The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts The Stovebolt Volunteer Fire Department It RUNS!!!! (brag brag!)

Well, about three years of frustration and waiting has finally ended. This engineer FINALLY actually has a truck that RUNS!!!!

Started Rosie's engine up today after much tweaking. Had a whole incident with the distributor that I will detail in another forum, but suffice to say, we all learned something!

Rosie starts easy (with choke), and runs fairly smoothly. We should have checked, but only 3 or so of the valves were adjusted to spec, so that will be the next project, and will hopefully smooth it out even more. AND, need to figure out why the ammeter reads discharge the whole time.

But it RUNS!!!

Michael

Congradulations Feeling like a proud Pa now eh ? ED H

That is great!!! I can imagine how proud you are.
Cannonball

Congrats Michael. Your Chevy has a "Heartbeat" again!
It sure is a great feeling.
Jock

Congratulations!!

Hey it's great to hear from you. Congrats on your accomblishment. Keep up the great work !!!!

UPDATE:

Replaced the plugs after first start up. (old variety of plugs). Got the AC Delco R45s. Anyway, the old plugs were DRY-FOULED!!! Covered in dry, black carbon. That baby is running RICH!!! Also not reaching 180 degrees. So the order of the day is:

1. pull carb, check float, check everything, hopefully find "smoking gun" (like a hole in the float!) that's causing too much fuel.

2. Drain coolant enough to check thermostat, replace with 180 stat if necessary.

3. Fire up again, double check timing and valve lash after warm-up.

4. Check for any vacuum or exhaust leaks.

5. Do everything else to get truck back on road!

Hope my enthusiasm is contagious!!!

-Michael

Yes, makes me want to go oout and do something

Congratulations Michael, good luck with the rest.

Well,

Took Rosie out on the road for the first time in over two years (maybe three?!) yesterday. That was without fenders, hood, bumper, lights, turn-signals, etc. Funny how different those trucks look without all that stuff!!!

Any-who, she ran well, but boy, I'm gonna have to learn how to drive all over again!!! That non-synchro tranny is a lot like work!!! And talk about loud! That thing shrieks like a Banshee! Of course, having the floorboard in might help . . .

I must confess to a little dissapointment. Not only is the truck not as easy to drive as I remember (in my "romantic restrospective!"), but I was sorta hoping, with the fresh rebuild, it would seem like it was twice as powerful as before. Well, go figure, it's STILL not as peppy or easy to drive as my 1997 Toyota!!! Sheesh, someone better explain the facts of life to me . . .

But still, Back on the Road!!! Kinda, anyway . . .

-Michael

They do seem to shake and shudder a tad! Still fun!

If we get as old as our trucks we would shake and rattle also

Also I found out on when we drove (before everything automatics) a truck without using the clutch, just listen to RPM'S, we would have less trouble shifting or coming to a stop to start over again. This is now harder for my truck as I stay in 1st gear 90% of the time.

Yeah, Dennis, I hear guys braggin' about shifting without the clutch - I'm still a sissy about it. When I get more miles beneath me, I may re-visit it. I need to drive the truck often enough to get to know the engine speeds better.

"Sorry, Honey . . . can't empty the dishwasher right now . . . gotta go practice shifting!"

Yeah, THAT'll happen . . .

-Michael

It will come back to you by and by . I learned all about engine rpm shifting when I was in the army and bought a '52 ferd 1/2 ton with a monster mercury flathead v8 mated to a '37 non-syncro transmission in it ( hay it was cheap and I needed wheels ) . Other odditys it had 2 12v. batteries and a switch that let the horn be the stock one or a AUGAAH horn and a plywood bed with flat sheetmetal wheelwells/fenders nailed to 2x4s to hold them on - talk about a "Fun" and Ugly truck to drive .

You guys have been spoiled, all these years driving auto trans!
My '50 is the first auto I've ever owned. It'll be weird just having two pedals.I'll just need to remember to forget about the left foot!
Don't worry Mike....Just keep practising! You'll get used to it.You develop a feel for it.

yeah, I'm spoiled, no doubt . . . but not by automatic transmissions!!! My daily driver has been a manual for 11 years now, and I don't have any intention of EVER buying an automatic tranny. 1, I have heard too many people's horror stories about getting them fixed, and then having them give out AGAIN, and 2, I like feeling a little more in control, and connected with my velocipede. OK, 3, I can get my head around the workings of a manual, (admittedly, the synchro thing gets me a little twisted). As for how an automatic trans. works, that is VOO-DOO, pure and simple!

I just wish my truck were half-as-easy to shift and drive as my modern car. Not ALL-AS-EASY, but half would be nice . . .

As you say, it'll get better, by and by . . .

-Michael

Mike...I had a Porsche 914 a few years back,they were notorious for clutch cable problems. Long story short the dang cable broke 400 miles from home!
I managed to drive 390 miles clutchless,thankfully mostly freeway all the way. I got 10 miles from home,fluffed a shift approaching a junction and BANG! I scattered the gearbox!
That was my(expensive) introduction to clutchless shifting!
I've just gone the auto route as it was what came with my engine and for ease of installation.I still don't know if the trans is a good one or not!
I agree though,automatics are a mystery to me too !

Once you get practiced up on your double clutching, you'll be moving through them gears like a pro!

Mike
Look at it this way could you unload the dishwasher on your first try alone.

Dennis,

Maybe I'll try to inter-mingle the two activities:

Pull out a dish . . . Put it back in, close the dish-washer . . . open it again, take out the same dish, put it away. Reach for the next dish . . .



-Michael

my 46 will not reach 180 sitting still. it has the 180 but it takes forever to hit 165 mine is a 2 ton so the rad may be bigger than
yours. i should have a tag on mine in a few weeks i will let you
know what the temp does. it sure runs better hot than cold

UPDATE:

Rosie the '41 Firetruck has had her brake master cylinder rebuilt. Found it leaking out the boot, puddling on the floor. Shame. Total, Complete, Pain in the A$$ to remove, in my humble estimation. Blind nuts holding the master to a stand-off on the frame, have to take out the whole she-bang (6 bolts from the frame, 2 more for the vacuum-assist appendage, 3 cotter-pin linkages, brake line and brake-light hook-up). :mad: :mad:

Any-who, had to use some serious flame-wrench to get the end-cap off the cylinder. Got the kit from Chevs of the 40s, honed out the cylinder a little, cleaned it up, kitted it, bench-bled it, installed it, cussed a lot, installed it, cussed some more, installed it, bled the system at the first "T". Pretty good pedal. Done.

Also, got the floor panel and toe board in with most of the seals, ie: the starter bellows, pedal felt,etc. Front sheet metal and bumper are on, still lacking the hood.

Drove it to fill up this afternoon. Bad News: I've become spoiled by driving my recently-returned 1968 Open Cab Seagrave. That huge 817 straight six, Five Speed overdrive, and air-ride seat make it a relative dream to drive.

Rosie, by comparison, is sluggish, slow, loud, and grindy. BUT, the refinished seat is comfortable, the engine runs relatively smooth, doesn't overheat, and the oil pressure reads well. If I can get the horn working right and the emergency brake to actually hold the truck on a modest hill, I'll feel better.

Mantra: "It's the Journey, not the destination. It's the Journey, not the destination. It's the Journey, . . . "



-Michael