1949 Dodge B1-D......or What have i gotten myself into?????

[Darkrider]

You will want to get a matched pulley from Quality power. Needs to be the correct diameter. Also you need to specify belt width based on the other pulleys you are already using. I have their 50A 6V single wire alternator and it works great.

 

Jeff

 

Im mostly planning on just ordering install accessories from them as i plan on getting the alt itself from a local rebuild shop owned by an old family friend. But i will def keep that in mind. From what i could tell it appears my truck uses the 3/4" width belt but i will def double check the measurement before ordering.

[Dave72dt]

Yes, you can use the one off the gen if need be. Different size pulleys will change the speed the alt runs at which will change the RPM is starts charging at. You'll still need to pay attention to belt alignment.

[Darkrider]

Ok i got looking at this alternator as a possibility as it will allow me to keep the truck as is (aka keep it positive ground).

 

http://www.qualitypowerauto.com/item_135/Positive-Ground-12-Volt-Alternator.htm

 

Now if i were to go this direction i would need to add an aftermarket voltage gauge since its higher then the stock ammeter can handle correct? But on the other hand that will not allow me to add a radio to the truck later...doh!

[Dave72dt]

If you're really considering switching to 12 v alt, do the neg ground system. There is so little to do to switch from pos to neg, using a 12 v pos ground alt, makes little sense to me.

[Darkrider]

If you're really considering switching to 12 v alt, do the neg ground system. There is so little to do to switch from pos to neg, using a 12 v pos ground alt, makes little sense to me.

 

Makes sense, Now i have made the decision to keep it 6 volt for the summer and gather the parts to do the 12 volt conversion properly as i can afford them..this also includes stocking up on larger ga marine grade wire to do a full rewire of the truck and integrate a fuse box in the process along with adding a relay into the headlight harness. That in itself is a later stage of the truck. But for now i will be buying new battery cables to replace the worn out starter one which damn near caught the truck on fire due to poor routing...anyways will 2/0 Welding cable be large enough for the 6 volt system? The plan is to run from starter to a master disconnect switch installed in the dash near the PTO control then from the connect switch to the battery which will enable me to cut all power from the truck for longer term storage periods. Well that and build in a bit of extra anti theft along with the stock key switch.

[Dave72dt]

2/0 will work fine.  The ground cable needs to be the same.

[Darkrider]

2/0 will work fine.  The ground cable needs to be the same.

 

Cool, That was the plan, two power cables and one ground of that size. As mentioned earlier i will be adding a disconnect switch into the system thus why two power wires. One from the starter to the switch and one from the switch to the battery. Now i have one more question so i have a better understanding of how these trucks were wired. I get that the wires from the generator go to the regulator on the firewall. and there is an output from the regulator to the battery but how is that routed? From what i seen of similarish setups online the wire between regulator and battery goes from regulator to the post on the starter instead of straight to the battery. Now if that is the case is there any reason i cannot add a second direct wire from the regulator straight to the battery to ensure that the battery has the best chance of being charged properly?

[pflaming]

My nemesis, Plymouthy has taught me that it is very unlikely that any novice, me for example, can out think the original engineers, " don't fix what isn't broke" says Tim, and he's correct. However, I think, if you put a quality toggle switch between the starter and the amp gauge, you have a "kill switch". JMHO

Edited June 3, 2015 by pflaming

[TodFitch]

My nemesis, Plymouthy has taught me that it is very unlikely that any novice, me for example, can out think the original engineers, " don't fix what isn't broke" says Tim, and he's correct. However, I think, if you put a quality toggle switch between the starter and the amp gauge, you have a "kill switch". JMHO

A 20 or 30 amp DC rated toggle switch is a pretty expensive beast and pretty bulky to mount. At least the ones I found while looking at stuff for a remote location solar power setup.

 

If you want to put a battery disconnect in, use a commercial one rated for as high amperage as possible (a number of them seem to be designed for the lower current requirements of a 12v system).

[Darkrider]

Thanks for the imput guys. The disconnect switch is a unit rated for 200 amps...which is well over what the dodge should be putting out. I got a chance to take a peek at how the set up is wired in there and i am correct on the battery output wire from the regulator going back to the stud on the starter. Which brings me back to this question...could i safely add a second wire to the regulators output and go straight to the battery with it?

[Dave72dt]

You could if you wanted to. It'd be a redundant circuit and really won't gain you anything. You'll get and keep your best connection at the starter post, away from any corrosion that typically ends up on battery terminals.

[TodFitch]

Thanks for the imput guys. The disconnect switch is a unit rated for 200 amps...which is well over what the dodge should be putting out. I got a chance to take a peek at how the set up is wired in there and i am correct on the battery output wire from the regulator going back to the stud on the starter. Which brings me back to this question...could i safely add a second wire to the regulators output and go straight to the battery with it?

My thought about a 20 or 30 amp switch was if it was on the charging circuit (going through the ammeter). If you have a battery disconnect, you will need a beefier switch. For example a P15 starter motor is rated a drawing up to 280 amps while the 49 and early 50s Plymouths are shown in my book as drawing 335 amps. If you are using a 200 amp disconnect switch on the battery it is under rated and should be swapped out.

 

If you are add a wire directly from the regulator output to the battery you will be bypassing the ammeter so it will read 0 all the time. And if it is on the battery side of the disconnect you will be bypassing your disconnect and probably creating a fire hazard as the starter, if you try to use it, tries pulling several hundred amps through it.

[Darkrider]

Yikes! Ok...def gonna shelve those ideas.....As it stands i have a kill switch between the battery and coil which is currently pulling power directly from the battery. For some unknown reason the original connection between the key switch and the coil no longer works (could be fried from the half ass 12 volt swap)...So it was initially hot wired straight to the battery and i have since installed a toggle switch between the two....But one of these days i will see what i need to do to remove the original key switch from the dash and figure out what post does what on it so i can wire this toggle switch to the key switch instead of pulling straight from the battery...overall this should do what i intended with the disconnect which is make it a bit more of a chore to try to start for anyone not familiar with the truck....

[Darkrider]

Ok i have a fuel related question...what is the stock carb used on these trucks? I will need to start searching for a rebuild kit for it and knowing what im dealing with may make it easier to see if i can get one from a local source.

[Darkrider]

Now that im in a position to start working on this truck again, Once again i ask what carb was used on these trucks so i can start searching for parts to rebuild the carb?

[TrampSteer]

1/2 ton on mine has the carter 1bb downdraft. Should be a tag on the side or at least a stamping to define it. Tons of threads here about them

http://p15-d24.com/topic/38296-1950-b-1-carburetor-id/?hl=carter

 

Got a rebuild kit for myself which was simple enough to do. Very happy. Recommend.

Edited July 15, 2015 by TrampSteer

[Darkrider]

1/2 ton on mine has the carter 1bb downdraft. Should be a tag on the side or at least a stamping to define it. Tons of threads here about them

http://p15-d24.com/topic/38296-1950-b-1-carburetor-id/?hl=carter

 

Got a rebuild kit for myself which was simple enough to do. Very happy. Recommend.

 

Thanks for the info! I will def take a peek under the hood this weekend to see if i can find some sort of markings on the carb.

[Darkrider]

Bit of an update....I replaced the undersized 4 ga ground wire tonight with a 1 ga ground wire as well as dropped in a group 27 marine type battery...I was originally going to stay with 6 volt but came to the conclusion that it was borderline cheaper to finish the 12 volt conversion...So i will be going forward with that idea using a GM 1 wire alt and possibly an overdrive pulley on it to spin it a lil faster at low engine RPM.

[Darkrider]

Well...i found a carb kit via some reading on here so thats a bonus. Now i gotta figure out how to remove the starter...i can get at one bolt but the one between the block and starter is blocked by the lever for the foot pedal..how do i get around this?

[Don Coatney]

Well...i found a carb kit via some reading on here so thats a bonus. Now i gotta figure out how to remove the starter...i can get at one bolt but the one between the block and starter is blocked by the lever for the foot pedal..how do i get around this?

Use of a special starter wrench as pictured below is helpful. If you have an old cheap wrench and a heat source you may be able to bend one.

 

[Darkrider]

Use of a special starter wrench as pictured below is helpful. If you have an old cheap wrench and a heat source you may be able to bend one.

 

 

I personally do not have a heat source but i can def talk to my buddy who manages a welding shop about making something work.

[Young Ed]

I personally do not have a heat source but i can def talk to my buddy who manages a welding shop about making something work.

They are also still available new. I always called them a half moon wrench. Looks like sears calls them an obstruction wrench.

[Darkrider]

They are also still available new. I always called them a half moon wrench. Looks like sears calls them an obstruction wrench.

 

Will def take a look around town to see if i can find them. I will be borrowing a set of crows foot style sockets to try that as well.

[Darkrider]

Well...my buddy popped up and my place today while i was out on errands and managed to pull the starter with a ratchet and extension along with a couple universal joints....however...there was some bad news...turns out the starter nose cone had broken off of the starter at some stage, So between that damage and the fact that the starter is burned up thus why i was even removing it in the first place...kinda puts the starter to the point of no return on it. Now what options do i have in terms of starters? Is there a newer one i can fit or?

[Darkrider]

Ok...Between PFlaming and the local shop here in town i will have at least one good starter. The plan is to get the one offered up to me from Pflaming and have it gone through by the shop to ensure it will provide me with years of service. But at the same time because parts are getting harder and harder to find for our trucks i will be seeing if the shop has any starters kicking around even if i do end up with going the same route as Pflaming and going to the bendix type starter. At least with having the two foot operated type here it will be easier to make sure the bendix type has the correct number of teeth.

 

Now with that all said...does anyone know what kind of transmission is used in this truck? I know its a 4 speed and it has a similar shift pattern to the GM SM465 but what did dodge use? Biggest reason im asking is because i may seriously look into the idea of dropping in a Cummins 3.9 or 4BT at a later stage of the trucks life and if the transmission is common enough with others i may be able to hopefully reuse it to retain the PTO or look at the idea of running the aforementioned SM465 since it too has the ability to run a PTO.