Los_Control

I would be concerned myself with no tach .... if I could actually drive my truck ? Going to give a shout out to @Tubman This is the way I am going to go. Basically you can use any modern 12 volt tach, or score a cool old school tach on ebay and convert it to 6 volt positive ground. To be clear, you provide the tach, @tubman provides the electronics to run it. And for a price I think is reasonable. Considering a 6volt positive ground tach is almost unobtainable. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tach-set-up-for-crab-distrubutor.1173851/#post-13350521

I think the Monroe's would be the prize. Rock auto had struts starting at $12 each, all the way to the monroe at $40 each. Mine were right below the monroe at $30 each but 50% off. I thought was buying something middle of the road. Next time stick with name brands. What concerns me is the steering. It's kinda fun, like driving a go cart or a toy slot car on a track. Point the wheel and it's going that direction. Around town is normal, but at higher speeds, going through a corner and just barely turn the wheel to steer through it and you just over steered. A little jerk as you correct it, The wife gives you "the look" I now understand why race car drivers adjust camber for racing then switch it back for street driving. This thing would be a serious kick in the pants to drive in a bump & pass demo race. If I could afford a divorce lawyer. Fact is it will eat tires as is. I have $200 invested in 2 new tires, & $30 invested in struts ... I cant wait 2 years to correct the problem.

Must be at least 7 or 8 years ago I started having issues with photo bucket. I moved all my stuff off the platform. Depending what all @JBNeal has stored there ... seems like a lot. It might be worth setting up a account for 1 year. Basically pay their ransom fee, then use the time to move your work off the platform. Chance you may get the lost photos back? You may like it and keep it? I'm just a little confused as to why you are now facing the problem & not years ago. Scratches head

Thats actually really good advice. I guess I would feel funny about trying to return one or complain. I have a bad habit of being a tightwad with money ... The shocks were normally $25 each and closeout sale $9.99 each. Same with the struts ... . Mine were normally $65 a pair and warehouse closeout discount for $30 a pair. Just saying I cheaped out and got exactly what I deserve. Would not be me to contact Rockauto & complain. For a update on the project. Main issue was the transmission randomly going into limp mode. I finally got some dielectric grease ordered & delivered, nobody in town had any. When I removed the sealed plug, I was pleased my Father inlaw used dielectric grease when he put it together. Same time it was full of dirt specs dust and crap ... tells you the connection was loose for the dirt to get in. 4 speed overdrive shifts perfect every time. Feeling pretty confident issue is fixed. Now am having to fix the suspension/steering. Drove it 80 miles to Town a few days ago. Two lane blacktop and speed limit 75mph. Everyone drives 80. Good road surface, there is several corners with a warning to slow to 60 mph. New struts, shocks, tires can comfortably take the corners at 70 mph. The car simply performs as it should. But.... with the cheap struts, the camber can not be set to specs. Now I know why they were a warehouse closeout special. I think I can correct the issue taking them loose and using a die grinder to lengthen the adjustment slot. Or if need be just toss them in the trash and purchase new ones not on sale ?

Thats a pretty good tip @Merle CogginsI can see how you can keep a good shape that way ... will give it a try. The idea with filling it with sand, comes from a tip I got years ago. Building a frame for a canvas top using electrical conduit. A guy who did it, did not have a conduit bender. So he filled with sand and was able to bend it with no kinks. I had access to a conduit bender, so did not try it myself. But thought it might be worth a try to transfer the idea to brake line to make the loop.

Trying to stay on topic .... about buying steel line. My example above was my first attempt at making a circle with the new tool I have, and first attempt at making a circle. We all need a good laugh With practice I might be able to do better. I know I can easily make a large circle, that would look stupid. Problem is shoving too much metal (shrinking) in to small of a area. Possibly could try filling the tube with sand & pack it tight. Then when bending it might not kink on a tight circle? I could play with it and make a few different attempts. Back on topic, I have 9' of 5/16" steel line, just enough for the fuel line. My local brick & mortar stores are done with steel line. I am now forced to order online to finish rest of my lines. So I will order the nicop which is what I want. The smallest roll is 25', that's plenty to do the fuel line and finish the brakes and a little extra for future use. Kinda sucks I need to order 25' of the smaller size to go across the rear axle. I will use it on other projects ... wife car needs transmission lines made. So even though I have steel line to do the fuel system ... I'm not going to use it. I am just done with steel line. We have a better product available and it seems reasonably priced at $40 for 25'. The tool actually is pretty cool in my mind. I can clamp it in a vise to hold it and use both hands to manipulate the line and then a wrench to bend it. Really get pretty precise bends. It will do a 6" circle, just not good at a 3" circle ... SS would be no problem with a 1/2" breaker bar and a 3' cheater handle

Is good that @Rodney_Hamon found a good solution to their problem. I have 2 hydraulic hose shops in my town, only for large equipment, will not mess with brake or fuel lines. I am having issues finding steel lines myself. I have 2 parts store local to me. (who also make the hydraulic lines) One can order the steel lines for me, but 5/16" is not even a option they can not get it. They are a parts+ franchise. The other is a carquest franchise, seems I have bought all the 5/16" they have and they are not ordering any more steel lines, just selling off what they have. I still need to purchase 1 last piece to go from the T across to the RR brake and they do not have that size. I made a Boo Boo making the transition piece from master cyl to the T for front/rear lines. First attempt at making it and over taxed my tubing bender ability. While it would probably work, I think it sucks and want another shot at it. I have just enough 5/16" set aside for my fuel line. If I borrow from it will have to order more .... Getting steel line today is a pia for me. And it seems I am not alone. Why I stated in a earlier post I am finished with the front brake lines, very pleased with them. Going to leave them alone. From the master cylinder to the rear brakes & fuel line. Thinking will just start fresh with nicop to finish it all. This is a driver not concourse. Think I will save all my steel lines for a future welding project ... make stick men ?

Do not think the 2 are the same. You have copper line that by nature is rigid and need a tubing bender to shape it. We were talking about nickle/copper lines that is fairly soft and can bend by hand without a tool. Really two different products. While I have no opinion about using diesel with either lines. Just thinking not fair to compare one to the other or apples to oranges.

Looks like a awesome find, cant wait to see more pics after it is cleaned up. Put it in it's best showing condition now will also entice you to keep at it Be nice to know if the engine turns or is stuck. Maybe by hand turn it one full rotation. Then I would fill the cylinders with oil and let it sit. While you spend a week or two cleaning up the car. Some mmo or 50/50 atf/acetone works well. The rings tend to stick to the pistons after sitting for a few years. Just the material the rings were made from in that era ... so they do not spin freely or expand conform to the cylinder wall as they should ... Same time these flatheads are famous for the valves to stick open. When the engine was parked, some valves are in the open position and right where they pass through the valve guide, old oil gums up and now when turn over the engine the spring is not strong enough to pull the valve closed. Just stays open and zero compression. So even though it turns over, soaking in oil will help both rings and valves, make it a happy engine. So it will help the engine, same time the down side is it will smoke more then a bunch when you do start it. I filled mine a few times and let it sit a week or so and spin the motor then fill again ... some oil is going out the exhaust valve and sits in the muffler. You need to go for a 2 hour drive to burn all the oil out of the exhaust system. On the other hand, some people just start them up and run through a few heat cycles and are fine. So is only a suggestion. Even if you soak it in oil, you still may have to pull the head and physically move the valves to get them free ... not a huge deal either. Either way just enjoy the journey

@Logans51 this is your decision. @desoto1939is correct in restoring a car. They have great information and does great work. We are talking about your first project car. Are you trying to build a concourse restoration for shows? ... or something to drive to enjoy. With my truck I am just building it good enough to drive the piss out of it. When I die I do not care what the next owner does. The next owner can build a complete floor pan and make it look original ... I do not care. Just saying with a very first project car, probably not a great idea to build a show car. But you can build a car that is fun to drive and nobody cares ... just build it solid & safe. Just have fun. So we go from low level do it yourself to high end build a show car .... just build what you want. It is your car and build it your way. @sniper my wife told me in very few words we are driving to San Angelo tomorrow. Just for the drive and shopping.

Looking forward to see more pics and progress. I know the feeling. I once had a 1951 suburban station wagon given to me with same issue. No rust on the exterior rocker, but inner rocker and floor was rusted away and nothing left for the A pillar to attach to .... open the passenger door and it drooped down 5" ... I thought then that it was too far gone for me to fix. Would be a challenge for me today. While others just look at it and shrug ... just work get busy and get er did. I think often this issue is caused from the cowl vent gasket leaking, water runs in on the floor. Kinda a common issue for these old cars. My truck floor needs to be replaced because of this. I'm just thinking you want to do the rocker first. Get the metal replaced and A pillar attached with door opening/closing. Now you have some good metal to attach the new floor section to. I have no idea if you can find replacement patch panels for your car. If you can awesome ... if not don't sweat it. Post a link to a video to make a tool you can bend curves in sheet metal ... or make your own rocker from scratch. You do not need expensive professional tools to bend metal. I used this idea and made a smaller 3' long version that can clamp into my vise. I do not have a sheet metal brake to bend angles. I have angle iron that bolts in place on this contraption and can bend a straight edge. I clamp the metal in place. Then add my weight to it and start bending it, then tap it with a hammer on the straight edge ...YES IT IS SLOW! If you are just making a item for your car, just take your time and enjoy the journey. Can't find floor replacement panels to fit your car? Buy some panels for a different model, Ford Dodge, Chebby ... who cares. Just find what you need and cut out the sections and weld in place. You can take a scrap piece of metal, tack weld a piece of 1/2" pipe on it. Lay it in your concrete driveway and attack it with a hammer and bend the metal around the pipe. This will stiffen the metal adding strength, you may need to do it 3 or 4 times using different lengths of pipe in different locations. I know it sounds stupid crazy. The metal is so bent up when finished. Then you put it across your anvil and straighten it out. I am cheap and use a wood stump. In the end you will use some seam sealer over it and throw a mat or carpet on it ... nobody is looking. Just do not get overwhelmed from the process. Sometimes you stop and make a tool to get you further. Life is a journey. If you are not having fun, then you are doing life wrong.

I did not hear Keith cursing Skip ahead to 21 min and will see him adjusting #5 cold. Some very good tips in the video though, you may not want to skip ahead. Very organized approach to the task. Like the diagram and keeping track of before & after settings. Maybe not necessary but useful. I guess we just need to keep in mind that the metal will expand when hot, so we add clearance when adjusting cold. So the book suggest to set them while hot because they are expanded. Initial assembly you need to set them cold. A Ford flathead V8 you have to pull the intake off to adjust the valves. Would be pretty tough to set them while still hot.

Thanks @Jerry Robertsthat changes everything. May change availability of parts and value of truck. Something looks off on this photo. possibly the bed modified and moved back. Then sheet metal added around the lower side of the bed to the fender. Looks like the fender is loose from the running board and hanging low. That could be the only issue. Add 3/4" bed wood and then raise fender to correct height. May center the wheel again ... just something I would want to diagnose while making a bid on it.

I would guess it is 46 or 47? Not really familiar with that body style. Any flathead should work .... depending on where the truck was built. You have a Fargo, are you in Canada? I understand Canada cars all used the 25" flatheads while if the truck is U.S. built it probably had a 23" engine. The 23" has changed some but very little since 1935. 49 was the last year of the 3 speed floor shift ... you would not have the column shift linkage in this truck. Value is between you and the seller. I gave away 2 pilothouse trucks that were complete just to keep them out of the scrap yard. Would cost too much to move them to my new house 1200 miles away. Then paid top dollar for my next one $1800. But with minor work was able to start it and can drive it in the yard with no brakes ... it was complete. How much rust will you need to fix? Floors and rear cab would almost be a guarantee. How is the frame? I am sure you can find just about every part you need for it. Old Dodges do not have a high resale value. I would guess top dollar for that truck minus motor/trans $1k would be high. No tailgate, hood ornament and what else will you find missing? Is the radiator, drive line there? how many other parts was removed? I would say in my opinion I would start around $600 for that truck in the condition it is. If I really wanted it, and the frame and body was really solid and make a easy driver. Mayby as high as $1200? In the big picture, whats a few hundred dollars in a project you will spend $5k and 300 hours on?

Times are a changing. I think we are all old enough to remember Brick & mortar stores ... I apologize to the few that are young and do not know. We are talking about ordering a part off of the internet .... We are talking a Blessing & A curse. A: we get more access to parts we never would have before the internet. B: we get idiots to send us parts we did not want. I love you Loren just as you are .... You deserve to vent. Same time we all vent, but as friends your vent carries weight. Same time I am the Arse that needs special mouth filter protection ... Love to hear your rant @Loren

You are correct and you will sleep better at night with it set correctly. I had another experience with Uncle Floyd's 1967 international truck. New long block 345 from Napa. Floyd drove it for years til he passed away. Then Uncle Grumpy got the truck, Grumpy asked me if I could do a tune up on it ... did not run right. I ripped all the parts out of it including the wires and threw them in a pile. Put it back together and would not run. That one was 2 or 3 teeth off. I have other examples over the years. They run, but they never run right. I swear to God, our old flatheads talk to us and say "just stick that timing anywhere ... and will make it work" I would never try this on any other engine, mopar flatheads just do not care. for parts that are relatively internal or just bare metal generally, what do people regarding rust proofing once you get rid of the surface rust … Spray oil on them. PBlaster would be fine. Years ago a buddy of mine worked at a wrecking yard. They would get a wrecked car in and he would start the engine to confirm it was good. Then he would pour ATF down the carburetor while it was running until it died. That just coated the internals with oil while it sat on a shelf ready for sale. So any type of oil is good ... just something to coat the metal. As far as the water jackets on the engine head or block ... I have been using White vinegar with 4% acidity. Thats actually pretty strong ... I get it at the local grocery store for $1.99 a gallon. I pick up 6 or 8 gallons. Not very good for cooking, but very good for cleaning. May not work for you at this time. I get the engine running, then fill the coolant with the vinegar. Run it through a few heat cycles let it sit for a few weeks then repeat the process... Then change the coolant and refil with fresh vinegar. A very mild acid .... It will not remove rust or scale over night. But if you have time it will slowly clean your block, while not causing damage to your radiator or heator core ... If they start to leak is only because they were ready to leak anyways.

You are correct ... My only suggestion is setting the oil pump timing correct, to take the guess work out of tuning everything else. I am only saying that we just move the plug wires on the cap and it works. How does that effect the Dwell, timing, Vacuum advance, points setting. While it works. Just something I would correct and telling @wagoneer exactly what I would do. Fix it.

Just saying we can make it run .... does anyone really care about the points, dwell, vacuum advance, timing marks? These engines are so primitive. I feel more then I know .... you want to set this thing up correct from the factory to get best performance. Even though they run as is.

Now you messing with me PA I do not have a 7 cylinder truck .... I feel more then I know ... Lets talk the Datsun. 1 tooth off, then rotate the plug wires. Then try to set the timing. .... Trying to rotate the points plate to compensate for the timing while rotating the distributor. while adjusting for vacuum ... It never ran as it should. Once one tooth was corrected on installing the distributor it ran perfect ... while it ran good or acceptable before. Like it was always 1/2 a skip off and never where it should be. So I personally would go through the extra steps to set the oil pump correctly to get the timing correct, to make the vacuum advance work as it should ... set the dwell. Only if I was fine tuning.. Maybe it does not matter .... peace of mind if you go through the effort to set it. My truck as is runs fine with the oil pump off installation. Someday I will change it.

Might be comparing apples to oranges. Years ago I had a little 4cyl Datsun that had a really nice "newer" crate engine installed. It ran really well and drove it for months. I always felt as if something was off on it and could run better. Then I found the distributor was 1 tooth off and corrected at the cap. I fixed that and it ran perfect. I just never could get it to run correct with the plug wires rotated to fix it. I know our distributors are slotted running off the oil pump. But, the oil pump is geared and running off the cam. Seems it really does not matter so much on our engines, there are a lot of people running without it set with #1 @7 0'clock. My truck is no different .... it runs "good" with the plug wires rotated counter clockwise 1 position. While it may never make a real difference on our trucks. I will never feel comfortable with it as is. When I need to set the dwell, timing, idle and air/fuel .... I will correct the oil pump installation first. For now it runs and starts "good" I will fry the big fish then work my way to the smaller ones.

I hear ya, I bought my 1969 fastback mustang with a 351 windsor/fmx trans for $700. Drove it for years, a few times from Seattle to Las Vegas. Then traded it off. Of course we could wish we had them back today .... but they were fun cars while we had them.

I hear ya, pretty difficult here also .... though between 2 stores I am able to get what I need for my truck. I really doubt they will restock after I buy out what they have. Seems all the kool kids are going with nickel/copper lines today. Good for fuel or brakes, you bend it by hand ... last longer then steel, flare the ends the same way as your steel lines ... just is the way of the future. I am 1/2 way done with new lines for my brakes ... front 1/2 is finished, still need to do rear and then connect to the master cylinder. I also need complete line for fuel. I have the steel lines to finish 90% of everything. Thinking I may toss all my new work in the trash and start over with the nicopp lines. Remember you still need to order the individual sizes to replace your existing lines. I need 3 different sizes myself. Cost a little more, but so easy to bend by hand to the shape you need, then will last many times longer then steel. https://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Copper-Brake-Line-Tubing/dp/B00A02C9H0

I always loved the Ramblers. I first drove a manual transmission on a 1969 American. What a mess, jacked up in the rear with chrome wheels, air shocks ... shifter converted to the floor and connected backwards. Seems like 1rst gear was where 3rd should be, and 1rst was where reverse would be ... I dunno was 14 years old and cant remember. I bought a 1962 American from a lady on my paper route for $65. Ran great but needed a new clutch/pressure plate. It had a Torque tube rear end ... a learning experience for a 14 year old kid. But I did get to drive it after I worked on it .... notice I did not claim to "fix it" Always a soft spot in my heart for a Rambler.

To be honest, the $600 for the local guy to build one does not sound bad. With the price of materials nowadays do to inflation. I saw a month ago a sheet of steel to build a floor pan for a car was over $100. Heck, osb sheathing for a roof should be $8 and currently over $40 a sheet. I can imagine a sheet of aluminum maybe $150? Then add the rest of the parts, filler neck, tig wire, gas ... I bet they have every bit of $250 or more for material. So $350 for labor and wear & tear on the tools does not seem to bad. For a custom made to fit gas tank. About 10 years ago when I lived in Albuquerque, A friend was living in a motor home down south on the lake. He moved back to town and on the way he lost his gas tank from being parked and rusty. He got into a small town with a machine shop, they built him a new aluminum tank. They also removed the old tank, installed new, replaced fuel filter etc ... got him going again. They charged $1100 for the new tank installed. So if you took away the labor to R&R the tank, probably about $600 to build it 10-12 years ago. And if you go back next week, the price may go up as the cost of material keeps going up.. One way to look at it and justify the cost.

Julie I have not talked ... no reason too. You know you have been taking advantage of and there are friends to help you. You need to get that truck out of there as quick as you can. Just incredible the amount of work they have done on it with a $20k cap ... You just need to get the truck out of the shop hands and soon back too your hands. You paid what you owe ... now you owe nothing.