The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Dashboard Throttle Control

My ‘54 3100 is quite non-stock. In dealing with some of the final details I need to decide what to do with a couple of unused dashboard holes. One of them was for a throttle cable.
My question:
Why did a truck of that era have a throttle control in the dash? I understand the usefulness in an early century vehicle, especially one that was hand cranked; I understand the application in a truck with a pto, but why in a 1954 half ton pickup with a separate choke control?

I use the throttle on the ‘51 to set a high idle for fast warming in the winter, changing the battery if required. I may or may not have used it to give my right foot some relief while driving empty highways.

RonR

Well , I've experienced walking along side of a truck in low gear, no driver, throttle cable set, throwing hay bales into the bed...

Truck equipped with the PTO , that would have came in handy...

With the Christmas parade coming up, I regret removing mine years ago.

I think it was intended to maintain higher RPM during warm up but as others have stated there are other uses. Hillbilly cruise control is a perfect example. I have also use mine when in a tight spot on a hill where you need to hold the break to keep from rolling but need a foot for the gas and a foot to work the clutch pedal. You set the higher RPMs and can them use your feet for the brake and clutch until you get moving.

Higher rpm for starting from a dead stop on an incline is a function that makes sense.
I remember my early days of driving-
being in close quarters stopped traffic, red light, car behind nearly on my bumper, having to come off the break onto the gas and clutch pedals in a big hurry to avoid rolling back.
A high idle throttle setting would have taken some of the excitement out of that situation.
You reallllly had to know how to drive in that kind of exercise.

The ghost driver in a farm field use of that throttle cable is pretty practical too.

Another thought being a mix of the two for starting.
I know my carbs on my 327, when I use my manual choke I have it set with less choke
more throttle/accel. 6 or 7 pumps, choke 1/4 way out.

1950's trucks were still considered as a utility vehicle. GM wanted these trucks to be as convenient as possible with low cost and hoped for big numbers in sales. The hand throttle is very useful for several needs as pointed out and added to the utility use of trucks in general. When they were manufacturing the steel dashboard it was/is cost effective to use as few different parts as possible to cover a wide range of vehicles, so the dashboard on your 1/2 ton is the same as the big bolts. I like the hand throttle in my '57. I wish my 2011 2500HD was as simple and reliable.

Guitplayer,
From one Wisconsin HotRodder to another, are you suggesting that I install a dashboard throttle cable for my 283?

You can. I would. My carb has an arm from one side to the other that you can adjust more or less throttle/choke to the
manual choke. Basically ,thats what my choke cable is...throttle.
My 235 has choke and throttle cables. I could see a blend of those 2 being good for cold start.

My '57 283 has the original Rochester 2G 2 barrel, manual choke and hand throttle are separate, I don't have any trouble starting it and it'll run right up to the 4000 rpm governed speed in any gear.

Before I rebuilt the carburetor, I pulled out the throttle to let it idle faster (keep it from stalling) while warming up so I could exit the vehicle instead of sitting there with my foot on the gas.

My 283 has a “mild” cam , it lopes at very low rpm until the block warms up. I will consider that dashboard throttle. I think my primary throttle cable will cooperate by going slack if the dash throttle is employed. I’ll verify that tomorrow.

A dash throttle would be nice , visible nuance of original equipment, like my reproduction brake pedal.
Gotta fill that hole with something; it may as well be functional.

I might look into a choke cable too. I need to determine if having choke control would be of any benefit. (choke is unused at this point) It seems to me that my 283 is already quite rich on a cold start; probably due to the aforementioned camshaft.

What is the induction set-up? how much has the engine been modified? dual plane/4 bbl/headers/ignition?

All,

Just a note to say I have moved the conversation over to the Engine Shop as the better place to continue the topic as it really fits there better. Would have done it sooner, but have been away from my "confuser" while spending my first full day back in Wisconsin helping my Mom with some thing around her place.

Thanks and have fun with the discussion.

I do not know the specifics of the engine modifications.
I have no way of tracing back to that source. To the best of my knowledge, based on what the seller told me and what I have learned in the last 2 years from various mechanics who I know and trust, the 283 has been bored and has a mild cam. I have no compelling reason to have the engine torn down to gain more specific info.
Carb is 4bbl Edelbrock. Manifold is high rise single plane. Spark is HEI. Dual exhaust via headers, straight back , no X.

From my limited but growing knowledge I have deduced that the manifold is likely not ideal for my application - mostly city driving, plenty of stop signs. Differential is 3:08/1
Not too hot off the line , much happier at mid-upper power settings.

The hand throttle is really handy. Mine is a repop from maybe 20 years ago and no longer holds the throttle open. What a pain!

In cold, damp weather the carb bases ice up and the engine gradually stumbles and dies. In hot weather the A/C compressor loads it down to the point it'll stall. In both cases I need to set the fast idle up to about 1,000RPM but now it slips back to home. So I've taken to using a bungee cord wrapped around the brownie lever to hold it open when cold. No can do for the A/C so I set the idle screws up cause the A/C is on most of the time.

I would put in a new cable but I'm not as flexible as last time I did that job (20 years ago) so I've put it off even though I have the part.

Certainly the high rise single plane intake and the headers were an attempt to make horsepower, only problem is it's not very usable, those items are designed for high rpm. The rich mixture is probably partly the results of that induction/cam combo. A hand choke and throttle might not make much of an improvement. You could probably make good progress with a low rise dual plane manifold, depending on how the carb is set up. Small block intakes are a dime a dozen, that would be the first thing I would change. The rest of the stuff might respond pretty well to it.

It’s been an interesting day –- I never gave a second thought to that manifold, but given all that I’ve learned as a result of this thread and the resultant research , I’m thinking I should look into a dual plane replacement.

All because ‘buckshot asked me what type of intake manifold I have. Clearly the two types are distinctly different in function.

Knowing what you know about manifolds in general, and knowing what you now know about my engine, driving and differential, do you think I would experience a noticeable improvement in low end performance if I made that change?

The 3.08:1 rear end is a highway gear, you want an engine that makes torque in the lower rpm range to be able to pull away from a stop easily. The 283 is a short stroke V8 and therefore makes its torque a little higher up the rpm band, I think the specs for a stock 283 had its peak horsepower at 4000 rpm and its peak torque around 2000 rpm. Anything you can do to make torque lower in the rpm band will help with drivability. The dual plane intake is designed for smooth power from idle to 4000 - 5000 rpm. The camshaft profile will play a large part in the idle, midrange, and high rpm characteristics of the power band. The intake manifold is inexpensive and pretty easy to replace and good bang for the buck. The one issue you are facing is that the Edelbrock carb is probably a square bore, the modern (1966 - 1986) small block factory manifolds are spread bore, they are designed for the Quadrajet 4 bbl. If you can locate a square bore manifold that will accept the Edelbrock without any adapters and not pay an arm and leg for it then that would be the easy way to go. The Edelbrock Performer manifold is perfect for your engine/carb/cam/headers, look for a used one on the normal e-markets. Look at the new price at Summit/Jegs/etc. then decide how much a used one is worth to you. $75 - $100 would be ok with me. I think it would help your truck quite a bit. I built a 355 years ago with the Edelbrock Performer cam and intake, ran the original Quadrajet, very predictable smooth power. That was in a 1984 Chevy 3/4 ton crew cab, I put 100,000 miles on that engine and it was happy.

Waveski, get on the boat for a ride across the pond, I'll meet you in Ludington and give you one of my factory cast iron spread more manifolds. If you look on Cragslist you can get one for $25 - $50.

What is a spread more manifold?

You can make a loose throttle cable usable by removing the cable from the sheath and put a few slight kinks in it, which will make it an effort to pull it in and out and it will stay in place better.

Sorry, that was supposed to read "spread bore". Square bore has 4 bores all the same size, spread bore has small primary bores and large secondary bores. There are at least 2 Chevy manifolds on Craigslist, one is a factory low rise aluminum spread bore, looks to be from the mid to late 70's $60. The other one is overpriced factory cast iron spread bore, late sixties - early 70's $100. Also, if you look, there is an Edelbrock Air Gap RPM-good price but not what you want.

I have determined that my manifold is a high rise single plane. From what I have learned here I believe that my 283 would perform better in my application, with my 3:08/1 differential with a more appropriate manifold.
I think my Edelbrock is spread bore based on the apparent difference in throat diameters.

Please view the images and confirm my carburetor type so I can look at manifold options.

The Edelbrock Performer #2101 will accept a spread bore such as the Quadrajet, any of the Edelbrock carbs, or just about all of the square bore carbs. E-Bay motors has several 2101's, new and used. I would use that manifold with your current Edelbrock carb, it'll bolt right on with no modifications. I'm not sure if a factory Chevrolet manifold will accept your carburetor without the use of an adapter-and that is considered a band-aid and will not give the best all-around results. Maybe carbking has some insight for your set-up. The carb you are now running might be too big(probably) but should be able to tune it enough to make improvements, jets, needles, and springs are readily available for the Edelbrock carbs.

Edelbrock performer. 2101-
Good , specific lead. Thank you.