The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1946 2 Ton, How To Get Rid Of The Governor.

My son's 1946 2 ton has a governor. Is it a simple job to remove it?

What is involved?

Or can it adjusted to no longer restrict engine speed?

We used to just remove them. End of story. Most of them had a seal to keep drivers from tampering with them, but that didn't keep anyone from removing the whole thing.

If removed, you will need to get shorter manifold studs and the accelerator linkage will need to be shortened.

What is wrong with a governor protecting against over revving?

Over speeding the engine in lower gears will not happen because no one but my son and I will be driving the truck. I read in the owners manual that the governor limits top speed at 48 mph.

We want to be able to hit 55 on a level road.

If you still have the original babbitt bearing engine, it will not survive long at max revolutions.

Do not know for I have not had the oil pan down. Though that leads me to ask when a rebuild is required can the engine be converted to bearing inserts?

While on the subject of a governor, I have one on my 1946 GMC 1.5 ton. Any idea how a governor impact gas mileage? I see the "throttle plate" in the governor restricting air/fuel mixture after it's been mixed in the carb. It seems like it could less than efficient fuel use???

I can't answer the Chev question for sure because all I've ever owned was GMC. But I have heard of people making the conversion. I just don't know what's involved. As for the governor, they were supposed to work on velocity and cut back on the throttle at a specified RPM. By the late 50's, most of them didn't work correctly any more. I would suspect less to work properly now. When I got a V8 GMC, it had a tea pot Holley with a governor. I threw away the Holley along with the adapter and installed an Olds Rochester and it made a world of difference.

Your truck will be happy at 48 mph, my 42 1.5 ton is. Any faster might cause major failure. Sometimes you got to sit back and remember what these trucks were built to do.

Take off the butterfly plate and save it somewhere.

The force of the air striking the plate will partially close the throat at a set RPM if it is adjusted properly and all the parts are working. Its really not much more than a spring counterbalance and an eccentric.

I doubt that you will see much of an MPG improvement with it removed... but it will hinder high end RPMs if installed.. that's its job.

Drop the oil pan and inspect/adjust the rod bearing clearance before you crank the RPM up. Babbit rods aren't any more prone to failure than insert bearing engines, but excessive rod bearing clearance on either one will hammer the bearings out of round and result in rod knocking, low oil pressure, and crankshaft damage. It's possible to install insert-converted connecting rods, and 216 engines have enough piston skirt clearance to change rods from the bottom without removing the cylinder head- - - -235's don't. Be sure the crankshaft journals are round and smooth, and measure them to see if the crankshaft has been reground undersize, then install the proper size reconditioned rods or insert bearings.
Jerry

For what its worth, the governor is still installed on my '46 2 ton. I was told years ago by my grandfather that it was "adjusted so you might pass someone". I have no idea what that entailed, although i suspect there was some adjustment in the allen screw protruding from one side of the unit. I can't notice that it is limiting any RPM, and if it does its at a point that it may as well be not doing anything. I don't think I would gain much performance by removing it, especially considering the work that would have to go into relocating the carb and shortening linkages and studs. I can honestly say that the list of vehicles that I have successfully passed on the open highway is pretty short and includes stuff like a loaded off-road fertilizer spreader truck, and a truck tractor with a blown turbo attempting to limp back into town.... everything else I get behind seems to at least be doing 45 - 50.

My truck has a 6.17 rear and with 7.5x20 tires, its wound out pretty much as tight as i want to take it at about 50 MPH in 4th in the main transmission and direct in the auxiliary, which is the same final drive ratio as a stock configuration. Of course with the aux in overdrive I can cruise at 55 with a little less than the RPM required for 50 MPH in direct. It doesn't seem to like being pushed past the above speeds, but probably would endure a short burst here or there. The splash oiled chevys are good durable engines, but aren't high revving by modern standards.

2ton46 - You have great truck. I spend way more time on the internet than I should looking at them and you have one of the best I've seen. It's rare to see one with the factory paint on the stock GM platform bed and stake boards.

You can adjust them so that the butterfly never closes.. but its usually easier to simply take the butterfly off. Rebuild kits have a replacement butterfly if you get the right one. My 2.5 ton GMC never gets that fast.. but properly adjusted it will choke the engine to prevent going over the RPM set point... pretty amazing gadget.. easy to test in neutral... give it gas and you should hear the RPMs increase until they level out no matter how far you press the gas peddle.

Yesterday my son and I took off the carburetor to rebuild it. And what did I find?

The governor throttle plate was removed from the shaft.

So it appears I will keep the governor housing in place then rather mess around with changing the carburetor mounting studs.

My '48 Loadmaster 4400 1.5ton with 235 had a governor when I first got it. Before I did anything to my working set-up, I pulled my throttle rod and went to a yard in Grantsville. There I found a couple trucks and came home with two throttle rods each shorter then my original. I don't recall what the measured difference between the rod I use, and the one connected with the governor. The previous owner who had the governor did not have the bakelite insulator, or the thick gasket below it, which I now have.
I cut the carb stud down and that is how I removed my governor.
I feel like my truck runs better having it removed and the correct set up thick gasket, insulator, then carb installed.

Thanks for the input. Though there are no Grantsville's near me. So the odds of finding the right length throttle rod are not that good. Combine that with I do not want to change out the studs so I will leave things the way they are for now.

I'd like to see I pic of those governors, I've seen factory ads for them but never on a truck, If anyone could post a pic that would be awesome!