51 B3B build thread - after all these years

[billrigsby]

On 12/15/2021 at 6:35 PM, bkahler said:

Tested the original wiper motor and switch this evening to see if I could figure out what was wrong.  Before testing I had to replace the newly purchased dropping resistor with another new dropping resistor. 

 

After reading your post, and now having a 6 Volt battery, decided to check mine.

Seems to be OK.

 

Works on two speeds, stops in the same place each time.  ?

Wondering, what is the 'dropping resistor', mine does not have?

 

I recall your posting about the generator, so I am guessing, without going back

several pages, you are running 6 Volts, correct?

 

Is this like the wiper motor you are using?

 

 

[wallytoo]

On 12/14/2021 at 9:18 AM, bkahler said:

 

The generator I'm using is  12volt unit from a Jeep and it has two mounting ears on it.  I thought about using the front bearing housing from an earlier generator when I rebuilt it but in the end just decided to keep the generator as I bought it.

 

Brad

 

9 hours ago, billrigsby said:

 

 

I recall your posting about the generator, so I am guessing, without going back

several pages, you are running 6 Volts, correct?

 

 

 

perhaps 12 v?

[bkahler]

Yes, I've converted over to 12 volts.  The starter, wiper motor, and fuel gauge are still 6-volt.  

 

The resistor is supposed to drop the voltage from 12 to 6(ish) so the motor doesn't burn out from the higher voltage.  

 

The attached picture is what my wiper system looks like although this is not mine.  

Edited December 20, 2021 by bkahler

[wallytoo]

mine was converted to 12 v prior to my purchase of the truck, but the previous owner didn't use resistors for the wiper motor, heater motor, or gas gauge  (i don't recall if the gauge was even hooked up when i bought the truck, but it is now).

 

i added resistors to all three about 10 years ago; all work correctly still.  i did have to take the heater motor apart to solder the windings, as only one or two were still attached.

 

what i used for the heater and wiper motors:

 

 

 

[bkahler]

On 12/20/2021 at 2:03 PM, wallytoo said:

mine was converted to 12 v prior to my purchase of the truck, but the previous owner didn't use resistors for the wiper motor, heater motor, or gas gauge  (i don't recall if the gauge was even hooked up when i bought the truck, but it is now).

 

i added resistors to all three about 10 years ago; all work correctly still.  i did have to take the heater motor apart to solder the windings, as only one or two were still attached.

 

what i used for the heater and wiper motors:

 

 

 

 

Doing some research on 12 to 6 voltage converters it would seem the style that you have is more reliable with higher current ratings than the ceramic resistor style that I've currently installed.  I went ahead and ordered a pair from Speedway Motors and will swap out the ceramic resistor.  Hopefully this will provide a little better voltage stability on the output side.

 

Thanks!

 

Brad

[wallytoo]

i ordered mine back in 2008, from classic parts of america.  #24-996 for the motor resistors, and #24-995 for the gas gauge resistor.  no idea if they are still around, etc.

 

edit: just checked, still in business.  a bit more expensive ($21.95 vs the $12.95 i paid back then).

Edited December 22, 2021 by wallytoo

[bkahler]

On 12/22/2021 at 5:34 PM, wallytoo said:

i ordered mine back in 2008, from classic parts of america.  #24-996 for the motor resistors, and #24-995 for the gas gauge resistor.  no idea if they are still around, etc.

 

edit: just checked, still in business.  a bit more expensive ($21.95 vs the $12.95 i paid back then).

 

 

I like the looks of the gas gauge resistor, nice and compact.  If what I've got doesn't work for the gas gauge I'll try one of those.  

 

Thanks!

 

Brad

 

[bkahler]

The spring from McMaster-Carr arrived today so I was able to finish installing the battery cables.  I found a couple of clamps at the hardware store that worked perfectly for clamping the spring to the frame.  I did have to remove the terminal end of the cable so it would slip through the spring so I also picked up a new terminal while at the hardware store.  I was originally planning on hooking the ground cable to the starter as has been suggested but the hole in the battery terminal wasn't big enough and there wasn't enough meat on the terminal to enlarge the hole.  So for the time being I've bolted it to the transmission as was done originally and if I have issues later I'll deal with it at that time.

 

 

Before working on the battery cables I tried bolting the starter in place and quickly found that I needed to relocate the oil gauge pipe and fitting.  If I remember right someone commented on the location I had it in, mentioning that it would likely interfere with the starter.  Well, they were right!  After looking at a bunch of pictures that I've saved over the years I found a couple showing how the tube routing was supposed to be so that's the next project.  In the mean time I pulled the plug from where the tube is supposed to go and plugged the hole by the starter.

 

 

I'll say this, my hats off to all of those mechanics back in the day that had to replace the starters on these engines when they failed.  Access to the bottom bolt is a pain and I made it even worse with the addition of the Jeep master cylinder.  That bolt was bad enough.  The top one that is close to the block is unbelievable!   I still haven't got it started yet.  I'm currently able to access things rather easily because the fenders haven't been installed yet.  I can't imagine what it would be like to try and replace the starter with the hood and fenders in place 

 

I think if the starter goes bad after I install the fenders I'll just sell the truck as is.....

 

 

In the following picture you can see where the starter lever doesn't line up with the pad on the starter pedal.  I'm guessing I need to remove the lever and bend it such that it will line up with the center of the pad.  I would think the lever should be centered on the pad to prevent excess wear on the pedal shaft.

 

 

That's about it for today.

 

Brad

 

 

[Steve-L]

On 12/20/2021 at 11:03 AM, wallytoo said:

mine was converted to 12 v prior to my purchase of the truck, but the previous owner didn't use resistors for the wiper motor, heater motor, or gas gauge  (i don't recall if the gauge was even hooked up when i bought the truck, but it is now).

 

i added resistors to all three about 10 years ago; all work correctly still.  i did have to take the heater motor apart to solder the windings, as only one or two were still attached.

 

what i used for the heater and wiper motors:

 

 

 

Nice mounting, that bracket makes a great heat sink

[Jeff Balazs]

There are a couple of things you can do to make it a little easier to R&R the starter motor. I slotted the heads of the two mounting bolts to allow the use of a screw driver. This makes it a bit easier to get some turns on the bolts when they are loose. I also have a wrench that I cut down that helps some too. It is always going to be a PITA job .......but it can be accomplished with the fenders on this way. Just have to be a bit creative....

Hth, Jeff

[bkahler]

This morning I went out into the garage with the intention of pulling out the wiper motor and switch again but some how ended up putting the wire terminals on the wires where the main cab harness connects to the chassis harness and terminated the wires for the dip-switch.  Also finished the ignition wiring on the coil and distributor as well as the connectors on the brake light switch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't want to do a final install on the generator wires until the fender is installed so I'll be doing some temporary terminals so in theory the generator should function once I get the engine running.

 

Pretty much all that's left to terminate are the tail lights, parking lights, headlights and horns.  For the most part the electrical install has gone very well.  

 

Oh yeah, I still need to run a wire to the fuel pump from the ignition switch.  Hopefully that's on tap for this afternoon.

 

Brad

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by bkahler

[bkahler]

Well nuts.  I think my oil filter plumbing is backwards.  Would someone care to confirm this suspicion for me?

 

[billrigsby]

 

These are mine, outlet is on TOP of this filter, have seen them both ways.

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by billrigsby

[wallytoo]

from what i can see, yours (brad) is the same as bill's.

[billrigsby]

22 minutes ago, wallytoo said:

from what i can see, yours (brad) is the same as bill's.

 

At least very similar, my drain is parallel to my output, if his output is on the top his drain is 45° off.

 

Not sure what brand he has but most if not all are marked with either an input or an output. And I think I've seen mine, the JC one with a drain like his off to the front. Maybe?

 

 

[wallytoo]

6 minutes ago, billrigsby said:

 

At least very similar, my drain is parallel to my output, if his output is on the top his drain is 45° off.

 

Not sure what brand he has but most if not all are marked with either an input or an output. And I think I've seen mine, the JC one with a drain like his off to the front. Maybe?

 

 

 

clearly the filters are different.  i believe brad was inquiring about the plumbing; from what i see, both of yours have matching plumbing, not matching filters.  but i can see from how i worded my statement that it appears as if i meant you had identical filters.  my bad.

Edited December 30, 2021 by wallytoo

[billrigsby]

5 minutes ago, wallytoo said:

 

clearly the filters are different.  i believe brad was inquiring about the plumbing; from what i see, both of yours have matching plumbing, not matching filters.  but i can see from how i worded my statement that it appears as if i meant you had identical filters.  my bad.

 

Yep, his plumbing is correct then, as long as the upper is the outlet.

The Mopar instructions I posted earlier have the outlet at the bottom, it would have been nice if everyone made them the same.

But we know how that goes.  ?

 

[wallytoo]

and that the instructions are for a sealed canister, as opposed to the sock filters in brad's (and your) truck.

[billrigsby]

1 minute ago, wallytoo said:

and that the instructions are for a sealed canister, as opposed to the sock filters in brad's (and your) truck.

 

That I did not see!

Been a frustrating day that's my story and I'm sticking to it LOL

[bkahler]

Yeah, our filter assemblies are the same but different....!

 

After I got home last night I managed to get my camera in the right position and angle to take a picture of the side port.  It does say outlet.  So the plumbing is correct which certainly makes me feel better.  It also means that I can just pull the sock and pour some oil into the can and it should drain down into the oil passages.  That's a lot easier than using a pump oil can

 

 

 

Thanks all!

 

Brad

[JBNeal]

additional information - flathead bypass oil filter operation

[bkahler]

Kind of went off on a tangent this pass week or so.  Last week I contacted an upholsterer about recovering my seat cushions and made arrangements to drop them off last Friday.   While there we discussed the rebuild process and I mentioned that I wanted to paint the spring assemblies after he removed the covers.  So I left his place (hour drive) and after I got home I gave him a call to ask a question about clips.  He informed me that he had the cushions stripped down and so I made arrangements to pick up the spring assemblies Saturday morning.

 

I now have the spring assemblies in my shop again and I spent Sunday drilling out the spot welds holding the bottom frame to the spring assembly.  Between the bottom frame and the spring assembly there is some sort of cardboard sheet that needed to be replaced.  The main reason for replacing is it smelled a lot like mouse urine which I guess shouldn't be all that surprising after 70 years of use and storage 

 

I'm planning on using 1/8" Masonite to replace the carboard sheet.  I'm also planning on adding in the valve for the "Air-O-Ride" mechanism that I had salvaged from a seat at the junkyard years ago. 

 

I realized after dismantling the springs that I would not be able to weld the spring assembly to the bottom frame because of the Masonite so I ended up buying a spot welder which means I can assemble things properly.  We'll see how that goes....!

 

Pictures to follow later today....

 

 

[bkahler]

Meant to post these earlier but got side tracked with some snow

 

[bkahler]

Today was a good day

 

I received the Exhaust System from DCM Classics and I now have a newly mixed gallon of paint to respray all of the exterior sheet metal and cab exterior.  

 

It looks like I'm starting to run out of excuses for not getting the truck finished 

[bkahler]

Respray of the body panels has not really taken off as yet due to excessively cold temperatures.  He can't get his shop warm enough without leaving the furnace on for extended hours and it's just not worth the cost.  However it looks like there might be a slight break in temperature this week so some painting may take place.

 

I've made some progress with the exhaust system.  Unfortunately I did make one mistake.  I took the two down pipes to the local shop (the one I figured would be the best of the bunch) to have offset bends put in the horizontal runs to bring them into alignment to enter the 2 to 1 adapter.  That turned out to be a big mistake

 

The mistake was in thinking they could put in a 1" offset accurately.  That turned out to NOT be the case.  I ended up with almost a 2" offset in the outside down pipe and a 1" offset in the inside down pipe.  And to make things worse they weren't parallel to each other.  What I've ended up doing to get around this mess was to cut off the 1" section on the inside pipe and I tweaked the outside pipe so the offset is more or less running parallel.  This meant I had to order a short section of straight pipe and I'm having to splice the inside pipe

 

Once the replacement section arrives things should go together rather quickly.  The only tough part is bring hauling my Mig welder from the shop to the house garage where the truck is and then I have to temporarily install a 220 outlet for the welder.  

 

Here's a shot of the down pipes temporarily in place.  

 

 

 

At the moment I think I'm behind schedule on what needs to be done to make the trip west in March.  I haven't given up hope though