Hi there, I'm working on my 1950 GMC 228, and I can't figure out what the circled item is in the attached photo. It is on the block near the generator.
If it's installed in place of a freeze plug, you should be able to replace it without any problems. The photo is a little fuzzy- - - -is the spring and the bracket below it attached to the part, or is that an optical illusion? Most block heaters will have an electric wire attached that would be plugged into an extension cord when the vehicle is parked overnight in sub-freezing temperatures. The cord might have been cut off flush with the heater but there should be enough of it remaining to see where it used to be. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
There are two designs of bolt-in freeze plugs. One uses a piece of rubber sandwiched between two flat washers and a bolt in the middle to expand it. The other design uses a copper disc with a wedge and a center boll. Both types are easier to install than the drive-in type with the engine in the vehicle. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
It does thread into the block, and when I took it out it showed itself to have a six-inch metal rod. The remaining coolant in the block (the radiator is drained and the head is off at the machinist) poured out. It has two wires into what looks like an insulator of sort, broken apart, and the wires are cut. I will never use the truck in the winter, so I don't think any block heating is necessary. There is a similar looking plug further back on the block, but it is only threaded about 3/8 in. Wires on that are cut as well, and the throttle spring is attached to it.
