The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1951 Chevy 3100

Hey guys I just took my first ride around town and it was thrilling. So cool! I have a three on the column and of course a 216. It seems fine almost smoother starting out in second gear instead of first. Is that ok? There also is a sloppyness to the steering wheel. Turns fine but some play in the steering. Is that normal for these trucks? Out side of that it ran like a champ. Also how fast will it go? Can I go on the highway at 55 mph and not do harm to it? Not too much space between my belly and the steering wheel. I need to go on a diet.

The sloppiness in the steering might be due to worn-out king pins and/or steering linkage parts.

However, I bet that 90% of 47-51 trucks would also benefit from tightening-up the steering mechanism. This procedure is described in the Shop Manual and it sounds more difficult than it really is. You need to clean all the crud off the outside of the steering box, and you need to spend about $2.00 on a cheap fish scale (Wal-Mart has them).

Yes, you can safely go 55, if your front-end/steering and brakes are good.

Others will surely soon tell you have you can swap out engine, and/or transmission, and/or rear-end. It depends on how original you want to stay.

Sorry, I have no helpful advice about steering-wheel to belly clearance.

how about the starting out in second gear?

Starting in 2nd gear is fine as long as you are not slipping the clutch. If you can get a little motion & torque on out it,s OK, but if you have to ride the clutch it,s better to start in 1st. It's a good idea when you buy one of these to go over it & check the steering & brakes & fuel system. Naturally you want all the safety items to work like lights, horn & wipers. You want it to be dependable. If you correct problems early you can save a lot of serious problems later. Also you familiarize yourself with the truck.

If you have an optional 4 speed then second gear is the normal starting gear. If it is a three speed I don't understand why first would not be used.

Mine is a three speed, and I always use first to start up in.
Samantha

TPB Crank your camera up and let us see that bad boy..uh girl...

Ditto Wrenchbender. If you're having to slip the clutch to start in second don't do it. BTW how is it smoother starting in second? Do you get noise when starting is first? Clutch chatter?

I'd like to amend that cautionary note a bit: We always slip the clutch before engaging it fully. Where it becomes counterproductive is when one raises engine RPM's past a fast idle and slips the clutch for an extended period to engage it without lugging the engine. Drag racers do this, to be sure, but their clutches are purpose built and their engines require high RPM's to make power. Also, they frequently overhaul their cars between runs. Our aim, generally, is long intervals between overhauls: years. Decades, even. Ain't gonna happen if you aren't gentle with the equipment. Try this: on flat ground, fully engage your clutch without touching the throttle. I doubt you can do it in less than an afternoon in second gear. That is why we need first, to get going. Use first with a very light throttle application, and shift to second as soon as she comes off idle, say, at 10 mph. You'll like your fuel economy if you do it right. I used 2nd to start only on a descending grade. I love those 3-on-the tree trannies!

If everything else is right in your steering, the play is probably in the box as tclederman says. I adjusted mine - without a scale - for 1" of free play at the rim of the steering wheel and am happy with the result, but my kingpins and other components are either new or good (or both).

55 is as fast as you want to go with a bone-stock 3100, and that only if you have an original tire profile. I liked 50 better in my '53 3100; it was a bit more relaxed. My current truck, a 3800, was geared substantially lower and felt flat out at 50 mph. It is happy now with its new 4.10 ratio (the same as a 3100) and a 31" tread height on the radials at 55 and will handily do 60 all day, I think. But I still like 50.
[IMG]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/60/460/2/93/35/2357293350096215731NILUKV_th.jpg[/IMG]