'50 1 Ton Tire Woes

[kencombs]

Coil question:  IMO, a bypass resistor is the way to go, if you are staying with points ignition.   Better / hotter spark when cranking.  12V to a 6v coil is good for cold weather starts.

 

In my case it's getting a real 12v coil, slant six distributor mod and a GM HEI controller.

 

edit:  As to the coil bursting:  Sounds like what happens when one leaves power to the coil, engine not running and points closed.  Makes no difference what type of coil you have, it will get hot and go bang if left like that long enough.  

Edited December 13, 2022 by kencombs

[Los_Control]

DCM classics has the gas pedal

https://dcmclassics.com/46-1948-1953-b-series

 

Fuel pump I bought from Napa .... I did buy a water pump & carburetor, other parts from rockauto.

Availability of parts change over time though .... RA no longer have the carbs available ... rebuild kits are available from several suppliers.

 

Tanks is one solution for a new fuel tank. No idea what condition your existing tank is in .... if it is original 70 years old, might be easier to replace it for $300?

I bought my tank & sending unit a few years ago for $250 for my 1949 .... Inflation.

 

They do not have a exact fit for your year. They sell a tank for a 1947 Dodge ..... The difference is the rear mounting location.

Up to 1947 the 1/2 ton trucks the fuel tank mounts to the rear cross member.

1948-1950 1/2 ton trucks also mount to rear cross member.

The difference is 1948 they moved the rear cross member back a few inches. So 1948 has a longer tank.

The front mount & fuel neck stays the same ...... is only the rear mount that is different.       This is only for the 1/2 ton trucks!!!!

 

3/4 ton trucks & larger have a longer wheel base and the cross member is moved further back ..... The factory made a rear mounting bracket for the fuel tank.

You only need to grind off the 2 rivets holding the bracket to the frame, relocate it to where it works with the 1947 tank.

The modification needed is so minor, "Tanks" was not going to spend the $$$ to stamp out a new tank for 48-50 trucks .... the 1947 tank will work fine for you.

https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=349/category_id=68/mode=prod/prd349.htm

 

There is a tank on ebay for your year for $640 .... I would rather save $300 & grind 2 rivets.

[buck0wens]

Got sick but I'm back in the saddle now. The truck is now at my dad's house. He's retired so I figured I'd leave it over there so he can tinker when he has the energy.

 

I knew something was up with the carb float. The carb was both overflowing and not filling ... seemingly randomly ?. I decided to grab the old float and needle valve and see if the new parts were the problem. Since I disassembled the carb before I got the kit, I didn't remember that the float was a loose fit on the pivot pin. The new float was a tight fit around the pin so the pin had to move with the float and was sticking wherever I last left it. It's funny when something like a carb that has no gas sometimes and too much other times makes absolutely no sense until you find the problem and then it makes prefect sense. Anyway, just a quick PSA about how the socket for the pivot pin on new floats need to be opened up a bit.

 

Once that was solved, I dropped a gas can in the front corner of the engine bay and hooked that to the mechanical fuel pump. Turned her over and the float bowl started filling. Looking good.

 

As for the coil, I had put a switch on it so I could turn it off ... for the exact reason that I didn't want it constantly on and then overheating and blowing up ... but then I got busy and forgot to turn it off ?. I suppose it's a good lesson to learn now instead of finding out when I'm on the road and forget to turn off the key. 

 

Once I got the carb fixed, gas supplied, and the new coil installed, I flipped the ignition switch, pressed the gas pedal nub a few times and she fired right up and ran under her own power from the tank. Sweet!

 

I loosened the rear brake minor adjusters as suggested and she moved well enough to get her on a tow dolly. A bit nerve racking to drive her up without brakes and a working gas pedal but got her loaded without incident.

 

I bought a new water pump, master cylinder rebuild kit, and a new gas pedal. Hopefully I'll be able to get her to the point of being able to make a quick trip down the road soon.

 

I'll attach a couple pics. I'm at the point where I think I should start a new, better named thread. I'll reply with the link once I start it. Thank you again everyone for the advice, it's been invaluable.

 

[buck0wens]

continued here 

 

[Chuckster555]

On 11/14/2022 at 4:38 PM, buck0wens said:

I just bought a b2d in pretty good shape but she needs new tires all around to get her home. I only have 4 rims on the dually ... lord knows where the other 2 are but I won't be getting them with the truck. I took the tires to a local tire shop. They told me to get tubes and flaps and they'd sell me tires and install them. I got everything there and they tried to put on some new 265/75/16s on (there were 285/75/16s on them) but they ended up being too wide in the middle (from what I can tell) so they decided they don't want to work on them after many failed attempts. They did get the lock rings and the old tires off so that was probably the worst of it anyway right? So now I'm calling around and everyone is giving me the run-around. I need to get the truck off the guy's property asap. I have a lot of mechanical experience and even worked a tire machine 8 hours a day at a junkyard 30 years ago ago but I've never worked on rims like this before. I've read about people on here are doing it themselves and I've seen a couple youtube vids and it looks doable with a clip on chuck and some chains. 

 

So here's my questions ... I'd really appreciate any insights.

 

1. I only have 4 rims. Will I be able to easily find another 2 matching dually rims for a decent price? If I can't I was thinking I might try to just change them all out and dodge the locking rim problem all together.

 

2. Are there readily available steel rims that look somewhat like the originals ... like off a newer old dodge 1 ton or something. The pattern appears to be 6 on 7" (or 7.5" maybe?) and the center hole is huge so I'm not too optimistic about this but I thought I'd ask.

 

3. Is this something I can tackle myself. I can get some 7x16 tires ( I was looking at these https://simpletire.com/brands/deestone-tires/d506#v=1&tireSize=7.00-null-16&mpn=ds1262 ) and slap in the tubes and flaps, chain 'em up or take them to my brother-in-law's (who has a cage), install the rings, and see what happens but I don't want to take up an bunch of time and money and end up having to take them to someone anyway. I know the risks and I'd take all the precautions (my father-in-law has 1/2 a thumb because of a tire accident).

 

Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice or expertise you can throw my way. Looking forward to getting the old girl to her new home.

 

[Chuckster555]

I have a set of front wheels that i had made for my 1 ton, tubeless barrels that work great. This is an extra set i have  .  Be willing to sell.

[ggdad1951]

On 3/3/2023 at 11:26 PM, Chuckster555 said:

I have a set of front wheels that i had made for my 1 ton, tubeless barrels that work great. This is an extra set i have  .  Be willing to sell.

 

Please take offers of parts for sale to PM.   Open trading not allowed on the forums.