1950 Willys Truck re-rebuild by 50wllystrk

4 minute(s) of a 620 minute read

You have done well Scooter402.

The black round plastic cap on the side of many carbs is a choke thermostat. Very similar to the one I have pictured on this thread. The difference being it is mounted on the side of the carburetor.

With this design mounted on the carburetor, some of the linkage is eliminated. The design also cleans up the intake manifold by getting rid of something bolted to it.

The method of adjustment is as Scooter402 mentioned. By rotating the black plastic cap on it's mount, you can adjust how it reacts to different temperatures, just as the bent linkage was the way to adjust with the other design.

Many of the old black plastic cap designs had a metal 1/4" tube that went to an exhaust manifold to draw heat up to the black plastic cap. This heat is what caused the spring to expand and contract to open and close the choke plate.

Next is the black plastic cap that is seen more often these days. It has the expanding spring in the cap, yet along with the spring is a heating element. Very similar the the cigarette lighter, once 12 volts is provided, the heating element warms the spring, thus opening the choke plate.

This last design with the electric choke setup is the favored design. The whole thing is one contained unit, and very adjustable.

3-28-2012

Yes, mine is ot of a International scout. It's a dana 44 from a 1972 model. It does have drum brakes right now, but perhaps by the end of this year I will replace the drums with a disc brake kit. With the large diameter tire, a good brake system would be nice.

When we do the SOA (spring over axle) conversion, the main streering arm does become an issue, especially with the lift, we create quite an angle from the steering box to the steering knuckle on the passenger side. With this angle the bottom of the passenger side leaf spring wants to interfere with the steering arm passing underneath of it. ( I know you know this, but I always explain for those who have not encountered this problem yet.)

The steering arm (sometimes called a draglink) is a home fabricated and bent arm I made 27 years ago. Once I made it, I was curious of how strong it was so I tried to stress it in situations. I quickly learned it had more flex than I liked so that is the reason for the extra gusseting that is welded to the bent area.

If I redue this arm again, I will use the same idea. One thing I will do is bend a slight drop where it passes under the leaf spring, otherwise, the same basic shape with perhaps slighly different gusseting.

Now..... If I built a long travel/very flexing suspension system, I would go with a high steer and go over the leaf spring if possible. At the suspensionflex I deal with right now, mine seems quite adequate.

As for driveability, this truck goes down the road very well. I just drove a 70 mile round trip on monday, I drove around 55 to 60 mph the whole way with no issues, no white knuckles, I'm very pleased with it's driveability.

The only time I notice the large tires is pushing on tight turns over 25 or 30 miles an hour. I have to realize the amount of rubber between the rim and the pavement, and the tires will flex when pushed into hard corners.

Hope this helps...