1932 The Deuce, Dually, Dump Truck

[DavidG]

The rusted top of the gas gauge will not affect the performance of the gauge. The rust was caused by the fumes from the red liquid. Many NOS '32-'35 gauges in their original boxes have rusted tops as Ford or whomever made them for Ford shipped them with the red fluid installed and it highly corrosive (at least the original fluid is), which was pretty stupid in retrospect.

[sugarmaker]

David,
i did get similar information from Robert R tonight about the corrosive aspects of the dye/ fluid in the gage. I was wondering why that was rusted so badly? Ok so maybe I won't give up yet on the fuel gage.
I have gently removed a lot of crud from the tube/vent system that was up inside the tank.
May try to take the gage out of the dash and see what it looks like.

The bolts are to hold the cross shaft for the brakes I believe. I will have to get under and look. I have reduced the height of them by 3/32 inch, to provide some clearance. Assumiong I keep the tank at the same height it was.

Do you have a part number or picture of the tank pad your making fot the trucks? That might help me with getting the correct parts for that.
Regards,
Chris

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
So I am trying to clean up the tank sending unit of the gas gage.:


I will need some fittings and the line. These are availiable as mentioned:






This was a vinegar soak and light scrubbing. Should I try blowing low pressure air through these lines?
Regards,
Chris

[Model51]

The truck gas tank has a gasket around the perimeter just like is shows in Chris's picture of the cab floor with the gas tank removed. I think this is used because the opening needs to be fully sealed to keep road dust and fumes out of the cab. The gasket in the truck looks virtually identical to the one in my 1935 truck which also has the tank inside the cab. It's a thick (1/4' inch or so) and about 1" wide material which looks a lot like the cowl to hood strips and the one from my truck also seems to have had oil or tar impregnated into the material..

The bolt heads on the cross member are correct. There are four bolts which attach the brake rod cross shaft assembly in place. The problem with the bolt heads coming into contact with the bottom of the gas tank may be the result of either compression of the wood blocks used to mount the cab to the frame or disintegration of the rubber pads between the wood blocks and the frame. No easy fix other than removing each block, checking it and replacing as needed. The third cross member is under the gas tank for the short wheel base frame that Chris has but in the long wheel base (157") the third cross member is behind the cab so the problem won't manifest itself with the same gas tank clearance issues when the cab settles.

[DavidG]

Chris,

My bad, Dave is correct on both counts. Sorry for misleading you.

If you want an accurate reproduction of the original siamesed (co-joined) fuel and air lines leading from the fuel tank to the gauge and fuel pump (with the correct fittings), I believe that Michael either has one in stock or can get one for you from the maker. It is exact, including being made of the special copper-plated steel Bundy tubing as original.

[Model51]

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I forgot to include a bit more information about the gas tank gasket. The part number for 1932-1934 BB trucks is BB-9299. Also, my memory is never great, so I looked up the gasket dimensions and it's closer to 9/32" thick and 3/4" wide.

Chris - you might want to check out the wood blocks under your cab as they serve to keep the cab in alignment at the right height. Over time, your cab will sink a bit further and also be looser on the frame (to a degree). To me this falls under repair or preventive maintenance.

[sugarmaker]

Dave, and David,
Sure is nice to have two experts chime in on the details of the ragged old truck in my current possesion! I had thought that the cab blocks had probably settled allowing the tank to come in contact with the frame bolts also. My blocks are in place but may have been reduced in height by mean old mr. gravity over 90 years!

I had talked to Michael about the fuel sensing line and he refered me to Straight-Eight, who list the parts I think I might need. I did not realize it was a double line?

Cheryl an I tied the knot 51 years ago today and we went out with a bunch of maple freinds for a nice Christmas dinner.

Regards,
Chris

[DavidG]

Happy anniversary!

[Model51]

Chris - Happy anniversary and keep going with your truck - It's great.

[sugarmaker]

Guys,
Thank you! Cheryl and I had a good day! Time flies when your playing with old Fords! We filled in the rest of the time with four kids, 6 grandkids and three great grand kids. We have been blessed for sure!

on the 32:
Found and ordered the capillary line and dye and ferrels from Straight -Eight.
Have not found any thick welting yet. No hits on the BB-9299 part number on the net. I can find 1/16 thick gas tank welting, that I probably could double or triple up to get some needed thickness. Other suggestions?
Regards,
Chris

[Als48]

Happy Anniversary Chris and Cheryl! Merry Christmas as well. Good to hear that you got the rebuilt engine in and running well.
By the way, We celebrated 54 yrs. in August.

From Al and Mary Hook

[Model51]

I've looked for a suitable gasket material and haven't found an identical match to the original. Here's one possibility which has dimensions close enough and reasonable characteristics for the application. I haven't tried it. I'm hoping someone can find the same material as the original which is more like a webbing. The hardest part is finding the proper thickness.
https://rubbersheetwarehouse.com/pro...12290188443752

[sugarmaker]

Originally Posted by Als48

Happy Anniversary Chris and Cheryl! Merry Christmas as well. Good to hear that you got the rebuilt engine in and running well.
By the way, We celebrated 54 yrs. in August.

From Al and Mary Hook

Al and Mary,
Congratulations on 54 years! Awesome!
The truck has been a good project for me to get back into antique vechicles. Never having a car/ truck of this vintage the Ford Barn has really helped me!
Regards,
Chris

[sugarmaker]

Dave,
Thanks for the link to the rubber strip. I think this would work. Not quite the same as the webbing but would seal up 95% of the area. Will look a little more. John though the floor board seal on his 42 might be similar also?

I did start to look at the cab supports at the back of the cab. Yes these really need to be refurbished. So I guess I may take on another project. I am assuming I can release both sides of the rear cab and raise on or both sides to get the wood and rubber cushions out for review. Some Kroll on the spring loaded bolts should start the process.

So Robert R. suggested soaking the tank fuel assembly in very hot water to netrulize the affects of the vinegar. After this I decided to blow into the port that is the threaded outlet which would have the small tube. Some back pressure was felt then a slug of ugly looking black material pushed out of the vent tube. Doing this several times I pushed out several chunks, that I believe are from a wasp or bee nest. A perfect place to make a home. This plugged vent tube may have caused the system to be non-functional, if missed? It might also cause problems with fuel gage readings of others that may be having difficulties.






After removing this obstruction, I had a good stream of water through this vent and out the small tube port. Little cups had a flow of water through them also. Tank vent was open also.
I really would like to to understand how this assembgly works?

Here is who is really on the other end of this thread! Ruby! The Golden behind the thread.




Regards,
Chris

[DavidG]

How it works is described in one of the '32 Service Bulletins. I'll look it up for you tomorrow.


That black crude is unusual. What's the condition of the inside of the gas tank? It must not be too bad given the amount of driving you have already done without mention of a clogged fuel pump and/or carburetor.

[JimG]

Chris,

Here are some bulletins that explain the hydrostatic gas gauge and how to work on it. It is basically a U tube manometer that is measuring air pressure in the gas tank. The red liquid has a specific gravity that is much higher then water so that the gauge does not have to be very tall - can be shrunk down to the size of something that fits on the dash board by using the high specific gravity fluid. I redid my gas gauge for the second time this summer. This thread talks about my experiences.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...atic+gas+gauge

In August I got help from Deuce Lover on soldering an a new ferrule on the line at the gauge. It seems to be working pretty well now. I'm waiting for driving season in the spring to confirm whether the gauge is actually working well or not, but it now goes up to the F mark when I fill the tank.

[DavidG]

You're lucky that it "goes up to the F mark when I fill the tank" as that is a bit unusual. It usually requires a couple trips around the block to build up the air pressure in the line to push the fluid up to the F mark.


Chris,

I recommend that you make a set of the '32 Service Bulletins a "me-to-me" Christmas gift. The reprints show up on ebay and Amazon on a regular basis, often for $20 or less and they contain lots of valuable information far beyond gas gauges.

[Newc]

Jump in here; Those wood blocks shrink as they dry out also. Repro folks then copy the smaller dimensions. Shows up in your hood gaps. Newc

[sugarmaker]

Dave, David, Newc,
Thanks for the details on the workings of the fuel indication system. I will surely consider the service bulletins also.

Looks like another project on the wood cab blocks! In evaluation mode on that! Yes my hood gaps are not great.

I did remove the fuel gage from the dash. Have the brass tube in the back submerged in vinegar. Will make a new gasket and clean up the threads for the ferrel to seat.
A delicate jewel for sure. See if a bumbling old man can get this back together at some point?

I did get the speedometer cable installed from the torque tube, through the dash. Looks like it should work fine, when I get the speedometer back in the dash someday.
Regards,
Chris

[Model51]

It should be possible to carefully and gently raise the cab up a 1/2" or so with a couple hydraulic jack and some wood supports to spread the load. Remove the bolts, slide out the old wood, clean things up a bit and install new wood blocks.
I have a set of measurements for the '35-'36 big truck wood blocks, but it likely won't help as the cab sheet metal design was changed from the BB design. I will send you the information just in case. Hopefully someone has the correct dimensions for the BB cab mounting blocks.
I have a few remnants of the rubber impregnated woven pad material which Roy Nacewicz sent to me for making 8 for my truck. Just in case yours are disintegrated, I 'll gladly send you what i've got so you can see what it's supposed to be.