Maiden Voyage

[jnicho]

Our new '49 B1B was trailered over from St Louis last weekend.  It's been so cold I didn't want to venture out too far in a 64 year old truck that I'm unsure of it's reliabilty.  Tonight we decided to take her to the next town away (about a 10mile trip each way) for some dinner.  She started up in the 28 degree weather with just a little choke and purred like a kitten.  All in all drove pretty well.  Steering is pretty loose and will need looking into and the brakes need to be pumped each time to have full pedal and also pull to the left so they will need some attention right away.  Shifting of the old 4speed actually went well and I'm quickly finding the RPM ranges for mostly grindless double clutched shifts.  Downshifts are not so clean however.  Any pointers on downshifts from 4 to 3 or even 3 to 2 with out just forcing and grinding?  I don't downshift unless I have to, but sometimes slowing traffic or other driving conditions necesitates a downshift. 

 

After really looking the old gal over I've decided this is not a restored truck afterall, but rather an original that has had bits and pieces restored here and there.  I'm sure the engine has been rebuilt at some point and the exterior has obvioulsy had new paint in the last 10 years...and of course the bed floor has been redone, but otherwise I beilve much of the rest of the truck is original.  At any rate we are already enjoying her, and looking forward to bringing her back to her full glory.

[pflaming]

To down shift, you must rev up the engine to accept the lower gear. Over rev at first then put the gear ready to engage and it will slip in when the rpms and the gear ratio match. The faster you are going the higher the revs required. I down shift all the time and seldom grind a gear. Just practice and you'll find the way.

 

Welcome to the Forum, Got pictures?

[P15-D24]

Welcome to the forum! 

[jnicho]

To down shift, you must rev up the engine to accept the lower gear. Over rev at first then put the gear ready to engage and it will slip in when the rpms and the gear ratio match. The faster you are going the higher the revs required. I down shift all the time and seldom grind a gear. Just practice and you'll find the way.

 

Welcome to the Forum, Got pictures?

 

That makes perfect sense.  This is my first time with a non-synrco tranny so I'm learning as I go.  Thanks for the info.

[JBNeal]

with practice, you can get a feel for when you can slip the shifter into a gear and when ya need to rev the motor for the transmission to slip into gear.  I took this advice from guys who drove this kind of a truck for years, and after awhile I was able to adjust how much force to put on the gear shift knob without shifting gears to get that feel...now, instead of grinding gears, it sounds like somebody's politely knocking at the door

[pflaming]

I grew up driving non synchro tyrannies, Dad had a 38 IH 2 ton grain truck and a 47 Ford 1.5 ton.  During wheat harvest we would drive along side the grain harvester and transfer the grain from the harvester to the truck(s) one the fly, corners and all.  So we had to come up to the harvestor and down shift into Super Low in order to drive along side. It was different with an empty bed or one that was half full.  Got so we could drive along side, with one foot on the pedal, one leg on the running board and toss  a fresh jug of water to the driver on the harvester. Don't know if I could do that again today. 

 

Just practice, it will happen. 

[wallytoo]

repetition is pretty much the way to get the downshifts correct. consider yourself fortunate if you don't have to downshift a whole lot. my 1.5-ton requires constant shifting and gear splitting in order to drive it, as it's a heavy beast with a small-displacement flathead.

push in clutch, shift into neutral; fully let out clutch pedal, depress accelerator somewhat; depress clutch pedal, downshift; release clutch pedal; drive.

[pflaming]

Wallytoo said it well, "constant shifting". Now add a two speed rear axle to a non, synchronized tyranny, load 200 bu (12,000#) of wheat and rolling hills and now you are DRIVING!  What was tricky was to shift from 4th and low to 3rd and high on a hill.  There wasn't any room for error, if you missed, you quickly lost speed and went to 2nd and low and a long pull up the hill. 

 

It was 20 miles of that from the ranch graineries to town. Had to make three trips a day for a week. That was often my Christmas vacation job when I was in the 9th grade (14 yrs old). All farm kids had a "learner's permit" which allowed us to drive to church, school, and drive for farm work.  It was a different time but a great time.

 

Now load that same truck with fat cattle or horses and it gets even trickier. Now you got to keep the rhythm  correct or the cattle would start to shift their weight. Baled hay was another challenge for it both weighed a lot and was top heavy.  Wow, sorry been reminiscing a bit.  

 

Would sometimes take a girl friend along and I would work the clutch and foot pedal and she would work the shifter. . . had to have her help since my right arm was busy with other things!

Edited November 29, 2013 by pflaming

[wallytoo]

Wallytoo said it well, "constant shifting". Now add a two speed rear axle to a non, synchronized tyranny, load 200 bu (12,000#) of wheat and rolling hills and now you are DRIVING! What was tricky was to shift from 4th and low to 3rd and high on a hill. There wasn't any room for error, if you missed, you quickly lost speed and went to 2nd and low and a long pull up the hill.

yup, and the gear-splitting refers to the use of the 2-speed rear

you are correct, though. if you miss the split downshift, you are pretty much done, and in for a long, slow climb. i'd never driven a truck with a functioning 2-speed prior to this one. i've learned how to drive with the 2-speed pretty well now. at least i already had plenty of experience shifting non-synchro transmissions, so the learning curve for split-shifting wasn't too steep. makes the truck a WHOLE lot easier to drive with a load.

[Don Coatney]

I believe this may have been posted here before. Fun shifting.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iU3gZGUInd4

[pflaming]

Yup! You learn to listen and attend to the sound of the engine. Your ears become your instinctive "tach". Now if you want to really test your gear splitting skills, put on a load of concrete blocks, steel, sand or dirt and head for a hilly, country road! If you miss a split I already know what your first two words will be. 

 

Don's video reminded me of my uncle's truck. It not only had a two speed, it had a brownie transfer, so then you had to do the gear splitting and add in the brownie shift as well. This truck hauled 350 bu of wheat and I loved to drive that truck. It was an F10 with a HUGH Lincoln V8 and a 3" well pipe for exhaust, no muffler, what a symphony of sound that truck made on a long hill. Damn, I'm getting lonesome for the past! Coming into town we would always down shift and try to not have to use the brakes, loved to hear that engine cackle.

Edited November 29, 2013 by pflaming

[jnicho]

Took her to the hardware store today.  Used some of the advice from you guys and my shifting was pretty smooth...even a couple of downshifts that where pretty darn good if I do say so, LOL!