So I'm tooling around on my 1949 like usual since I bought it in june. It's one of those things, were you look at it and say hey I'll have this thing going like a top and water tight in a few weeks. Little did I know it's not as easy as it looks. There are lots of things wrong with the truck. ATM I'm concentrating on getting around my smaller town reliably and safe enough. I've been playing around with different style carbs (concerning choke primarily) I opted for a manual cable choke over the automatic choke. I just need to locate an air filter for the carb. The opening needs to be 2-1/2" it seems most air filters I've seen online are all 2-5/16" any idea's on where I can get ahold of a 2-1/2" opening filter? The other thing is adjust my brakes the pedal has a lot of travel before they grab. The PO actually did a rather good job at rebuilding the trucks suspension and brake system (new lines, master cylinders, etc) So I'm guessing they need attention on the adjustment side. Should I start with bleeding? Then work towards adjusting the brake drum pads, if bleeding doesn't help? When I bought the truck the PO gave me a boat load of random parts (if you guys need trim, intake manifolds, valve, rockers, starters, dizzy's, or a 50's caddy bumper I'd be more then glad to help out). Here's a dark picture of the truck (it looks better in the dark believe me) Thanks
Brakes n stuff Ifn I was you I would adjust up the shoes first as best described in past posts by resident guru Nate, then adjust handbrake then bleed last, make sure you have the bulkhead pedal arm clearance as described in the manuals. Air filters, look online at vintage style filters, some are available various sizes. Love the artistic photo
Strange, Don't ever worry about your trucks esthetics...its a Chevy period!! Why we have some folks putting up pictures of GMC's. Yours could never be that bad off, no matter what shape its in. At least its got potential. Flashlight
Thanks for the the help and laugh! Maybe I should have my buddy pinstripe on the tailgate "it's not pretty, but at least it's not a GMC".
Do I Spy ~ An Exhaust Stack ? cool , WAY Retro for this old Farm Boy !. Always adjust the brakes first ,when they're cold , before driving and don't let the shoes drag ~ there are TWO brake shoes adjusters per wheel , often only one gets adjusted , resulting in low brake pedal . Also, the brake pedal's return spring is critical ~ it must return the brake pedal to the toe board with a " thump " , no exceptions . then adjust the master cylinder push rod to allow 1/4" of pedal movement before it begins to push in the master's piston . All these tiny little details will add up until your '49's " Huck " (rhymes with SUCK) brakes will have a hard & high pedal but still be not very good o9ver 45 MPH so watch out for that . I hope this helps .
You can run your truck by a muffler shop and have them make an air cleaner adaptor. Pick a piece of tubing that fits the 2 5/16 filter or is slightly smaller like 2 1/4 and then have them swage it on their machine so one end fits the carb and the other the air cleaner. If you want to clamp it then saw a half dozen slots on each end so the clamp can pull it tight. We give several muffler shops enough business so that if we can find the size tubing we need in the scrap bin they don't charge us for the one minute it takes to do one. It will add 2" to the filter heigth but on an AD you have a foot to the under side of the hood.
Actually I chopped off the exhaust stacks about a month ago. Whoever installed them didn't know plumbing fittings with about six 90 degree bends isn't acceptable for an exhaust system. Right now it's running nice and straight out the back, had some plans for side slash cuts possibly in the future though I adjusted the brakes (with both adjusters) and now have a less travel in the pedal, but it still seems like a bit more then acceptable. Unless thats just how they're supposed to be. Also I did order a new brake return spring and installed it. The pedal has that nice thump sound Nate mentioned. The truck needs a laundry list of things, and being in the motorcycle field in northern IL with winters coming up, I'll need to spend my money wisely. Hopefully you guys can help me prioritize the list. Here's what I want/need: - Windshield wipers - Heat - Tires - Bumpers - Running boards - Front disc brakes - Shock absorbers (previous owner removed both front and rear) - Speedometer - Temp Gauge What can I skimp by on? Or get creative with to save a dime until next season, and what needs to be done before I start driving it around often. Do any of you guys up north drive these old trucks around in the winter? Sorry for all the questions, I always seem to have a lot of them I know and thanks for the help so much!
Good tires are must, especially in bad weather. Use an electric wiper conversion when you do it, but many get away with rain ex
(Do any of you guys up north drive these old trucks around in the winter?) Freezing temperatures, ice or snow ends all driving the '48 and riding the HD for me for the season (Nov - Mar). 2WD doesn't do well in those conditions...
Cold / Wet Wx. Operation We did when I were a laddie on the farm in Rural New England , few had heaters , about 1/2 had wiper blades , we'd drop a big plate of diamond plate steel in the bed 'round this time of year , keep the rear end from swapping ends on wet macadam roads ya know . You can toss in bags of sand but that'll keep the bed wet and promote rust and rot the wood too . I forgot to mention an aspect of huck brakes : the shoes are pinned on one end so sometimes , they need repeated adjustments before the shoes are fully bedded in and providing high & hard pedal ~ I had to adjust the new shoes in my '49's brakes twice a week for a month before they really began stopping O.K. .
I'll probably drive it on days the roads are in good shape. I'll be readjusting my brakes often then Nate, since the drums are newly machined and the pads replaced. For need to have parts, the best option looks like new tires, heater/defroster, and wiper conversion. I'll just dig around in the usual places and probably end up in wisconsin pulling bumpers and gauges out of project trucks, to keep cost down. Even though new chrome bumpers are so tempting. Do you guys have any input on the kits our host sells for the heater/defroster and electronic wipers? I'm skeptical that heater kit really comes with "everything needed" to install. Also I talked to a tech employee of our host and he said shock absorbers are not needed unless I'll be doing heavy pulling or I find the ride to bouncy. Is this true? Thanks for all the input and help guys. It's helping a lot.
If your truck is a '49, it came with "Single Action" lever type shocks (1950 was the first year for the modern "tubular" shocks). Single action lever shocks can be had, but their cost is prohibitive to most. Jim Carter wants $120 each for rebuilt ones plus a $30 core charge. If you want to run without shocks, it's a good idea to run beefier springs. The most cost effective solution is to buy a conversion kit that will allow you to install tube shocks. Hope this info helps. Ken
Shocks help dampen the movement, so it doesn't keep bouncing after you hit a bump. It also helps to keep the wheels from jumping up off the ground after a big jolt. The mojave heater is just as simple as the factory unit. You need to hook up heater hoses in/out and power to the fan. You control the doors that allow the air to circulate. It really is that simple and should have everything you need.
I have lots of small /trim parts that have some weathering/pitting. Let me kno what you are looking for. My friend B.J. has lots of parts laying around also.... https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=9467
I have the huck brakes set up as well. and i have noticed that if I keep the brake pedal high and tight, I have no problem with my stopping. I do some heavy hauling as well. Just remember that they are not modern disk brakes. They don't disipate heat as well. I don't ride my brakes, I just downshift and then use them as needed when someone inevidiably pulls out in front of me. Oh here is how you adjust hucks! http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyowner/52tom52.htm I have a 52 3/4 ton truck
Dribs & Drabs You should NEVER turn the brake drums on Huck brakes unless the brake pedal pulsates badly under heavy application ~ they're wayyy too thin and so will heat up and fade quuickly . (this directly from a Bendix brake engineer and backed up by my years of experiance) , if you can find a cheap drum gauge , take it out when junk hunting and gather up some smaller inner diameter used Huck brake drums , a tiny bit of difference makes a HUGE change in braking ability . I find the best drums on the worst old wrecks as they typically didn't have the usual mindless drum turning every shoe replacement . if rusty , just hand sand the friction surface with 600 grit sand paper and they're good to go . Stock heater come in two types , basic (good) and DeLuxe fresh air , much batter but back in my youth , we'd yank the heater off any old 1930's junker we found and plumb it up , they all work well . New , top quality 12 volt heater motors for GM heater are avalable from Grainger , Inc. , you'll have to pore through the catalog and they look a bit different but if you're cold , who cares ? . Cheesball Chinese look correct heater motors are available in 6 or 12 volt versions and seem to work o.K. but for how long ? . Repop chrome bumpers are poorly made and do not have the correct face curve so those bumperettes or guards you found , won't sit flush ~ there'll be gaps that look bad . The Stainless Steel re-pop bumpers , OTOH , are top notch is a bit $pendy . Old mangled originals can be re-chromed , ask the Harley guys who to use for chrome and who to avoid , youi'll be well pleased . Shocks are a serious safety item if you're driving the rig , origina " Kneee Action " (lever typ) can be rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics but unless it's a show truck I'd go with the tube shock kit , it's a bolt up deal and you can use gas shocks to really make it ride and handle nicely . Often a Hot Rodder will discard the tube shock kit when up grading the suspension and you can buy it for cheap . Used temp. gauges are usually fine , you can replace the face decal cheaply . DO NOT test the temperature gauge with a flame ! not even for an instant ! . I hope this helps .
Hey everyone! I took the truck out for a full test drive the other day. The best way I could explain the experience was terrifying. It ran great and didn't break down. But the suspension and handling is.....bad. Anyways I wanted to know if not having suspension dampeners is what's causing my horrible bouncing suspension that ends up making the truck swerve after it hits a bump or small pot hole? I would guess yes. Just wanted to double check with you guys that know how these trucks should handle. Also any inexpensive ways to improve steering play? Thanks for all your help, hope everyone is having stress free holiday
Try a search on "bump steer". Also, there has been some recent posts on checking the front end for wear.
