The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 50 1-ton update

All,

I just returned to Mesa, Arizona from New Mexico with the 1950 in tow on a truck. Boy, what a trip! Although it loaded well it trailered with a strong tendency to fishtail :blat: ! Was it the high center of gravity and weight? Anyway, I was able to safely do only about 55 mph max (reminded me of the many college road trips in the mid to late 70’s when the speed limit was 55).

I stopped in Heber, AZ to rest and visit with a good friend …. Sometimes the abuse we get for loving old trucks …. His comment to me was “Ron, are you sure you have the right truck?” After I told him the story of how I acquired it and the price (free) he said “ Ron, there was a reason it was free”. He is a kind and generous man (Veteran of the Korean War) and was mostly joking with me. In any case, he complemented me on the abundance of vision I have because after looking at the current state of the truck …. I really needed a lot of it!!! ... according to him!!!

One of the really nice things about these old trucks is the folks on this web site and all the other pioneers out there. You guys blazed the trail for guys like me and I am truly grateful.

A genuine thanks to John and Peggy Milliman for making this forum possible. I hope to ‘add value’ (as they say in my industry) to the discussion.

Arizona Ron


Please see previous post (http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=009064)

Not enough tongue weight is a major cause of fishtailing. It happened to me several years ago. I was trailering a 65 Impala SS convertable. It was an original 396 car. Nice red car with white leather. The engine was out and disassembled; it was in the trunk. I should have loaded the car rear end first. I had about a 30 mile freeway tow to do. About half way home there was a slight down hill. It started fishtailing and I lost it. This was at noon on a Saturday, so the traffic was pretty heavy. I ended up in a complete jacknife with the car heading south in the north bound lanes. I was blocking 2 lanes of the three. Luckily no one hit me and I did not hit anyone either. What a mess. It messed up the Impala, my buddy's car and trailer, that I borrowed.

I am glad that you had better luck on your trip.

where are the pic's? lets see what you drug home.

What were you towing it with, AZ? If it was a blazer/bronco short wheelbase thingy, that would explain it right there. What Lonnie said, how was it loaded? 150 - 300 pounds on the tongue would be about right. What were your tire pressures, everywhere? They should be up to maximum allowable for towing. What vehicle were you using, did you say? A 3804 weighs 4400# empty wet, I think. Anything less than a 3/4 ton would wave around a bit.

had same problem with my 75 Laguna when i bought it an trailored it home from N.Y. , anything over 45mph and the trailor would start fishtailing severely ....after abought 50 miles of that nonsence i got to a place to refuel the truck and unbuckled the Laguna an brought it as far forward on the trailor as i could and was smooth sailin the rest of the 200 miles home .

ArizonaRon,
that fishtailing was the old Bolt trying to get ahead of the tow vehicle and get on with work! It is tired of being towed around!

I agree!

Lonnie:
Sorry to hear about your 'adventure'. The truck had an old dump bed on it that was very heavy ... I loaded the truck front foward not realizing that I was creating a dangerous situtation. A lesson learned.

I visited your 54 chevy photo album. Looks like you really know what you are doinging on the restore. I like what you did with the gas tank. What engine are you planning to mate with tranny?

Pic's will be up sent this afternoon ... just remember you have to use lots of 'vision'...

hotshoe36:

I was towing with an 3/4 ton '05 chevy crew cab diesel. long wheel base and weight was probably what got me by. The carrier I rented had capicity of 6000 lbs and the old spec manual I found for GM truck has two curb weights for the 3804 - 3695 and 4115. Not sure which one is correct. I am trying to figure out the chassis number on this - '30J-F 1090'. Found it stamped on the Id plate.

Nice looking '51. How about posting a pic after they mader her prettier?

truckrenix & 49_chevy_truck:

driving down the freeway at 55 gave me alot of time to think and let my mind wander ... 3-4 times during the trip I would glance in my rearview mirrow and get startled by the no-nonsense \ lets get to work look of that grille \ front profile look! for a split second I thought she was on my tail and ready to run me over!

Arizona;
This is the '53 they made prettier, Epic #1:

[img]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/22/23/2/71/70/2917271700096215731cGHBbH_th.jpg[/img]

It's a before pic, taken around 1985. I'm afraid I haven't scanned the one after pic I still have. Here's a current shot of Epic #2:

[img]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/53/653/4/32/86/2127432860096215731gHSwdY_th.jpg[/img]

As you can see, #1 was a 1/2-ton. Even so, she was good at posing:

[img]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/28/28/6/5/29/2946605290096215731ZQPyXX_th.jpg[/img]

SW_Radial:

I would have liked to done the same thing only the truck was as far as she would go on trailer.

Looks like you are doing some nice things on your '52. Is that a 700r4 the Lokar shifter is attached to? just pulled the Lokar web site ... nice products.

hotshoe36:
they both strike a nice pose. too bad about epic #1 being totaled.