51 B3B build thread - after all these years

[bkahler]

I completed a few tasks this weekend on the truck.  I installed the fuel pump on/off switch that hangs under the dash, replaced the temporary wire inside the distributor, replaced the small points screw inside the distributor with one that wasn't rounded off, installed the seat track return springs, adjusted the clutch pedal for proper engagement, and installed the horn button ring.  All small stuff but they needed to be done.  

 

 

 

 

[Lingle]

3 hours ago, bkahler said:

 

I wish I could say I don't have any more stumps on my property because I just had 91 stumps ground, unfortunately there are still more to go.

 

 

 

 

holy cats!  91??

[bkahler]

7 minutes ago, Lingle said:

 

holy cats!  91??

Yeah, 86 stumps in a long line and 5 others because they were easily accessible at the time.

 

[bkahler]

Please tell me I didn't install the steering wheel 180 degrees off

 

[ggdad1951]

11 hours ago, bkahler said:

Please tell me I didn't install the steering wheel 180 degrees off

 

 

I don't think you did.  That's how FEF is/was (as are all the other trucks I have).  I'm sure others may chime in, but it's fine as he sits.

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, ggdad1951 said:

 

I don't think you did.  That's how FEF is/was (as are all the other trucks I have).  I'm sure others may chime in, but it's fine as he sits.

 

For some reason I made a note indicating the long spoke was supposed to be down and in the center.  I have no idea why I made that note or when I made it.  I like the way looks now better.

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by bkahler

[ggdad1951]

4 hours ago, bkahler said:

 

For some reason I made a note indicating the long spoke was supposed to be down and in the center.  I have no idea why I made that note or when I made it.  I like the way looks now better.

 

 

I can see the gauges easier with the long spoke up as it gives you a window to see the gauges.

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, ggdad1951 said:

 

I can see the gauges easier with the long spoke up as it gives you a window to see the gauges.

 

That is pretty much my thought as well.  

[bkahler]

I still seem to be fighting a losing battle with coolant leaks.  I get one fixed and another one crops up somewhere else.  During its first run the other day I noticed what appeared to be a thin line of coolant on the rearward seam of the thermostat housing where the vertical tube meets the base.  I wiped it off at the time and I didn't see any return by the time I shut the engine off.

 

Fast forward a couple of days after the run and I was examining the engine and noticed on the forward seam of the thermostat housing there was a thin line of coolant.  The engine hasn't been started since the first run and I know the area was dry a few days ago.  The vertical portion of the pipe is not wet which tells me the coolant wasn't coming from the hose connection above.  There is no coolant around the seam where the housing meets the head, so I know it's not coolant flowing up hill. ?

 

The only assumption I could make is the seam itself is cracked inside and allowing coolant to pass through.  With that in mind I ordered a replacement housing from DCM Classics.  I don't plan to replace the housing until it's time to install the front sheet metal.  At that point I know I'm going to have to loosen the radiator hose fitting so I can tilt the radiator frame forward or backward to properly fit the sheet metal.  At that time, I'll drain the radiator, install the sheet metal and then replace the housing and find a new hose.

 

Oh well, I'd rather find all of these little problems before installing the grille and fenders.

 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

I have had problems with T-stat housings sealing on various vehicles in the past.

You clean the surfaces, the head should be flat. The housing run a straight edge on them to be sure not warped.

I use permatex gasket shelac compound for a sealer.

 

Sometimes still end up with a little weeping like yours. ..... Double check the bolts are still torqued correctly ... not over tightened, run it through a few heat cycles and would disappear.

 

Just saying my daily driver work truck, drive it a day or two & would seal up & never return.

 

Me a old hack, I would leave it as is for a short time & see if it goes away .... If installed correctly it should.

No guarantee you put the new one on and will not have same issue.

 

As a kid they leaked every time on me, I never got the surfaces clean & down to bare metal. Or had a housing that was warped, cracked, badly pitted...

So after redoing my work many times, I now feel pretty confident in replacing my T-stats.

There are still a few that weep for a short period & then quit.

[JBNeal]

maybe that's just the bad coolant leaking out...drive it around for a season and see how much coolant needs to be replaced...maybe put some rad.sealant in the coolant and see if that does the trick

[bkahler]

Los & JB,

 

The leak isn't occurring on the gasketed surface.  It's around the seam where the tube passes through the flange.  I think what is happening is the weld that secures the tube to the flange is porous from age and rust.  The current leak is occurring when the engine is hot and also when the engine is cold.  The latest wet spot showed up several days after the engine had cooled down.  I think it's wicking through the seam.

 

If I remember correctly the housing was really rusty inside, which is expected, but the top edge of the tube is heavily corroded and thin and actually missing a few small chunks of metal at the top. 

 

Replacing the housing will give me peace of mind.  The last thing I want to deal with is to be out driving here in the hills of Kentucky and start having issues with the coolant system.  I have to break into the coolant system anyway to adjust the radiator support frame so might as well get it done when the opportunity arises!

 

 

[Los_Control]

On 3/20/2023 at 4:03 PM, bkahler said:

Yeah, 86 stumps in a long line and 5 others because they were easily accessible at the time.

 

Wow! Just incredibly beautiful. And a lot of work to maintain. I have enough problems taking care of my city lot

 

The photo reminds me of my childhood. My family rented a house on 75 acres. There were 2 houses, Grandmother & Uncle rented the other house. My father had a large 1/4 acre garden, we had use of the barn and had pigs, chickens, cows.

The majority of the property the owner was retired and he worked everyday on it keeping it up like a park.

A 30 acre field could have raised crops, He had it planted in grass and trees completely surrounding it in a circle ....

The driveway was a mile long .... had to walk it to catch the bus for school  The driveway followed the river that surrounded the property on 2 sides. .... The property owner did a great job taking care of it ... I wonder why he never lived there himself?  ..... Today It is a commercial resort where people pay good money to stay for the weekend.

What a great place to grow up ..... A incredible amount of labor goes into taking care of a place like that.

[Los_Control]

Just now, bkahler said:

If I remember correctly the housing was really rusty inside, which is expected, but the top edge of the tube is heavily corroded and thin and actually missing a few small chunks of metal at the top. 

I understand. I also bought a used replacement T-stat housing for my truck. My problem was the hose would leak because of all the corrosion on the neck.

While I could mess with it & get it to seal, I replaced it first chance when something came available.

[bkahler]

Weekend update.  

 

Didn't have a chance to do much until Sunday afternoon.  I finally rolled the truck out of the garage and started it up with the goal of tinkering with the idle speed and getting it hot enough so I could re-torque the head bolts.  

 

After a couple of revolutions, it fired right up and started idling at about 1200, same was the break-in period.  After it warmed up a bit, I checked the carburetor balancing with a Uni-Syn and found that the front carburetor was pulling a lot more air than the rear.  So much so that when I placed the Uni-Syn on the front carb the idle really dropped and the engine almost stalled.  

 

I then disconnected the throttle linkage from the two carburetors and immediately the idle dropped down to about 800 without me touching anything.  The main reason for the idle problem ended up being the linkage arm on the front carburetor was forcing the throttle open a lot more than I anticipated when I original fabricated everything.  The front arm needs to be shortened by possibly as much as 1/4" to provide a good adjustment range.  

 

I'm not sure why but the rear arm is almost 3/16" longer than the front but fits just fine.  I need to spend some time and revisit all of the throttle linkage to make sure I haven't missed something somewhere.  

 

At this point the carburetors were now independent from each other, so I was able to better dial in the idle settings for each carburetor.  At one point I had it idling down around 450 or so although the idle was pretty lumpy at that setting.  For the time being 600 to 650 seems to be the best idle point.  I'll know more once I can check the plugs to see how they look.  

 

Due to the issue with the front linkage, once I reconnected everything the best idle I could get was about 800 or so.  I'll spend time this week reworking the front linkage.  

 

I successfully re-torqued the head bolts and then drove the truck up my driveway, turned around and drove back down.  I have a gravel driveway that's about 1200 feet long and there is a long slow uphill rise in one area and the back end really bounced around as I was heading up that stretch 

 

The truck has a stiff suspension to begin with and with no weight on the back end you can imagine what it felt like

 

Other than the carburetor linkage the only other item of concern is the generator only seems to be putting out 12.8 volts.  My regulator has been converted to solid state and if I remember right, I was told I shouldn't have to polarize it.  I'm going to revisit that issue to see if maybe that isn't the problem.  It's a freshly rebuilt generator along with the converted regulator.

 

Brad

 

 

[bkahler]

On 3/22/2023 at 1:39 PM, Los_Control said:

Wow! Just incredibly beautiful. And a lot of work to maintain. I have enough problems taking care of my city lot

 

Yep, it's a beautiful property.  Almost all of the trees along the right side are gone.  Between the power line risk and pine needles 1" thick on the driveway I just got sick of them.

 

 

On 3/22/2023 at 1:39 PM, Los_Control said:

The photo reminds me of my childhood. My family rented a house on 75 acres. There were 2 houses, Grandmother & Uncle rented the other house. My father had a large 1/4 acre garden, we had use of the barn and had pigs, chickens, cows.

The majority of the property the owner was retired and he worked everyday on it keeping it up like a park.

A 30 acre field could have raised crops, He had it planted in grass and trees completely surrounding it in a circle ....

The driveway was a mile long .... had to walk it to catch the bus for school  The driveway followed the river that surrounded the property on 2 sides. .... The property owner did a great job taking care of it ... I wonder why he never lived there himself?  ..... Today It is a commercial resort where people pay good money to stay for the weekend.

What a great place to grow up ..... A incredible amount of labor goes into taking care of a place like that.

 

Sounds like a nice place to grow up

 

 

[Merle Coggins]

When I got my truck all together and running I didn't have the bed together yet. I hung some tail lights on the back of the frame and drove it around that weekend. I know what you mean about being bouncy without no weight on the back. Now it rides much better with the bed installed. 

 

[bkahler]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:01 PM, Merle Coggins said:

When I got my truck all together and running I didn't have the bed together yet. I hung some tail lights on the back of the frame and drove it around that weekend. I know what you mean about being bouncy without no weight on the back. Now it rides much better with the bed installed. 

 

 

Once I get my truck front sheet metal and doors installed, I'll definitely be taking some test drives  

 

By the way, Nice looking truck.  I love the color ?

 

 

 

[bkahler]

Last night I lengthened the threads on the two throttle arms and the fit now looks to be good.  While making the adjustment on the front arm I realized why I wasn't getting full throttle opening.  

 

When I was fabricating the linkage for the dual carbs I reversed things a little and I ended up causing a jamming point between the vertical rod and the throttle pull cable pivot arm.  It's not a big problem but I did order a couple of right-angle swivel joints and will fabricate a new arm that will allow full movement of the throttle.

 

 

 

I did find another problem while installing the throttle arms.  Both throttle shafts fit within the throttle bodies are really loose, i.e., sloppy  

 

As I was fiddling with the linkage, every time I pushed on the pedal the accelerator would squirt gas down the bore and some of it started dribbling out of the throttle shaft openings.  That kind of leak will certainly affect idle adjustments among other things so it's time to fix the issue.

 

Back in 2008 when I rebuilt the carbs I knew they were loose in the bores but didn't have the equipment/tools on hand at the time to do anything about it so I ended up kicking the can down the road.  Fast forward to the present.  What I plan on doing is boring out the throttle shaft openings and installing bronze bushings.  It's a common fix for this problem and shouldn't be too difficult to resolve.  Just another case of 2 steps forward, one step back.  I seem to be experiencing a lot of those with this truck

 

Brad

 

[bkahler]

This weekend I corrected the throttle linkage binding issue by replacing the vertical link with two ball joints and a threaded rod.  So far it seems to work just fine.  I'll grab some pictures tonight and get them posted so you can see what I ended up doing.  

 

Recently I noticed an oil spot on the floor that had not been there previously.  Crawling around underneath the engine I found the right front bolt on the oil pan was dripping oil.  

 

 

 

 

 

Oddly enough the oil only seems to be on the bolt head and around where it meets the pan.  I can't find any indication that the oil flowed from some other point on the block.  

 

Here is a picture I took of the underside of the block while I was replacing the oil pan gasket.  I've circled the offending bolt in red.  Most of the oil pan bolts are through bolts on the outside of the block.  This one appears that it might open up inside the block. 

 

 

 

Anyone else have problems with oil weeping through the threads on this bolt?

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by bkahler

[Los_Control]

Interesting oil leak ..... I can imagine how it could leak ..... 70 year old engine & bolts.

I assume the threaded hole is exposed to oil on the other end.

 

I think the torque on these bolts is really low. Over torque a cork gasket and cause a different leak or distort the flat edge of the pan.

Possibly a new bolt would fix it, or maybe some gasket sealer on the threads of the bolt.

Maybe it will go away with a few heat cycles .... just double check the bolt is snug.

 

Glad to see progress  

[bkahler]

16 hours ago, Los_Control said:

Interesting oil leak ..... I can imagine how it could leak ..... 70 year old engine & bolts.

I assume the threaded hole is exposed to oil on the other end.

 

I think the torque on these bolts is really low. Over torque a cork gasket and cause a different leak or distort the flat edge of the pan.

Possibly a new bolt would fix it, or maybe some gasket sealer on the threads of the bolt.

Maybe it will go away with a few heat cycles .... just double check the bolt is snug.

 

Glad to see progress  

 

I forgot to look at the other bolts that might penetrate into the block and plan to do so this week.  I do know it's the only one that left an oil spot on the floor.  I spent a lot of time and effort installing the oil pan gasket so that it wouldn't leak and so far it's just that one bolt that seems to be a issue.   This weekend I plan on removing the bolt and then evaluating what to do about it.

 

 

 

[bkahler]

Here's a couple of pictures new linkage arm.  One unexpected benefit of the new parts is they remove a lot of slop in the linkage when pushing the gas pedal.

 

I just noticed I don't have a jam nut on the threaded rod, so I think this weekend I'll find a stainless nut and install it.  

 

This weekend after I've dealt with the leaky bolt, I think I'll take a test drive around the neighborhood

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

Lots of different  gasket sealers .... I'm not suggesting it is the correct fix.

When I suggest it might be adequate I'm thinking of this product here.

Just what I have used for gaskets for years ... A brown gooie shellac that dries.

I'm not thinking of silicone products.

 

Along the line of using pipe dope or Teflon tape tape to seal head bolts going into water passages.

The bolts & threads are good, they get a lot of torque .... they still leak if no sealer on them.

 

So I think it is a legitimate cure .... not mickey mouse. Yet I do not know what would be the best product.

This is just my usual go to that I have a few bottles around.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Desotodav]

Keep ironing out all the bugs Brad…. that never ends ?

 

The book of Bunn suggested that the single spoke of the steering wheel went straight up to enable better sight of the gauges…. so yours is spot on ?