some progress...

[48Dodger]

If you wait to long...you can use up to 3000 grit. The paint gets tougher over time so the higher grit makes it easier to buff. 

 

48D

[52b3b Joe]

Tonight I broke in the truck! I put it to work hauling brick and mulch for my weekend landscaping project. I had around 700 pounds in it or so. I didn't think I would be using it like this so soon, but hey, it's the only truck I have. You have to use what you have available. It squatted down pretty good and rode even better lol. I had fun and everyone at Menards liked it too. I did tell the guy handing me the bricks if you drop one you'll regret it.

[ruff1148kr]

Great job on everything  you really did the truck justice and that its out in the community and working thats cool, hats off to yah

[HanksB3B]

and fast dude..I think you might hold the record on getting your truck together and on the road..how much time did it tke you?

 

Very nice truck !

 

Hank 

[52b3b Joe]

Great job on everything  you really did the truck justice and that its out in the community and working thats cool, hats off to yah

 

Thanks! 

 

and fast dude..I think you might hold the record on getting your truck together and on the road..how much time did it tke you?

 

Very nice truck !

 

Hank 

 

Its already been 5 years since I bought it and started. It seems like forever to me! A lot of other guys on here have ran circles around me getting their trucks done! I bought it when I started college, and it was tough to find time and even worse finding money to do it! I did nearly all of it myself, and I'm pretty happy with it. Its looks far better in pictures than in person!! 

Edited May 15, 2015 by 52b3b Joe

[Jeff Balazs]

Joe;

I just want to say what a wonderful job you have done with this truck. You will have something to be proud of for a long time to come.

And FWIW I think it is great that you are putting it back to work. After all that is what they were built for in the first place.

 

Jeff

[52b3b Joe]

Well, I've been at it again! I finally made a hitch for the truck. It took a fair amount of time, and it is probably over built a little. I started with a template for the end plates that "wraps" the rear spring hanger. Then I burned out the plates and went from there. I figured attaching it on both sides of the spring hanger it would be a lot stronger and give more leverage support on the tongue weight. I set it all up, cut the rest of the steel, and tacked it together. From there I took it all apart and welded everything. It came out pretty good. It isn't too much of an eye sore. Here are some picture of it. I finished it on Saturday, and I put it to work yesterday hauling a lawn mower that I bought. I guess I'm getting lazy, and tired of push mowing my yard. Now I'll have more free time for the truck! Not much of a load, but it was fun. I figured it was around 1,300 pounds trailer/lawn mower combo. I need to finish wiring the plug, then next week I'm headed to a tractor show with our doodlebug and trailer behind the 52. That combo will be around 4,000 pounds. That is all I'm going to push it to do, I don't think the truck will handle much more than that. With that load, I'll be going low speeds and back roads. 

[52b3b Joe]

I decided to try a little bit more with the hitch yesterday. I took the doodlebug to a large local tractor show with the truck. The truck did ok pulling the 4000 lb trailer/doodlebug combo. Stopping was no issue with the electric trailer brakes even with only 6 volts. Starting was slow, but once up to speed it was fine. I took back roads and took my time, running around 40-45 mph. It ran a little warmer than normal with the load (but it was also hot outside). I did manage to get the truck stuck in the mud two times. The first was when I first pulled into the field, there was an unavoidable soft spot (first picture). I was able to unload the doodlebug and drive out. The second time was entering the display area, and I had to use the doodlebug to pull the truck. It was pretty fun, and I got a lot of compliments on the setup. I'll probably do it again. 

[Brent B3B]

but ,how long afterwards did the clean up take   love the mud on the tires! 

[52b3b Joe]

but ,how long afterwards did the clean up take   love the mud on the tires! 

 

To be honest, it still has mud on it! By the time I drove home, unloaded everything and put everything away, I was pretty tired and it was time for dinner. I'll get it one night this week. 

[Don Coatney]

 I'll probably do it again. 

Do what? Get stuck in the mud?

[52b3b Joe]

Do what? Get stuck in the mud?

 

I could do without that, but it was all part of the experience! Maybe I need some more aggressive rear tires for it! 

[ruff1148kr]

great truck  great set up   super cool that you pulled yourself out.....  priceless can do -- do it yourself additude 

 

I'm sure you made a few people smile.. sounds like a good day mud and all....

[FargoMarty]

That looks so cool. Nice setup!   Martyn

[Phil363]

I will have to add this great trailer hitch idea of yours to my to do list and I have just saved all of your photos of the hitch in my to do list folder for future enhancements for my truck.

 

It is actually  pretty impressive and the only one I have seen developed by anyone here on the forum.

 

Do you have any measurements or drawings you can share with us here of the trailer hitch?

 

Phil

Edited July 28, 2015 by Phil363

[52b3b Joe]

I will have to add this great trailer hitch idea of yours to my to do list and I have just saved all of your photos of the hitch in my to do list folder for future enhancements for my truck.

 

It is actually  pretty impressive and the only one I have seen developed by anyone here on the forum.

 

Do you have any measurements or drawings you can share with us here of the trailer hitch?

 

Phil

 

A few other people on here have made hitches for their trucks. I don't really have any measurements for it, I took an old cereal box, and made a very good template carefully (it didn't take too long). Then I transferred it onto the 1/4" plate, and finished with a steady hand and the torch. I clamped the plates on the frame and marked the holes and used a mag drill them out. I did enlarge the fender support holes on the frame in front of the shackle mounts to 1/2" to "wrap" the spring hanger. I used a hitch from a (believe it or not) Toyota, and cut the end plates off as you can see. Then I used heavy "C" channel that I cut the flanges down on to get the receiver centered. I drilled two 5/8" holes in each piece of channel and welded the 5/8 nuts with the bolts drawing them tight the the channel. It took about 8 hours from start to finish including the wiring. 

[Todd B]

I am always pleased to see guys use these trucks for what they were built for.  Looks awesome

[HotRodTractor]

That's awesome - and I'm jealous of the doodlebug - I have wanted one of those for a while.

 

I see you are in Ohio - I'm curious as to where this farm show is that has all of those awesome old trucks. I've collected tractors for years and am planning on going to some local shows in my 1-1/2T Dodge with a John Deere 330 loaded on the back, but would drive a bit further than ordinary for a show like you have.

[pflaming]

For my hitch I torched a square hole in the bumper and put a 1 1/4 " square tube through it. There was a strong metal piece welded to one of the bed cross members so I welded the inside end of that tube to that, then I drilled a hole in the tube for the receiver, closed up the hole around the tube in the bumper, cut off the excess and cleaned up the weld.  Now I have a nice receiver and it is flush with the bumper. A bit make shift but it will do all I will ever want. 

[52b3b Joe]

Wow, it has been a while since I posted on this thread!! 

I have another experience to share about my truck, and it's a lesson learned! 

Since I completed the truck, I have noticed a bad engine vibration around 1,700 RPM. It would rattle your brains out at that RMP. The hood would shake bad, every panel that could make a noise would, and the brake and clutch pedals would shake. I always tried to avoid running it around there by staying above or below it. I haven't been driving the truck as much as I'd like due to fear of damage to the engine.

Over the winter I decided I was going to figure this out! I already looked into it before, and eliminated it to the engine. I pulled the trans out and ran it, and then the clutch and still had the shake. On Monday I started calling around and found an engine shop about an hour from me who could balance the flywheel and clutch. I talked to him a while about the vibration, and he told me to bring the flywheel and clutch down to him. He told me he could do it in roughly an hour, and I could even do it during later in the evening. I left work on Tuesday, picked up my wife and we got to his shop around 6:50 pm. I dropped off the parts, and my wife and I went out for dinner. When we got back, he came out and told me the status of my parts. He told me a fairly notable vibration can be felt with 30 grams of unbalance, and my flywheel was running over 50 grams out. Mine also was running 25 thousandths out causing a wobble. He said it looked like it was dropped at one point and it was one of the worst ones he has done. He took a lot of material off to get it running true, and he was able to get it within a gram (which is a race engine spec). Then he threw the pressure plate on with it, and it was running 30 grams out of balance as well. To boot, the weight was nearly at the same position as the flywheel with how I took it off based on my punch marks, so I had a total of 80 plus grams of unbalance. He worked on it until 9:15pm while we waited. I couldn't believe how helpful, flexible, and reasonable he was. I walk out spending $128 and only had to make the drive once. Last night I put it back together, and it is vibration free. The truck is by far the smoothest running flathead we have. I'm sure you could stand a nickel on edge on the head at any RPM. 

 

So if any of you are doing a clutch job, major engine work, or if you have an engine vibration. Don't overlook the flywheel and clutch! 

[ggdad1951]

33 minutes ago, 52b3b Joe said:

Wow, it has been a while since I posted on this thread!! 

I have another experience to share about my truck, and it's a lesson learned! 

Since I completed the truck, I have noticed a bad engine vibration around 1,700 RPM. It would rattle your brains out at that RMP. The hood would shake bad, every panel that could make a noise would, and the brake and clutch pedals would shake. I always tried to avoid running it around there by staying above or below it. I haven't been driving the truck as much as I'd like due to fear of damage to the engine.

Over the winter I decided I was going to figure this out! I already looked into it before, and eliminated it to the engine. I pulled the trans out and ran it, and then the clutch and still had the shake. On Monday I started calling around and found an engine shop about an hour from me who could balance the flywheel and clutch. I talked to him a while about the vibration, and he told me to bring the flywheel and clutch down to him. He told me he could do it in roughly an hour, and I could even do it during later in the evening. I left work on Tuesday, picked up my wife and we got to his shop around 6:50 pm. I dropped off the parts, and my wife and I went out for dinner. When we got back, he came out and told me the status of my parts. He told me a fairly notable vibration can be felt with 30 grams of unbalance, and my flywheel was running over 50 grams out. Mine also was running 25 thousandths out causing a wobble. He said it looked like it was dropped at one point and it was one of the worst ones he has done. He took a lot of material off to get it running true, and he was able to get it within a gram (which is a race engine spec). Then he threw the pressure plate on with it, and it was running 30 grams out of balance as well. To boot, the weight was nearly at the same position as the flywheel with how I took it off based on my punch marks, so I had a total of 80 plus grams of unbalance. He worked on it until 9:15pm while we waited. I couldn't believe how helpful, flexible, and reasonable he was. I walk out spending $128 and only had to make the drive once. Last night I put it back together, and it is vibration free. The truck is by far the smoothest running flathead we have. I'm sure you could stand a nickel on edge on the head at any RPM. 

 

So if any of you are doing a clutch job, major engine work, or if you have an engine vibration. Don't overlook the flywheel and clutch! 

dang it, here I thought you were going to scrap him out and sell me your grill bars...

 

[John-T-53]

Glad to hear it all worked out. Did you take any photos of the balance operation?

For flywheels and pressure plates I hear they bolt them to a "spud" in the absence of a crankshaft.

My machinist friend is getting a balancer from the shop next door. It's a Hines machine and the same one that was used to balance my crank and flywheel a few years ago. unfortunately, that shop owner passed away a couple months ago and everything is being sold.

[52b3b Joe]

1 hour ago, ggdad1951 said:

dang it, here I thought you were going to scrap him out and sell me your grill bars...

 

Lol, still no luck in completing your set? 

56 minutes ago, John-T-53 said:

Glad to hear it all worked out. Did you take any photos of the balance operation?

For flywheels and pressure plates I hear they bolt them to a "spud" in the absence of a crankshaft.

My machinist friend is getting a balancer from the shop next door. It's a Hines machine and the same one that was used to balance my crank and flywheel a few years ago. unfortunately, that shop owner passed away a couple months ago and everything is being sold.

John, I didn't get the opportunity to watch. I asked if I could go back there, but he kindly said its messy, and metal chips will be flying. I don't think he wanted the liability of me back there. I actually have another vibration issue with my 61 Galaxie, and I will be returning hopefully next week to have him balance the brake drums for it. Maybe then I can try and ask again! 

[ggdad1951]

39 minutes ago, 52b3b Joe said:

Lol, still no luck in completing your set? 

No, I've got NOS top bars and a NOS parking bucket (opposite of what Brent has) and that's it (no lower center sections).  I have the bars Brent was kind enough to get to me, but they will need a bunch of work.

[Desotodav]

Gllad that balancing fixed your issues Joe. I had all of the moving parts balanced for my 53 coupe truck engine but will not fire that engine up until later this year. I expect that it will run very smooth after hearing your results.

Rumour has it that Mark is giving that indicator grille piece to Brent as Mark wants a NOS matching set.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Desotodav