The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk First drive, a little scary.

My 60 Chevy Apache 10, arrived Weds. night and I drove it home just a few miles from where the transporter dropped it off. Well,I'm not used to manual steering or wasn't prepared for it, and it was an eye opener. Fortunatley I made it home safely after making some pretty wide turns. Does it take a while to get used to manual steering? I've only driven the truck a few times so far and only maybe 10 miles or so, until I get some license plates on it. It seems to ride pretty decent and looks really nice for a 46 year old truck. I guess my main concern is the steering. I guess what I'm asking is how do these trucks drive and handle compared to newer vehicles? I'm not sure if that's the way their supposed to handle or if it's my truck.
Joe

I don't have any trouble driving mine.

When you make a turn while moving, they're really quite easy to turn. When you're stopped... Good luck.

Check your steering hardware. If you're having problems, chances are you've got something wrong underneath.

Manual steering cna take a little getting used to if you're not familiar with it. One thing that will help is to make sure that the tire pressures are at the vehicle manufacturers spec. Low tire pressures will make it steer hard. If you're planning to drive it regularly, I'd suggest putting radial tires on. They have lower rolling resistance, which will ease steering effort.
One more thing, lube the front end. If the tie rods and balljoints are dry you'll get increased effort in turning the truck.
The best thing that I can suggest is as soon as you get plates, drive it around in a low traffic area to get used to the handling and steering. It's not really that bad once you get used to it.

I can remember trying to teach my wife to drive my truck. She backed out of the garage, stopped and tried to turn the steering wheel. Looking at me she asked ”how do I get the steering wheel to turn”. My reply “let out the clutch”

You will get used to it there's an old saying steering by ARMSTRONG. Like they said its best to have the truck rolling...Peter

Thanks guys for the replies, I'll have to check the front end out too, it may need an alignment. I think as mentioned I just need to get used to driving it, but I do like it so far. You can tell the truck had a lot of money and work put into it on one hand, but then you see some pretty dumb things PO's did. The alternator was bad and I replaced it and noticed one of the wires was a solid copper electrical wire, and a few other sloppy fixes. It makes me wonder about the rest of the work that was done to it, but hey it's not a new truck.
Thanks again,
Joe

Try turning those wheels when they're stuck in 6 inches of muck!

Nothing finer than cranking the wheel around to do a u-turn in an old manual steering truck. Even more fun in a 1946 2 ton Chevrolet.

Maybe i'm just used to it.. doesn't seem that tough to me.. but if your steering is really too much for you to handle, you may want to have a look underneath to make sure you don't have something out of whack.

Or ask the missus for some weights for Christmas/haunakka/Kwanzaa/etc.

If you feel that you're getting a lot of free play in the wheel, check the steering components, (tie rods, drag link etc.) and make sure the lash is tightened at the steering box. That + radials made the biggest difference on my truck.

Jack it up and get the weight off the front wheels. then you can tell if you have excessive friction, and play in the system. crawl underneath and move some parts around. look for any play in the system.
Send us a picture so we can appreciate it too.

Tire size will will make a big difference, those wide front tires look good till you need to turn! Joe

I've got stock wheels with 235/75 tires, and it isn't too bad.
As said, not a ton of fun in a parking lot, but otherwise you WILL get used to it.
Heck, my wife drove my '54 Buick with 3-on-tree and manual steering, so you'll get used to it.
A big, stock steering wheel also is a must.
But if it wanders on the road or you turn the wheel 1/4-turn before the front end responds, there's a problem in the box or linkage.

Brad

Thanks again for the replies, it really helped. I checked my tire pressure and one front tire was low, and it looks like I need an alignment. My front tires are P245/60R15 and my steering wheel is an aftermarket so it's not as big as the original. There doesn't seem to any play in the wheel when driving, so I think the front end parts are good, but I'll have to check it out. So some of the above I would think is contributing to harder steering. I guess I'll be building up my biceps a little which is fine by me,I just wish there was a little more leg room.
I'll post some pictures in the near future.
Thanks again,
Joe

You never know what problems can be lurking beneath the surface of these old trucks. Something could be drastically wrong so check it out before too much drivin'. That said, my 77 y.o. mother, 5'2", a war bride from Paris France learned how to drive on pre and post war vehicles. This includes such high tech advances as a starter motor and windshield wipers. She was transformed from a petite little woman to a hard charging three on the tree shifter. She stood on that brake pedal. She'd look at me and say, "This thing steers like a truck." This presupposes that she'd driven one, which she did. A few months ago she needed to borrow a vehicle. I joked that she could use the dump truck. She smiled and said, "I'd be proud to drive that truck." She could do it too!!!

Steering these trucks at low speeds is like wrestling an alligator, but you will eventually get used to it.

Low tire pressure can really make these trucks hard to steer.

The small steering wheel probably makes the steering more difficult. You might want to get one closer to the original size.

The term "Armstrong Steering" comes from the mid '50s fat fendered Ford trucks, and it still holds true. I've driven a couple, and the old Chevys steer easier. My current truck is not bad at all.

Rezman