The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton in Utah - "Here We Go"

Looking real good John. Bet you are getting a little more excited. Good luck with the clutch. You will be going around the block soon. Great perseverance.

How'd the regulator cleaning/oil/greasing turn out? Easy up down operation now?

The truck is chomping at the bit to take a "resurrected maiden voyage" IMHO! You really have made super and speedy progress on getting your truck back together. Be proud of your accomplishments.

The passenger side still rolls up/down easier, but the driver's side is much improved. I found a YouTube video that helped me figure out how to remove the regulator, but it turned out to be pretty simple if you know which screws to remove.

John
There are roller bearings at the bottom of the mechanism. Those are likely worn to flat spots that now mostly just allow the parallel arms to slide rather than roll through the horizontal channel. Sparky’s were worn almost to flat spots. Someone here, I believe, suggested replacing the rollers with hardware store plastic like patio door screen rollers. That was done and along with scrubbing clean and lubrication the mechanisms function smooth and easy.

Yes! I noticed a very small flat spot on each roller. I haven't put the door skin on yet, so maybe I'll take it out again to verify if it seems useable or not. Thanks for the heads up.

John
If the flat spot(s) are small enough, I wonder if using a file to reshape the roller would work? Sparky’s bearings were too far gone to even attempt that seemingly easy fix.

The Filling Station has replacement rollers & rivets for at least AD series trucks. Might work on the earlier trucks too. They're a nylon roller and should take care of the issue of flat spots. You probably need to be careful about filing them down because if they get too small they might pop out of the track.
Here's a link. Window regulator roller

These rollers are pretty good. Just a very small flat spot. But, these don't actually roll - they just glide along the rail. After cleaning the rail with a wire brush and adding a little grease, the window rolls up/down nicely now. Completed both doors.

I’m pretty sure those rollers need to spin freely. There are other window assembly components, such as the spring for the window crank that could snap under heavy use. Replacing those springs, if they break, is a hassle.

I'm puzzled. I'm pretty sure mine don't spin. I tried grabbing one with pliers and wiggled it back and forth, but it does not turn. I'm a little concerned, but the window rolls up pretty easy. Well, after I do my test drives, this will be a task I go back to look at again.

You said the other window works better. Did you check if the rollers are spinning on that one?

I took the door panel off the passenger side to clean the inside yesterday, but not much was in there. I rolled the window up/down, but did not actually watch to see if the rollers were spinning. So, I've put this on my "tasks" list to verify.

WAHOO! FIRST DRIVE TODAY!! First thing I did this morning was to adjust the clutch - now I can get it into gear. Backing out of the garage and wondering why I wasn't rolling so good. I guess I should take off the E-brake! Then tested the brakes a couple time backing down the driveway. I just drove it down the street and back, but oh what a feeling to have this truck back on the road. One guy in a new Silverado gave me the thumbs up. Here's a link to the video I posted on YouTube. LINK

So glad all you Stovebolters took time to help me these many months. THANK YOU! Now I have some little things to finish up like: vacuum wipers, 12v motors for the heater/defroster, some kind of toolbox, spare tire mount,...

Again, to all Stovebolters - Much Appreciated! 👍

Hey John
Glad it is all coming together. Lots of fun to be had. Not sure if others can view the video but for me it comes up unavailable.

Congrats
Glen

Same here. It says this video is private

OK - I just made it "Public". Sorry about that. LINK

Still says private when I click on that link. Maybe you need to make a new link

I'm beginning to wonder if you really did drive that vehicle. All of this seems mighty fishy!

I guess when you post a video as "private", it takes a few minutes before you can make it "public"? Scheduled to go "public" at 3:15pm, in a few minutes.

🤣🤣🤣

OK - It says "Public" now. Please try again and let me know.

Pretty cool. That truck looks so nice with the proper skinny blackwall tires on it.

What'd you hit when you pulled in? hahaha

I had a 240Z many years ago and I have the metal wheel chocks from it.

Cool! It goes backwards AND forwards! A milestone for sure. Congrats.

This is about killing me! MN must be behind the times. Still private for me. I’ll have to check later.

Update. Finally made it here. Very cool nice work John. Now the fun begins. All of your hard work has paid off. Nice to see another ‘46 driving down the road😎

Well done!
An inspiration for those of us not so far along on the journey!

When I made the decision to start this project, I wasn't sure I could do it. Taking it apart 20+ years ago seemed easy, but the "putting it back together" might be another story. I heard many of the Stovebolters here say, "15 minutes a day". That helped me get through some of the tougher tasks - just doing little by little. Some days only cleaning up and organizing. Not sure I would do another project like this, but never say never.

Congratulations!

Did my first break-in drive today - about 20 minutes. I need to get use to shifting/down shifting this 4-speed trans. A couple things I noticed after the drive: 1) Some fuel around bottom of the Rochester carburetor and 2) Some oil on the engine drip pan on the driver's side under the oil filter. So tomorrow I'll check the carb screws and oil line fitting at the bottom of the filter cannister for tightness.

Personally, I don't like to downshift if it isn't necessary. Brakes are cheaper and easier to replace than a clutch

What? An 80-year-old truck has some leaks? That's unheard of!

The carburetor might sort itself out after the gaskets swell up. Of course check all the screws for the proper torque but once you start using it seepage will probably go away.

Congratulations John. It’s been quite a journey for you and it’s been fun to be along for the ride. Enjoy the ride with your elbow out the window.

John - What an awesome and enjoyable sight to see and hear your truck get out and about! It very much brightened my morning! I know I've enjoyed the journey along with you and so glad we could participate and offer some help now and then.

The shifting of the "Crash Box" will come with time and patience. Learning to double clutch to smooth out gear transitions won't take long, but it might give your left leg some unexpected extra exercise - lol!

The Rochester is most likely going to be so much the same as it's brothers. They do have a tendency to leak/seep, but there are some tweaks you can learn about in many on-topic threads to help you work towards resolving. On the suspected drips from the oil filter, don't forget to check the cup gasket/seal.

Congratulations John! This really is a milestone and a remarkable accomplishment. Now you get to resolve all the other issues you didn’t know you had! It’s all good and at least you get to enjoy the fruits of you labor!

I would agree with that--especially with an unsynchronized crash box transmission. I assume you'll mostly be driving it empty without a load on it, so it shouldn't be that much of an issue. And as mentioned, you'll get the hang of double clutching after you drive it a bit.

I only had the timing done statically, but I wanted to officially get it set with a timing light. I had a little trouble finding the BB on my flywheel. I just had to turn the distributor a little bit more and the BB showed up in the view finder with pointer. After a few tries, I was able to get the pointer lined up with the BB and tighten down the distributor.

Test drive #2 - Went for a 15 minute drive this morning. Parked in the garage, truck in neutral and I can't push the truck. I jacked up the rear end and I can turn the tires by hand, but it is very difficult. I do not have the E-brake on, but I'm going to pull the wheels and check the brakes. Torque tube and pumpkin are not hot to the touch.

Are the front wheels as hard to turn by hand as the rear wheels?

Probably adjusted the brakes too tightly.

That's what I'm thinking. I let the truck sit a couple hours and I can now push it back and forth now. On my test drives I've notice the brake pedal is solid right at the top. Usually the pedal should go down a little bit before you start feeling the pressure. So, I'm going to back off the brakes a little bit and not have them so snug. I'll update my findings. Thanks Otto!

Go back to the manual and set those Huck brakes by the book. Don't do them like Bendix brakes.