Greetings,

Drove out to the farm (2 hours) on Sunday and spent the day crawling over the truck, like an ant on an banana.

Item: Keyed entry on Passenger side only. Querky, eh? What's up with this?

Item: Clutch pedal still goes to the floor. The resoviour tank is sheared off. Need a new unit. Brake pedal also goes to floor, at least they match. Rebuild or hunt down NOS unit?

Item: Water pump casing is missing something dead centre on top, like a bleeder nipple: there is instead a little hole where the whatever was sheared off.

item: Attempted to start it. Popped the hood, removed a few animal nests, set a battery on the tray. Peeked in radiator: bone dry. Dip stick showed a glob of crude oil on the tip of it (maybe road tar) Poured some gas in the tank. Poured gas in carb (gas ran out onto ground). Shrugged shoulders and told girlfriend to "give it try", thinking if it did start up I'd have a stroke and any damage done wouldn't matter. Didn't start, but did turn over.

Item: Points were missing. (found them later in the glove box. (Thought about calling the Smithsonian)

item: Put it in gear and cranked the motor a few times. Not even a shudder of movement in any gear.

item: The "Unity" spot light works with not even a pit of rust any where. Amazing.

Item: Found Gasoline log book #2. (1 of 2, with the points hiding underneath) 1974 - 1980. 66472 orig. miles.

The big event was tugging it out of the ground and over to a new level spot: facing out and ready to hook up to.
This "trip" being the most miles (0.0012) put on the truck in twenty-three years brought a tear to my eye. Macho law prevents me from saying anything more about that.

Any advice on the above issues would be greeted with smiles from me. If you can't help with these issues - DON'T WORRY - I have hundreds more to come.

What I know (learned here) is that the '57 "Milage Maker" is a gasket blower. So IF the motor is actually rebuildable (I'll keep it off the race track) But if the cyl. walls need boring (go figure) how do I keep from stepping up ring or piston size and compounding the issue?

Enough from me for now, Thanks for reading all this, Stylesider

 

> Item: Keyed entry on Passenger side only.

Normal, if the truck isn't a Custom Cab. A good reason to install an alarm with keyless entry.

>Item: Clutch pedal still goes to the floor. The resoviour tank is sheared off. Need a new unit. Brake pedal also goes to floor, at least they match. Rebuild or hunt down NOS unit?

Disassemble master and slave cylinders, clean 'em, and hone them, wash out with rubbing alcohol. See how bad the pitting is. Rebuilt m/cyls generally look the same as original, and aren't hard to get. Consider getting the cylinders sleeved with brass or stainless, for a near-permanent fix.

Brake lines could be rusted through; to be safe, replace them all.

> Item: Water pump casing is missing something dead centre on top, like a bleeder nipple: there is instead a little hole where the whatever was sheared off.

That could be normal; I got a rebuilt pump that looked like that. For the heck of it I tapped the hole and installed a grease nipple

Starting: there could be surprises inside the carb: I bought one from a wrecking yard and it was full of white corrosion crud. (But it did have the nifty glass float bowl).

 

Keyed entry on Passenger side only. Querky, eh? What's up with this?

Look in the archives. There are at least two or three threads discussing various reasons why this might be so. One idea is that they wanted you to get out of the truck on the curb side rather than into traffic!?!


Clutch pedal still goes to the floor. The resoviour tank is sheared off. Need a new unit. ... Put it in gear and cranked the motor a few times. Not even a shudder of movement in any gear.

With the clutch in that condition who knows what's going on inside the bell housing. I wouldn't worry about the lack of connection between the engine and tranny until you have a chance to take it apart and see what's what.


Brake pedal also goes to floor, at least they match. Rebuild or hunt down NOS unit? ... Water pump casing is missing something dead centre on top, like a bleeder nipple: there is instead a little hole where the whatever was sheared off.

angus hit these.


Attempted to start it. Popped the hood, removed a few animal nests, set a battery on the tray. Peeked in radiator: bone dry. Dip stick showed a glob of crude oil on the tip of it (maybe road tar) Poured some gas in the tank. Poured gas in carb (gas ran out onto ground). Shrugged shoulders and told girlfriend to "give it try", thinking if it did start up I'd have a stroke and any damage done wouldn't matter. Didn't start, but did turn over. .... Points were missing. (found them later in the glove box. (Thought about calling the Smithsonian)

I wouldn't even mess around too much before you go over everything and clean it up.


What I know (learned here) is that the '57 "Milage Maker" is a gasket blower. So IF the motor is actually rebuildable (I'll keep it off the race track) But if the cyl. walls need boring (go figure) how do I keep from stepping up ring or piston size and compounding the issue?

Seems like I remember way back in the dark ages I got an old Rambler 196 CID six that didn't have much wall thickness left and I found a place that made me a heavier than normal gasket - maybe metal edged?. Won't swear to that, though.

 

Very good. Nice to see I am not just posting this for my health.

Phase one:
Found the kits for clutch/ brake cylinders.
Have 6 new Champion plugs standing by.
Accel plug wires.
Fram air filter - CA-151 PL
Change oil/ filter
Flush and seal gas tank.
The carb is vatting as I type.

This is my short list before trying to start it again.

The points are a point of contension. Am thinking of swapping over to electronic with a conversion kit, that fits inside the orig. distrib cap, at phase two. Funny, the company making a unit for this 223 is the next town over. (Genesee Products)

And that brings me to the heavy lifting: the clutch.
Found an exploded veiw and feel a bit better - not half the parts I expected, but don't have a source yet for any replacement parts. Is it really as simple as the diagram leads me to believe?

Hoping over to search the querky key hole, Thanks for the pointers guys, Stylesider

 

Keyed entry on passenger side only because back then they wanted you to get in and out of the truck away from traffic. You could lock the driver's side door from inside then scoot over the bench seat to the passengers side and get out, close the door, and lock the truck using the door lock that is ONLY on the passenger side. Great in theory, but a pain in the *** today! I added a key lock to my drivers side door. Let's be real, no one these days does the slide over routine, we're too used to accessing our vehicles from either side.

daryl

 

Actually, I am digging the oddity.

We've been squooching out the passenger side door of my '92 Camry for several now after a window part went "Ka-Ploink" inside the door panel and locked everything up.

There are two bolts on the door panel that are hidden by the dash. The door has to be opened to remove them. Tried a slim jim...I would make a lousy car thief. Catch 22?

The door/ window repair quote was $400. I refused on principle and we have happily learned to make do.

I have also learned over the years to NOT lock my auto's. Just means someone is going to smash a window to get in. Instead a "Club" on the steering wheel, and a hidden kill switch, has worked just fine. Just don't leave anything inside worth stealing.

What would someone grab? the ash tray? stylesider

Anyone know a quailty internal gas tank sealer product?

 

Those Unity spotlights are cool! I have one on my 48 and the chrome is still great, although the plastic handle is looking brittle.

On the internal engine parts - with the oil situation like you found it, be careful of dumping high detergent oil in there. You might loosen all kinds of crud and plug the pickup screen. Also, while the plugs are out, squirt some oil in each hole and turn the engine over by hand to lube the cylinders.

Pay attention to the coolant - if everything was ok, it shouldn't have gone dry. Hopefully it was just a leak in the lower hose and not a cracked block. You'll discover the answer to this when you drain the crankcase for the oil change.

Gas tank - do yourself a favor - pull it and take it to a radiator shop to have it cleaned out before you try to seal it. Chances are you'll find all sorts of varnish and other debris that will give your carb fits.

I think the other guys covered the other points. Sounds like you're already enjoying it - that's the most important part.

 

Johnny's Radiator Shop is 2 blocks away. Never crossed my mind to see if he could also do gas tanks. The cost of phase one just went up. Thanks for the tip.

My Unity handle crumbled, like the Dead Sea scrolls in a high wind, when I touched it last Sunday. Odd, exterior is great: interior rotted away.

I suspect the water pump is shot. It was just a few years ago that grandpa and I learned the importance of anti freeze, ALL YEAR LONG.

I also suspect he drained the radiator.

After moving the truck I kicked around in the dirt, where it had sat, looking for freeze plugs, filler caps, and fossils from the Jurassic period. Found nothing but an Armadillo hole. Man I hate stepping in those things.

Trouble in Paradise:
In anticipation of discovering hoardes of motor problems: I have started re-thinking my initial idea. But I can't seem to find the line of how many issues have to pop up before this 223 is beyond rebuilding. And instead just dropping a "better" newer motor in there to begin with.

Obviously finding a cracked block, head, cam and crank would answer that: but how many little things do I suffer through before saying, "Uncle"?

"It's not scaling the towering rock pile in front of us that breaks our spirit: as it is the tiny pebble in our boot." - jdb

So knowing I love loosing battles, I seek the advice of the enlightened...

Stylesider

 

Finding any one of (head, block, crank, cam) cracked is grounds to shop for another motor. Run a classified ad saying you need a 223, try the wrecking yards, call some engine rebuilders and machine shops (maybe they have unclaimed engines or ones they've built on spec, or know of a guy with a yard full of motors).

It's unlikely that you'll find an original low-mileage motor after 40 years, but rebuilt motors with some miles on them ARE out there (I've picked up two for around 125$ each).

 

Stylesider,
Cheap labor-intensive tank cleaning method: Remove tank, insert 1-2 gallons lacquer thinner and a coffee-can-load of bolts. Cover holes, stand erect holding tank and impersonate a windmill. The lacqer thinner is a good cheap solvent and the bolts scrapin' around inside will knock all the rust loose. Empty, repeat as necessary, dry and coat with one or two coats of generic tank sealer (got mine from MAC's, so far so good). Trip to chiropractor to fix knots in back (maybe this isn't so cheap after all....)
In the history of man kind there has never been an easier pickup to perform a clutch job on. You've got not one, but TWO access methods for the tranny: either from the bottom or (TADA, topside out of rain and away from fire ants after removing the floorpan tranny cover plate!). I think the previous owner of my truck commented he could do clutch jobs in 30 minutes in his sleep (''course he had to because it had 33x12.50x15" tires w/3spd..too high a 1st).
Got water pump at O'Reilly's, in stock cheap, so is clutch. The lack of coolant is actually a desireable characteristic in farming country; referred to in tractor-speak as a 'Self-Drainer', the concept being that you do not have to worry about going to the trouble of draining it. Dump water in when using, park, and it takes care of draining out the water itself......
My personal experience with 223's has not included blown head gaskets, cracked heads, busted cranks.etc. and that's 3 of them, two of which were in still in farming service in the '70's. The rocker oiling is the weakest link that comes to mind, but my current 223 has an aftermarket 'bypass feed'. Also, in '60 Ford introduced a tractor using the 223 6, the Ford 6000. I don't think that it is merely a coincidence that Ford improved the 223 about the same time. They probably learned some things and made the necessary changes. They also built an industrial version of the 223, many of which are still laboring in conditions that your truck could never put one under.. These motors are out there, the 60's versions are a little better.
Forge Ahead Brother !
Brett