Plan B – what, if parts are not or difficult to get

[PT81Jan]

Starting this topic because I am wondering if someone here sometimes also had the question how to repair or to get a specific spare part that is not just lying around the street …

When working on my PT81 I had some moments where I needed a plan B.

Might be that this is my specific problem since I am living in Germany and I have limited access to some sources in the USA. But I could imagine that the one or the other here had a neat solution regarding a spare part problem, too … !?

What was your remedy ?

[PT81Jan]

Starting with that: worn clutch fork shaft

 

 

The shaft of my clutch fork was heavily worn [1]. The clutch and brake pedal wiggled there and back certainly by 1 to 2 inches.

I was hopeless to find a spare part that fits to my truck.

The solution was to remove most of the worn shaft surface by lathing [2]. Since I did not want to reduce the diameter too much, I have left some minor areas. In the second step I pressed a stainless tube onto the shaft. More stable and provides the required diameter for the clutch pedal bore. Additionally the tube is secured with a metal adhesive.

Next where the pedals: bored out the worn/oval holes [3]. I made a brass sleeve which matches the diameter of the shaft and bore hole in the brake pedal. The sleeve has got a collar to provide the distance between the pedals [4]. It also got a groove for lubrication. Since the clutch pedal needs to be connected with the clutch fork shaft, the bore fits to the diameter of the shaft.

Last was to rework / make new sleeves for the clutch housing [5, 6]

That`s it [7].

O.k., access to a lathe and a stable drilling machine is needed … but that was my plan B ☺

 

Who else had a nice plan B to find ?

 

Edited November 13, 2016 by PT81Jan

[Young Ed]

Can I send you my pedals and clutch shaft   BTW I just spent about a week looking for my clutch shaft. Took it off the bellhousing about a decade ago!

[PT81Jan]

Haha, missing parts are fairly difficult to rework... I think we need to find plan C 

[JBNeal]

This a common practice with wobbly pedals or control levers on shafts:  machine the shaft and bore to remove grooves or uneven wear then match a brass bushing that can be replaced as needed.  It's not cheap but works well especially when there are no other alternatives.  Simple sheet metal parts, brackets, shields etc can also be fabricated.  Other members have fabricated dual wheel fender extensions, bench seats, entire beds...some have even used modern 12V blower motors in vintage heater units as they fit, worked well, and were much cheaper than the very rare but correct 6V blower motors.  I have been tinkering with a fix for the oft broken and partially missing original door checks and may be close to a working solution that is very cheap and easy to make...so it all depends on your needs, expertise level and personal experience as to what you can make work within your budget

Edited November 9, 2016 by JBNeal
added hyperlinks

[Young Ed]

27 minutes ago, PT81Jan said:

Haha, missing parts are fairly difficult to rework... I think we need to find plan C 

I did eventually find the big piece. I still have to locate the smaller adjustment piece for the clutch pedal. At least I can get the bellhousing ready now. 

[rb1949]

Fabricating is oft the need for parts. Keep up the good ideas for plan B, C, D, or E. You can computer snoop for anything. Soory about shipping charges. Those are some mighty clean parts too.

[PT81Jan]

O.k., today I have an amusing one: Tired speedometer pointer

 

The pointer on the PT`s speedo [1] consists of a steel ring with a pointer peak. The ring is pressed onto a clear plastic disc which has got a center hole for the attachment to the speedo shaft.

This disc had been shrunken over the years [2] with the result that the pointer unit dangled like a lambs tail.

Since I planned to clean the speedo anyway, I wanted to fix the disc at that point of time. Unfortunately the disc was so brittle, that it immediately broke in two halves [3] when I tried to reassemble it.

A replacement piece was needed…

When walking around through my home to look what material could taken, I saw that lonely children flashlight in the shelf...

I only had to drill a center hole into the flashlights plastic lense, diameter and thickness had the perfect fit [4 & 5].

 

....

Of course, I had to buy a new flashlight for my son, but since the new one was much better, Dad AND Son were pretty happy !

 

Edited November 10, 2016 by PT81Jan

[RodFru2u]

Great job on making use of what's around. With that lathe you can reproduce and modify the parts as needed so your options are many. Hope you and your Boy have many hours of fun with whatever  current project, The  stories to tell for years to come at many events.That's what really matters anyway.

[PT81Jan]

Thank you RodFru2u, yes the lathe was and is my best tool I ever have bought. Helped me many times to become an idea true. 

Smiling every time when I see that flashlight without screen 

[Young Ed]

I used the clear plastic piece that comes in a package of blank CDRs. Very carefully cut it to size and drilled a hole. It has one little arch where it wasn't perfectly flat but it works great. Now of course you can just buy a new disk. 

[RobertKB]

Necessity is the mother of invention. Mothering is often needed on our old passions. Great fixes for some difficult problems!

[Jerry Roberts]

PT81 Jan ,  You are doing such nice work that I hate to say this ;  There is a bracket that has to go between the pedals where you have the collar . The purpose of the bracket is to reinforce the clutch shaft and also to have a place where your pedal return springs attach . The bracket will bolt to your bell housing , way over to the drivers side .  PS  when I got my truck the bracket was missing and there was a home made bracket to attach the springs , so perhaps there is a work around for you . 

[PT81Jan]

8 hours ago, Jerry Roberts said:

PT81 Jan ,  You are doing such nice work that I hate to say this ;  There is a bracket that has to go between the pedals where you have the collar . The purpose of the bracket is to reinforce the clutch shaft and also to have a place where your pedal return springs attach . The bracket will bolt to your bell housing , way over to the drivers side .  PS  when I got my truck the bracket was missing and there was a home made bracket to attach the springs , so perhaps there is a work around for you . 

Thank you very much for that valuable reply!  When I did that pedal repair I was indeed thinking about an additional support of the shaft. Between my pedals was a thick disc, the bracket that you described was missing,  too.  Would be great,  if you or sombody else here could post a picture how that bracket looks like (alternatively send a PN in case it is too detailed for the general interest of the forums members). 

Thanks again,  Jan

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S.: Just went out to the truck -> of course there is a bracket for the springs:
(maybe not the original ?)

Edited November 11, 2016 by PT81Jan

[Jerry Roberts]

Well it looks like I misspoke . Attached is a page from a 1940 Plymouth truck parts book . It shows a bracket that looks like yours and even the springs look like yours . It does not show a brace to the clutch shaft . The part number in the book is 561351 . I believe that the brace that I described came out sometime after 1940 and it also fits the Pilot House trucks . 

[PT81Jan]

I believe they had a reason to reinforce/additionaly support the clutch shaft later on... 

(Have sent a PN regarding parts book) 

[Jerry Roberts]

This brace was a bolt -  on . Here is a photo of the brace that supports the clutch shaft and attaches the springs . The brace came from a Pilot House truck and the bell housing is from a 1939 Dodge truck 3 speed . 

[PT81Jan]

Hey, thats a pretty nice solution!  Winter can come... 

Thanks again! 

[Dennis46PU]

On 11/10/2016 at 10:25 AM, PT81Jan said:

O.k., today I have an amusing one: Tired speedometer pointer

 

The pointer on the PT`s speedo [1] consists of a steel ring with a pointer peak. The ring is pressed onto a clear plastic disc which has got a center hole for the attachment to the speedo shaft.

 

This disc had been shrunken over the years [2] with the result that the pointer unit dangled like a lambs tail.

 

Since I planned to clean the speedo anyway, I wanted to fix the disc at that point of time. Unfortunately the disc was so brittle, that it immediately broke in two halves [3] when I tried to reassemble it.

 

A replacement piece was needed…

 

When walking around through my home to look what material could taken, I saw that lonely children flashlight in the shelf...

 

I only had to drill a center hole into the flashlights plastic lense, diameter and thickness had the perfect fit [4 & 5].

 

Quote

11 hours ago, Jerry Roberts said:

This brace was a bolt -  on . Here is a photo of the brace that supports the clutch shaft and attaches the springs . The brace came from a Pilot House truck and the bell housing is from a 1939 Dodge truck 3 speed . 

Jerry, thanks for posting that picture of the support.  Mine is the same as Jans currently, no support.  I'll have to watch for one of those.  Do yo have a part number?

 

[Jeff Balazs]

From the PH parts manual this is called Brake pedal reinforcement bracket. Part # 567 997 for non Fluid drive applications.

Hth, Jeff

[Dennis46PU]

Thanks Jeff!  They have those parts listed in my book for a WD 20-21 and trucks heavier.  There are also shims .002, .003, and .010 listed to get the bracket in correct location bolted to the bell housing.  

[Jeff Balazs]

You are welcome. I feel like it was added at some point to counter deflection issues that may have been part of the original design. I believe it was on all of the PH trucks in one form or another. And yes there are some shims present on my FD variant.

Jeff

[PT81Jan]

There comes another one: Tank sending unit

When getting my truck all instruments except the speedometer didn`t work.

Running out of gas is not just that what I like since it usually happens in the most inapt situation …

Except the missing wiring, picture 1 shows what was left of the sending unit.
Of course, I also sometimes buy the needed parts. But NOS where not just cheap (have to add high shipping costs and taxes to Germany), so I decided to buy an universal sending unit that was offered on ebay Germany to an acceptable price. Was an attempt but did not work properly in combination with my gauge …

Went back into my workshop to have a closer look onto the rest of the original sending unit. After disassembling what was left, it did not look as hopeless as I thought at first glance [2+3]

Had to fabricate the missing piece of the casing that was rusted away. A lid of a tin can seemed to be the right material [4]. Soldered both together (was pretty nice to do with 70 year old rests of corroded metal …).

The missing lever for the float is made of a brass rod which originally is provided as braze for brazing [5].

I replaced the missing float by the float of the wrong purchase universal one [6].

Finally just had to do a new wiring and install the unit to the tank [7].

That`s it.

[PT81Jan]

Small laugh at the edge: Did that just before the winter and everything worked great. After 3 or 4 month the Truck was sitting in the garage, I went to a first ride in early spring. The fuel gauge was dead !! Checked the cabling and connections. Nothing. Tried to move the float through the filler. Nothing.
Removed everything (gas tank, sending unit, cabling, gauge) out of the truck but found nothing. Oh boy, my nerves !

One day later in the garage: lay under my dash, had everything installed again. Suddenly I got the brainstorm. Due to the kind of cabling, I simply had to turn the key in the ignition lock into the right instead of left (which I had forgotten over the winter months). Tata, I had a working gauge …

Edited November 13, 2016 by PT81Jan

[PT81Jan]

Today: Steering wheel cracks

Ok, it`s not really a plan B, but rather a repair. But it was one of my workarounds when restoring my PT. So, if is not of interest simply “click back”. If it helps or simply entertains someone of you, it was worth to do the post

Had several cracks in my steering wheel [1+2], no spare part in my fundus.

Opened the cracks with a small file and first filled them with a thick Epoxy/filler mix.

Overcoated the complete steering wheel with different glass fabrics [3+4]. (Important is to decrease everything before, to get a durable connection)

Grinded everything [4]. Fine the spokes that have later been painted, just a little the ring since this got a wrapping.

Fillered and primed the spokes and hub [5] and covered everything with black paint [6].

Then wrapped the ring. Therefore I used a packet cord, which I have colored with black textile color. It is also fixed with Epoxy to the ring [6]. Finally fabricated 3 metal sheet clamps for the connections spoke to ring [7]. Does not have a real function, I didn`t like the open triangles in the wrapping . Maybe I will find a better solution for that. But is there not always something to improve …?

Jan