Doors

No pics yet but this weekend I put the doors on. The passenger side is great but the drivers side has some alignment issues. Both however open and shut. This old dodge is interesting. They put a key lock only on the passenger side. To keep the truck locked you park the truck. Pull up on the drivers interior door handle which locks the door, slide out the passenger side and use the key to lock it. I guess they were worried about people opening/locking their doors while standing on the street close to traffic.

Me, I am not worried about a car thief. With the old style push rod floor starter most people would never be able to figure it out. You have to turn on the key, give a couple of taps on the gas with your heel, push the started rod to the floor with your toe, feather the choke and then use your heel to give a little more gas as it starts. You have to be pretty coordinated!

Chrome!!!

This weekend I took the truck for a few more laps again around my circle. My dad came up to visit so I had to prove that it truly runs under it's own power. I worked a little more on the doors. The driver latch mechanism is going to need some work. The passenger side turned out nicely with the patch in the corner. That was a bit of work. I took the chrome down from it's storage and started to work on it. It needed some scrubbing, bending, twisting, welding, and some redneck bodywork (hit it with bigger hammer) to get it to settle in but it seemed to come together quite well.

My son helped me put the hood ornament on which I still think is one of the coolest things about the truck.

If I can get doors and some temporary tail lights in place I may try to get tags before February is over. We'"ll have to see.

Mater's Test drive with his new face and paint job

I took Mater out for another run around the block. My son helped me get things ready and then stopped to take the video. As you can see the truck has the front sheet metal minus doors and flat black out of a rattle can. It looked better than primer gray. When he took the video he obviously wanted to make sure I made it all the way to the end of the street.

Brakes 101--Modern Safety Upgrades

Master Cylinder Upgrade

The original brakes had a small single chamber master cylinder. If it loses pressure you’re hosed. Newer systems use a larger dual chamber system. If one fails you only lose ½ of your brakes. The trucks original pedal pivots on a shaft integrated into the clutch bell housing. You push the pedal through the floor and it pushes a rod forward into the engine compartment and into the master cylinder. Unfortunately the old location of the cylinder is very small making a modern dual chamber MC very difficult. After searching the net an reviewing some mechanical issues I decided to keep the original pedal with a modification.

I fabricated an extension arm of 3/8” steel which created an arm that sits below the original pivot point and when the pedal is activated reverses the direction of force. I bought a dual MC for a ’67 Ford Falcon and created a large bracket that bolts to the frame and sits under the cab behind the pedal system. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the bracket I made. It’s pretty straight forward. It is an “L” shaped bracket with a brace, drilled to accept the new, larger, safer dual chamber MC. It took a bit of fiddling, grinding, measuring and thinking to finally get the thing to sit right but it works and seems to work well.

The picture shows the old pedal with some labels hopefully giving you an idea of what I created. For you PH owners you will remember there is a spacer between the brake pedal and clutch pedal. This plate I created is basically the same width so you drop out the spacer and slide this on without changing your pedal spacing.






E-Brake

The truck had an E-brake that was like a reverse brake drum. Out of the tranny shaft was a metal cylinder. When you pulled the handle it tightened what looked like a set of brake pads around the cylinder to create a braking effect. Since I pulled the tranny and put in the T-5 tranny I lost that system. However when I fabricated a new floor board for the relocated shifter I cut a notch and fabricated a mounting bracket for the original handle shown in the picture. I have not done it yet but I should be able to route the E-brake cables off of my transplanted Jeep axle to this handle and create a usable E-brake that looks like the original style.

Disc Brakes

Another drawback to the old trucks were the 4 wheel drum brakes. Anyone who has ever driven these old things realize they can fade, pull, and just plain not stop well. With my original plans I wanted and old truck but one that is usable everyday and on any street. I bought a kit from Charlie Akers which allowed me to keep the original spindles after stripping off the drums. It used GM parts from the mid 80’s to add 11” front disc brakes. The pics show my son helping me bolt on the “C” shaped bracket which will allow the caliper to bolt on. It also shows him with a Dremel tool carving out a little notch we needed to let the caliper fit better. It needed to be relieved by about 1/8” in one section, otherwise the kit was great. The only other problem I had was that with the truck this kit needs to have the left/right sides swapped to clear the front shock mounts. The other pic shows the 5/8” tap needed after the lower spindle holes were enlarged. I did that without taking them off the truck. I think my arms are still sore from drilling those out!

He finally has a face!

Things continue to move along with Mater. He finally got a face. This last 2 weeks I have spent most of my time re-attaching the front fenders, hood, grill, and headlights and front turn signals. He's actually starting to look like a truck. That is if you ignore the fact that there are no doors, bed, or tailgate. But those are merely minor problems soon to be tackled. The pictures below are some of the first major body work I have had to do. The PO (previous owner) tried to fill in the passenger lower door panel with bondo to cover some rust. The picture shows the huge chunk of the stuff that I cut out of the rotted section. I had to cut out the lower curved section and part of the flat side panel. I used some 18g steel after creating a cardboard template and made a two piece patch. The lower section created the curve then I welded in the flat face section and used the grinder to pretty things up. The welds along the lip of the door skin were tricky due to old, thin, rusting metal. If you weld too hot you just blow a hole through the metal and create a new place that needs patched. It's not a perfect job but it will probably outlast the rest of the truck. I hope to have the doors mounted in a few weeks. I need to check the window mechanisms and door latches then hang them back on.

Dodge Pickup History Lesson

1948 to 1953 B-Series PickupsAuthor: Don Bunn
The B-Series trucks were by far the finest and most advanced pickups of their day. This may seem like a bold statement in light of the fact that Chevrolet and Ford both announced important new truck series at the same time: Chevrolet in June 1947, Dodge in December 1947 and Ford in January 1948. The three auto divisions announced their first post War automobiles as 1949 models.
This Dodge B-1-B-116 half-ton 116-inch wheelbase pickup with less than 25,000 miles is an original truck including its tires and muffler. It is painted dark green with a black 6 1/2-foot cargo box. This was the standard paint design during the B-Series years. This 1949 model is typical of years 1948 to 1950. You can see the truck at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler)
This 1950 Dodge B-2-C-116 3/4-ton pickup was owned by the author. It had the 218 cubic inch L-six, a four speed transmission and overload springs. It was a great truck! (Photo: Don Bunn)
Lets take a look at the B-Series truck features which put Dodge ahead of the competition. First of all was its advanced, handsome cab styling. Dodge designers referred to it as the Pilothouse safety cab. This was in reference to the improvements in visibility over the previous cab. It was achieved from Chrysler's famous "chair height" seat and from improved driver visibility through the higher and wider windshield, door glass and rear window. New optional cab rear quarter windows eliminated those former dangerous blind areas.
Secondly, Dodge engineers set the front axles and wheels of all models eight inches further back than the former trucks and moved the engine slightly forward (similar in concept to 1936-1938's Fore-Point load distribution).
As before this resulted in shifting more of the payload to the front axle and allowed greater payload ratings without adding more weight to the rear axle and springs.
A significant improvement in driveability was achieved by changing over to a cross-steering arrangement. Cross-steering, in combination with the new wide tread front axle, provided a 37-degree turn angle either right or left because the drag link ran almost parallel with the front axle and did not interfere with the left front tire on left turns. The B-Series featured long flexible springs and shock absorbers to provide a comfortable, controlled ride. If you want to treat yourself to a real pleasure, find a restored B-Series pickup and take it for a test drive. You will prove to yourself how maneuverable and easy to steer and drive these remarkable trucks are. You will be amazed that a 50 year old truck could deliver this level of driveability.
This 1948 Dodge one-ton B-1-D-126 pickup carried a 9-foot box. It was powered by a 230 cubic inch L-six.
The author owns this 1952 Dodge half-ton B-3-B-108 high-side pickup. He purchased it in 1973 and completed its restoration in 1980. Since then it has clocked 5,088 miles. This grille is typical of 1951-1953 trucks.
The B-Series advanced design highlights included modern, cab-wide front fenders. Notice for yourself how the front fenders of the Other Two retained the old fashioned 1930s style. Dodge designers brought the lines of the front fenders back and smoothly integrated them into the cab doors.
You know the B-Series pickups are hard working, heavy haulers by their new extra deep cargo boxes. The cubic capacity of cargo space was greatly increased from the former pickup series. Dodge B-Series pickups were famous for moving loads, consequently most B-Series pickups were sold with 4-speed transmissions and overload springs.
When this retired fire truck was found by the author in 1988 it had only 7,000 miles on it. It is a 1953 Dodge 3/4-ton pickup model B-4-C-116. Its fenders were new for 1953. It was powered by the 218 cubic inch L-six coupled to a 4-speed transmission.
Drivetrains for the B-Series were unchanged from the 1947 -- they consisted of the 95 horsepower 218 six for half- and 3/4-ton trucks and the 102 horsepower 230 six for the one-tons. A 3-speed transmission was standard for all models and the 4-speed was optional.
The half-ton pickup's wheelbase was 108-inches and its cargo box was 6 1/2-feet long. The 3/4-ton's specs were 116-inch wheelbase and 7 1/2-foot cargo box. The one-ton included a 116-inch wheelbase and a 126-inch wheelbase with a 7 1/2- and 9-foot cargo box respectively.
Dodge built two one-ton B-Series pickups. A 1953 one-ton B-4-D-126 is shown. It has a 126-inch wheelbase and a 9-foot cargo box. Its drivetrain consists of a 230 cubic inch L-six and a 4-speed transmission.

Copied from http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/history/segment6.html

February Update

December and January were productive months for Mater. He got a new nervous system (dash gauages and wiring harness) compliments of a very wonderful Mrs. Claus...i.e. my wife! The dash panel was fabricated from 16g steel and made to be easily removable for any work that needs done.

I also found some comparison pictures for the engine compartment. Amazong what a little (alot) of elbow grease, grinders, and spray paint will do.

It's amazing to see the truck come back together. It is a lot of fun. This is what Mater looked like a few months after getting him home. It's fun to be in the buildup stage finally.

Right now I am working on some broken metal areas aroung the hood hinges. 60 years have left them weak and broken. That should be put back together tonight then I hope to get the hood and grill mounted by the weekend.