1937 Pickup, Oil Filter? Many other questions, all original, family owned since new

[Silverdome]

Do you have a farm store near you? They would possibly carry bias ply 6.50-16 tires. As for radials, just last month I put P21575R15's on my '48 Plymouth rims and they are only 4-1/2" wide with no problems of the tubeless tires seating.

Edited September 20, 2017 by Silverdome

[esteban]

I'll take a look at tires tomorrow when my big truck is in for a rotation.  I'm not sure what modern tire would "look" right on it though? Any suggestions there?

[greg g]

Early 80,s Chevy GMC dually pickups used a 195 85 16 tire on the rear axle. Not too wide and likely pretty close to the same diameter as what is on there now.  They are probably six ply but could be a starting point for searching for a reasonable modern alternative.

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2017 by greg g

[RobertKB]

Personally I would go with bias ply. For what you plan on using it for they would be fine. Radials would look out of place in my opinion. Check out Coker or Lucas as you can get some old school looking tires from them. Blackwall would suit the truck as is. Bit pricey but I've had good luck. Just my two cents worth. Your truck, your call. 

[johnsartain]

Wow, Nice old truck!

Most of the 6.5-16's and 7.0-16's sold today are load rated for trailers. It doesn't mean you can't use them but I wouldn't get my hopes up on a great ride. Coker and Lucas tires  are both bias ply and radial. They are meant to look like the vintage tire of whatever era you're restoring. If you are doing a restoration, its a good way to go, but if its a driver, they are a bit expensive at around $190 apiece for the 15" Bias ply tire through Coker. The other thing to consider if that you may have a 2 piece riveted rim which is not a tubeless rim. It requires a boot(flap) and a tube which adds to the expense. 

I plan on possibly getting a set of vintage tires for my truck. I haven't made my mind up completely. A 205 70 16 General tire can be bought for $102 and will likely last longer. To me the stock rims with beauty rings and original style reproduction hub caps would look pretty cool.  but they won't be the ones I drive on, they will be for car shows only. 

Edited September 21, 2017 by johnsartain

[Pete]

Hi, let me add to the compliments of the truck. You will have a lot of fun with it. I have a 1938 half ton Dodge Brothers (never just Dodge!) pickup. It's been in the family since the 1970s. Note that if you need to get engine parts, 1937 - 38 Dodge Brothers trucks from half to one-ton used the long block engine  with a displacement of 218 ci. The serial number stamped on the engine will tell you if it's original to the truck.

Pete

[esteban]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

Hi, let me add to the compliments of the truck. You will have a lot of fun with it. I have a 1938 half ton Dodge Brothers (never just Dodge!) pickup. It's been in the family since the 1970s. Note that if you need to get engine parts, 1937 - 38 Dodge Brothers trucks from half to one-ton used the long block engine  with a displacement of 218 ci. The serial number stamped on the engine will tell you if it's original to the truck.

Pete

Thanks sir! Any idea where the serial number would be?

Believe it or not I've actually got full copies of insurance policies dating back to the 60's!

[Pete]

Hi Esteban. The engine serial number is stamped on a boss on the driver's side of the block just below the cylinder head. You may have to clean it and hit with a grease pencil or chauk to make the characters readable.

Depending on the state where the truck was registered and insured the insurance docs may not include the engine serial number. These vehicles have a number of ID numbers: serial number on the door post, engine, chassis, body (on firewall). Different states used different numbers.

My 1938 has the original factory installed engine according to the build sheet. The number starts with "T58." Here are a couple of sources on these engine numbers:

http://www.t137.com/registry/help/otherengines/tengines.html

http://www.t137.com/registry/help/otherengines/otherengines.php

If yours is a half ton and the engine is original (or from another 1937 half ton) it should start with "T38." The links above have info on other models.

Pete

[esteban]

Thank you sir!

Ok now the decision of white wall or black wall tires??  Thoughts???

[johnsartain]

The white walls make for a really classy look on anything vintage

 

[lonejacklarry]

8 hours ago, johnsartain said:

The white walls make for a really classy look on anything vintage

I agree with this.

[esteban]

8 hours ago, johnsartain said:

The white walls make for a really classy look on anything vintage

 

 

12 minutes ago, lonejacklarry said:

I agree with this.

 

So a set of these? https://m.summitracing.com/parts/cok-65500/none/images

Im not sure they carry tubes for them, having a hard time finding anyone that does :/

[esteban]

That said these were listed as "required parts" when buying the tires, the reviews are a bit iffy claiming the valve stems are super thin: https://m.summitracing.com/parts/cok-85640

[johnsartain]

Here ya go, Lucas has them, be sure you get the offset valve flap

http://www.lucasclassictires.com/Tubes-Flaps-Rim-Strips_c18.htm

 

[Silverdome]

You can also buy them direct from Coker and they have the liners and tubes.

[lonejacklarry]

7 hours ago, esteban said:

So a set of these? https://m.summitracing.com/parts/cok-65500/none/images 

I'm not a fan of Coker tires but the advantage of using Summit is their customer service.  I would not buy directly from Coker but then again I wouldn't buy Coker tires.  Do a little research on Coker as well as other antique tire sellers.

[esteban]

1 hour ago, lonejacklarry said:

I'm not a fan of Coker tires but the advantage of using Summit is their customer service.  I would not buy directly from Coker but then again I wouldn't buy Coker tires.  Do a little research on Coker as well as other antique tire sellers.

What is it that you don’t like about them? I’m not married to anything, there’s just a summit about 3 miles from my house so that was appealing

[BobB]

There are also wide white radials available that match the original profiles of vintage bias tires. I'm sure there are multiple sources out there.

[lonejacklarry]

12 hours ago, esteban said:

What is it that you don’t like about them? I’m not married to anything, there’s just a summit about 3 miles from my house so that was appealing

Do a little research on "antique" tires.  For the most part, the brand name tires you think you are buying are made by others with old molds.  Coker, particularly, can have a problem with roundness and ability to balance without huge amounts of lead weights.  Just do your homework.

[RobertKB]

I replied to this topic earlier and said this

Quote

Personally I would go with bias ply. For what you plan on using it for they would be fine. Radials would look out of place in my opinion. Check out Coker or Lucas as you can get some old school looking tires from them. Blackwall would suit the truck as is. Bit pricey but I've had good luck. Just my two cents worth. Your truck, your call. 

 

[RobertKB]

Personally I have Coker tires on three cars and never had an issue. I have no affiliation with them but am just a satisfied customer.

[esteban]

I think due to ease of sourcing the Coker tires I'll be going that route, as I said they are just miles from my front door.

The other parts arrive Tuesday and my goal is to have them all installed by Friday (I don't imagine it'll take that long).  During that time I can throw the tires on the wheels and with any luck take her for a spin Friday afternoon.  If all goes well I'll take the truck back to our house for the winter this coming weekend so I can take care of some garage projects over the cold months.  But, I assume it wont go as planned and it'll be here for a while

[Pete]

I have Coker wide white wall radials on my 1939 Plymouth. I love them. With the pias ply the car would wander all over on bad roads. The car now drives much easier and safer. One tire developed a small bubble under the white wall. Coker replaced it for free and paid shipping both ways. Other than that I've had no issues.

Pete

 

[esteban]

So the parts arrived today and I pulled the oil pan, it certainly isn’t clean, nor would I expect an 80 year old engine that’s never had an oil filter haha!

The pan itself isn’t too bad honestly, the rotating assembly just has a layer of “gunk” on it. What do you guys all think would be the safest solvent, simple brake cleaner or something like that followed up with some WD-40??

[greg g]

Are you talking about cleaning out the pan?  Scrape it out, clean it with mineral spirits, or degreaser like GUNK.  But be careful that stuff could be lead pudding.  Gloves, and safety glasses highly recommended.  Disposing of it can be tricky also.