Today the guy came back over and looked at the trans out of the truck with the side cover off, and told us that we pretty much bought a core, and it would need mostly rebuilt (he'll do it for a good price). One of the gears inside had most of a tooth missing (first gear, i think), and from what he said as he looked at it, things weren't too encouraging. He did say that the case was good, and there are several parts inside the trans that were still good and usable. He also said we didn't get ripped off too badly, the low price we paid was probably what it's worth as-is. It will be a while before we have that work finished, and I don't have much patience with stuff like this, so me and dad put the old yoke back on the driveshaft and I put the old 3-speed back in. At least I can bomb it to school for the last couple days of the year.

Halfton...The shifter was new and had instructions with it. Seeing the inside of the trans today pretty much eliminated the shifter as a possibility, I think.

Well redfox.... you could always try to find a place that does acid diping..... but if you dont get primer back on the bare metal it will start rusting out with in a year or so.

Mike

RedFox there is a tech article on brothers trucks web site that shows the installation of the smooth dash board insert.With the portion of the dash cut out it looks like you would have plenty of room to do everything you want before you weld the panel in.They also have a patch panel for the radio area that puts the dash back to stock.Check it out and let us know what you think Hey everybody I got my door parts yesterday and I am happy with the quality.I ordered 2 door locks that came keyed differently and they left out a roll of window setting tape.Customer service is great they are sending me a matched set of door locks and a shipping label to send back the other door locks.They also are sending me the roll of window set tape.I forgot to order the rubber seals for the wing windows so I am going to order them now.I will post pictures later when I get to install all these parts.

Hey Matt
Sorry to hear about the condition of your Muncie, I was hoping it was something minor that would be an easy fix. Don't give up on it , here is a good link that tells alot about Muncie 4 speeds and other transmissions, they have a video tape on rebuilding Munices, get it and learn how to rebuild your own 4 speed , then you can do other peoples and make some extra money.
I learned how to do them years ago because I kept breaking them and couldn't afford to pay somebody else to do it.
What do ya got to loose?
Gene

http://www.5speeds.com/muncie.htm

Gene...yeah I guess it was a good lesson for me to learn early on, to make absolutely sure what you're buying. Thanks for that link, I may have been there before but I'll check it out. Seems like I remember seeing that video for sale somewhere. I might actually have a chance to watch the trans man rebuild ours...I think he might want to do the work here at our house (maybe this coming weekend) for some reason instead of taking it to the shop he works for. Guess we have most of the tools he needs here already. The parts are supposed to be here toward the end of next week. I will definitely have the Muncie back in the truck first chance I get after it's done. Until then, the 3 speed still shifts easy and doesn't make any noise, so I should be fine for now.
-Matt

Hey that sounds great Matt , the trans guy has himself a little side job , money in his pocket and less money out of your pocket for shop labor rates.
Labor rates here in No. Calif. are about $110.00 an hour, be about $1000.00 to get a Muncie done around here.
You should be back on the road grabb'in gears soon , good luck.
Gene

Glad it is working out for you Matt.It is nice to see young guys with the smarts to put the old trans back in and keep on driving it.Most guys would have just let it sit.It is a good deal for you that the guy will come build it at your garage.Watch close,pay attention and ask Questions.Most guys are happy to explain what and why they are doing things.You will see that it is not that hard to do a manual transmission.I have gotten Lazy in my old age and still take mine to my high school buddy and he builds them at the transmission shop were he has worked for 20 years Of coarse now I have to install the carpet in his house.I am lucky that I have a bunch of friends in all kinds of businesses that I can trade labor for labor with We are still waiting for Pictures Matt

Haha yeah I know I still don't have any pics. As soon as I post this ill go find the camera and try to post some. It's not really much to look at (gray primer), but I don't mind. Lately I've been thinking about how I want to paint it, it will probably be something with a satin/flat finish.

Just posted 5 pics in the Photo Gallery section, hopefully it worked. The engine pic is from right after it was installed in the truck, you can see the wire tie thing holding the alternator. Since then I've cleaned up all the vacuum hoses and crap on the firewall, and redone/cleaned up the messy wiring. I have a couple sets of headlight bezels, but I don't have them on because there was some damage to the pass. side fender that was fixed badly by a previous owner. I got it looking as good as I could, but the bezel does not fit right on that side, so I just leave em off. I have another fender that is in nice shape around the headlight but needs rust fixed on the bottom corner, so eventually that one will be on the truck.

Matt it looks to be in pretty good shape.The engine looks nice.I see you still have the vacuum lines for the old vacuum windshield wipers.You can hook your throttle cable up to the fast idle cam just unhook and remove the rod that connects the fast idle came to the cam and use a ford style cable bolt to hook the throttle cable to the fast idle cam.I used some gas tank strap to make the brackets that hold the cable and used some old lawn mower clamps to hold the cable.It is nice to be able to use the choke to start it and use the throttle cable to set the idle speed till it warms up.Thanks for posting the pictures Matt.We all love to see those pictures

Attached Thumbnails

       

Been looking for a used 4 bbl intake and carb for my truck. It has a 2bbl right now. I was looking for an older one to keep the 60's style going with the engine. I go up to San Luis Obispo tomorrow to pick it. For $100 buck I don't think I can go to wrong...or I hope so.

Later
Gators

My dad bought a 56 cameo that has a short shifter on it in the floor. It's an "H" pattern. I don't think it's an original tranny. Does anyone know the best place to find a taller shifter ? Thanks 552NDSER

Hi and welcome 552ndser To be able to answer your question we will need some more information. On my 1955 2nd series truck it came with an original 4 speed (H pattern) on the floor...so yours might be original. To be sure get the ID numbers off the tranny...that will help in trying to find a longer shifter for you and be able to identify exactly what tranny you have. Hope this helps....I am sure some one else will jump in and offer some more or better advice.

Later,
James

Matt that is a COOL truck...but then again I love these years of trucks. Make sure you keep posting pics as you work on the truck. NIce to see your truck!

Later,
James

552NDSER Pictures of the shifter in the cab would help.There are so many styles of shifters out there.