Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk throttle knob on the dash

What for, and or when would you use the throttle knob on ( mine is a 1960 apache)truck. The choke works the throttle cable knob comes off so I never use it . Is it to warm up or start truck ?
Or like a cruise control. Can I replace the cable with new knob and will it last or just break again?

Thanks for the help Ken

Oh ya is LMC good to buy, say rear bumper & crome mirrors?

Ken, the throttle could be used for warm up, but was most useful to maintain an RPM for granny gear chugging in the fields or running a PTO when stationary .... NOT recommended as a "cruise control" if you value your life

if the replacement is decent quality it should work fine, tho I didn't know the 60's still had them from the factory .... can't say about LMC

Bill

I have one on my 50 truck that I was thinking of turning into a light switch or perhaps a cover for a cigarette lighter socket.

I always have figured that when you had the starter button on the floor, you needed three feet or a throttle button to get a cold motor started. One foot on the clutch, one on the starter button, one hand for the choke, one for the throttle knob so the motor doesn't race away. When they went over to keyed starters, so many were used to seeing the throttle knob on the dash - and they had found all these other uses for it - so it took some years to phase out the throttle knob. But the throttle knob must have disappeared in the early 60s, so yours would be one of the last years with one I would guess...

Ken1960- is your truck an auto or stick? I have a 1963 c20-4speed that doesn't have a throttle knob. I have seen this on '60 or '61. They phased it out pretty early in the '60's is my guess, darn shame too. Maybe they kept it on the big bolts though :confused: , I just don't know. On my '63 to the left of steering wheel is choke, wipers, and lights, no throttle

I would so try to jimmy rig/replace the throtle control if you have the time, just for the novelty factor. If you have it, you will use it, would be great for jump starting other vehicles, eh?!?!?!?!!

don't know how long they kept the throttle feature but i still have it on my 50. have used it only to keep it at a higher rpm for diagnostic purposes. the truck doesn't see a lot of "granny" gear work since it's retirement.

norm84, give up the cigarettes and leave it as a throttle. you'll live longer and it will maintain it's value...by the way, how is chattanooga? been too many years since i walked the streets there. nice place and i loved the history of the area.

I do know a guy that has a '72 C20 that has a throttle knob in it. Stangely, it's also an automatic.
Like red58 said, it's mainly for PTO work. I do use mine during warm up to keep the rpm up, but not for a cruise control. That's not only dangerous, but illeagal in most states.

I use mine for warming the engine up or diagnostic purposes. I joke about it being an early form of cruise control, but I've never used it as such. Keep it. You might need it someday, and it doesn't hurt to have a functioning hand throttle.

My 1961 also has this knob on the dash but it is not connected. Would definitely like to keep it as I always get questions about it!

Where does this thing connect? Is there a diagram somewhere? I cant seem to find it in the 1960 shop manual.

I have to disagree with the above assessment regarding using the hand throttle for a "cruise control". My Harley has a thumb screw on the throttle that will hold in position, I have used it as a cruise control for many years without problem, but of course only on the open road. Proper use of the hand throttle under the same circumstances would be useful, but of course you need to be on constant alert to traffic ahead. I just bought a new reproduction throttle cable for my GMC 100 and will be using it on long trips on the freeway. Happy 'bolting to all however you use or not use your hand throttle.

The hand throttle has a bracket on the carb, and the center "wire" threads through the hole in the pushrod that goes from the bellcrank to the carb. It has a little screw clamp that holds it on. Somebody has a picture of it on the net somewhere.

My 69 has a factory hand throttle in it, and it is an automatic. They were very common until about 72 or so when the emissions controls started up.

Ken, like you I have a functioning choke which sure comes in handy on a cool day. I'm figuring now how exactly I'm going to hook up my throttle cable to my old Edelbrock carb. I'll use it to raise the RPM during warm up ONLY, so I don't have to push on the accelerator for 10 minutes on a cold day. I would never mess with it while driving.

Over the weekend I got up.....
?Then I broke out the 1960 Ch. Truck operators manuel .. and I Quote HAND THROTTLE CONTROL
Pulling out on the knob opens the carburetor throttle to provide a uniform ( constant until knob is pulled further, or pushed in to any position) engine speed above the idle setting. It is generally advisable to pull the hand throttle control out slightly when starting the engine especially if the engine has a tendency to stall a time or two after starting."

Also my tranny is four on the floor .

Ken

I can look further into it as to how it is hooked up if anyone needs to know . It is working if I use plyers as the knob comes off. I checked it out over the weekend. You can see the accel. pedal moving .

Ken

I have my RPM set so low, ~300, that I use mine to keep the revs up both when cold and also when stuck in traffic to keep the fan and water pump spinning fast enough to cool. It's also handy for starting out on a hill.

Anybody have a picture of how to hook up the throttle cable on a 51 with the stock one barrel? My choke cable works great but the throttle cable has always been broken, never really knew what it was used for until I read this thread!

I would also like more info on how the cable attaches. I have a 52 with a 56 235. According to the resources I have the cable hooks to a bracket on the carb. and bypasses everything else.then it hooks to a bracket on the shaft that operates the carb. It seems to me that running the cable through the hole on the shaft that hooks to the carb would be real unsafe. Constant rubbing on the wire to the throttle control would wear it out. Using the wire to retain the shaft would mean no throttle if it breaks. According to the pictures I have the bracket rides up and down on the control wire, with a cable stop on said wire. If the wire breaks the washer and cotter key on the shaft to carb is still functional. That way the if the throttle control fails the pedal/shaft/carb assembly is intact and able to function. Just my 2 cents worth. Jimmie.

How many have you seen wear out?

The factory installation of the hand throttle cable connection to the carburetor is the cable sheath (outer cable) is threaded thru the choke, throttle bracket and the wire is fed through the hole in the linkage that is fitted to the carburetor. There is a small barrel shaped fitting with a hole for the wire and a set screw on the end to hold the wire in place. This allows the hand throttle to be used and still the foot feed works up and down on the wire of the hand throttle. I worked on the engine line at the Van Nuys Chevrolet assembly plant so I saw a bunch of these before they came off the assembly line.

hi , my 59 still has the original and working hand throttle and knob connected to carb , just ask and i will send a pic for anyone, cheers , stevie-t

hi , there is a pic of dash , click on description, if you need a pic from carb side, just ask, as it is connected and working as new

Here's a page from the factory assembly manual

Choke and Throttle Controls Instruction

Stevie-t:

That truck is a wonderful resource for those of us with Task Force trucks who want to restore to original. It really helped me to see the exact paint scheme for the interior. Even though mine is a 58 Fleetside, the more pictures the better. Do you have an account with one of the free picture hosting websites that you wouldn't mind posting the address to?

Sorry, I kinda' hijacked this thread.

Running a Rochester, the bracket as shown in Laroke's link is dead-on. However, I found that the bracket doesn't work with a Carter. For the throttle cable to align with the linkage movement axis, there needs to be an extension, approximately 1.5" toward the firewall. I made an extension out of 3/16" thick flat bar and attach it to the carb. I attach the choke cable bracket on top of the extension at the carb body, then attach the throttle cable to the extension on the opposite end. This is the only way I could figure to get the linkage to move without binding the cable.

I can't believe I'm the first to experience/observe this. Any other solutions?

Lumbergh- Stevie-t's truck is a time capsule, and a beautiful one at that. I echo your comments. No hijack, no foul.

Bill

Nothing like ole Stovebolters! Almost 30 replies in a discussion of a "white knob" on the dash. LOL :hammering: