer option, real piece of crap. I have 2 uses for it, mixing up a bucket of drywall mud,thinset etc... and anchors for screws in brick siding or other similar materials. I have drilled 1/4" holes with it in concrete ... she wont mix mud though The Bosch Bulldog is a excellent hammer drill. Lots of power and will drill concrete all day long, has the option to switch off the drilling and just use it as a hammer. A good example is removing ceramic tile from a concrete floor. A flat chisel bit and can remove it like butter ... (almost) Can put a pointed bit in it and break concrete with it ... A lot of uses that many hammer drills do not have the option. If I find one at a pawn shop I will snatch it up .... also a good drill for mixing mud ?

I think your approach is just fine .... figure out what you want before dumping a bunch of money into something you may change in a year or two. Shoes are now becoming available, unknown quality but have seen them ... Drums are the real hard ones to get. If you wanted to do a original restoration to take to car shows, You can find them ... last time I checked, front drums on ebay were $400 each. And I thank the guy for recasting them and putting them out there. While mopar brakes may have been the best available at the time .... we have better now. You could switch to disk brakes for less $$ then rebuilding new. Just depends how authentic you "need" to go. I have a Rusty hope disk brake kit sitting on the shelf, (I bought for a different project) But my original brakes only needed a new wheel cylinder ... I will just use what I have. But if they start getting involved and difficult to adjust and simply become a pita, disk brakes are going on.

1978 I was a 16 year old kid working at the Texaco gas station, learning to do brake and tire work. We always rebuilt the wheel cylinders. Was what I was taught, we would hone they cylinders and then put in the next size larger cup ... 1" bore we would put in a 1-1/16" cup. If they did leak, then we just replaced the wheel cylinder. Looking at the rust in the photo, seems like you may want to go 3 or 4 sizes bigger on the cup I am rooting for your success, do not get me wrong. Sometimes photos can be deceiving, that cylinder looked pretty bad before you honed it.

I have to admit I am too grumpy to go anywhere

I can say my 6 volt system with a new fuel pump from napa, a rebuilt carb from rock auto, let it sit for 3 or 4 weeks and couple pumps on the pedal and a few seconds on the starter ... fire right up. I may do 3 or 4 pumps on pedal then 3 or 4 seconds on starter, then repeat, it starts very easy. Thats when I had the fuel tank installed. Today I have the tank removed to do some welding on floor, I have a gas can on the front bumper and it still starts kinda easy. Every time I remove the temp hose from the gas can it drains the fuel pump, have to crank it longer to get the fuel pump to pickup the fuel again. Even with that issue, it starts pretty quick.

I have a busted dinning room chair I am salvaging the upholstery for my arm rest and sun visors We all know what opinions are like, everybody has one. My thought process, A car is like a tool .... the tool has to be up to the job you are going to use it for. In my case, I will be driving around podunk usa at 35 mph or less. I will be fine with drum brakes, no seat belt ... etc. If I changed the rear end gearing and started driving freeway speeds, then I will need to adjust my tool accordingly. I say welcome to the forum, we love pics and are patiently tapping our feet waiting to see them, most importantly enjoy your car. Too many cars today are going to the scrap yard as younger crowd is losing interest in them.

I always found tossing a rag over the top of the carb was a good choke ... then run around and remove it after started. I was a little younger then, 16. I was a little faster then also. I dunno, seems to me the 1952 panel truck would have came with a manual choke. Possibly the throttle cable also ... I could be wrong. If you have some sort of automagic choke gizmo on your carb, probably carb was replaced at some time with something that did not belong.

First step is to grab a can of beer and drink it, Then you cut the empty can into strips and shim out the new bearing shell. Hopefully 1 shim between the rod and bearing will work. Be sure and add oil hole where needed. Talk about a hill billy fix. Met a guy in Vegas when was there working construction. He did that to his 1957 cheby truck, original 6 cyl and drove it from LA to Vegas and daily for work for over a year .... Last I heard he drove it back east and about Arkansas the rear end went out and had to replace it ... motor ran fine. Drove it to DC

Good lighting is crucial to doing good work. If I lived in a big city like yours I could probably find led bulbs that work ... here in po dunkville no such animal. Tough area to light because of the height, seems like you got it under control Night time and it looks like day light in work area. That new addition is really coming along nicely. I'm kinda kicking myself in the arse right now, knowing how easy it was to get decent lighting and not doing it last year. What a huge difference it has made. Now am up on a ladder and blowing the dust out of the rafters, wiping down the doors .... Thinking about a fresh coat of white paint. Then I have 2 more 4' fixtures if needed, I am thinking do not need at this time.

New existing light is 1000% better then what I started with ... maybe someday I upgrade it, today is no need. I have a mess that needs to be cleaned, but decent light with T18 bulbs with the doors closed.

I suspect what you like in that photo is the architecture. The house/garage was built in 1948. The carpenter built the roof by cutting each rafter individually ... we call it stick built. Very possible @keithb7 bought a new house in 1948 and owned a 10 year old Plymouth P6, then a few years later bought a new Chrysler. It fits right in with our old car hobby. Not practical, but has character. Keith current garage is 10 times better then this tool shed ... As a retired remodel carpenter, I feel like I found a very nice driver quality rust free "house" needs some tlc to bring into great shape but works perfect as is after some work. Lights are working today for a few hours, wiring is air temp, see almost zero issues with the lights .... The only issue Is, what a frigging mess I have now that I can see. I almost want to turn them off and go back to a incandescent bulb

I like your style Thats really good news. I have 2, 40' rolls of 18 gauge that I would never use in my truck and this project may be the only place I will use it. So game on! While this 10' x 22' is called a garage when it was built, I call it a tool shed. When I pull down the door in the winter time, nothing but a dark cave with existing lighting. I need to run 4 wires 15' to get on the other side of my attic shelf and connect other light. I understand the ballast will be fine up to 20'. Where existing light is, bottom of the beam is 9', above shelf is 12' peak. You have to be on a ladder to reach the wiring. I am not going to run conduit for this job. Simply gently attach wiring to rafters. I think I will be fine

As a consumer I would be totally fine with it. A bad hose on some farm equipment could be just as dangerous as a bad brake line on a car. They need to produce a quality product. But when talking DOT we are talking government regulations and a whole new set of rules. When I first bought my project truck I asked about making the rubber lines for me. The reply was a simple we don't make them. I never asked why. I just assumed was to small of hose and they work with larger lines. When @Dodgeb4ya mentioned DOT, was like a light bulb turning on. Maybe a Farmer in his barn would make one and I would use it ... A real business with a store front and liability, they may not be willing to take the risk. I could see government requiring a special license & conditions to be DOT approved. The Hydraulic hose shops are making a living with farm and construction equipment, plenty of stationary hydraulic equipment, They don't need the headache or hassle to deal with DOT. Leave it for specialty shops.

That would make sense. Here in farming country, small town we have hydraulic hose shops everywhere. I wonder if they would make a brake hose for a automobile?

I will be running a total of 2 fixtures = 4 bulbs total. I am replacing the original single incandescent 60 watt light bulb. = 1000% improvement. I have two extra fixtures I may hang later if I think I need them. With this small space I do not think will need them. All I can find online is led sold by the case of 25 bulbs. I think it may be to difficult to fed x a single tube and expect it to survive the trip. Makes sense to me. Other idea, these bulbs should last a long time, but if one does burn out, I want to be able to run down to the store and pickup a replacement. Maybe in another year my hardware store will start stocking them and make sense to convert then. I have the lights hanging now, I bought the bulbs, The 12/3 pigtail is ready to connect, only thing left is the 18 gauge jumper wires. I figure I have enough correct 18 gauge to run the power side of ballast. Will use 16 gauge automotive wire to jump the neutral side of ballast. If you do not hear from me, I blew myself up I just know the wires are rated differently, House wiring is single strand and the sheathing is more durable. While automotive wire is multi strand and different softer sheathing. Does it really matter to run a florescent light? All the wiring will be stapled to side of rafter in open air, easy to monitor if it gets even slightly warm I will stop using and replace.

My first choice would be to convert to direct wire led, throw away my ballast. I cant find the bulbs or any that are compatible with my ballast around. Home depot is a 4 hour drive round trip, not going there and online only ships by the case not individual bulbs ... I need 4 bulbs not 25. After spending a week chasing led's and return the wrong ones ... Am stuck with T18 florescent until stores start stocking right bulbs.