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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
I'm D.J. Rasmussen, O.K.s friend since junior high, possibly your neighbor & this websites maintainer, whom strives to get each episode's show notes written, the transcript proofed and the audio posted to the internet within a few hours of that days KMMR air time. NOTE: recently been publishing most new releases by 4:30PM.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the time we can spend together.
I wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, new week. Get your cup of coffee, snow shovel, glass iced tea, bottled water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Mick, I called Chandel myself, Spring wheat $5.93 a bushel. Mick, he caught me fudging. I didn't look them up all the time, but I'm doing good now, Mick. I'm on the straight and narrow.
OK Solberg:On March 4 in Billings at Pays, there were 55 head of 3 and 4 year old cows sold for $4,800 a head. Butcher hog in Iowa 49¢ a pound, and a 100lb fat lamb in Billings $2.75 also sold in Pays. But guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:Well, you know, wanna know what? I didn't get much sleep last night. I was contemplating why is snowboard one word while snow boots is two words. Here, skateboard is one word, but skate shoes is two words.
OK Solberg:As I'm tossing and turning, another one came to mind. We all know the flower called the sunflower, one word. But if you go and buy sunflower seeds, the sunflower is two words. I'm sorry. I don't get it.
OK Solberg:My English teacher didn't tell me why. Anyway, push that all aside. While in my confusion, I remembered a Bible verse. Listen. For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
OK Solberg:1st Corinthians 14:33 I like that. I'd rather have peace than confusion. So guys, what day is it? What is today?
OK Solberg:Why it's Monday. Time for Jay & Joe's Motor Monday, the day we look at horsepower one Monday at a time. Today, something very interesting in my book. I have to be honest. I'm a wannabe mechanic, but I'm really pretty dumb in that field if if all the truth must be known.
OK Solberg:Yet, with today's technology, we can all get knowed up. I may or may not have told you the story back in Harb, and Glenn Bruckner is Branding down at Jewett's, And my father had just got a different pickup after he traded in the 1953 yellow Chevy. This was a green GMC 1/2 ton. Well, there's a pop break and Dwayne Grimes is there. And he asked me what year that new to us pickup was and, you know, guys, I didn't know for sure.
OK Solberg:So I took a crack at it and I said in 1967. Dwayne said to me it can't be. Look, there are reflectors in the front quarter panel. A '67 didn't have those reflectors. I, of course, felt like a fool, but I've never forgotten it.
OK Solberg:Right? If you have a pickup and from your knowledge you know it's either a 67, eight, nine, 70, 71 or 72, you know it's one of them because well you can't mix it up with a 66 and you'd only be a fool to mix it up with a 73 because they were total model changes. So, you know, it's a '67 through '72. Here's the deal guys. If it has no reflectors in the front quarter panel, it screams 1967 the only ones out there.
OK Solberg:Oh, by the way, if you have a hard time distinguishing between a 71 and a 72, just look at the inside cab rearview mirror. If it's mounted through the roof, it's a 1971. If it's glued on the windshield, it's a 1972. Yes, sir. First year to glue a cab rearview mirror on the windshield.
OK Solberg:What about that then? And I credit that to Dave Clark in Loring, Montana. He reported that to me and I'll never forget it. So with the stage being set in the sands of time quickly dropping through the hourglass, let look at 3 engines today. Three engines that were the most manufactured by the big 3.
OK Solberg:Okay? When it comes to General Motors, Chevy GMC, make of Chevy and GMC, both Jay and Joe can shout this engine out right now. Say it. The most manufactured engine by General Motors during a 3 decade run would be the 350. The 350 was introduced in 1967 and in production, listen, from '67 all the way to 2002, and they fall under the family Chevrolet small block V8.
OK Solberg:It remained common for 35 years of production far longer than most engines. Now since this is an equal opportunity employer, let's look at Ford. Ford, can you name it, Joe, Jay? Ford 302 Windsor introduced in 1968 was in production. 1968 through all the way to 2001, and it falls into the Ford Windsor small block family.
OK Solberg:Exact production totals, well, guys, they're hard to pin down because the 302 shares tooling and production counts with other Windsor engines, but it was produced for over 30 years and used in more than 30 different vehicles. Then finally, Chrysler, their most common engine. Say it aloud, Joe. Say it out loud, Jay. The Chrysler 318, original 318 A series from 1957 through 1966, then the LA 318 from 1967 through 1991.
OK Solberg:Yep. The 318 was Chrysler's main bread and butter V8 for decades. Now listen. Can you tell a 1967 Chevy from a '68? Sure you can.
OK Solberg:No reflector in the front quarter panels in the '67. Now how about identification of an engine sitting inside someone's shop on a cherry picker? Listen. We already know the 3 most common engines, so here's something you won't ever want to forget. If the distributor is in the front, almost always a Ford.
OK Solberg:Right? Now that was just a freebie. But here's what I wanted to get at. The Chevy 350, Ford 302, and Chrysler 318 dominated American vehicles for about 30 years. Because of that, mechanics learned this quick identification.
OK Solberg:Look at the valve covers. Some like to call them the tappet covers. Look at the valve covers. 4 bolts in a Chevy, 5 bolts in a Mopar Chrysler, 6 bolts in a Ford. In North America, that rule worked shockingly often.
OK Solberg:Remember, it's not foolproof, but almost. Bottom line, for classic vehicles, 4 valve cover bolts, Chevy small block. 5 valve cover bolts, Mopar. 6 valve cover bolts, Ford Windsor. It's one of the fastest visual identification tricks ever used in American automotive repair. And guys, now you know the best of the story.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.