The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1951 chevy newbie

I have a 1951 Chevy 3100 short bed and it's a little snowy out there in Ct. to get under the truck. Here is what I would like to address first. The parking brake pedal goes right to the floor.
I ordered a parking brake cable and it is on the way but I was wondering if any one out there has encountered this and what are the common causes for the brake to act like that. I have also order a choke and a throttle cable. The engine turns but won't kick over. Both cables are dangling. I thought I would have my wife start it while I pulled the carb choke open. What would you guys do?

??? There are 2 parking brake cables on your truck as well as a rod with adjustment. It's also possible that your shoes are just worn out. I would dig deeper before buying parts and do more research before trying to start it so as not to bend a pushrod, break a ring or do other damage. Fresh fuel, new plugs, point gap, etc. are other things to make sure of. I see the online shop manuals are down so I would suggest you buy one.

Could be parking brake is disconnected, or broken cable

Put on some really warm clothes and crawl under before you blow the kids inheritance buying parts you won't need. BTW if you need parts I have a few extra I bought and don't need.
Also DON'T try to start it before going through the proper procedures.

Ahhh, the old parking-brake-doesn't-work problem. When I bought mine it didn't have a parking brake so I decided to get the parts and install one. Well, one thing led to another and now, thousands of dollars later, I'm about to do a frame off re-build of my truck.

Watch out, it could happen to you.

OMG !! You too !!! I thought I was the only one that spend over $15,000 for a set of brakes !

Man... I feel much better now

Todd

Yea, I used to make fun of people with boats... you know - "a hole in the water you pour money into"? Well, now the shoe's on the other foot.

Two steps to restore a vehicle:
STEP 1 - Empty the ashtray
STEP 2 - Empty your bank account

:mad:

I thought my wife was going to choke the last time I told her what I had spent 'so far'. Guess she thought I could do everything for a few hundred bucks. I told her it is like the decorating she does in the house where small things add up over a period of time. If that doesn't work, I just start talking about getting a motorcycle. Works almost every time!

Czechman, there are a few more steps:

STEP 3 - Empty your veins. (There are always sharp edges there to gouge you.)

STEP 4 - Empty your brain. (No matter how smart you thought you were, the truck will make a bumbling idiot out of you.)

Is that because the people at GM created a truck 50 years ago that was smarter than Einstein?

Also, Curt, the manuals page is back up.