Geoff Weeks

Yeah, I think I remember that. The "C" and "D" look like they came about to deal with length laws and loop-holes that were exploited for Truck Trailer combo's over semi trailer combos. In the US where OAL laws have almost disappeared, the need for these weird combos are gone as well. Now it is trailer length not bumper to bumper that counts in most places.

I can see why I never saw one of those. Kinda like a Jiff-lock but much more difficult to work with. With a single powered axle, I bet they were fun to steer in less than ideal conditions.

Thinking about it, a C train is best suited for Bedbug operation, light so the ridged connection isn't as much a problem, can be loaded off a dock or through the rear on the front trailer when broken apart, (something more difficult on a "B") and less side to side waggling that could cause cargo damage on a bedbugger load. The lead trailer has to drag the converter dolly around corners, like a spread axle flat bed, so the lighter the axle loading the better they will corner. B's need a sliding sub-frame to be rear loaded, so are more popular with flat beds where they are more often loaded off the side or by overhead crane. My guess is there just isn't enough advantage over straight truck and full trailer for them to be worth the trouble. I see plenty of bedbugger straight trucks and trailers along with the 48' and 53' semi trailers

A train has a single pintle hitch on the front of the convertor and a 5th over the axle of the convertor B train has an extended frame on the front trailer and a 5th wheel on the back of the front trailer C train has the converter attached to the front trailer with 2 connections side by side, and a 5th over the axle. A and C trains don't put much if any weight on the front trailer. B train rear trailers weight is partially carried by the front trailer A train has two pivot points (hence "set of joints") B and C have one pivot point. Clear is mud!

There were some that had a "high mount" oil cooler, but now that you mention it, I think those were horizontal, not vertical. You nailed it I believe. I never had a Cummins that old.

Yes, it almost looks like someone got drunk and hooked the converter on backwards!

I have only seen one in the US and it was a single axle converter C train! Has anyone else ever seen one in the US? IIRC is was a Bedbugger rig (Hence the single axle converter). It was years ago and I never saw one since then. Plenty of A and B's.

Well, you see officer, I can tow 6 trailers at 120 mph and they'll take up the same space that 2 do at 55 mph!

With those pic's (where did they come from?) the front axle doesn't have dual boxes so I would guess under 16K now, and yeah it would be nose heavy. My cabover was 12,600 on the steer bobtail. Lot more weight and distance to the rear axles on that one!

Looks like a 20K by the tire size.

Couldn't be used commercially and you need a way to pay for fuel and up-keep. Either deep pockets, or keep it stationary.

Very much like my Dart Oil Field truck

wasn't yesterday, that is for sure.

Back when I was studying for my A&P lic, we had to memorize which way a cam ring turned on a specific engine (mostly piston engines back then, mostly radial) I always thought "Who in the right mind would trust their memory when working on an aircraft engine?". Manuals were printed for a reason! The manual for the Gardner 6LXB was about the size of a cheap comic book, because they expected you to know how to work on an engine and just provided the unique info and spec. The one for my Big Cam 4 looks like the New York City yellow pages, because everything was in "pictograms"! There is so little true info contained in many manuals today, more how to simplify to the least common denominator

I believe the last picture is an oil cooler. Thanks for the color on the line, but with only one line to the bumper, I can't see what they are trying to accomplish. Lots of "bodged" stuff on that truck, so it is hard to say what was done why.

I'll have to take your word on that because I can't see the whole thing. Your picture only shows a line on the right side of the bumper, so I have no idea what they are trying to do, if there is only one connection and it is a coolant line. It wouldn't act as an overflow, as there is no way to draw it back in. Can't tell what you are refering to on "the right side of the engine. Might be a old style oil cooler or even a coolant filter that was replaced with spin-on one next to it.

Also I'm betting that the front bumper is being used as an air tank, to increase the capacity for the air assist steering, and not anything to do with the radiator. One the hose is too small to flow any amount of coolant, and 2, I only see one hose.

Look and see if the tag on the fuel pump is there, Might give some clues as to the engine.

yep, they are all cross drilling to the main bearing saddles. I am surprised at how well the original gauges do esp oil pressure. I have a mechanical and electric both on mine and the electrical reacts quicker than the mechanical.

In reality, the pressure will be what it will be. Without available replacements, no point grinding the crank for non existent bearings. I use the old 10 psi per 1000rpm rule! Plenty of oil pump kits, so I would try that if the pressure isn't up to snuff. Std bearings show up every once and a great while, undersize even less so.

BLD 269 oil pressure spec's Min 10-15 psi @ 300-350 rpm, Max 40-45 psi @ 1500-1800 RPM

Main bearings are hard to find, only NOS. Your pressure sound good to me, I don't remember seeing a pressure listed in the manual. Binderbooks used to sell reprints of the manual, but I don't think they are still around?

The brakes on the K-7's will really stop the truck well even when loaded. I had 5 ton on mine (grossing over 18K) and no problem stopping. The oil filter base contains the pressure relief for the system and must be retained. Installing a 2nd bypass filter, is easy enough but little is gained by doing so. To install a full flow the oil has to be re-routed from the pump to the filter base and back to the main oil rifle. Doing so places the oil filter ahead of the relief and that could cause problems if the filter plugged, or the lines got damaged. The pump is plumbed directly to the main oil rifle and the current filter and relief is T'd off of that. Given the above, and the high sump capacity, low miles that my trucks see, I decided it wasn't worth the trouble and modifications to the block to install a full flow, and the bypass the truck came with is as good as any you can get spin-on. Just my 2 cents worth.

Getting back to the inside connection on your Delco, it is a copper bolt with a slit in it, the field connections come together and fit into the slit and then it is soldered in place. Most likely done in the old days with a big soldering iron, but you can use a jewelers pin point torch or if your careful, the smallest welding tip on your torch set. Solder gets broken out when people are messing with the cable connection to the stud. Replacement split bolts are available and I have repaired mine. Slow cranking= heat which is bad. Make sure both ends are clean and lubed. There is always the modern starters from the L/N book we talked about a year ago.

Penn DOT got their years wrong, There is a square nose Chevy pick-up and a Ford LTD with 5 MPH crash bumpers in there. I'd say 1973 at the earliest.