1948 B-1-B-108 BUILD THREAD Papa's Dodge

[48Dodger]

Thanks. Is it flat? or does it have a bit of a dome to it? I will have to keep an eye out for something....I'd bet originals are rare.

 

jeff

 

Made a video of them Jeff...should answer your question.

 

48D

 

Zerk cover video

[JBNeal]

I looked through the parts manual, and only found the bolt on cover for the rear shackle on early B-models.  Looking through the seven Bunn books I have, I could make out plugs visible for promotional Dodge photos from '54 through '60...however, non-promotional period photos showed no plugs installed.  Since my Spring Special came with plugs, I'm gonna preserve them...if I want to add plugs to my other buggies, it looks like McMaster Carr has plugs available (modifications may be required)...otherwise, not having plugs in place is a good start on weight savings

[Jeff Balazs]

Made a video of them Jeff...should answer your question.

 

48D

 

Zerk cover video

Oh Dude you crack me up. I got one truck...one dog.....and no zerk covers. I think it is going to stay that way.

 

Jeff

[ggdad1951]

this from a guy who has chopped up about a dozen cabs just to make a big mutated Pilothouse? Shudder shudder and perish the thought! Even I wouldn't do that.

 

I think I would be happy with a plain rubber grommet type cover.

 

Jeff

 

if you are gonna hammer on me get it right!  It's TWO cabs (both headed for scrap) and a HALF dozen doors!  geeze.  

 

but you'll stop to look at it because it will be a daily use truck!

[Jeff Balazs]

if you are gonna hammer on me get it right!  It's TWO cabs (both headed for scrap) and a HALF dozen doors!  geeze.  

 

but you'll stop to look at it because it will be a daily use truck!

Well "Herr Dr Frankenstein" it could be said that all the derelicts are headed for the scrap heap unless someone who cares intervenes,

In the end mine will retain most of what makes it what it started off as.......and your creation will be a bit of a monster. I hope for your sake you get a monster with Peter Boyle's sense of humor.

 

Igor.

[Don Coatney]

Made a video of them Jeff...should answer your question.

 

48D

 

Zerk cover video

You an buy new knockout plugs from Granger and many other electrical supply houses.

 

https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Electrical-Box-Installation-WP5782544/_/N-1z0dt8k?CAT=N1

[Plymouthy Adams]

I forget exact size of the zerk access hole but Lowes and other FLAPS may have these in stock also...

[Jeff Balazs]

Yes I have seen electrical knock out covers used for stuff like this and even for caps on the rolled tubes at the top of the bed sides. And they look odd and stand out to my eye. It doesn't really need anything there but I think if I was to address this a nice black rubber grommet style cap would be my preference over a metal piece.

Less likely to get lost too.

 

Jeff

[Jerry Roberts]

This is mine , ABS plugs purchased at a swap meet with a hole punched in them for the grease fitting . 

[JBNeal]

I scrubbed on the '48 with a Scotch Brite pad in the rain, but the paint is in pretty rough shape so it did not clean up so good...but it looks much better than it did

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by JBNeal
revised pictures

[Desotodav]

Made a video of them Jeff...should answer your question.

 

48D

 

Zerk cover video

 

Would the bed end caps this fella sells on Ebay fit those zerk fitting access holes Tim?... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1948-1949-1950-1951-1952-1953-Dodge-truck-top-bed-rail-end-caps-/111436679426?hash=item19f224c902:g:SWMAAOSwGvhT5BvY ... a fella couldn't be that lucky could he?

[48Dodger]

Would the bed end caps this fella sells on Ebay fit those zerk fitting access holes Tim?... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1948-1949-1950-1951-1952-1953-Dodge-truck-top-bed-rail-end-caps-/111436679426?hash=item19f224c902:g:SWMAAOSwGvhT5BvY ... a fella couldn't be that lucky could he?

 

Huh.....I think I need those....lol.

I'll have to check and see if the zerk covers fit the bed rails too..... 

 

48D

[Merle Coggins]

Those are just electrical box knock-out plugs that can be purchased at any good hardware store, in various sizes. Sometimes they can even be found in polished stainless steel.

 

Merle

[48Dodger]

This is true........but I still think I need some. lol

 

 

KO plugs

 

48D

[JBNeal]

I went to verify a fuzzy memory about a problem I had a few years ago with the carburetor...as it turns out, I had a carb float pin lock that broke and had to improvise a fix as I did not have a spare in inventory.  As luck would have it, I had a respirator mask nearby that was ready for the landfill and noticed that the flexible nose clamp might come in handy.  Sure enough, the flexible aluminum strip was almost the perfect size to replace my broken float pin lock.  So I finagled that strip into its new home, and as can be seen, it has not oxidized or failed in years...

 

 

also seen was that one of my pest control representatives left some articles of clothing behind in the engine compartment 

Edited August 19, 2021 by JBNeal
revised pictures

[Brent B3B]

thats it! I am calling you "MacGyver" jr.  for the rest of this year 

well done

Edited December 30, 2016 by Brent B3B

[pflaming]

 

I hope you saved that skin, would look great around the steering wheel. LOL Include the head, great anti thief device.  

[JBNeal]

The shedded snake skin has the structural integrity of dandruff...live snakes that are skinned, well then ya got something useful thar that can be used to decorate tastefully

[Don Coatney]

Not once in the many years I lived in Tennessee did I ever see a live snake of any brand. But one year I found a 5 foot diamond back rattler molted skin about 10 feet from the back of my house.

[Dave72dt]

if you had a bunch of wild turkeys in the area, you won't see many snakes. Tujrkeys seem to like snakes.  Our population of rattlesnakes, as well as other species have dwindled to almost nothing. I've seen my share growing up and have yet to develop a fondness for them.  Six, maybe seven years ago I did come across a migration of snakes trying to cross a road, hundreds of them at once and a co worker traveling the same road also witnessed it.  I'd heard they did that occasionally from someone else who'd seen it several years earlier, hard to believe until you see it. like the proverbial lemmings heading into the sea.

[JBNeal]

 

 

 

The cursory reading of this build card has yielded some interesting information.  My great-grandfather's Dodge has spent almost its entire existence in Texas, being delivered in Mineola before finding its way to the Ira Young Plymouth - Dodge Truck dealership in nearby downtown Temple.  And as Dad pointed out to me, the only time the truck left Bell County for the next 19 years was to cross the border to the cotton gin or feed store 20 miles north in Moody...Dad then drove it to Lubbock for a year cuz Papa was nearly 90 and couldn't drive the thing anymore, and after Dad finished college, it went back to work as a farm truck for another 9 years before it got parked for burning too much oil and didn't want to start when it was below 50 or when it rained.

The build date of June 23, 1948 was later in the model year than I originally estimated, but the truck has the "early" bed fenders; the body numbers match.

The motor number of T142-31870 jives with the title I have for the truck, as that is the truck's documented VIN...and since the truck has had a '55 Plymouth 230 in it since sometime in the 60s, the title VIN is no where to be seen on the truck, which gets kinda tricky to explain to the uneducated state vehicle inspectors.

column 29:  Dodge Truck Green appears to be color code 5
column 31:  4.1 axle ratio appears to be ratio code 4
column 32:  semi-floating axle appears to be axle code 1
column 34-38:  the wheels are 16 x 4 disc, so the tires are probably 6.00-16 or 6.50-16 for tire code 4
column 39:  could be SHIP VIA punched out; I am guessing this is a mode of shipment code for truck, train or ship
column 54:  code 3 punched for bumpers; I am unsure if this means front bumper with grill guards or no rear bumper
column 55:  code 3 punched for delux.body; this truck has cab corner windows, door vent windows, electric windshield wipers, dome light, and driver visor and arm rest
column 63:  code 5 punched for air cl. o. f.; this truck has a 1 quart fluid capacity oil-bath air filter

No codes are punched for optional springs, shocks, transmission, generator, visor, mirrors, battery, or special accessories, so this truck appears to be an economy model with a deluxe cab or it may have been a custom cab that had been updated sometime in the 60s as the vinyl seat covering and door panels are not original.  The custom rear bumper that has been attached to this buggy for over half a century will stay, and I will not be adding a heater as I don't like to drive this truck when it gets below 40...I plan on adding functional seat belts and maybe some sort of radio, but that's a little ways off yet.  So another piece of the puzzle has been found and a picture of what my goals are for this project have become clearer. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by JBNeal
revised pictures

[ggdad1951]

let's try to keep JB's thread on topic from now on.

[JBNeal]

I thought I'd post an update to the glacial progress on this ol' buggy, with regards to restoration product durability.  The gas tank was Renu'd back in 1996, and shows no sign of having leaked a drop...this truck has spent a LOT of time outdoors, and a majority of the miles have been on gravel roads.  It's surface coating appears to have held up well, with no apparent nicks, cuts, or peeling observed.

 

In 1999, I had the wheels sandblasted as part of a package deal with some other equipment, and the sandblasters primed them with a coating that I never bothered to ask what they used.  I topcoated with rattlecan Rustoleum semi-gloss black, 2 thin coats...the color has faded a little bit, but the only rust that came back was where the hubcaps rubbed on the wheel.

 

In 1995, I cleaned the brake drums with a wire cup brush, brake cleaner and lacquer thinner, which wasn't exactly what the Rustoleum preparation instructions directed, rattlecan primed then topcoated with 2 thin coats of semi-gloss black.  After over 10k miles, the drums have some light surface rust in spots, but from my 500 gallon propane tank roller paint job experiment that I started in 2011, I reckon I could clean the painted drums per Rustoleum's instructions and topcoat with a brush.

 

 

The brake shoes I purchased from Roberts Motor Parts in 1995 show some wear after 10k miles but have held up well.  And the master and wheel cylinders that White Post Restorations re-sleeved in '99 are still in pristine shape.  The DOT 5 brake fluid needs to be flushed out as it has started to change color, but the brakes overall still have a firm pedal after being completely replaced, hard lines and all, in '99.

 

So it appears that the $$$ I shelled out on the brakes and fuel tank was well spent, and my frugality on painting wheels and drums has worked as planned, with coatings only needing a cleaning and topcoating to look fresh again.  The bias ply tires will need replacing soon to pass inspection, so when I peel the old rubber off and adjust the brakes, I can spiff all that up.  The rattlecan approach appears to be quite economical and effective.  This economical approach I can use on my other projects, and spend my resources more wisely with good long-lasting results, especially since I drive my trucks and put them to work on occasion.  The work never ends on a restoration...

Edited August 20, 2021 by JBNeal
revised picture