Jack Bennett

In a world where everything is timed, and time is everything, these old machines have a way of stopping it. All my life I have answered to a bell of some sort. There was always something pressing that button which sounded the alarm………”Not enough time”…….”Overtime. time and 1/2, Whoopeeee”…….”Holidays…..double time, SIGN ME UP”! And nothing was ever finished. Twenty one years in the Army and wars are still being fought, and lost. Twenty years in Corrections and there are still plenty of criminals to be jailed, and crimes are still being committed. And then there are my old machines. I keep my several projects because a ideal hobby will provide something to do for the remainder of my life. And these old machines could never be “restored” any more than your $55,000.00 truck, which came from the factory with a bad transmission, and electrical problems which kept it in the shop for weeks at time. Rather, it is a hobby, not a vocation, and my old machines are in no hurry to be reanimated, and certainly no desire to be recreated to be better than when they were new. I do get pleasure from starting a engine which hasn’t breathed fresh air for fifty years, and I do enjoy watching a oil pressure gauge raise to 40 PSI and a ammeter, which has set silent for half a century, register a healthy charge. There are expenses to the hobby, and sometime they are pretty hefty. However, it is my choice when, and if, I incur them and whether or not I can afford them. Health care, utility bills, transportation costs and the cost of raising a family are a given. But a $500.00 set of tires and a $300.00 transmission for a seventy four year old truck isn’t. Unless, at some time in the past my hobby was allowed to merge with a vocation, and, rather than enjoying the release from stress they provide, I endure the pain they provoke. Jack

Not a day passes that I don’t see a ad on Craigslist, eBay, Facebook or some other place selling old cars which states that sale of a antique or classic car is due to “Too many projects”. Golly, if a project is began as a hobby, and when it was decided that the hobby was to refurbish old cars as a pass time, it seems as though some consideration would have been given to such things as space, cost, time, effort, skills, and tool requirements as well as a good evaluation of goals and expectations for long rides into a beautiful sunset. My projects will never be finished, and I keep a fairly new car and a Winnebago motor home handy for rides into the sunset. My old machines provides a source of physical exertion that I don’t need a gym to achieve. They provide me with a source of brain fodder which gives my old noodle something to think about, and present queries, about something other than my aching feet and the exploits of our elected officials. They provide me with a well rounded diet of things I can (soundly) sleep on knowing that I have accomplished something other than fiddling with the TV remote, or smothering in my own broth of anger and self pity. I will never sell any of my projects, and if any one of them ever looks “complete” I will donate it to a charity to auction off as a donation……and, never in my life, have I ever used a charitable donation as a tax deduction…..NEVER! I do have a number of projects, all in a state of near completion, but each have things, such as mechanical, upholstery, electrical wiring, body and paint, and such, which will always provide me with something to do, and do it free of boredom and regardless of weather. Some of my machinery projects, not including sewing upholstery and carpentry. Oh, and I do have a shoulder replacement, half of a lung calcified, bad knees, fasciitis in my feet and a bad back……and I will turn 80 years old in a few months.

I’m missing something here. It appears the wiring harness is either out, or so exposed, removal is the next easiest step. Replacement parts for a 1969 912 Porsche can’t be cheap, and, most certainly, the budget allotted to restore the car to operation must be more than a few dollars. It seems obvious, since the wiring harness will become inaccessible once the interior of the car is closed up by upholstery and panels, that replacement of the harness is a no brainer.

Not a whole lot available in the line of antique and classic car parts available in Western Washington. There is one junk yard though that has more antique, old, unique and classic vehicles than I have found elsewhere in the state. Rollins keeps a section open for old vehicles and rotates their inventory regularly. They have always treated me fair and will give a veterans discount if asked for. https://www.rollinsautowrecking.net/

The 1923 Dodge Roadster is a 12 volt system, and it was no problem to change the positive ground to a negative ground. And, replacing a lights, including the headlights and newly added tail-brake and turn bulbs was well worth the money. But, the Willys Knight is a six volt, also positive ground, and, while converting the running lights to LED’s was worthwhile, converting the headlights was a real waste. Remember that the LED’s are polarity sensitive and they let you know if they are being installed in a positive ground car by simply refusing to work. http://www.classicautobulbs.com/automotive-light-bulbs/antique-vintage/vintage_antique_collector_car_incandescent_bulbs.htm http://www.classicautobulbs.com/automotive-light-bulbs/antique-vintage/6volt_led_bulbs.htm Jack

I do, sincerely appreciate every response to this thread. It is not possible for me to respond to each individual post, but there are none which goes unread or unheeded. This old truck is looked at as if it was an old blood hound which had served its masters for over 70 years. It can no longer sniff out an escaped criminal or even tree a raccoon, but it has earned the right to have my respect for its lengthy, and hopefully faithful service. And, it still is a treasure trove of unanswered questions, which I hope to share on the forum for help and answers. Jack

Hi Bloo. When I first looked at the truck I didn’t pay much attention to things like the body damage I’ve shown here. The truck was in a dark garage and barely accessible because the garage was full of motorcycles and motorcycle parts. What with the bad cylinder bores, missing transmission and drive shaft and million other things being wrong, I doubt the truck will be drivable in my lifetime. But, I look forward to each day with it because it does need so much done, and it cannot be hurt when I try something new while working on it. I went into this knowing that much of the body damage will not be repaired unless I completely replace the rusted sheet metal. As I recall dad’s old truck, I think a 37 Ford stake bed, was always getting banged up, And dad, who had a 2nd grade education and could barely read and write, always had good luck using wiping lead to repair the dents and dings to the truck body. There is no reasonable argument I could make regarding why I don’t want to buy an inert gas welder, and have a 220 volt electrical outlet installed to connect it to house power. Nor is there a argument against why I don’t have a local body and fender shop repair the damage. But, I’m still not convinced that I should do either, and I am interested in seeing how the lead works.. I do have a small wire feed welder, and I can weld good enough to meet the needs of the old panel so far as replacing some skin sheet metal goes. Responses to this thread, and the information contained in them, will ultimately play a big part in how I ultimately approach repairing the truck skin. Jack

When I was a kid, just after Kublai Kahn won the election to become Mongol Emperor, I remember dad doing body work on his old Ford truck, and my older brothers doing the same on their hot rod. But dad didn’t use body putty or fiberglass. Instead he used a blow torch, a cauldron and some lead. As I remember it, being 7 or eight years old, he heated the lead in the cauldron until it melted, then he used a brush, I think they called it by a unusual name, something like a “wiping” brush to smear a swath of melted lead on the body repair. He then spread the rapidly hardening lead over the area to be repaired, frequently heating the area with a blow torch to keep the lead a liquid. Then he used a rasp, I think the same kind used by a farrier to rasp horse hooves, to smooth out the repaired surface. I have begun work on a 1929 Fargo Express panel truck which is rusted beyond anyone’s ability to further damage it. Every place the body has been dented, or where sections of metal is joined, is now rotted through, and extensive sheet metal repair would be difficult, if not impossible, to repair the damage. The truck is only a project, and there is no rush to finish it, and where it is located, it can only be viewed by a invited person or a trespasser on my property. I bought the truck because it has a wide variety of things needing to be done, and I need a lot of things to do. The mechanics is greatest when spread over a long enough period of time that the whopping expense of buying the last part is forgotten by the time it becomes necessary to buy another part costing the same ridiculously high price….and, thankfully, at my age, it doesn’t take too long to forget anything. The wood work is always a welcome reprieve from crawling around under the truck, what with my bad shoulders and all, to clean and repair the underside of the truck. Suspension, steering and brakes are fun to work with, but are a pretty common thing when comparing a 1929 truck to a 1999 model truck. That leaves body and fender repair, and being nearly 80 years old, I am not going to buy a plasma cutter or a MIG welder to do it with. And I am super dissatisfied with how poorly body putty repairs ages, and how quickly the repair can go bad. So, in the quest of NOK, aka, New-Old-Knowledge, I think I will learn to use wiping lead to repair damage to the sheet metal on the body of the Fargo. Granted, using a blow torch on a body consisting of .01% metal and .99% wood may not be a good idea. But I think it will add a fun part to using the same method to repair body damage to the Fargo as it was done 50 years ago. Jack

Congratulations on the sale of your truck. I am also working on a 1929 Fargo 1/2 ton “packet” panel truck. I also noticed that the engine in your truck is identical to that I have in mine, and I am gathering as much information as possible in regards to who made the engine and what transmission mounts to it. If you have and documentation or literature left over from the years you had yours, and are interested in selling it, I am interested. Jack

Can you post a photo of the transmission, one showing the face of the bell housing which mates with the back of the engine. Also one showing the transmission end of the driveshaft and one showing the differential end of I have a WTB post showing photos of my engine and differential on the forum now. Jack

One additional question I have in regards to this post is “How did this number of vehicles get into their present condition”? This level of rust and rot did not happened over a week, a month, or even a year of neglect. Rather, it took decades of total neglect, and this neglect was monitored by a great number of “concerned” people over the many years they sat there. Was there never, not for a single minute, in a decades long period of viewing, anyone who said “Gee…………I have too many cars, and maybe I should sell, or even GIVE AWAY, a couple before they rot away, and have to be advertised as a restoration treasure, or a gold mine of harvestable, and ultra expensive, aka, crusher, prices”! For sure, medical care and inheritances count for something, and GIVING AWAY something, even if it allows someone to stay in the antique car restoration hobby adds nothing to the family treasury. But, these cars are a testament to the direction we are going as a society…..better trashed than donated……and the saying….”Don’t blame me…I don’t even care”!

There is an echo to what you are saying that can only be heard by a few people. Some, when they look at these hulks of rusted steel and rotten rubber, see a profit-loss involvement. The very words “Antique, or “Classic”, when used with “Car” are words commonly associated with “expensive”, “collectible, “rare”, “old”, “rich” and “dumb”. Others see a metallic reminder of their younger days and times when running was actually fun. This is a sentimental journey which usually ends up on the couch, with a cold drink, and the NFL or PGA television schedule handy. Then the reality strikes that these relics are physical testimony of man’s mechanical ingenuity, and innovation, which propelled him from a time when fire was considered a God, to a time when fire transported food from farm to market and opened up the world to a touch of the gas pedal. I would like to “save” several of the vehicles from the crusher, and I truly wish that, at least a few, would be claimed by local high school vocational-technical training classes, but neither is possible. Namely because of my age, ability and limited space, and the fact that our school systems no longer recognize a vocation as a productive goal in life. This echo I speak of is the sound of a mentor, may it be a paid educational professional, a father, a older brother, a uncle or a trusted neighbor, but not a “teacher”, guiding a group of students, not gang bangers or future homeless miscreates, through a process of converting a liquid fuel into a energy capable of hauling immense loads on a Highway, or carry a new mother with her tiny baby home for the first time. On the side of the parts broker, I’d say send them to the crusher because “rare” and “unobtainium” makes old car parts a virtual gold mine.

Well, Golly, Gee…….I just Googled TSC looking for “horse molasses”, but the nearest they come to an animal named rust remover is “Piggy poo and crew”. So, a new search begins, and that is exactly what this is all about! Jack

Hi Jack M…….Being a tractor nut also, Tractor Supply Company is one of my “Go-To” haunts. Since my wife passed, and my dog has became my family, my sense of values has changed radically. My old machines have replaced kiosks in airports while awaiting to board an airplane for a trip to Europe or Asia, and a ride in my 1923 DB Roadster has replaced a trip across Canada in the motor home. I no longer hesitate to spend a indecent amount for a equally bad meal and I like to buy my tools now based on need, rather than price. I also use a pressure washer, and a media blaster, probably to excesses, in reanimating my old machines and the mention of a product which may replace the time, effort and mess using a media blaster is well worthy of consideration. “EVAPORUST” sounds like a suitable replacement for the media blaster and pressure washer when it comes necessary to remove decades of rust from metal in preparation for repair and painting. Accordingly, I am as willing to try EVAPORUST as I am willing to try “horse molasses”, and the probability of horse molasses being available at TSC moves it up on my list of “gotta try’s”. I prefer the rusty metal primer sold at TSC to that marketed on eBay or sold at Lowe’s, and my supply of rusty metal primer is low enough to justify a trip to TSC. So, I suppose a bucket of “horse molasses” is in my immediate future and “Evaporust” is moved one burner back. Thanks Jack M……… Jack

Hi 3macboys……..I am prolific to the point of tedium, and if I had to buy space on the forum, supporting my writing habit would cause the amount I actually spend on my old cars to pale in contrast. No contention intended as I totally agree with you in that Fargo trucks was manufactured in the USA until, I think, 1976. My search for repair parts for the particular Fargo Express “Packet” Panel Delivery, sometimes resembles a dog sledder trying to run a race in Florida in July. Apparently, although there seems to be abundant information out there regarding the build data, and interchangeability of repair parts From what I, and that is a capitol, italicized “I”, understand is that these particular trucks, namely the 1/2 ton Packet and 3/4 ton Clipper, were made for two years, 1929 and 1930, in Canada, using a assortment of parts made by Chrysler, Dodge Brothers, DeSoto and Maxwell. My truck is the “Express” Delivery, which was manufactured for export, from Canada, and the model line was discontinued for the 1931 model line. Adding to the confusion regarding these trucks is the story that they were made with the intention of creating a new line of light trucks, to bridge a gap left when Chrysler absorbed the light truck market from Dodge Brothers, and made the trucks available as a vehicle which could be built to meet the buyers specific needs. I am 100% certain that my intellectual silo is 50% full of IMO’s, I think’s, and pure fabrications, and 50% full of valid information provided by forum members such as you. I also realize it is a hobby, concerning a seven-plus decades old truck, and whatever I believe or scrap is all in the pursuit of fun…….and not table dressing. Thanks for your response and much welcome input…. Jack

Gee mikewest…….sometimes useful information just ebbs and flows from the cracked screen of my old, seventh generation iPad. Thanks to your post I find that EVAPORUST is available, with free shipping, on Amazon for $121.75 for five gallons. It has been a few days since I enjoyed the anticipation of the new inner tubes I ordered from Amazon for my old truck to arrive. I have been without this source of enjoyment, since they are now here, and I appreciate that I now have a new thing to order and restore that sense of anticipation. Since the old Fargo Express Panel Delivery I just bought is 99% rust and .01% solid metal, I am a little Leary of getting this stuff too close, or I may lose the truck altogether. But, I assure you, it can be put to use in many places other than a rusty pressure plate. Thanks for the tip… Jack

Hi Aussie Scruffy. I take the bits and pieces of information, and advice, you folks so kindly provide, and use it in the same manner as I used an eight digit map coordinate during my years in the Army. In itself, the coordinates, even if you have the map are useless unless you know how they relate to actual terrain features on the ground. And, even if I do have the correct coordinates, but no map, or a topographically correct map, and no coordinates, I still have no hope of finding the actual place on earth I am looking for. With the information I gleaned from helpful forum members, I have taken a second look at the star wheel adjusters, aka, “little gears” which resemble a torx wrench, and see now that the studs they are mounted to are, indeed, threaded lugs which extend through the clutch pressure plate cover, and when turned, do adjust the up and down movement of the fingers. I am still unclear as to the purpose of the little springs, which has one end resting on the star wheel, and the other end resting under the finger, after it passes through a hole in the pressure plate cover. But, I am equally certain this will become clear as time passes. Thanks again… Jack

Gottcha’ 28 Chrysler. I have the head in my shop, and it will be a bit before I get back out there. I’ll check the number and get back with you.

Sure glad I bought a new can of “Blaster” penetrating lubricant yesterday. Now that Viv W has enlightened me in regards to the gears being used to adjust the distance between the fingers and the throw out bearing, and I made a incorrect assumption about the purpose of the springs, I will retrograde to a safer location, and make another, probably incorrect assumption. I now notice that the end of the spring which goes through the hole on the pressure plate cover, and appears to be bent in a manner that it rests below the finger, I must assume the tension it provides is actually the adjustment of the distance between the bearing and the finger. That being so, I must also presume that the position the spring rests in one of the gears teeth actually determines the height of the finger, rather than “turning” the gear to set its height. I’m going to tax your knowledge of these things again viv W to correct me here.

Wow…..Thanks viv W. So I must suppose that the springs are a way of locking the wheel from turning once the adjustment is made. Most probably I would have figured this out as I disassemble the pressure plate for cleaning and restoration, but I now know that they don’t hold something together which would be buggered beyond repair if I took it apart. Thanks again!

As I meander through the steps of reanimating a 1929 Fargo Express panel truck, aka, a Canadian Chrysler, I discover many new puzzles to keep me entertained. One such puzzle involves some little gears, almost resembling what the end of a torx driver looks like when viewed lengthwise, with their accompanying springs (some missing) which are riveted to the face of the outer pressure plate disk. Anyone with any idea what these little gizmos do, and what the consequences of the missing springs will be if the pressure plate is put in use.

To answer your first question about the FEDCO Tag. I have looked the truck over from front to back, and top to bottom, and I can find no tag, of any sort, with a number on it. The riser for the floor boards is missing, but the flat part, which extends from the seat to the riser is there. But, the one which is there has no tag, and is barely identifiable, because of rot, as being a floor board. Yesterday I pressure washed the whole truck and knocked a layer or two of the seventy plus years of accumulated crud and rust off the truck. It will take a lot more scraping, wire brush and pressure washing to get to the bare metal on several places around the truck, but when I do, I am certain more identification numbers will be revealed. And, I think numbers off the differential, axles, starter, generator, distributor, radiator and other parts of the truck will disclose a bit more about its history. Next page……I have answered a ad on Hennings which provided me with the email address of a person, apparently a non-member, who has, what he advertises, as four new tires for $225.00 plus shipping. The photo of the tires shows them still in factory wrapping, and he says they have not been unwrapped since new. Amazingly, the tires for this truck, from Coker, runs about half the cost of the tires for either my Willys or my Dodge Roadster. I’ll say more each but less than $150.00 each, so $225.00 for four is a reasonable price. And, another AACA member has provided me with the email address of another person, apparently, also a non-member who , they say, has a transmission and drive shaft for sale. I have emailed both and have received an answer back and they say the tires are still available. I have no clue where either is located, what their experience with on-line sales and shipping is, and most certainly whether or not they are legitimate sellers or scammers…………any input on this sort of transaction?

Thanks so much for the time and effort you’re putting into this project. My cup runneth over….or at least as much as it will hold today, so I’m going to save some of this for tomorrow when my brain is more flexible. I’ll post a few photos of the progress on the truck too. Jacl

Hi Lief……..Your post sort of confirmed what I already believed about the Fargo Express Panel. The buyout of Dodge Brothers took place in 1928, and Desoto, in Canada, did not make the first Canadian Chrysler until 1929. This was in observance of a contractual agreement between Dodge Brothers and Chrysler Corp, which is another subject, for another thread. When I first looked at the truck the seller said it was a 1929, and then changed his FB ad to read 1928. Regardless, worrying about it will only add to my gray hair, and I already have too much of that. Thanks for the link. No piece of information is unimportant regarding this old truck. Jack

Sorry about the snide reply. I do, sincerely, appreciate your response to my post, and, perhaps I am getting burned out on this subject already. I doubt the engine is a Contenintal, or Senior Six or whatever that choose to confuse the issue by calling it. I may have to buy another engine if I can’t hone the bores of the one now in the truck. Regardless, I can’t plan on what I can’t do, and I do plan on returning the engine I now have to use. The transmission shown on the Continental advertisement MAY be exactly what I am looking for since the transmission is used with a wide assortment of engines, across the brand names of several vehicles. I need to find out the nomenclature of my engine to cross reference it against the other vehicles which may use a Senior Six, or Continental engine, regardless of the fact they were made a few years before, or a couple of years after my 1928 Fargo was made. On this particular engine I found it remarkable that the exhaust pipe is vented from the front, rather than the rear, of the exhaust manifold. I also found the enormous exhaust gas control valve was located on the end of the front of the exhaust manifold. I also found it remarkable to see the way they mounted the spark advance shaft across the head, and then to the distributor, rather than the normal way of routing it across the rear of the engine with a long shift levered to the distributor.