Hello fellow bolters,
I am new to this forum and also new to the stovebolts. I've always liked the cars from the 50's and this year I had a great chance to buy a '54 3100 five window truck. It is nearly stock (as far as I can tell by now) with an inline-6 235 and three on the tree. I'd like to keep it this way.
On my first runs after a thorough checkup, I remarked some issues, some of which I've already adressed. As you might already guess I will come up with some questions later on my way to make the truck better.
But first things first, have a look at this beauty:
AlbumIssues already adressed:
Right front wheel bearing tightened, valves adjusted, spark plugs replaced, gaps at the plugs and the contact in the distributor adjusted, spark timing adjusted, mixture adjusted. Since I couldn't find the ball at the flywheel I did the timing adjustment just by ear, but the result is way better than the timing found in it's original state. As soon as I got hold of a timing light, I will repeat the procedure following the shop manual.
Issues to adress:
Charging system does not work. Found the generator in really bad shape and replaced it. While I did a test drive before buying the car, the PO has placed a 12V battery into this 6V car.
So you wouldn't be surprised to find that the voltage coil of the regulators' cutout relay has been fried. Me neither. Thanks to some great postings in this forum I did not have much difficulties to locate the problem. The replacement regulator is due to arrive in the next days, hopefully before the weekend.
Next step will be the gas gauge. When turning on the ignition the pointer moves from low to a bit over E, but does not respond to changing levels of gas. I will have a close look to all the wiring and groundings necessary. That has been also a great read here in the forum.
On we go to the trucks' bump steer tendency. The driving experience was greatly improved by fixing the right front wheel bearing, but some bumps will still throw the truck nearly out of the lane. The steering works smooth and without any slack.
Further on I will have to replace the weatherstrips and the window guides at both doors. The locks of door, ignition and glovebox don't work good, so thats also a task for next winter. The heater and ventilator don't work, the cowl vent is blocked at one hinge, the windshield washer does not work, the dome light is dead, some lamps of the dash are either burned out or have, from PO, 12V bulbs. So there is still a lot to do.
One other task will be the construction of a low height toolbox for all the tools I only need at the truck. I like to have one (or two) that I could stow away under the seat, so that I have all the tools handy while on the road. Any hints, pictures and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Non-truck related stuff: I am 49 years old, married and work as a railroad engineer. I am living near Stuttgart, Germany. I am interested in railroad modeling, in photography and old cameras. Still using some of them.
Before I joined the railroad I had an education in electronics and worked as an electrician (not car related). I also learned some basics in mechanics so I think I am prepared for many tasks related to keeping the truck safe, up and running.
I am also well aware of my shortcomings in welding (if I am going to join two pieces of sheet metal I will end up with a hole at least half as big as the smaller piece
) and painting. So I know what I am going to leave for the pros.
Best regards, Helmut
