The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Help! 'Hot wiring' a 'Bolt? Can't find my keys...

Don't laugh...
I've looked all over and cant find my keys...

How do I 'hot wire' the 'bolt?

Surely someone has done it before
(hopefully to their OWN truck )

Help!

whizzerick

If it was wired like my 49, undo the ignition switch, wrap the three wires together, and stomp the starter.

Hotwire power from the battery to the coil with a jumper wire, engage the starter. If you have a solenoid and not a stomp starter, to engage the starter you will have to jump power from the big terminal to the little one with a screwdriver. Make sure the truck is in neutral.

No problem just take a wire and hook it to your + battery cable at the starter and the + side of your coil. (if the battery and coil are the same voltage). If you have a 12V battery and a 6V coil you hook from the + battery cable to the ballast resistor.(That little ceramic thing with the 2 posts on it, hooked to your coil on the + terminal.) If you have a floor starter peddel you are done. (start the truck) If you have a key switch starter you now need to put the truck in neutral set the brake and hook another short wire from the + battery cable to the little post on the starter. Now don't freek out cause the starter will begin to turn as soon as you do that. So only hook it up at one end and simply touch it to the little post then remove it when you truck startes. Oh, because you are under the hood doing this you will need to choke it a little and pat the gas pedal before you hook up the starter wire. (Or what ever you have to do to start it cold normaly.)
PUT THE TRUCK IN NEUTRAL AND SET THE BRAKE!!!!!

barry and toyvo are right,I lost the key to my 56 plymouth and if you want to keep the ignition original you can take the whole ignition to a good locksmith and they can remake a key using the lock.good luck.

They didn't teach me that in Catholic school! But I did learn it across the street. Make sure you take your new hotwire into the IGNITION RESISTOR! If you hotwire the battery to the coil, you will completely fry your points in about 20 miles.

They didn't teach me that in Catholic school! But I did learn it across the street. Make sure you take your new hotwire into the IGNITION RESISTOR! If you hotwire the battery to the coil, you will completely fry your points in about 20 miles.

A '53 shouldn't have an ignition resistor, unless it has been converted to 12-volts. Even on a 12-volt system, the ignition resistor is bypassed on most vehicles while in the start mode, and then once running the resistor cuts the run voltage to the coil down to something like 8-volts.

Barry, some 12V coils have ignition(ballast) resistors. Some have internal resistence. A 6V coil on a 12V system has to have a ballast(ignition) resistor. Or you will toast the points.

Yep, that's what I said. Resistor if it's been converted to 12V, no resistor if it's stock 6V. You can still hotwire a 12V engine to fire it up by bypassing the resistor. That's the way many cars start anyhow, and then run through the resistor to lower the voltage to the coil when the ign. switch reverts to the "run" position. I wouldn't recommend going on a trip like that, but you sure could move the truck out of the way or whatever you need to do.

so whizzer - didja get it fired up or not?

-W

Yes I did! Thanks fellas.
Man, being a car thief in the '50's was a piece o' cake!

I found my keys, too!

Thanks again,
you saved my weekend...

wzrick

was they in the ignition ???

I like what one of my guys told me when we couldn't find the keys for one of the cars, "keys just slow me down and if you'd turn off all these lights I'd be even faster". His youth must have been very colorful