47-55.1 old (member) new truck 1951 3100 deluxe

[yote1234]

i have been spending the last 21 years in the 67-72 and square body and in the middle of a complete restoration of my 71 cst blazer 4x4.
but now my most recent purchase is a 1951 chevy 3100 truck 216 4-speed heater, 5 window cab, mostly all original. anyway i will be relaying on you all for an education on this model year . my plans are to perfect it in many ways. it has a minor front main leak and the speedometer cable slips out of trans..?? why i dont know as i haven't had time to look into it. another thing it it is missing the two front parking lamps. one more thing the starter makes a terrible noise when it engages ??
oh and because of the past ?? 40 years of beer intake i choose to cut down the steering column, or loose weight... lol yeah "thats not happening" any way heres a few pictures of this rust free cal/arizona truck
any and all advice or recommendations will be appreciated. pics to follow.
thank you coyote dave or yote1234

[yote1234]

pics of the " Coyote ranch truck"

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pic2

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pic3

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pic4

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pic 5

[mr48chev]

The bad thing with a small steering wheel and stock steering is that it takes a lot more effort to turn at slow speeds and your chest muscles get more of a workout than they may want. Been there done that had the sore muscles.

What a great looking truck and it is great to see that someone didn't stick a bunch of truck fru fru on it as you see too much of now.

[yote1234]

thanks for the reply mr48.. i was thinking more of shorting the column instead of a smaller wheel

thx again for the input. Dave

[dsraven]

shortening the column is harder than first thought. the steering shaft is a one piece unit that goes from the steering box to the steering wheel. yes it can be shortened but it may be more work than anticipated.

[yote1234]

Originally Posted by dsraven

shortening the column is harder than first thought. the steering shaft is a one piece unit that goes from the steering box to the steering wheel. yes it can be shortened but it may be more work than anticipated.

yes i think it would be involved but i believe if i removed it from the truck and disassembled , cut down a few? Maby 3 inches, weld it then rebuild and re- installed i think i could do this in a few days? but i will do more research on this before i remove it.

[dsraven]

It is basically a shaft inside a tube from the box to the strg wheel. One piece from steering box to steering wheel. The outer tube can be cut above the box, then the shaft cut slightly above that. A bearing can be installed in the tube to support the shaft there. Then the same thing can be done on the upper part, below the column shifter box. The upper tube will need to be supported where it exits the cab. The floor mounted bracket for that is available from online suppliers. a couple of u joints can be used with a section of double D shaft to connect the dots after you have shortened the upper part to your liking. The inner shaft can be ground or filed fown to accept a u joint. The bearings required are called flanged bearings and can be found easily if you look for a wheelbarrow or wheel dolly wheel bearing. If you google the procedure, I am sure you will find a thread on doing exactly what you are looking for.

[yote1234]

Originally Posted by dsraven

It is basically a shaft inside a tube from the box to the strg wheel. One piece from steering box to steering wheel. The outer tube can be cut above the box, then the shaft cut slightly above that. A bearing can be installed in the tube to support the shaft there. Then the same thing can be done on the upper part, below the column shifter box. The upper tube will need to be supported where it exits the cab. The floor mounted bracket for that is available from online suppliers. a couple of u joints can be used with a section of double D shaft to connect the dots after you have shortened the upper part to your liking. The inner shaft can be ground or filed fown to accept a u joint. The bearings required are called flanged bearings and can be found easily if you look for a wheelbarrow or wheel dolly wheel bearing. If you google the procedure, I am sure you will find a thread on doing exactly what you are looking for.

thank you for the encouraging words. being a 4-speed i figured it wont be too hard. i have not found a specific thread on this and that amazes me. but i will search further and hope i find a specific thread simplifying this task. thx again, dave

[dsraven]

here is a quick link with pics that show what the basic steps are. this is for shortening the column to fit a power steering conversion but the steps are the same for how to shorten. the other way is to cut the shaft, remove a length, and have the shaft welded back together by a certified welder or machine shop who can also ensure it is straight when done done. dissassembling the box would be best for this because the shaft would likely need to be run on v blocks with a dial indicator to check to true. these links also cut the shaft off really close to the steering box, assuming you will just discard the old box. since you will be re-using the box you would need to leave enough of a snub shaft to make the U joint work, or whatever other connection style you decide to use.

https://www.ecklers.com/55-57-05-670...ech-guide.html

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/po...traight-axles/

[dsraven]

there is a youtube video out there that shows a fella shortening a column by cutting the shaft and removing a section, then using a section of tube that fits the shaft tightly to slip over the two parts and then he welds the tube onto each shaft through predrilled holes in the tube, like a rosebud weld

[dsraven]

scribing a line down the shaft before it is cut would help to ensure the steering wheel spline ends up in the same place

[yote1234]

Originally Posted by dsraven

scribing a line down the shaft before it is cut would help to ensure the steering wheel spline ends up in the same place

Wow dsraven.. this is all very helpful advice . and i appreciate you taking the time to lead me in the right direction! its people like you that makes this site so awesome!
i was thinking about removing the whole steering box and shaft out of the truck all together. then cutting the sleeve off about 3-4 inches above the steering box, cut about 3" out of the sleeve, cut 3" from the shaft about 4-5" above the sleeve cut., reweld the shaft using a jig and a professional certified welder. then reweld the sleeve back together. again, then reinstall complete box and shaft. that way the original bearing wont be tampered with.
again, i thank you
Dave

[dsraven]

Glad to help.
When welding the shaft ensure the welder sets his ground clamp o the actual shaft and not on the steering box housing. Otherwise the welding power has to go through the box and make electrical connection to the shaft through the gear faces and the bearing race contact points. This actually ruins those surfaces because it makes welding arcs happen on those surfaces. I have seen it many times so I am familiar with it. The part that's welded looks good but the rest of the parts are junk.
Just a heads up. Ask the question directly to the welder to ensure he and you are on the same page.
Nice truck by the way.

[dsraven]

Do you plan to take the shaft out of the box then? After re reading your post it kinda sounds like it. Just before you start try to have a gasket kit ready and possibly a new bushing for the pitman shaft, you never know what you will find until you get inside there.

[yote1234]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Do you plan to take the shaft out of the box then? After re reading your post it kinda sounds like it. Just before you start try to have a gasket kit ready and possibly a new bushing for the pitman shaft, you never know what you will find until you get inside there.

having never done this i dont know if the shaft can be removed from the box? so i planed on leaving the shaft in the box. and by cutting the sleeve and sliding it off the shaft then i would have access to cut down the shaft. then slide the sleeve back over the shaft rewelding it.
what do you think? and can the sleeve and the shaft both be removed from the box??

[dsraven]

the sleeve, or outer tube, is part of the steering box and is pressed into that top part. once the box is taken apart the shaft can be removed. plan on a rebuild when it is apart because it is far from new. I'm not sure of the cut off time but early boxes had all bushings inside and then an upgrade was done and some bushings were replaced with bearings. the bearings are pressed into cavities and can be a bear to remove but the bushings are also a bit of a bear to remove and once a new one is pressed in it will need to be honed to fit the shaft. I am sure there is a rebuild breakdown online somewhere.
thats why I was aksing if you plan to take the box apart, it can be a holy crap moment if you haven't done a steering box before.
if not taking it apart then you should check it for wear before you begin and adjust it to ensure the guts aren't worn out. when thats done you could use a pipe cutter to achieve a nice straight cut on the tube, then cut the shaft somewhere above that to allow a decent working and welding area, then cut the same length out of the tube as you did for the shaft, again, with a pipe cutter, and have a welder put it back together for you. scribe a line end to end on the parts before you begin and when assembling line those marks up so it all fits properly when done.

[yote1234]

Originally Posted by dsraven

the sleeve, or outer tube, is part of the steering box and is pressed into that top part. once the box is taken apart the shaft can be removed. plan on a rebuild when it is apart because it is far from new. I'm not sure of the cut off time but early boxes had all bushings inside and then an upgrade was done and some bushings were replaced with bearings. the bearings are pressed into cavities and can be a bear to remove but the bushings are also a bit of a bear to remove and once a new one is pressed in it will need to be honed to fit the shaft. I am sure there is a rebuild breakdown online somewhere.
thats why I was aksing if you plan to take the box apart, it can be a holy crap moment if you haven't done a steering box before.
if not taking it apart then you should check it for wear before you begin and adjust it to ensure the guts aren't worn out. when thats done you could use a pipe cutter to achieve a nice straight cut on the tube, then cut the shaft somewhere above that to allow a decent working and welding area, then cut the same length out of the tube as you did for the shaft, again, with a pipe cutter, and have a welder put it back together for you. scribe a line end to end on the parts before you begin and when assembling line those marks up so it all fits properly when done.

Yes sir i do think with enough patience and money i think it can be done. I Thank you for you experience and recommendations! i will buy another column to cut down so i can still drive it while cutting another one down.
Again i thank you Sir and will keep you informed of my progress.
Dave

[dsraven]

If you can find a newer column that has bearings instead of bushings you could rebuild that one while shortening it.

[yote1234]

Originally Posted by dsraven

If you can find a newer column that has bearings instead of bushings you could rebuild that one while shortening it.

do you know what year that would be?

[dsraven]

not positive but likely the last run of your body style, so '54? maybe someone else has the update? mr48?
here is a link to a disassembled box so you can see the guts of it.
https://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo...d.php?t=835963

[dsraven]

I found this online.
https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/...ering-box.html