The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Thank god it was dark out!

Last night I finally got to take my 41 1.5 ton Chevy (4 speed) out of the driveway!!! It is an all original 41 with 27,000 miles on it. It was parked in a barn most of its life and basically only came out once a year since the mid 80's. I've rebuilt the whole brake system, the fuel system, and the cooling system. Basically I did what I needed to do to get her on the road before it gets to cold to work outside. So anyway heres the problem. At first I just went back and forth down my driveway, 1st gear up, and reverse back down, all was fine. Last minute check out all is good, lets go out for a drive. I started up in Neutral, it grinds into first, second, and so on, all but reverse. So I came home quickly, shut it down looked around, looks good, try again. This time I started it in first. First to second, grind, second to third, no grind. My real confusion is that it doesn't do the same every time. Does anybody have any suggestions, today is beautiful, and I really want to cruise the neighborhood again, but I hope to not grind my way through.

Look at your clutch linkage. Start where the pedal attaches to the rod going thru the firewall and down thru to the clutch fork on the bellhousing. Each connection point could be loose or worn and changes every time you step on the pedal. Get someone to step on the pedal while you watch from underneath. If everything looks good then check and adjust your clutch. Set your throw out bearing up as close to the pressure plate fingers as possible without touching them while it's running.

the fact it wasn't the same on different times indicates you need to learn how to shift a non-syncro transmission - slow for starters, feel the gears moving

Bill