The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 1954 Chevrolet flatbed truck 1Ton (I THINK) HELP HELP

Hi folks, just registered on this site, so please bare with me.

Recently I purchased my grandpa's old 1954 Chevrolet flatbed truck. I have been keeping an eye on it for about 15 years, watching it pass from one person to another. Well after seeing it sit for the past several years just a block from my house. I decided it was meant for me to have it. I bought it for 650 bucks and drug it home. The old thing hadn't been started since 1993, so I took a chance that the 235 would run, it did run and ran like a dream, didin''t even puff out any smoke when it first started either.

NOW, after all the years since grandpa had the truck, someone converted it over to 12 volts, not a bad plan. The original engine was terribly sick and needed rebuilding or replacing. Now I have two problems. The first one is the fuel gauge won't work. I thought to myself, well since they used a 12 volt battery in it, possibly the guage itself is fried and/or the sending unit too. My second problem is with this enigne, that I assume is newer has an electrical temp gauge sending unit. The original temp gauge with filled with ether, murcury or what ever they are filled with is still intact and the small copper tube is not kinked or cut and works when a slight amount of heat is applied to it. I do not know what that adapter is called that goes on the top of the cylinder head for this type of unit to thread in for the original gauge. Let alone where I could even locate one. Every engine I found in the salvage yard had the electrical sending units.

I did find me a 1960 Chevrolet school bus with almost the exact same instrument cluster (exception of an electric temp. gauge) I took out the complete assembly out of the bus brought it home and knowing it would be a 12 volt system, put it in mine and I still have no fuel reading. Leads me to belive it is the sending unit. How do I check the sending unit itself?? I think they read off of resistance somehow. If I had to I could also use the electrical temp guage out of the bus and run a wire from it to the sending unit where the original one ran, if I have to, I'd rather find the correct adapter.

Now finialy my last question is I have no clue on what this old truck is. I have it insured as a 1 ton grain truck. There is a aluminum tag on the drivers door post that say GVW 8800 lbs. the hood emblems are missing and I can't remember what they said at one time.

The truck has 700 X 18" wheels with dualls on the rear, has a 4 speed transmission with two independant Power Take Offs. 1 is for the hydraulic pump and the other must be for a winch since it has a forward and reverse lever. I got REAL confussed when I started reading about series 1 and 2 and so forth trucks and what that meant and how you know the difference?? I would think the serial number would tell me what the truck is, but I don't know what the codes that they used back in them years.

Anyone who can help me, I would be forever grateful and if there are any places where I can get parts for this type of commercial turck.

Thanks,

John Niekamp
Quincy, IL

http://www.geocities.com/jniekamp/

John, welcome to the Stovebolt Page Bulletin Board!
I can make a suggestion on only a few of the questions about your truck. More knowlegable folks will soon chime in with more help.
Don't change out your gas tank sending unit just yet. The problem with it make be something as simple as a poor ground, especially since the truck's been sitting for that long.
I don't know what that fitting that goes into the head for the temp sending unit is called, but I think they're still available. Send off for a catalog from this site's sponser, American Classic Trucks.
Check the Frequently Asked Questions area on this site and you'll get some answers pretty quick.
Also, you can do a search, using key words from your questions....you'll find a lot there too.
See if you can post a picture of your truck, the folks here, (me especially) love pictures of old trucks.
Sounds like you've got a good one, especailly since it was your grandpa's truck. Ask more questions and let us know how it's going.

John, my 1-ton panel also has GVW 8800 on the VIN plate; however, its curb weight is probably more than your flatbed, even with the duallies. My W.A.G. is you've got a 1.5-ton.

Post the VIN number and one of the 'bolters will tell you precisely what you've got.

Great thought with the VIN, here it is:

L54S007169

John

I stand corrected.

You've got a '54 3800 (1-ton), made in St. Louis.

It took me a few minutes to find the Chevy decoder. All my bookmarks are for GMC info. :p

Welcome to the list.
I have relatives in Liberty, you would not be from that area would you?
My truck's fuel gauge did not work either, turns out the sending unit float was frozen with rust. Did you check yours?

Congrats on your recent purchase and keeping a great family memory going.
Now's the perfect time to get some excellent reference material to help with your plans. Here's a link to the FREE Chevrolet Restoration package which includes the Factory Spec book for your year:
http://www.50chevy.freeservers.com/Catalogs_and_Manuals.htm
Also check out the Factory Assembly Manual and Shop Manual. They're well worth the small investment. Check all grounds for rust, and keep in mind fresh paint makes for a bad ground, too. You may have to scuff up to get what you need.

Once your temperature tube is broken you need a new gauge. The ether has leaked out. I got a used one from a guy on this forum that sells used parts. His name is Mothertrucker.

If the gauge threads and the head threads are not the same size there is an adaptor. When I asked about it someone from this forum sent me one free. But you can buy them from catalogs.

My gas gauge still isn't working either. Mine reads full as soon as the key is turned on.

The 216 gauge uses a 3/8" flare type hole (gas fitting) and the 235 has a 1/2" npt thread. I was able to find a female 3/*" flare to male 1/2" npt brass adaptor at my local hardware store.

On your gas gauge, Have you tried, unbolting it and pulling it out of the tank, when I got my truck originally, my gauge showed nothing, so I pulled it out and all that was left was the top, I'm assuming the rest dropped down in the tank. If that's the case then call up Jim Carters (www.oldchevytrucks.com) or Chevy Duty (www.chevyduty.com)and they can send you a new sending unit. If it's showing nothing at all that is a sign of an open. To test the gauge on the dash, you might ground the wire just for a second and if the gauge is good it will jump to full. If it shows full all the time that's a sign of a short, and you can try disconnecting the wire from the gauge then turn the key to the on position and see what it does, if it doesn't jump to full then, that means your wire from the gauge to the sender is grounding out somewhere.
Hope that's not too confusing and it helps.
MONGO

Hey guys,

Thanks for the all of the GREAT help on this problem. Looking through past post, I see this is a common problem on the gauges not reading.

Now, if I am not completly lost. One wire on the back of the gauge is a (+) positve from probably the switch. The other is a (-) (if you will)variable resistance ground and goes to the terminal on the sending and depending on where the float is on the sending unit it applies more or less resitance to the gauge to make the gauge read whatever the fuel level is in the tank. Now that would make sense to me, if it's right or not, I'll find that out!

I am assuming there is NO positive voltage going to the sending unit in the tank at all, for the simple fact in preventing a explosion if something were short out inside the tank. Being right behind my back, I'm glad of that, lol

I have checked the brown wire from the sending unit to the gauge terminal and it's checks good then I checked the ground wire at the tank and it checks out. Then I went and grounded out the wire going to the sending unit, with the ign. swith ON, the gauge did not move. I'm thinking the gauge is probably bad.

I arrived at an idea today at work to put a 6 volt battery out of my 8N back in the truck just to see if by chance that would cure anything, it did not.

I am going to take out the sending unit check that,(that is if I can find a clutch drive bit, I just HATE them suckers) I would just use an ohm meter and measure the resitance as I move the float up and down?

I am alomst 99.9 percent convinced that both my guage and sending unit is bad. Due to the higher voltage from the 12 volt battery on the guage and probable rust in the sending unit from sitting so many years.

I'm thinking that Chevrolet didn't start using 12 volts system until 1955 or 56, so can I still use this 1960 Chevy bus fuel gauge that I have and will look like the original and fit in my 54 cluster that is already 12 volts with a new sending unit? Will the two of them be compatable with one another? if not and since I am going to keep it on the 12 volt system, should I buy a rebuilt fuel gauge for a 54 and install a resistor on the Pos side of the gauge to drop the voltage back down to 6 volts?

John Niekamp

Welcome to the forums, John. You've found a vast storehouse of info on old Chevy and GMC trucks. A lot of your questions can be answered by using the 'search' function of the board. If you don't find it that way, there's probably someone on here who knows. You made a valuable contribution yourself by pointing out the school busses used the round guage assys for several years after they were changed on the trucks.
Concerning your PTO: most likely you have one PTO. Pull the knob out to engage the pump then use the "forward and aft" lever to raise or lower the bed.

I'm assuming you've tested for continuity across the fuel gauge posts? That could save you prying the case open.

Ok, maybe I missed it, but if you're running 12v and you don't have a resistor on the (+) side of the fuel gauge, it's toast. The monofilament coil that moves the needle will vaporize. I had dropped mine, broke the coil at the post, and reattached it with a fine-tipped soldering iron and a pair of flatjaw heatsinks. If it's melted, you may not have enough wire left to work with. Good luck.

If you have a multimeter, it can tell you how all the individual bits are working. You don't need anything fancy, mine cost about $2. If all else fails, head over to the Swap Meet.

That's a good call on the Bus gauges I hadn't ever noticed that.
Reminded me though I noticed my neighbor who's in old militaray vehicles WW2 Halftrack and Scoutcar that he's been working on have similar gauges to the 47-55 GM trucks in fact they look like the same gauges but with silver paint on them.
Sure I have pictures on them somewhere..
[img]http://www.chevygmcofkc.org/Gallery/data/3011/1DCP_1378.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.chevygmcofkc.org/Gallery/data/3011/1Dcp_1372-med.jpg[/img]
Somewhere I have pictures of those gauges..
MONGO