Los_Control

My first random thought and thinking about the time the vehicle has been sitting .... you say freshly rebuilt generator ... what decade was that? I wonder if the brushes could be stuck from dirt ... So the brushes have been in a set position for how long ... you start driving it and as the brushes wear they ride on the armature .... but if they are stuck in their tracks and not sliding as they should .... generator may not be putting anything out. The fix would be to simply physically move them so they start to slide again .... just par for the course a vehicle not ran for awhile. Might be something different ... but a plausible solution. Back in the day we may have beat on the generator with a hammer to get it to work ... you could try that to see if the vibration will help

Saddles, harness, boots ... yes sir we have that shop also ... no speedometer shop though

That sucks, but kinda sounds par for the course for a vehicle first run .... What type of Generator/voltage regulator do you have? I'm just thinking about it, My rebuilt GM alternator was $35 and the solid state VR was $20 .... I paid more for my windshield wiper blades then I did for my charging system 🤣 You can believe I was cursing while paying for the wipers 🤣🤣🤣

Been a couple months because I was getting very frustrated with the car. I believe @Sniper was first to suggest the computer was stuck in a open loop. So having some time away from the vehicle I'm convinced it is a electrical problem and causing a open loop situation. So today I removed the battery/battery tray, air cleaner .... I unplugged all main engine/body plugs and started looking. The very first and the worse ... very possible this is the issue right here. Not as bad, still is dirty and needs cleaned This plug I should research, I have no idea what it does ... reminds me of a radio antenna plug. It is brass on the inside and needs cleaned ... After taking some time off and thinking about all the great advice .... I may have found the problem in about 15 minutes of time 🙄 Not sure if it was a good idea, I thought it would be OK, I used dielectric grease on the female connections to protect the connections when I plugged them in ... I just never cleaned them first .... these were the first connections to be made and was not expecting a problem at that time. I will take it for a drive in a few minutes to check it out.

This is something I have wanted to try, have not done it yet though. The key is to get the bulb on the end very cold. There is a gas inside the tube that makes the gauge operate ... gas expands with heat and makes the needle move. So when you freeze the donor gauge, all the gas is sucked into the bulb on the end. You prepare the original gauge by cutting the old line off leaving some of it and clean and sand it ready for soldering. Will need a larger tube to act as a coupling. Now take your frozen gauge and quickly cut the tube off of it and clean and solder it to the original gauge ... the solder job needs to be airtight. And this has to be done before the gauge thaws out and releases the gasses ... why @OldDad67suggestion to have a bucket of ice for the bulb to sit in is a great idea. My issue is finding a suitable donor gauge. I had a old gauge from the 1980's-90's with the metal tube and it worked fine and planned to use it as a donor ... then it leaked and is no good. Then I ordered another one off of ebay, modern gauges are using some sort of plastic tubing and not a suitable donor to solder to a metal tube. So that is the issue with fixing them now as I see it ... we need to find a manufacturer that still uses metal tubes that is suitable for a donor.

no idea if it matters ... appears to have the wrong cup plug when it should be a welch plug. I might be wrong, just not sure how well that cup plug will seal .... the sealing surface on the block is small. The Welch plug you install with the domed side facing out ... then smack it with a hammer inverting the dome side in and the plug expands against the block to seal. Just pointing out how it should be replaced. Looks like it might have leaked a little in the photo ... they may have enough goop on it to seal it. If the plug comes out will just be a minute or less to drain all the coolant from the block.

Been a couple weeks since a update .... I have been working on it when weather permits. I got hub caps from Hubcapmikes,com and happy with them Windshield wipers were a bit of a mess ... I finally got the parts and working wipers for way too much $$. I wonder if there is anything special to do with vacuum wipers? ... I saw where one person suggested ATF into the unit to lubricate them .... I dunno they work alright, but wonder if some maintenance can be done. Been working on the wiring and getting first class help from this forum, the best help anywhere period. Yesterday I finished up the wiring inside the engine bay, tail light wire been done for a long time. Today I worked on cleaning up the wiring inside the cab and the fuse panel .... All the lights except turn signals and brake lights are finished, connected to switches and harness is cleaned up .... The passenger side light is not on ... could be I damaged a splice or possibly the bulb is burnt out ... I have not checked it yet .... waiting for turn signals then will hunt down the issue. I have the wires ready for the turn signal switch and should be pretty simple to connect .... I'm just not happy with the used turn signal switch I bought off ebay a few years ago. Problem is the switch was rewired and the color of wires do not match original and it did not come with a proper clamp to connect to steering column ... I made one and it sucks, I do not like it ... A new reproduction is not that much and I have one on the way .... special thanks to @Young Edfor sending me good information a couple years ago ... My switch only has 6 wires, most have 8 or 10 .... the image Ed sent me that I thought was correct, has 7 .... I'm missing the main power wire that feeds the switch. .... So at this point, I will wrap things up tomorrow and Hound Dog is getting pushed to the side. I have parts on the way for it and not much more to do until they arrive .... I need to start working on the wife car again, I had sufficient time to cool off and not so angry with it ... It is time.

The rubber just naturally ages if they get used or not .... then the rubber gets hard with age. If you let the truck sit for 10 years without moving it ... the steel belts will form flat spots I know cars that have sat for 5 years or more will have some vibration to them .... 29 years ... Sad about the rock, glad it did not hit your windshield ... the life of a truck on the road I put the 235's on mine .... no idea what the speedometer will read .... but we have gps.

Here it is, finally found it ... might help when hooking yours up.

The filters were a option back then .... my truck never had one. Same time they are a bypass filter system ... so only part of the oil gets filtered .... still better nothing though. On this site is a diagram that shows all the oil galleries and which to use .... maybe someone has a link to it. I have it downloaded on my other computer and can find it later.

You are correct that you can tell by the size ... looks like the larger one is for armature though

I would replace the original working condenser and treat it like gold. If you suspect a bad condenser in the future, you can install the known good working condenser to verify. My truck I have 4-5 working condensers around just because I do not trust them ... the originals I do trust. I wonder what kind of fuel pump that has on it .... is the carburetor getting fuel to it? Cushman just sounds old ... wonder if the tank needs to come out to be cleaned

That sure is some uptown living there ... Looking good!

I was trying to picture in my mind how rough the truck would ride with 29 year old tires on it I was thinking these trucks would have had 7.50 x 16 tires and they would be the same height as a 235 75r 15 Seems a smaller tire would make the speedometer turn faster ... Maybe 5mph, not 20. I dunno, maybe 225 is the correct size ... lots of people run them. I bet that first drive you were grinning from one ear all the way over to the other

OK I wired it like suggested with 86 being switched from the ignition .... the horn only works with the key on. .... I think that is the best way for me. Horn works fine except for the horn malfunction .... the horn works when button is pressed .... the old bakelite button and the freshly painted wheel sticks and does not always return fully ... not a big deal. I finally did get to move forward and tomorrow I will be inside under the dash fixing things as they should be. I just laugh because I always said .... For the 6 wires this truck needs to run, will just build my own harness. ..... boy did I miscount the needed wires. While not 100% finished ... it is pretty close. As usual, I do have one lazy light No idea why the right side marker light is not on .... will fix it tomorrow .... I know it does work. Things are moving forward though .... tomorrow will be a special treat when I start connecting the turn signals and brake lights 🙄

Dodge was ahead of it's time in this era ... They knew way back then, the harder you work ... the more you appreciate them.

Now all ya all got me thinking some more. There are a few different ways to wire the relay. You can watch the video if bored, but you can see how it is wired from the image. pin 30 and 86 both get power from a single source ... I'm thinking 14 gauge wire with a 20 amp fuse ... looks like 14 gauge on pin 87 also, then just 16 gauge on the others. Where the relay is mounted right above the starter .... will be a short run from the solenoid straight up to the relay. Now I'm wondering, if I used a separate wire from the ign switch to pin 86 ... the horn would only function with the key on? I see advantages to both ways ... simple and easy this way ... for safety reasons ... I can think of many reasons to use the horn without key on. I can also remember the days when a horn button would malfunction in a parking lot, while owner was inside shopping. This would be avoided if the key was not on. ... I think I like this way best.

Nothing like spending two days on wiring a frigging horn I do agree with you, same time I have connected horns without a relay and just a push button to fire the horn so a car could pass inspection. Not ideal but they worked fine and never caused a issue in the past .... mind you these were friends vehicles that asked for help and brought the materials needed to connect them .... I never have done that on my own vehicle. What is really confusing me is the original horn button works off of positive ground ... My "temporary" horn is 12V negative ground and it is grounded by simply mounting it to the cab. Is simply obvious that if a hot wire was connected to the horn it would be stuck on ..... the original horn button would have zero effect .... After spending the day reading about relays and how to use one to wire a horn .... I'm finally starting to understand that the relay will have power to it, and will be functional when the ground from the horn button is pressed .... I'm still skeptical and waiting for the final outcome. I did spend a few minutes and made a holder for the relay ....I'm certain it will look old and factory with the wires coming from it Tomorrow, day 3 ... I will actually wire it and test it. Been playing Texan today, is only 67 degrees and a breeze blowing for wind chill .... in the shop with a sweatshirt and propane heater on .... back into 70's tomorrow.

Most people do not remove the distributor for nothing ... sounds like you are on the right track. I do not think there is a definitive test that follow steps one, two, three and if you get this result ... the condenser is bad. Seems they can fail in such a way and the electricity just disappears into a black hole. Sometimes they fail and when you test the spark it is unusually bright and that can mean it failed .... failed condenser is my go too, when I dunno.

What is really helpful is to have a spark plug tester Just to check and see if you still has spark while it is dying then wont start. Chances are if it has a good steady spark it may not be electrical .... I suspect you may be on the right track. No idea about this engine, does it have a distributor? or are the points condenser behind the flywheel and have to remove it to get to them? Either way, it might be a good idea to replace points and condenser and check the wiring closely. Is there a pinched wire that might be grounding out or has poor insulation ... Like our old distributors where the insulation fails and grounds out the points ... not necessarily bad points or condenser, but the wiring going to them. I would just replace the points and condenser but mainly to inspect the wiring while there ... possibly remove the distributor if needed to really inspect it.

What I mean is .... A typical Amp gauge reads about 30 amps, then it is pegged out and may actually burn out if exposed to more then 30 amps. My cheap 1972 Chebby alternator is small and is only capable of putting out 65 amps .... twice what the 1949 Dodge amp gauge should see. And that is the rub .... some people will say they have been running a alternator through the amp gauge for 20 years and never had a issue. While others will say they did the same and they fried the gauge out. ... Just smoked it like a fuse and that left them sitting without a complete electrical circuit. So my goal was/is to not run the charging system load through the amp gauge .... I just see myself late at night with it snowing, the heater going full blast, the head lights on high beam and the radio blasting and wipers working .... and run too big of a load through the amp gauge and blow it out. All of this is impossible because I live in Texas and it does not snow, I do not use the heater, my wipers are vacuum and I do not drive at night .... there is still the possibility though So now I'm just unsure of what to do with the amp gauge ... considering to just run it in a loop so it appears to be functional and reads positive when engine running ... probably be better off to just ignore it and not connect it at all. Screw that .... what about the horn? .... hard to get motivated today. I did manage to install the steering wheel and fish the horn wire through. Can not really wrap my head around wiring it up. My horn is not original, the body is mounted on a bracket, the bracket is mounted to the car and the bracket is also ground for the horn. Then a hot wire is ran to the horn to activate it. IIRC, the horn button on a positive ground system is a ground ... I'm thinking I may need a relay to run the power wire from the horn to, then the wire from the horn button to the relay and also a hot wire to the relay .... then when push the horn button it will complete the circuit and honk. I know if I had a button that I ran power into and then out to the horn ... when I pushed the button it would honk. Just can not figure out how to connect power to the stock horn button, with only one wire coming out of the bottom of the steering column ... do I need a relay for this?

I personally feel there were a lot of option back in this era of time. .... this was all new and nothing was set in concrete as the way everything should be done. If we turn our headlights on .... we expect the tail lights to come on also .... same with the dash lights .... but the dash lights were on a separate switch .... Many of the old moonshiners moved the tail lights over to the panel light switch .... They could turn off the tail lights when a tax collector was chasing them and they had a load of shine in the car. Today things are set to a standard or a law because of past behavior .... tail lights are to stay on when headlights are on .... not so much for the parking lights though. Seems to be a personal preference.

Lil putty lil paint ... make this old carpenter what he aint Oh my, the amount of times I repeated that phrase fitting complicated pieces together.

Reading your first post, you are correct about changing the center section only. You are also correct about spline count on the axles .... Like you, I was told to count them to see if they are the same. Best advice I would have is to pull one of your axles and count before you go to the wrecking yard shopping. I have never seen that information listed here as to what vehicles used which axles ... just count is all I've seen. I did this swap on a 1961 Dodge truck before, it was really easy for me and only took a couple hours to complete. I was installing the original 4.11 posi that the previous owner took out and put in too tall highway gears ... so everything just fit for me. I would prefer a modern swap though myself, 3:73 gears, modern u-joints, self adjusting brakes, non tapered axles .... there is a lot of winning going with a modern rear end.

I purposefully put the charge wire on the outgoing side of the Amp gauge, so the full charge would not run through the gauge. Now the gauge reads backwards as the flow is stronger ... flip the wires around would fix that, then the full charge would flow through the gauge .... what I was trying to avoid. So I decided to move the charge wire to the battery, this still puts charging before the gauge. Where I'm confused or undecided .... there is no place for the Amp gauge to flow to. This is currently what am thinking of ... after looking at the drawing, would be better to move the feed wire from the starter solenoid to the amp gauge, and feed the gauge from a slot in the fuse box. I can protect it with a 25 amp fuse and then run the exit ware as shown, back into the fuse box feed .... just run it in circles? Would be more simple to just use the volt gauge and leave the amp gauge disconnected. The other morning I started the truck and since I had ran the battery down while testing lights ... The volt gauge showed just over 14 volts ... working fine. Today I plan to be 100% finished under the hood ... all cleaned up and wrapped up. Then move back to under the dash and sort out the turn signals/brake lights and do something with the amp gauge.