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Newbie 52 B-3-C owner


Jeff Balazs

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Hello to all.

My name is Jeff and I am new to the group.I am located in Southern California. What a great group this is and a tremendous resource. I have been reading through many of the past threads and have already learned quite a bit. All I can say is my hat is off to you all.......there is certainly some real talent and knowledge here!

I just picked up a fairly complete 52 B-3-C last night. I am really excited about this project. I plan on restoring it and using it as a daily driver. And also a bit for my business. I am a custom woodworker specializing in the designs of the Craftsman Era. This is just the sort of vehicle my customers expect me to show up in.

It has not run in many years so I will be assessing things for some time...... I wouldn't have even attempted this if it hadn't been for existence of this group. This is my first Mopar product so it is going to take a while to get familiar. The good news is that this truck is really straight and there seems to be little if any rust. It is missing some little things like interior door handles, a grill emblem and the seat frame but for the most part seems to be relatively intact. It is a floor shift Fluid drive model so there is going to be a bit of a learning curve there......but it does have the hood emblems ;-)

On the down side the wiring looks to be a real rats nest and it is going to be a while before I can tell what sort of condition the drive train is in.

I am sure I am going to have a million questions. Please be patient .... my goal is simply to get another of these classic old trucks back on the road....and I know you all can appreciate that.

Jeff

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Welcome to the forum. Post some pictures when you get a chance.

Several here have made their own replacement harnessess. It's a fairly simple system and I believe a diagram with color coding and gauge sizes is on the DPETCA site. I highly recommend replacing it. It'll save a lot of troubleshooting and down time when trying to get everything working again plus it's a safety issue.

As far as working on them, they're not much different than others of the same era except not everything turns to the left to loosen.

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Welcome Jeff,

A floor shift indicates that it is most likely a 4 speed, and your B-2-C should have the syncronized version. So you can just drive it like a normal 4 speed truck, with one added advantage in that you can never stall the engine by luggin in too high of gear, or by letting the clutch out too fast. When you're in town you can also just leave it in 3rd and drive around with just the brake and gas. You can stop completely without depressing the clutch pedal, then drive away again when you release the brake and step on the gas. It'll be a little more sluggish off the line in 3rd, but it's do-able.

As for the wiring, I highly recommend rewiring with new. There are companies out there that make replacement harness for your truck, such as Road Island Wire or YNZ, but it's fairly easy to make one for yourself for less $$$. The info on the DPETCA site is from Alan Parkhurst who reverse engineered a harness that he bought from one of the afore mentioned suppliers. I had that info when I made my harnesses, but I ended up just using a wire diagram and my existing harness as a pattern. When I pulled out the old harness, which is in several sections, I labeled each wire with a masking tape tag. Then I measured the length of each wire, cross referenced the size and color from the wire diagram, and made the new harness section to match.

Never be afraid to ask questions when they pop up. As the old saying goes, "The only stupid question is the one that's not asked." And post some pictures when you get a chance. We LOVE pictures.

Merle

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Welcome to the P15 D-24 Forum. You're right about the guys here. I'm Hank and I live in Torrance CA. I have a good amount of helpful information when it comes to where to buy what around the South Bay as well as good resources that I'd like to pass on (if I can be of help) when it comes to most things like engine rebuilders, electrical component refurbishing, how to do your own wiring harness, carbs, body shops, chrome you name it.

Hank :)

Edited by HanksB3B
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Thanks Guys;

I will post pics when I have had a chance to take some.

I am in Irvine about an hour south of LA.

The previous owner had the truck for many years. Looks like he was working on the body quite a bit as it is in several colors of primer. It looks pretty straight at least. I don't have a clue as to the last time it ran....he passed away a couple of years ago and I got it from his daughter. They were going to restore it but alas ......

As I look through all the pictures on this site it appears to be pretty original under the hood......it's missing some hoses etc... but the carb, oil bath air filter, oil filter, horn, dist, linkage etc... are all there and look to be correct.

Of course it is early days and I am certain there will be a few "surprises" waiting for me. It does have fairly clean looking oil in it ....so that is a good sign.....maybe.

The daughter and friends put air in the tires, pushed it onto a U haul trailer and delivered to my shop Friday night. Getting it off the trailer and into the garage space was "interesting".......in the dark without a winch or brakes and a bit of a slope....but it went off without a hitch. So now the fun begins. Today will be the first chance I get to really look it over. I think the first item of business after a general cleaning, will be to see why the E brake isn't working. ;-)

I will check out the DPETCA on the wiring....I have rewired a few cars and boats over the years but it is best to go into the process as enlightened as possible.

You all are great. I have already been inspired by your projects, knowledge and stories and am looking forward to getting to know you and adding a few of my own.

Jeff

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Wow Hank! That looks too nice.......do you serve hot meals there?

All joking aside that engine compartment is really sweet. I notice that the hood supports are different from what is on my truck. What year is yours?

I hope we get a chance to meet and talk....we are fairly close to each other.

And yes I will take all the help and advice I can get.

Jeff......off to start giving it a closer look.

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Trust me it really helps. You think things are somple enough for you to remember how things go back, but you'll be suprised because in some cases it may be 2 years from take-apart to put-back-together. My 51 B3B is not supposed to have those supports (I just liked them better). One of the horizontals is off a 48-50 Series the other horizontal was made by me with a (1/2"?) rod and some minor blacksmith skills that must be genetic if I woulod have been born in 1880. The verticals were purchased new from:

http://www.robertsmotorparts.com/index.html

who will inevitably become your substitute for for a meth dealer (ha, ha,) now that you have become addicted to being a Pilothouse owner.

Your first Christmas present to yourself however should be this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dodge-Trucks-Restorers-Collectors-Reference/dp/1583880879/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4

Don_Bunns_Book.png

You'll be lucky to get this as a bunch of guys headed up by (Bob Koch? or thanks to whoever) were able to get the publisher to print a second edition.

You are in for it now buddy...Oh you may drive your truck for a while but most likely...sooner or later...you'll be here

DSCN1114.jpg

but it gets a lot better:

DSCN1174.jpg

It's all good,

Hank :)

Edited by HanksB3B
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Hello All;

Well I spent a few hours crawling around on it.....I am pretty happy with what I found....or didn't find. No cancer at all. Looks really solid and I didn't see any evidence of it ever being seriously damaged either.

I think I found some clues about it's previous life. Just a guess at the moment but it seems to have been painted blue a few times.....the kind of paint work you would see in a "fleet" maint. yard......maybe a old Navy truck? All the tags are off of it and the DMV has no record of it ever being here and yet it must have been here all along because there is almost zero rust on it. I wonder if there is a way to track down info on this?

The drive train appears to be all there and it looks like it was well maintained the first half of it's life. Oil is clean like it was just changed and when I pulled the plugs they appeared to all have been running at a nice tan color....just many years ago. Of course this may not be the case now but it is certainly encouraging. Even stuff that you would expect to be a mess like the battery box and the floorboards all seem to be intact. So all in all I feel pretty good.

I did take some photos and have posted the first group into an album.

Merle, It does seem to be a 4 speed with reverse to the right and back.

At least that's what it feels like.

It even came with a radio....... but I don't suppose it is "the one" ;-)

Thanks again for being here.

Jeff

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Jeff: If you don't have any tags to go by- try looking for a VIN number stamped on top of the chassis rail around your front left (driver's side) shock absorber mount. I didn't have one stamped on my 52, but I noticed recently that my 48 had one stamped on the chassis rail in that location. There have been previous discussions on VIN #'s here on the forum.

Desotodav

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