new member, old truck

[busywait]

hello all,

this lucky find will make me a new dodge pilothouse owner. this 1950 B has an odd flatbed added (with an extra set of leaves) and i hope will make a great restoration project. it comes with a shed full of extra parts, and the previous owner has made a great start - a clean electrical rewiring (re-built the generator, kept it 6V, and added a fuse block), adding a parking brake, and re-running a new fuel line. although it turns over, the engine doesn't start. he was mid brake job (even has the aamco tool) when other projects overtook him. although i'm handy with a wrench (and have a copy of the shop manual), i've never taken on an auto restoration like this one. i'll be looking for sage advice here.

first off, i'm looking for a good mechanic in the san francisco bay area to help me get the brakes finished and the truck running while i catalog the spares and consider my steps. any advice?

looking forward to future forum talk,

bryan

[Merle Coggins]

Nice

Welcome aboard. Lots of help here. These trucks aren't very complicated once you get into them. It's just a matter of reverting back to old school technology. I still can't find the socket to plug in the code scanner

Merle

[Reg Evans]

I would look around for a brake shop that has been around for a long time. Like the 60's or 70's. The brakes are pretty simple but the adjustment has to be done correctly or your brakes will be weak. If your truck has been sitting for years you'll probably have to do a complete restoration of that system.

Gotta get the major adjustments done correctly first before you do the minor adjustments. Go here for some info found on the DPETCA ( dodge pilothouse era truck club of america) club site. Welcome !

http://www.dodgepilothouseclub.org/know/B4_manual/B4_brakes.pdf

If you want it done right though you might want to do it yourself.

[Bob_Koch]

For engine work I've got a terrific machine shop here in Santa Rosa, but brakes are a tough one to suggest. I agree with Reg, look around, but you may need to do it yourself. You need to find a brake shop with an old mechanic that's been around these trucks before.

By the way, you're surrounded by a lot of terrific pilothouse owners here in Northern California. Welcome to the world of "fun-rated" trucks.

[busywait]

For engine work I've got a terrific machine shop here in Santa Rosa, but brakes are a tough one to suggest. I agree with Reg, look around, but you may need to do it yourself. You need to find a brake shop with an old mechanic that's been around these trucks before.

By the way, you're surrounded by a lot of terrific pilothouse owners here in Northern California. Welcome to the world of "fun-rated" trucks.

thanks for the welcome and the advice

i'm planning on seeing ross at motronix for the brake work this weekend.

http://www.motronixauto.com/

when i can safely power it in and out of my own garage, i'll give a shot at wrenching myself.