The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Looking for Old Chevy Mechanic

In San Diego. Does anyone know where I might take my 1949 pickup for repairs in San Diego? Need a new clutch.

With a hand half full of tools and a big hammer, and of course The Stovebolt Page you could do it yourself.
And perhaps even have fun.
It could be a bonding experience for you and your truck. Unless you use a rivited clutch disk......

I'll do it for $2000

Let's see.....you're looking for an "Old Chevy Mechanic". So you're looking for an old mechanic that works on Chevys.....or is it a mechanic that works on old Chevys.....or is it an old mechanic that works on old Chevys? Hmmmmm.

2000 bucks darn. Rusty you are bad. Hell for 2000 bucks i'll tow it from cal. to texas and return it when i am finished

Here's a test question for the person you find that says he's an old chevy mechanic: ask to see the tool he uses to loosen the inner nut when changing points and condenser and the special curved wrentch to get the top starter nut/bolt off. If he has the rocker valve lash adjusting tool that looks like a box end wrentch with a spring loaded screwdriver attached--you've found your man.

Other than having to remove the bolts retaining the torque tube bell, pulling the bell back, disassebling the U-joint(not forgetting to bend back the lock tabs therin) and either tying the torque tube up or letting it drop, the job is very straight forward and any mechanic should be able to do it. I did it when I was eighteen without a manual and having never seen it done, and I was not a trained mechanic.

Changing the clutch is easy and definately something you should do yourself. If not, any mechanic can do it for you. That is the beauty of these trucks, they are easy to work on.

That tranny is heavy though, don't try to do it without a tranny jack.

Try these guys

http://carconnectionsd.com/

I,ve got all those tools. Ship it to K.C. I,m 72 & just bench press those tranies in. Unless its a 4 speed.

them boys look expensive...

I'm old and I'm a Chevy mechanic, among other brands, but I'm not in San Diego. I guess two out of three won't work in this case,
Scott

coilover,,,got all the tools in the box but live in Iowa...doc

Mechanic that works on old Chevy's is what I should have said. Glad to see my snafu generated so much humor.

You see the thing is you need a mechanic, the term mechanic is used to discribe a person that can repair anything with a pair of plires, 2 screwdrivers and a brass hammer, all in his hip pocket and his pocket rubbing the ground. Everyone else is a technition.
Mechanics are a dieing breed.
I work for a dealership in texas, I dispatch work to tech.'s. I gave a tech. an old dodge truck with a slant 6 engine. He can repair fuel injection on any car, diag. any computer problem, but his first problem was he didn't know how to shift a 3 on the tree, then after I explained the shift pattern he comes back to me and says,"I don't know anything about points and condenser!?" I laughed my a$$ off.

It can be tricky geting the disk/pilot/trans alignment while working alone on the first job. but can be done.
up in aniheim there was a bee-line shop with some true mechanics at work. hope they are all ok.

hey leon,if guys like you and me don't learn how to do this ourselves then "old chevy mechanics" will become extinct.All of these guys on this site are offering their knowledge for free and if we don't take advantage of it and learn how to fix our bolts then noone will be able to teach future bolters.And it is fun,lots of fun.

In a '49 wouldn't it be easier to pull the engine and work on the clutch out in the open than dropping all the u-joints, etc?

I've always replaced my clutch when I had the engine out anyway, so it just seems natural

Brian

alignment is no problem, They make a little wooden tool for about 4 bucks that does it fine.
I'm with the other guys, Do it your self for the fun and being able to say I did it my self.

If it is a 4 speed the trans has to come off before the engine comes out, so just do it all in the truck.
I have not tried a 3 speed, but I suspect the same thing.

No problem pulling trannys.A four speed will be a lot heavier than a three speed.I use an old input shaft from a transmission as my pilot tool.It helps to have the floor cover pan out of the way.If it is a four speed,you might want to remove the shifter handle before dropping out.

If you need to replace the pilot bushing.

1.use a grease gun and fill the pilot bushing with grease.

2.use a dowel rod that fits just right into the pilot bushing.

3.insert the dowel and smack with a hammer.The grease will force the pilot bushing out.

It's really not hard to do.I did my first one when i was 15 years old.A shop manual will be very valuable to you.

Good luck !!!