I was thinking...

...last year when I experienced the carburetor float issue it took me a few weeks to locate and have delivered a used float. Rojo was out of commission for this time. In my mind it was peak operating time for her (e.g. Early Spring driving weather, Kid's baseball games, trips to Dairy Queen). In order to avoid future downtime I decided to look for a replacement carburetor in the event something similar happened again. A simple search on ebay motors helped me locate a seemingly perfect replacement carb for the same price I paid for the float one year prior - $40!

A Carter Ball & Ball E7T2

Could It Be The Carburetor Again?

While driving my truck for the first time this season, I experienced something eerily familiar when she stalled on me one Friday afternoon on my way to pick up my 2 sons from school. Almost exactly 1 year prior, the engine would on occasion get flooded by what I later determined to be a faulty carburetor float. But how could this be happening again, the carb was rebuilt with a new kit and carb float? I had my trusty Ecuadorian mechanic, Byron, make a house call to help diagnose the problem.

Removing the top of the carb revealed that some particulate was still finding it's way from the gas tank. Last year we talked about installing an inline, transparent gas filter near the gas tank and now was the time to do it.

Update: It looks like the inline gas filter has solved the problem. Rojo has been running like a watch the last several weeks. It will be interesting to monitor how long it takes the filter to become visibly dirty. All it takes is a quick peek under the driver's side of the undercarriage.

Now that's a Party

This past weekend my wife and I threw each other a combined 40th birthday party at our house for 70 guests. The real show-stopper of the night was incredibly delicious brickoven pizza of 20+ varieties prepared, cooked and served out of a 1946 International Harvester. The company apparently has 3 of these type trucks and business is so good that they do not advertise and are booked solid throughout the Spring, Summer and early Fall.

Big Green Truck Pizza

My Garage Sign

I have long had an affinity for old signs and have envisioned a garage full of them on display. Recently I had the idea of creating a personalized one of my own. With the use of photoshop and an internet printing company, this will soon become a reality. How do you like the design?

Tribute to My Nephew

In this year's 2010 NFL Draft my nephew, a very big kid from a small school, was taken in the fifth round by a team that was very impressed with his quarterback skills. Can you guess the team?

Carburetor Rebuild

Memorial Day weekend my truck cutout on me while cruisin' a few blocks from my house. It appeared as if I had ran out of gas, however, my tank was atleast half full (or half empty, depending on how you look at things). It later became apparent that the engine was not starved of gas but was getting too much and flooding itself. A friend of mine recommended a mechanic that would come to the house and take a look at it. A few days later an Ecuadorian guy named Byron came over and had my carburetor in pieces within seconds. The carb clearly needed a thorough cleaning. Unfortunately after reassembly the needle was still not seating correctly and the flooding continued, so a carb kit was ordered from NAPA.


Carburetor rebuild instructions

Update 7/21/10:

I now know what has been causing the flooding problem and I should have diagnosed it earlier, but hey I'm a novice and up until a week ago I had no idea how a carburetor works. The issue is a heavy float that has somehow taken on some gas. Unfortunately a new replacement float to replace the original brass float is not included in a carb rebuild kit. I was able to source one on the other side of the country at Mikes Carburetor Parts and Restoration.

Update 7/23/10:

Yesterday's mail included the usual bills, advertising circulars and 1 "new" brass carburetor float for my truck. I hope to make time weekend to get this project done and my ol' girl back on the road. Stay tuned....

Update 7/26/10:

New carburetor float, carb kit, gas filter and spark plugs and she is now running like a top. Without a doubt should experience better gas mileage. Special thanks to George Asche, a real class act, who provided me with the float at a very reasonable price. And most gradifying is getting over my fear of fooling with the carb. After dismantling and re-assembling serveral times I feel like a soldier that can breakdown and reassemble his rifle blindfolded...well maybe not quite that confident.

To Do List

This list is in no particular order. Click on the item for details on my progress for that particular item.

1. Repair Wipers (completed 10/5/06)


2. Repair Radio (completed, 12/20/06, hear it play)


3. Add Wood Rails (completed 9/2/06)


4. Add Seatbelts (completed 9/4/07)


5. Add Signal Lights


6. Repair Gas Tank Filler Tube Leak (completed 8/22/07)


7. Repair Gas Sending Unit (completed 9/10/07)
   
8. Add Passenger Side Mirror
9. Add Firewall Pad/Acoustic Pad
   
10. Refurbish Spare Oil Bath Air Filter (completed 3/22/07)
    
11. Add arm rests to door interior (completed 6/25/07)
    
12. Locate or fabricate missing center trim piece for Fulton Sun Visor (completed 7/30/07)
    
13. Add side-mounted spare tire
14. Carburetor Rebuild (completed 7/26/10)
    

1950 1/2 Dodge PU sold at auction.....

for $26,500.
Dana Mecum's Original Spring Classic Auction - 21st Year
May 15 - 18, 2008
SPECIFICATIONS
-Year 1950
-Make Dodge
-Model 1/2 Ton Truck
-Body
-Exterior Color Green / Black
-Interior Color Green / Black
-Transmission Manual
Description
*** This car to be offered at
Dana Mecum’s Original Spring Classic Auction
May 15-16-17-18 in Indianapolis, IN ***

*** Auction Selling Time For This Lot is Friday 11:35 AM ***
- Rare 1950 Dodge 1/2 ton short box with only 30,625 actual miles
- Completely original, repainted once
- Whisper quiet smooth running original 6 cylinder engine
- 3-speed manual transmission
- Unique pilot house cab
- Chrome bumpers
- Bumper guards
- 4 new Firestone wide white walls
- New brakes
- This truck has been maintained to not only be a show truck but an excellent driver
- This truck speaks for itself
- Has been stored in a private collection for years

Side Mounted Spare

The blue pilot house pictured here is my motivation to mount my spare on the side of the bed. I have always liked that look and have slowly procuring the items I need to get this accomplished. I briefly considered staying original to my '49 and mounting the spare under the bed, but what fun is there in that. I want to show off the classic B.F. Goodrich white walls.

The tire: Purchased from Coker Tire
710-15 B.F.GOODRICH 2 1/2" WW
SKU 58000
Construction: 4 ply polyester
Load Capacity: 1550 @ 32 psi
Tube Type: Tubeless
Overall Diameter: 27.98
Cross Section: 7.4
Tread Width: 4.6
Tread Depth: 11
Max Inflation: 32
Rec. Rim Width: 5.5--7

The Wheel: Provided by fellow pilot house owner and enthusiast, Tony Cipponeri, for the cost of shipping and a donation to the Pilot-House.com website. It was received in great condition, with a black powdercoat even!

The Mount: Purchased on eBay
I believe it belonged to a Jeep CJ and I was
lucky to find that the 5 bolt pattern matched up nicely.

Glad I kept my truck original!

A 1952 1/2 ton Dodge Pilot House fetches top dollar at a Kruse International Auction in 2007.

Rojo Pencil Sketch

Best 6 Volt Battery for Your Classic Vehicle

Traditional batteries use lead plates suspended in acid. However, the plates are not pure lead, but an alloy of lead, antimony, and other metals. It is these other metals that allow sulphation (irreversible coating of the plates) to occur. When a battery sits idle, sulphation occurs at a greatly increased rate. As the plates develop more of this coating, the battery is less & less able to accept a full charge and finally dies.Battery designers can't use pure lead plates in a traditional design because they're too soft, and will bend and touch each other inside the case, shorting out the battery.Spiral cell batteries use a pure lead sheet, wound in spiral with a fiberglass mat that absorbs the liquid acid. This allows a much greater resistance to sulphation, and an ability to sit idle for long periods without losing charge. Just the ticket for vintage cars.

Washing Rojo

Fulton Sun Visor

For as long as I've owned the truck, the Fulton sun visor has been missing the center stainless steel trim piece that covers the screws that hold the two leafs together. This has been one of those visual tings that have bothered me because the truck seems to look incomplete without it. I have been looking for quite a while and almost came to the conclusion that I would have to buy a new one entirely just for this one piece, until I came across Loupees Classic Car Parts on eBay. Spoke to them this morning: the part is on its way!

Dodge Truck VIN Decoder

Camera + Dodge = Dodge Pics

Radio Manual

The MoPar Model 802 Radio was the original factory radio offered for my 1949 Dodge Truck.

MoPar 802 features

• 8 tubes
• Manual and Electric Push Button Tuning
• Color Tone Control (Mello, Music, Voice)
• Vertically Dash Mounted
• 1 Electromagnet Speaker

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Changing Oil the Right Way

It's more than a simple "drain and fill"...
How often you should change your car's oil depends on when it was built. On cars manufactured before oil filters were common, you need to change the oil every thousand miles in order to prevent sludge buildup in the pan and oil galleries. On cars from the late thirties, forties and fifties, every two thousand miles is usual. More modern cars only require an oil change every three to six thousand miles to keep them in the pink.
Changing oil is no big deal, but there is a right and wrong way to do it. Click here for the right way. Also, see Lube chart

Parts List

A list of parts, part numbers and suppliers for the routine maintenance of Rojo.

Oil Filter (sock type) - NAPA #FIL1011

• Air Filter - NAPA #FIL6179, Fram CA3924, Carquest 88179



• Battery - Optima Model 6V



• Brakes (Shoes, Master Cylinders, Wheel Kits) - Andy Bernbaum Auto Parts



• Wiper Blades - Part#U164



• Universal Joint - Carquest #1-5900



• Front Shocks at AutoZone Monroe #410126 guardian shock



• Rear Shocks at AutoZone Monroe #078476 proguard shock



• Rear brake cylinders;Left Upper W10580Right Upper W10581Left Lower W10582Right Lower W10583



• Carburetor rebuild kit for Carter Ball & Ball E7T2 - Carquest #101A , NAPA CRB25066A




• In-line fuel filter - WIX 33046, NAPA FIL 3046




• Fuel pump - NAPA NFP M2091

Dodge Truck Lube Chart