Do you have a picture of them installed. The ones I have won't fit the 3" tube, the ones for the newer truck were for 2 1/2" wide springs and looked like they slide around (also shaved the bumps stops).

 

Not much to report, I cut off the shock brackets for the 9" and I'm still dealing with a motor issue. In the mean time I found a '28 Ford Tudor with a Pinto motor in it .

I truly have automotive A.D.D.............

 

Measured for pushrod length and put in short pushrods. Still ticks and runs rough at idle, I'm thinking a lifter might have junk in it?. As for the idle, I've checked the carb and intake for vacuum leaks. I hate it right now, so I'm working on the '28.

 

Still haven't been working on it, but more random pictures.

Rear bumper on:



Front bumper and headlight rings on:



Old shock mounts from the '72 rear cut off:



Reverse light:

 

Nice truck. Have fun with it.

 

Interesting BE license plate. Isn't BE an acronym for Board of Equalization?

 

Sure is , according to california you can use any BE, PC plate as a Commercial also. '51 commerical plates are at a premium and I stumbled across these for fairly cheap. Ok is it the computer I'm on or did the bucket crash.......can anyone see the pictures now?

 

The front bumper, rear bumper and shock mounts pictures are not visible. Did you move them in your photobucket to a different location? If you did, but use the link first and then moved the pictures, then you'll need to copy/paste the link again.

Didn't know that about BE or PC plates. I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I do have a pair of 51 E (government) plates that I bought on eBay years ago really cheap.

I bypassed the expensive cost of actual 51 COM plates and had a set reproduced.

 

I see Them

 

My rear plate is from licenseplatetv.com, I got it when they had a window that they could ship to cal. I have both the plates and they are legally mine but I figured I would rather have the repo one ripped off . Yours looks the same as mine. The font is slightly bigger (and slightly off) they have recesses from the press around the year and california.

Oh yea, I did switch folders in the wee hours of the morning.....damn. I'll switch it back when I get home.

 

Yup, my plates are also from the same place. When I ordered them a year or two ago, they were able to ship to CA. I ordered a set of 63 plates before they started making the older plates, but they couldn't ship them to CA. I had them shipped to my in-laws in WA instead to be reshipped to me.

Yes, the repro plates are different from the original plates. The California font is wider, which is correct for the earlier 30s/40s plates, and the COM on the sides isn't all that straight. When I received my first pair from them, the COM was more crooked than it is on the current plate. I notified them of this, as well as the font size difference for California. They had me scan an original COM plate and email it to them. A week later, I had another pair of COM plates show up at my door step at no charge. This time, the COM is positioned better, but they wouldn't change the font size because then they'd have to have two different press machines to stamp the plates. Not worth the investment is what I was told. I also used the original 51 plates to mark and drill the same amount of holes in the repro plates to make them look as authentic as possible.

I've been paying for a personalized plate to the DMV ever since I bought my 52. I had the repro plates restamped with the personal plate sequence "R52PNL". I have the legal issue plates in the truck. Either way, the cops don't hassle with stuff like this, and it throws people off at shows because the plate is "custom" stamped. I always get asked where I got my plates.

 

Here's the original plate on it. I didn't like the 2 metal tabs they give you so I made my own......not sure if I like mine either .

 

Ok I wanna get this thing on the road . Anyone who knows a 390 or FEs for that matter...I have some questions.

Back story:
Had the 390 rebuild, but used a short block the machine shop had (1968 I think), heads from craigslist (1971 and newer), rocker shafts from ebay (cast non adjustable)....now I know not to mix and match FE stuff. Comp cam and lifters, used brad penn break in oil (lots of zinc).
I couldn't do a proper cam break in due to fuel and coolant leaks (never had a problem about non proper break ins in the past). It has a really bad tick on the drivers side, after 3 pushrod changes (different sizes) I finally bought a checker and got the correct size pushrods in it. It still ticks bad, the engine builder thinks maybe it's a worn rocker arm, to me it sounds like a lifter with a blockage. Not wanting to pull the intake off needlessly I'm asking the forum. Truck runs good (runs like it has a slight vacuum leak, hunting a little at idle, still might be the carb?), no backfiring intake or exhaust, has plenty of power and has less then 300 miles on the rebuild (late last year).

Can worn rocker arms on the shaft cause a valve/lifter type tick?.
If the lifter was plugged or not pumping up would it miss?
If the cam is going flat would it tick or pop through the exhaust or intake?

Next step I think is to find some cheap chrome covers, cut the tops off and listen to find which cylinders are ticking.

 

With the open valve covers ya could take a wood hammer handle and push down on the lifter side while at idle. The engine will miss when ya collapse the lifter this way. But ya can find if it is a bad lifter cuz it will quit knocking when ya push it down. If not than look to a wrist pin.

 

Slight update,
I think I found out what the noise is after letting the truck sit for 2 months. I put the cut valve cover on and started it. It sounds like the exhaust cross over port is leaking and the intake port is slightly leaking, so the intake has to come off. I'll be checking the edelbrock streetmaster for straightness and the gasket for issues. Funny thing is that it sounded like valve noise with the valve cover on.........

A question, is it possible to block off the crossover ports like a SBC with stainless plates.