51 B3B build thread - after all these years

[bkahler]

10 years is just a drop in the bucket 😄

 

I probably went overboard because I used all lacquered wires throughout.   From when I bought the first batch of wire in 2008 until just recently,  the price has sky rocketed.  But it sure looks nice!

 

There wasn't much left of the original wiring and what was there was scary bad.

Edited February 11 by bkahler

[Young Ed]

Mine has no original wiring left. Just a few random ones I added to make it run. However I'm going 12v for this one so I bought a generic harness which makes it slightly more complicated 

[bkahler]

15 hours ago, Young Ed said:

29y makes me feel much better about my truck project. I think I'm around the decade mark. I need to wrap my brain around the wiring and get that going. That and front brakes should make it a driver at least around the driveway. 

 

When I first started planning on how to tackle my wiring I ran across Dave Erb's description where Alan Parkhurst documented his new wiring harness.  If I remember the details correctly he bought a reproduction wiring harness and then took the time to meticulously document the harness with pictures and dimensions for each leg.  His truck was either a B1 or B2 so it was slightly different than my B3.  In 2008 I was transferred to Pasadena for a year and ended up with a lot of spare time on my hands.  So I took his sketches and laid out all the differences between his truck and mine and proceeded to develop my own sketches adding in any changes that I wanted such as blinkers front and rear and the right side tail light.  Once I had them done I built a wire wrapping stand and proceeded to start making my own harness.  In the end the harnesses actually turned out pretty good.

 

 

[Los_Control]

I think that is called cheating.  

Just not fun unless you build it on the truck one wire at a time.

 

I think the generic wire harness is a pretty good bargain for todays market and 12V systems.

They do have the correct automotive wiring, the one I bought the fuse box was extra cheesy ... just no way I could use it.

Although it would have done the job for a more modern vehicle.

The flasher relays were wired wrong to use for my vintage turn signal switch .... as hard as I tried, I could not de-pin the wires from the box to use them the way I wanted. ..... So I bought a aftermarket box and cut the wires off the generic box to use.

 

1/2 way through the wiring and I'm satisfied it was the right thing for me. I have a good box and plenty of color coded wires and it is fairly simple to just take one circuit at a time and start connecting things and build it the way I want it.

Instead of taking what they give me and making it work.

 

There sure is a lot of wires for a truck that is closer to a tractor then a automobile  🤔

[Young Ed]

17 minutes ago, Los_Control said:

I think that is called cheating.  

Just not fun unless you build it on the truck one wire at a time.

 

I think the generic wire harness is a pretty good bargain for todays market and 12V systems.

They do have the correct automotive wiring, the one I bought the fuse box was extra cheesy ... just no way I could use it.

  🤔

I hope I don't have the same one you had! Mine is an eBay special 

[Los_Control]

Just now, Young Ed said:

I hope I don't have the same one you had! Mine is an eBay special 

One big difference between yours and mine .... we talked before. Your wires are individually marked as to where they go.

Small printing on the outside of the sheath. .... Mine had nothing.

That alone, tells me yours was assembled with more quality then mine.

 

Another big item for me, the fuse box cover was embossed with lettering saying which each fuse/wire was for.

Then they put a sticker on the cover with a different diagram for what each fuse was for.

When you looked at the size of wires, it was impossible for them to match either diagram.

As if someone on assembly line just put wires in any available slot.

 

The box was full of fuses and sizes also did not match wire size .... when you pulled the fuses out, they were made so cheap they fell apart. The plastic came out and metal prongs stayed in the box.

 

They did not make the wire though, and wire is OK. The price I paid was recovered by saving the wire IMHO.

Mine came from Amazon.

[bkahler]

I've been steadily plugging away on the truck, getting a lot of small odds and ends taken care of.  None of them are really picture worthy, just things that need to be done.  Simple things like bleeding the brakes, connecting the tail light wires, fabricating the anti-squeak gaskets for rear fenders to running boards, painting the fender mounting hardware, installing the clutch and brake pedal rubber foot pads, and added a keeper pin to the spare tire rear hanger bolt. 

 

Tomorrow I may try and install the rear fenders.  We'll see....

[Los_Control]

WAAA!!! rubber foot pads? I want some ... where did you get those from? I did not think the B series had them.

 

Curious how you bled your brakes? .... I generally use the wife to pump the pedal for me.

With the seats out .... was not going to ask her to sit on a bucket and pump the brakes  🙄

 

Nice to have the truck indoors to work on. I really enjoy the carport in the summer time ... February not so much.

So I too do what I can when I can .... while it is warm enough today, extremely windy and miserable to work in.

Then way to cold next week to do anything ... starting next Sunday will be back into 70's-80's again and April is usually pretty nice ..... Maybe next week can get my speedometer working.

[bkahler]

Yep, rubber pedal pads

 

I don't know if anyone is reproducing them.  Back in 2008 while I was working in Pasadena I went to a car show/swap meet in Fullerton CA and actually found a few items worth picking up.  Most notably were the pedal pads at $5 each.  I believe they were a NOS item but I don't know what specific vehicle they were for.  I do know the matched the pedal shape on my truck perfectly so they may have been intended for the B series.  I'm glad I found them as I didn't care for the slippery surface of the metal pedal pad. 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

I was looking at one time and iirc, a 1951 Suburban had rubber pedals but it seemed the pedals were flipped 90 degrees and ran straight up and down instead of side to side. .... but the shape looked the same.

That was about 10 years ago ... glad you reminded me  

[bkahler]

I vaguely remember seeing some numbers on the inside of the pads, unfortunately I didn't right them down and there's no way I'm going to remove one to find out

 

[Young Ed]

Not cheap but the pads are available. I'm sure a quick call to bernbaum would get you fitment info

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174057206733?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=JXn8xyoHQqK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=jPrPlFMQQw2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[bkahler]

15 hours ago, Young Ed said:

Not cheap but the pads are available. I'm sure a quick call to bernbaum would get you fitment info

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174057206733?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=JXn8xyoHQqK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=jPrPlFMQQw2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Not cheap is right.  Even with the gas pedal the price still seems high.  Surprisingly, I clicked to add them to my watch list because I wanted to look closer when I had more time and this morning the seller sent me an offer for $102.60. 

 

I guess the good news is at least they are available if you want to spend the money.

[bkahler]

It turns out Bernbaum also has the B series pads as well.  Apparently the gas pedal is expensive because these pads are only $32 plus $5 shipping.  The auction does not specifically state two pads but it shows two and describes the auction as clutch and brake pedal pads. 

 

1948-1953 Dodge Truck Brake & Clutch Rubber Pedal Pads

[Young Ed]

31 minutes ago, bkahler said:

It turns out Bernbaum also has the B series pads as well.  Apparently the gas pedal is expensive because these pads are only $32 plus $5 shipping.  The auction does not specifically state two pads but it shows two and describes the auction as clutch and brake pedal pads. 

 

1948-1953 Dodge Truck Brake & Clutch Rubber Pedal Pads

If you go to bernbaum directly they are only $27. I'm sure they are marked up to cover the eBay fees

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, Young Ed said:

If you go to bernbaum directly they are only $27. I'm sure they are marked up to cover the eBay fees

 

Good point.  It'll be interesting to see how long the ones I have will last.  They looked to be NOS so the rubber isn't as pliable as new rubber would be. 

[JBNeal]

I wore out a few NORS pads, Doan brand I believe they were...foot contact was fine, but the lip that slips over the pedal would eventually tear after about 5 years.  I can attest that without that extra rubber, the least amount of dew on a boot sole will cause unpredictable results when the operator goes to shift gears and apply the brake, especially if done simultaneously...WHOA NELLY 👀

[bkahler]

I'm just about ready to install the new ABS headliner which brings up a question about the dome light and how it's grounded.  In my collection of parts I have the original dome light and the wire with J clip used to ground it.  However, I'm not quite sure how it is grounded.  It's been 29 years since I removed the tattered remnants of the headliner and I don't remember where the J clip was fastened.  My initial thought was the J clip went on the little plate in the center if the roof where there is a screw hole.  However, I don't believe the J clip will work with the plate due to the location of the hole, the J clip can't reach reach the hole.

This leads me to now believe that the J clip goes in the center hole above the rear window.  Can someone give me a definitive answer as to where the J clip goes?

 

In the attached pictures I replaced the ground wire with a new piece of wire and at the same time made it a couple inches longer. 

 

 

[JBNeal]

I have not seen a factory installed headliner yet, just the remnants...that slotted screw looks familiar though, as it attached the ground wire to the cab but hidden by the window trim panel.  I would think that the ground ring terminal would need to be under that screw head to maintain continuity after the screw is torqued down.  Of the 5 deluxe cabs by the house, none of them have that J-nut...maybe that'n is a custom cab

 

additional information - dome light installation