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The trucks have same issue, there is a sheet metal cover for upholstery purposes .... not qualified for seat belt duty. My plan is to build a anchor point then weld it to the cab itself. Will have a captured nut welded into it so that a anchor bolt can attach the seat belt. Good weld penetration will damage the exterior paint .... so yes, I need it before paint. I feel like the proper engineering has been built into the seat belts by the mid 90's anyways. Proper installation to make them effective will be our job as the installer. In my experience, seat belts will flat out F***K you up! ..... While saving your life .... Pick your poison. I spent a month in hospitals, I did not exactly walk away from it. All my injuries were from seat belt damage. Broken pelvic, ribs,collar bone, internal injuries. Everything was caused from seat belts ..... I can only imagine what damages I would have if I did not have a seat belt on. A seat belt would not have helped a passenger in this case, the dash was over the seat ... their legs would have been cut off and bled to death at least. Pissed me off because I wanted my laptop while recovering, the dashboard had pinned it to the seat and wife could not get it. To be honest, if we get hit this hard in one of our old cars ..... were going to die with or without seat belts. I personally will feel better with them. Modern cars are engineered for crash safety better. At the very least they will hold me in place while the 6' long spear the steering wheel is attached to impales me in the chest

I wonder what the laws are in Canada, if they are the same as in USA? My plans as I get my truck ready to be a daily driver, I do have to go through a safety inspection for registration ... yearly. Since seat belts and turn signals are not required, I will leave them out for now. Just get the basics done thats needed to be a legal driver. Now when I install my new wiring I will include the turn signal wiring also ... I can install everything else at a later date. Same with seat belts, I think I would prefer to have them just to keep me from bouncing around in the seat too much ..... My wife will insist on them. I will add them at a later date. Just to keep things simple and get going, I'm not spending anytime on them now. Although I have been working all day on the seat base and installation, I am thinking ahead on where & how I will install the seat belts. Making sure I leave provisions for them for future use.

Sounds like fuel in the oil is not a issue in your case ..... I also would not feel comfortable thinking it was a non issue. In case you did. Sounds to me you need to keep searching to find the real issue. ..... The joys of being a mechanic & testing your detective skills.

Another vote for pulling the distributor when servicing it .... otherwise you standing on your head while bent over the fender trying to very patiently work on it. @Kilgore47 posted a link to those points awhile back .... I have a set on the way I want to try them. Also a rotor & condenser from same manufacturer. My engine runs ok as it is, but I want spares in the glove box just in case. So I'm installing new, but putting known working as spares in the glove box if ever needed. I'm really sold on doing a slant 6 distributor conversion down the road, run electronic ignition .... I'm now 12v instead of 6v, but I will try these new points, condenser to see what I think. I just do not trust modern replacement parts, my current rotor I bought a few years ago is already needing replacement .... I only drive it in the yard during paint, never long drives on the road yet .... and already wore out. Anywho, my tuneup parts will be here in a few days, I'm pulling the distributor to install them, also give everything a quick once over, proper oil etc...

IMHO, comparing Diesel/kerosene to gasoline is like comparing apples to oranges. Diesel has oil in it, it is a lubricant. Gasoline is a cleaner and cleans oil up. I understand in Alaska why they would want to thin the oil in winter, but the diesel still brings a certain amount of lubrication with it. Too much gasoline in a cylinder could be bad as all of it will not burn and it could "wash out" the cylinder .... meaning clean away all the oil on it the rings need for lubrication. Same as if it gets in the oil, the oil loses effectiveness and the bearings do not get the same protection they should be getting. I never ever heard gasoline will burn off from the oil. I only know it is bad and problem should be corrected as soon as possible. Story time When I was 22 years old, I hooked up with a divorced girl with a child .... we have now been married 35 years. ? First I bought a single wide mobile home, then I made a deal on some property, then I bought a old county 2 ton 1961 Dodge truck to move the mobile home. Typical 22 year old with no brains. The truck was overloaded with the mobile home .... could not drive over 35 mph .... front tires were barely touching the ground. I had no trip permit or license to pull the trailer .... pulled it 30 miles on the freeway and all went smoothly .... Wife following behind me in the Hot Rod with the 4 ways on. Just saying I bought the truck for a purpose, later it was used to clean up the property, at times it was our only running vehicle and hauled me to work every day and to the grocery store. My wife drove it all the time, the old slant 6/4spd. ...... The carburetor was always junk on it and leaked gas into the oil. Idled And accelerated fine .... but leaked gas into the oil. One day while driving it on the freeway, it was payday and wife was coming to meet me at lunch to get my check and go shopping. She heard a loud explosion. She pulled over right away thinking a tire blew. The truck was idling fine, she walked around the truck and all looked fine. So she went on her way. I told her I would look at it this weekend .... What happened is the excess gasoline in the crank case ignited and it exploded. The dipstick was 1" short & all curled up. I had to stand on the fender and uncurl the dipstick as I pulled it out. It was 1" shorter then before the explosion. I must have been 24 or 25 years old and much wiser, so I changed the oil & installed a used dipstick ... then drove it another year or so before trading it off. Thats my only real life experience with a engine with gasoline in the oil, it did not kill that slant 6, but it was not pretty either.

I know with a 12 volt battery you can go to almost any auto parts store & they have a battery tester they will bring out to the parking lot and test your battery. I like these because they also load test them, not just measure the amount of charge they have in them. Do these work on a 6 volt battery? .... I have no idea. Also as others suggested, it could be the charger is not working .... have you tried it on other batteries?

Depends what you are using for photos .... I use a basic android phone, I simply open the camera then go into settings and I resize the photos there .... they usually have 3 or 4 different settings and always largest settings for best photo when shipped. Now when you take photos they will be the correct size for forum. Then I have a desktop computer I use for everything, I have a few different programs I can edit & resize photos if needed. Just far easier to go to camera settings and take them the correct size in the first place.

I think it depends on circumstances, if the engine has been sitting for awhile & want to start it up .... Anything over 60psi should fire. So If you have a 6 cylinder engine that has over 60 psi on 4 cylinders and a few others are less then that .... It should run kinda ok on 4 cylinders and as it warms up and things get oiled ..... they all should loosen up and start improving compression. In my mind all the cylinders being close to each other, means all the cylinders are worn equally and behaving normal. Low compression across the board means a worn out engine and needs refreshed. If you have decent compression on some cylinders but really low on others, those individual cylinders have issue and needs investigated. Could be valve adjustment or worn valves ... just have to figure out whats going on. I know some here have pretty low compression across the board, around 70-75? ... their engines run fine .... little short on horse power but running good.

There is a factory carrier available, may have been a option as not all have them have one ..... My 1991 chebby truck has the same thing. Thinking you could get a different carrier and adapt it to work.

I think what Ken says about metal generating more heat makes a lot of sense. I had to sleep on it, I realized it is almost 15 years since I worked professionally, So the tools I had were probably at least 5 years or older then ...... So the Makita sander I bought a few years ago, I'm comparing to tools I bought well over 20 years ago. ..... Times are a changing for sure. Was not a big deal since I needed to order a few things from Amazon anyways. While my truck runs fine as is, I wanted to order a new set of the points others were talking about ... so I can keep my known good ones as spares. When I removed the cap to look at my points to verify fitment, I found the new rotor I installed a couple years ago was really sloppy. .... I could rotate it at least 1/8" either direction which will throw the timing off. .... might explain a slight hesitation I noticed lately. ..... More cheap inferior parts from overseas. Then today I need to take the wife shopping, I need bolts from tractor supply, the lawn needs mowed .... be a few days before I get back to the hound dog anyways so no big deal waiting for delivery.

Sad we lost a couple of the major distributors in the past year or so, scarebird & rustyhope .... seems like those were the top 2 choices, are others out there but no idea who they are.

No work today, seemed I was too active on it yesterday. I did prep the passenger door for welding the holes. I put a 2nd coat of putty on the other spots .... did a slight adjustment or two with a hammer. I started sanding and son of a ***** seems the hook & loop pad on my sander needs replaced, had to stop and order more. No big deal I guess to some. As a retired finish carpenter I have used hook & loop orbital sanders for decades. I have wore out a couple and replaced the sanders with new. I have never needed to replace the pad in the past. While ordering a new pad, I ordered a 2 pack of them .... while looking at a 4 pack and wondering if I should get it. Seems the modern sander the replaceable pad is just built into them .... a consumable product. Took the wind out of my sails today.

The engines can vary, possibly a 24" motor or a 25" motor .... many have been changed over the years & no longer original. On the drivers side of the engine in front is a stamped pad above the soft plug. That number should tell you the year and size of the engine. Go here to this site and look up the number you have. https://www.t137.com/registry/help/otherengines/otherengines.php The carburetor number is stamped on a angled piece on top of it. Easy to spot. You can get a rebuild kit for it at many places, ebay, amazon, rockauto .... pick your choice. Mikes sells some good stuff and he puts out a good video of how to do what you want to do.

The wheelbase is measured from the center of front axle to center of rear axle. You get a buddy to hold the tape measure in the center of the wheel bearing dust cover, then drag it back to the rear axle and eyeball the center of it ..... That will be your wheel base. I know a little bit about the 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton trucks but nothing of the larger trucks. I imagine they have a standard length for the 1 tons that get a pickup bed. .... Did they change for flatbeds? Was it a option to order the longer length? I have no clue. I saw this photo today on facebook, I know nothing about it .... obvious they have stretched the bed and sitting on a different frame. The fenders and running board just sitting on blocks for mock up ..... I'm only suggesting you could build your bed to fit your truck, but use stock frame, stock fenders .... make it look like it came that way.

I think it depends on the wheelbase. My 1/2 ton is 108" I had a 3/4 ton that was 116" then the 1 tons? I think a bed like ggdad would fit if you have the same wheelbase. And good luck finding one. Another option would be to find 2 beds & lengthen 1 of them to fit your truck, do the same with the running boards and extend yours to fit.

Oh my @Plymouthy Adams That reminds me of a favorite old truck of mine .... Paint it orange and will be perfect! @Malugood looking project, your truck came with either a flatbed or no bed. If you look at @Dodgeed truck it has running boards that go all the way to the rear fenders. Yours go to the end of the cab. While it may not be the original bed .... or it could be, it never had a pickup bed with rear fenders. .... Unless the running boards were also swapped out. Either way glad to see you aboard and hope to see more of it.

I appreciate the effort it took @Eneto-55to do the job they did .... I takes a lot of patience and time. I got to a point where the more I worked it the worse it seemed to get. I feel I got it pretty close. This dent had a lot of force to make it. The floor pan is in the top section of the dent. It had a long stress crack in it by the body mount I welded up awhile ago, then the spot welds from the cab to the A pillar were popped loose. It was hit hard enough the metal torn and I had to weld it back together. .... This metal was stretched thin. I think a experienced body man would have created a new cab corner then welded it in ..... I'm not that man. So I did the best I could. .... Honestly it came out better then I expected .... Time to put it to bed and apply putty. Just a rough first coat of putty 90% will be ground off tomorrow .... but it marks the end of a chapter in the book. No more pecking around with a hammer & dolly tomorrow ... I also took care of the drivers door while I was at it. It had a few different sets of mirrors on it in the past .... I swear they used a hammer & punch to make the holes to mount them. These areas are impossible to get to from behind .... Like a idiot I just went ahead and welded the holes closed, then kept going and filled in the divots around the holes with the welder also. ..... Nobody ever told me we could not do that. Still will require putty but less of it. I still need to do the passenger door tomorrow ..... then there are just a few cracks to take care of & 2 major patches left. The 2 patches on the fenders around the rivets .... They scare me, but I am getting braver. Been quiet for a week or so but been hammering away at it.

wonder if those battery testers at Autozone works on 6v batteries?

I'm pretty sure a shop will have to open it up & check it out for it's condition before deciding if it can be rebuilt. Not something they can tell you over the phone. There are a lot of these motors out there, they were sold in vehicles in the USA until 1959. They were still produced up til the mid 1970's for farm & industrial use as well as airport tugs. There are still a lot out there they are not made of unobtainable. No sense in looking for a replacement yet, first find out if yours can be rebuilt. I'm pretty fair with residential electricity ..... I suck at automotive wiring .... kinda the same but different. 30 minute sounds like a pretty heavy draw, not many things that could drain that fast .... I'm guessing headlights or amp gauge wiring. I dunno. Does this truck have the original cloth wiring or has it been replaced? If it is original cloth covered wire then it is probably time to replace it. The 70 year old cloth just falls off leaving exposed wire that can ground out somewhere. So if you find the bad spot you can cover it with black tape for now ... you bump the wire next to it and then it falls apart and needs work also .... You can nurse it along for awhile until ready to rewire it .... or just start replacing 1 wire at a time. If you want to keep the wiring stock also, you can purchase a quality cloth covered wiring harness for the truck and just install that. Will not be cheap. Maybe Grandpa already replaced it?

That is exactly why I'm not a fan of Napa. Of course we get the discount ..... Why are items not simply marked the price they sell for? Helping my Uncle out he loved Napa he would never go anywhere else. Once a year on a certain Friday Uncle would bring down 5 pizza and a couple cases of soda to feed the guys lunch .... he would call down for a price and tell dirty jokes for 15 minute on the phone to them ..... That was Uncle he would never shop anywhere else. He always bragged about the great discount they gave him. While going there with him and looking around, I could have used a air chuck to fill up tires that had a extension for dual wheel trucks. I looked at a basic one that should be about $20, they had a price of $50 ..... A slightly better one was marked $100 ..... This is not snap on quality, just basic bs sold at parts stores. I know when I take it to the counter to pay for it, they will decide what level of discount to give me. If any discount. .... Who decides what discount they will give you? I understand the need to give different discounts .... A commercial account that does a lot of business gets a set discount ..... but joe blow walking in off the street .... who decides his discount? While I'm not complaining about the prices as much as I'm complaining how they set the prices. Like Oprah Winfrey standing on stage, YOU GET A DISCOUNT, THEY GET A DISCOUNT, EVERYBODY GETS A DISCOUNT!

It is very possible the starter is not rebuild-able. They may need to find a used one and see if it works or send the used one to the shop as a core for rebuild while it is out. Not my budget to suggest what to do. ...... Either way it still has nothing to do with converting to 12 volts. They are different circuits and the starter does not care either way ....yet you still need a working starter. ..... If the charging system is working fine, there is no need to convert it. Just because you have a bad starter. One has nothing to do with the other ..... why I think the old gentleman was confusing the phone call thinking he was talking about a generator instead of a starter. A quick 1 minute google search for a 1954 Dodge truck 218 6v starter came up with this at the top of the list. https://www.amazon.com/Assembled-Meadowbrook-Plymouth-Belvedere-Cambridge/dp/B079QHQR7F $260 brand new & claims to be made in USA. But it is for a car and requires a solenoid & push button added to the truck. While Amazon is selling it, sometimes you can look through the add and find who is making it. Then call them directly to see if they would have a 6v truck starter. Or search longer to find the actual truck starter. .... Seems new starters are available .... is another 12v mini starter for $275 that would fit but require 12v conversion.

That is a beauty. Simple thing about wiring is 6v requires heavy wire because 6v draws more amps then a 12 v .... This is why you need heavy battery cables. 12v cables are not heavy enough. This is why you can use a 6v starter on a 12v system because it is built with heavier windings .... 12v does not bother a 6v starter. I think what ken has is a 12v starter for a 1956. I'm not sure it would work to install a 1956 12v starter without converting everything to 12v. I do not think it would hold up to a 6v battery. Looking at the truck, I imagine it was taken well care of. Possible the starter was just going out and needs rebuilt .... I expect close to $200 ... not cheap. This is also a positive ground vehicle .... making sure you are aware, the + cable from battery goes to the transmission for ground. The - cable goes to the starter and supplies the power to the vehicle ...... backwards from modern vehicles. This is why good grounds is so important. All vehicles it is important to have good grounds, but a + ground vehicle it is crucial .... you will notice any slightly questionable ground on this system. Thats why we are suggesting to get your starter rebuilt, you will need it even if you convert to 12v later or stay 6v. The starter does not figure into the cost of a 12v conversion. ..... you need the starter or you could locate a hand crank for it and start it that way. I want to be careful about what I say, there is always 2 sides to the story .... I was not there. When the old man told you it would be cheaper to convert to 12v ..... my first thought is that man is not qualified to change a light bulb .... let alone rebuild my starter. You might check other shops in your area if they are available ..... Or go in person, maybe the guy is just a telephone jockey and qualified people busy working ... I dunno Maybe he was confusing the starter with a generator ..... BINGO! That is a big reason why I'm switching to 12v. My generator needs rebuilt. Would cost me $200 to rebuild it, no idea if my VR is good I would want to replace it. I had to buy a complete wiring harness, 12v harness is cheaper. My project truck needs a complete new wiring system, going 12v is cheaper ...... I probably have $200 tied up in my new wiring system. $60 for a GM alternator $75 for a 12v wiring harness, lots of little incidentals .... I'm at least 1/2 the price of trying to stay all original 6v.

I agree with @TodFitch on this one ..... It would probably be cheaper to have your original starter rebuilt .... If the shop looks at it and says it cannot be rebuilt, too far gone. Then search for a used starter .... possibly may be some new ones available, I have not looked myself. I'm converting to 12 volt myself & using my original starter .... Will hold up fine to 12 volts and proven for decades from 100's of people who have done it. Often slow turning & running the battery dead is from bad grounds or improper size battery cables. A 6 volt system draws a lot of amps. They need .00 or .01 sized cables .... about the size of welding cables. The standard 12 volt cables at the auto parts store are too small. Or possibly your battery is simply getting old and weak, needs replaced. Then of course it could be the starter did need rebuilt in the first place. My truck starts fine on 6 volts I'm changing for other reasons. Converting to 12 volts can open a can of worms. Besides fixing the starter you will now need to buy a 12 volt generator or alternator, new voltage regulator, all new light bulbs. When you start messing with old original wiring you may end up having to replace it all if not in good condition .... if it is in good condition it will be fine. Then you have the heater motor, gas gauge, wipers? ..... This is all extra besides just fixing your starter & existing problems. .... Possibly costing 3 times more.

In town I have 2 parts stores, they are both family owned but one is a parts+ the other is a carquest. parts+ is good service by knowledgeable people, they are really limited by what they can get .... I have left several times empty handed. For example brake lines, the warehouse does not stock them and Charlie cant order them ... go kick rocks. carquest is good service and they seem to have a better selection. Rockauto is my usual go to place.

I'm just saying most people would not guess where it was welded back together ... It is not the quality of the machine .... It is what can you do with it? Learn one process at a time .... you do not need to add tig into it.