The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Newbie with a 1953 6400

Just drove home a 1953 6400 Dump that I bought from a friend a couple of weeks ago. It is going to be a work truck that will be used on a regular basis, I hope......
I have been checking out the site for a few weeks now and came across a few posts that helped me get it up and running, although very rough. I am now in the process of researching the HEI option and upgrading the single barrel carb.
A multitude of questions to follow!!

Nice workhorse to say da least.

Welcome to the Bolt! Looks like a nice, solid old truck.
Lots of good info and advice here.

Looking forward to tinkering. Just got rid of a 2005 F350 with the 6.0 diesel, and am looking forward to working on something that won't drive me crazy.

Rixter 66 You wont be sorry if you go to HEI its great to get real ignition. Make your own distributor if possible,several v-6 GM engines can be the donor. Just make it look like the one you take out !! It'll work. Always big fun to fire up the dump truck--great piece you have there !!

Need to get an even fire V-6 or inline 6 distributor. Even fire V-6 distributor have evenly spaced wires, odd fire not so. Need a large feed wire, no ignition resistor when going to 12V system, probably best to use relay to take load off ignition switch.

Ed

I had an aircraft tug made by Clark with a Hercules flathead 6 that would not start in Minnesota cold no matter what we did. We used it to push dead cars around. I pulled the distributor and took it to a bone yard. The bottom of the Prestolite distributor that fit the head of the Hercules was exactly the same dimensions as a 4 cylinder Chevrolet Vega unit. I got that one and a even fire Buick 6 cylinder unit, swapped the 6 stuff for the four cylinder stuff, cut off the way too long shaft and pinned on the drive tang that fit the Hercules.

It has been starting every time all winter for over 30 years.

You might check on line for something that fits out of the box, HEI is available for Fords, Chryslers and who know what all these days, it is not expensive either, less than $100 in many cases.

That is a nice old classic. Personally I don’t think HEI is what you need. A proper working original distributor gives you all you need. I would say the same thing about the carb. A basic ignition tuneup including new cap rotor and wires would be good.

I am looking forward to more posts about that beautiful old beast!

Yes, I know it doesn't look right and it's not original equipment but the HEI is going in. At this point I am looking for long term dependability and I really hate messing with points. Every Chevy small block and big block that I have had got the HEI upgrade. Right now I am actually having a hard time finding and donor l6 to get parts from, but that is part of the fun of working on things.

Hi Rixter66, welcome to the forum. I just want to add my 2 cents, I also am a fan of HEI but I have the original 283 2 bbl. in my '57 Low Cab Forward, the points distributor is also part of the governor system along with a vacume diaphram on the carb. so I wanted to keep it as complete as possible. When I pulled the motor for a little freshen-up I also cleaned up the distributor, it had recent points, condenser, cap, and rotor so I kept them on. This truck was well used as evidenced by wear and tear on other components so I know it was not well maintained. I have no issue with this thing starting and running and I am completely confident with it on the road, I get a couple of loads of hay with it at 100-plus bales per load and she purrs without a hick-up. I'm not trying to change your mind on the HEI, just giving you info based on my experience and use. So if you have trouble with finding what you want I would not be afraid to run the original distributor.

Nice truck!

78 Buckshot That is a fine working truck !!

78Buckshot, thanks for the input. I just like the set it and forget it with the HEI, but since I can't find a donor right now and don't want to fork out the $ for a new one, the old distrib is going to have to do. I will just have to dig back into my foggy memory and get used to it. Nice rig by the way, I am looking forward to using mine in the same fashion.

Like most everyone, it is a work-in-progress as I pick away at the needed items. I haven't decided yet on how far I will go with body work. Drivers side "A" pillar is the worst part as it is separated from the floor, cab corners aren't bad, doors are good, fenders have filler in them. For now I enjoy it and even have taught one grandson to drive it. At this point it's quite road-worthy and I'm not on any time crunch. Thank you all for the approval.

Weather permitting and as long as I can get the motor running this week, the plan is to power wash off all the old fir needles and see what condition the body is in. There is a leak below the front window and I don't know if it from the window seal or the front cab vent. I also have a bit of a brake problem, as in there isn't much stopping me from rolling down the hill other than first gear. Every stage brings a new adventure.....

No power washing outside here for me, it's in the teen's during the day and single digits at night. Funny you just got rid of a F--d diesel, I'm adding the finishing touches on my 2000 Chevy K3500 6.5 diesel and it will go on the market within a week, I hate to sell it but the wife complains about it so I found a 2011 2500HD, 9 years old and had 26,000 miles on it - like new and I could'nt pass it up. My '57 did'nt have any brakes when I got it, I re-built all 7 cylinders, all new lines and rubber, bypassed the hydro-vac for now, brakes are very solid.

EdPruss I haven't noticed any big load from HEI on the ignition switch have turned out 4or5 HEI's from junk yard donors all start and run good all on LPG. I saw something about bigger wire size to HEI but I just use the size it had !