This is just something I would like to do to liven up the cab some....The factory original steering wheel in Ethyl the Tool Truck is very plain Jane. Can anyone tell me what other wheel that is 18 inch and would have a nice horn ring (chrome) maybe even multi spoke would work----I love the look of the Crestliner steering wheel from about 1953 or so but these are nuts expensive...I dont know if that Crestliner wheel would even fit what is there now as original equip....I know changing the wheel to one from another Ford or possibly even another manufacture breaks from my keep it original theme but I really like those ornate wheels from cars of that period.

Update...I have had the 6 volt generator rebuilt by Broadway Auto Electric here in San Diego County. I have a new regulator also...Ethyl is charging correctly.

I just had Stan at San Diego Carburetor go thru a very clean rebuilt 2 barrel Holley 4100 Teapot carb. He enlarged the jetts. and made sure the throttle plates closed the way they should...for some reason they originally did not. He also removed the diaphragm from the governor so that it doesnt hold the rpm's down now. Putting this carburetor on has not produced great results yet. There is a fair amount of backfire through this replacement carb. I used this vs the previous 2100 that was on the truck because I want to restore the oil bath air filter and the fixture that sits on the carburetor that is part of that oil bath works only with the teapot carb. The cab over truck is problematic here because there is no room under the dog house fire wall area for any nice air filter so Im going back to what was originally there to rectify the air filter issue...That original fixture that sits on the teapot and the oil bath are cool anyway so now that I have this stuff I am working to make the carb function correctly. The truck did NOT BACKFIRE through the 2100. I will be very shortly adding a 50 gallon gas tank to the passenger side frame under the box to add to the 17 gallon tank under the driver side steps. Stan asked me to check all the gas tank to carburetor lines etc. When this new tank is done I will have new lines hoses etc to eliminate any possibility that a pin hole or other such breach is there to complicate the diagnosis behind this backfire. Mostly the back fire happens on a heavier load on the revs....like going up an incline....Ill have Stan at SD Carb re check this truck out after the new tank is added if this drivability issue still persists....it really backfires way too much..... all this backfire is from under the hood. I will of course also check fuel pump function....but I am bummed that the first effort to use this very clean teapot carb hasnt quite panned out yet. On the positive note...the truck now starts like RIGHT NOW on the push of the ignition button and idles nice. Previously when it had the 2100 on it, it didnt start so well....especially when it had sat for a few days and after it was warm and really you never knew how much choke to set etc...but no BACKFIRE EXISTED FROM UNDER THE HOOD with this previously used carburetor... reminder the truck is a 1955 C600 COE engine is a Y block 256 2 barrel single muffler using the oe crossover pipe across the front of the engine....yes some exhaust leak exists there at the pipe where it joins itself AND at the point the pipe connects to the driver side exhaust manifold....soon I will be fixing those leaks....I have a extra set of the same thing single exhaust manifold and connecting front of engine area pipe incase something breaks on what is currently installed when I go to try and replace the gasket. I am presuming that gasket there on the manifold where the pipe attaches is bad. I will possibly put a clamp on the pipe where the two halves join to get rid of that particular small part of the exhaust leak that is present.

Why would the this carb backfire and the previous one not...Stan at SD Carburetor who did the work on it said the 4100 teapot demands a better fuel supply than the 2100 and a cracked fuel line or the like would bug this teapot carb much more than the 3 bolt 2100 that was previously on the truck....since Im putting a new gas tank on anyway...I will go for this possible fuel delivery problem reasoning since Ill be putting all new lines, connectors etc there anyway but his answer really doesnt pass my bs meter test...constructive input is very welcome

 

An electric fuel pump install along with fuel line verification would be my first attempt at resolving the issue. That will hurt nothing and may correct the problem. You're sure it is backfire? If you stay into the throttle on a long hard pull, does it ever surge?
If memory serves me right, the joint between the left and right bank exhaust is designed as an expansion slip joint, no clamp required.
Not going to comment on the steering wheel as I don't like bling on these old working trucks.

 

I fitted a Steering Wheel off a 52 Fairlane

There's a picture on this thread
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...lp-needed.html

It fits the standard column

Steve

 

Ray the truck doesnt surge just the backfire thing....when I put the new gas tank Ill mount an electric pump near it so I can have an electric fuel pump also...is my truck being a 6 volt an issue---- is there a difference for what pump I purchase because of the 6 volt?

 

Lots of different 6V pumps available. I had one like this on a crawler tractor years ago. It survived the vibrations of the tractor so It will probably hold up in a truck.
CARTER P4259 FUEL PUMP - ELECTRIC 6 VOLT | eBay

 

Ray is right (about a lot of stuff) about the two pieces of the crossover pipe to be a an expansion joint. But my Yblock had/has a pipe clamp where the two pipes meet. My 55 crossover looks like it was welded together. I have seen pictures of many other Yblocks that have a clamp on the crossover pipe.

Did Ford design it this way to prevent cracked exhaust manifolds?