[massey478]

Hi Dave
I did not intend to demean those who have put so much time into full restorations. It just seems we went through a time when that was the first thought when someone got a truck like this. I strongly suggest that you, at each oil change, open up the oil filter, spread out the pleated paper, and inspect it carefully for non-magnetic bits of metal that keep appearing. If you find this, get to changing out the rods and main bearings. You can do it without pulling the motor. We find that sometimes motors that have been idle for many years have had the bearing faces acid etched which leads to the coating peeling off, leading to eventual bearing failure. We have had it happen; not a good thing! By the time we audibly heard evidence of it in knocking, the crank was hurt because the etched metal is harder than normal bearing metal. You will catch it in time if you watch for it in the filters. In fact we now make it the first mission to replace the bearings in the motor. We usually find the start of the etching on the old bearings, a dark hard coating.