Gaz Truck/Ford Model A Operating Controls Layout

[BlitzPig_EL]

Thought I would do this for those that have no experience with vintage vehicles...

 

 

Not pictured is the foot actuated starter push, which is on the floor above and between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal.   Foot controls are the standard three pedal layout with clutch on the left, brake in the center and accelerator on the right.

Edited March 20, 2021 by BlitzPig_EL

[[CPT]Crunch]

Ahooooga

[Gambit21]

1 hour ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

Thought I would do this for those that have no experience with vintage vehicles...

 

 

All good and well.

I'm adding some mag rims, suicide doors, a blower and a ratchet shifter to mine.

[AndyJWest]

46 minutes ago, [CPT]Crunch said:

Ahooooga

 

Nope. 

 

Parp! Parp!

[BP_Lizard]

Is it out yet?

[Gambit21]

1 minute ago, BP_Lizard said:

Is it out yet?

 

No - soon'ish I think.

[40plus]

Where's the windshield wiper controls?

[BlitzPig_EL]

8 hours ago, 40plus said:

Where's the windshield wiper controls?

 

It's a small knob right behind the vacuum motor itself, at the top of the windshield frame.  Pull it out to turn it on.  Single speed.  And because it is powered by manifold vacuum, the wipers go slower the faster you go...  It's shown in the screenshot.  I will add the call-out for it.

Edited March 20, 2021 by BlitzPig_EL

[40plus]

3 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

 

It's a small knob right behind the vacuum motor itself, at the top of the windshield frame.  Pull it out to turn it on.  Single speed.  And because it is powered by manifold vacuum, the wipers go slower the faster you go...  It's shown in the screenshot.  I will add the call-out for it.

Not just when going faster, hills too.

My dad tells stories of driving an old Austin Healey in the rain and everytime he climbed the super long hill to our neighborhood, the wipers would cut and he could see shite.

[Toots_LeGuerre]

My grandfather had a 1930's vintage Ford truck, a smaller version of the GAZ but otherwise looked identical.

There wasn't any windshield wiper motor. It was hand operated.

There was small lever on the wiper axis that you moved back and forth. The driver drove with one hand, cleared the windshield with the other.

We kids loved it.

Not certain how Grampa felt about it.

[ShamrockOneFive]

Where does the VTEC sticker and the giant wing go? ?

[Pikestance]

17 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

Thought I would do this for those that have no experience with vintage vehicles...

 

 

Not pictured is the foot actuated starter push, which is on the floor above and between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal.   Foot controls are the standard three pedal layout with clutch on the left, brake in the center and accelerator on the right.

 

 

Why are you chumming? ?

 

[fergal69]

A choke - a thing of the past. 

 

I fited a K&N filter to my Citroen AX GT. In summer it was OK, but in winter had to drive round with the choke out as if I didn't it kept stalling.

[migmadmarine]

4 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

Where does the VTEC sticker and the giant wing go? ?

Gotta shoot the wing off something overhead and hope that it drops into place. 

[DD_Arthur]

22 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

Thought I would do this for those that have no experience with vintage vehicles...

 

I wonder what the braking performance of a GAZ truck was like with half a ton of anti aircraft gun bolted to the flatbed??

[BlitzPig_EL]

Seeing as it only has rear brakes, and a Model A Ford car with 4 wheel mechanical brakes can barely stop in a way that modern motorists can understand, I'd say it's braking could best be described as, um...  inadequate.

[40plus]

Bah, brakes. Just drive it into a snow bank and start shooting.

[Rjel]

2 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

 

I wonder what the braking performance of a GAZ truck was like with half a ton of anti aircraft gun bolted to the flatbed??

I would think it could do some pretty mean 1930s style drifting with all that weight hanging off the tail end. That is, if drifting is even possible at 30-40 mph?

[Gambit21]

2 hours ago, Rjel said:

I would think it could do some pretty mean 1930s style drifting with all that weight hanging off the tail end. That is, if drifting is even possible at 30-40 mph?

 

Nope - not enough power and COG too high. Don’t forget tire skip angles, sway bar and bump/rebound considerations. Yes I’m an old GPL’er. 

[gimpy117]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:20 PM, Gambit21 said:

 

All good and well.

I'm adding some mag rims, suicide doors, a blower and a ratchet shifter to mine.

I'm just gonna put in about 2 gallons of kvass 

[BlitzPig_EL]

You can four wheel drift an MG TC at 25mph.  Be sure.

[Gambit21]

3 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

You can four wheel drift an MG TC at 25mph.  Be sure.

 

No surprise there.

[BlitzPig_EL]

My passenger was surprised.

 

?

[DD_Arthur]

42 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

My passenger was surprised.

 

 

 

It's 1983.  I come home on leave on my latest bike - a Kwacka Gpz1100.  Triple disc brakes, full fairing, a million squillion bhp, etc.  Dad has finally bolted back together the 1937 350cc Norton International that he last had running in 1953!  

We're both anxious for a go on each other's bikes.  After I get my head round the ignition advance lever, the mixture lever, the right foot gear change and actually kickstarting it, we head off in different directions.

 

The Norton's ancient long-stroke single cylinder engine with a bloody great cast iron flywheel and crankshaft means there's a whole lotta' shakin' going on but it's surprisingly swift off the line.  I snick my way up the gears and my first thought is "wow, this thing goes well!"  Up ahead the lights are changing to red, I close the throttle and apply the brakes.  My second thought is "Oh sh#t!!!"

 

Twenty minutes later I roll up at home again, a now wiser motorcyclist.  Dad has just got back too.  Our first words to each other;  "My god, the brakes!"    

[BlitzPig_EL]

4 hours ago, =13NVO=Eeafanas said:

Submit a photo of your Ford A @BlitzPig_EL

 

 

I don't own one personally.  The museum I work for has a 1931 "woody" station wagon, and I have driven many of them in my 20+ years as a mechanic specializing in vintage cars.

 

This is the vehicle in the museum...

Edited March 21, 2021 by BlitzPig_EL

[BP_Lizard]

On 3/20/2021 at 7:37 PM, BlitzPig_EL said:

You can four wheel drift an MG TC at 25mph.  Be sure.

I prefer to drift on a Sherman. 

Edited March 22, 2021 by BP_Lizard

[LukeFF]

 

[pilotpierre]

I used to have a 1942 Jeep (have always regretted selling it because of a service move). 1 can vividly remember the only emergency stop I ever had to do on a main road. One foot on the clutch, one foot on the brake pressing them so hard and gripping the steering wheel so tight that my bum was off the seat. I always wore boots when driving it after that.

[Missionbug]

On 3/21/2021 at 5:08 PM, BlitzPig_EL said:

 

I don't own one personally.  The museum I work for has a 1931 "woody" station wagon, and I have driven many of them in my 20+ years as a mechanic specializing in vintage cars.

 

This is the vehicle in the museum...

 

You and those working with you should be very proud of the outstanding work you do keeping those old Vehicles in such a beautiful condition.

 

Take care and be safe.

 

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[No_85_Gramps]

On 3/20/2021 at 10:12 AM, 40plus said:

Not just when going faster, hills too.

My dad tells stories of driving an old Austin Healey in the rain and everytime he climbed the super long hill to our neighborhood, the wipers would cut and he could see shite.

Not to date myself, but the first jeep i drove, in 1973, was an M151. An original M151, no turn signals and with the vacuum wipers. Traveling the autobahn during the rain was a trip, down hill the blades moved faster than the Flash, up hill, slower than a snail in molasses.

[jollyjack]

Now i really like this ole banger, but shooting nasty nazi planes is something else; tried bringing down stukas in the Vluki campaign for about 2 hours ...

aarghh: NONE, NIL, ZILCH.

[LukeFF]

2 minutes ago, jollyjack said:

Now i really like this ole banger, but shooting nasty nazi German planes is something else; tried bringing down stukas in the Vluki campaign for about 2 hours ...

aarghh: NONE, NIL, ZILCH.

 

There are plenty of good tutorials out there explaining how to use this vehicle properly.

[Gambit21]

3 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

There are plenty of good tutorials out there explaining how to use this vehicle properly.

 

Aye - @jollyjack most notably by the other Luke.(Requiem)

It's a very cool addition to the sim.

[Monostripezebra]

23 hours ago, jollyjack said:

Now i really like this ole banger, but shooting nasty nazi planes is something else; tried bringing down stukas in the Vluki campaign for about 2 hours ...

aarghh: NONE, NIL, ZILCH.

 

From my point of view that is probably caused by beeing troubled with the sight and how it is implemented. I had a really hard start with that and for most part I try to ignore it and shoot by tracer.

 

It is vital to understand that it is a free sight without a fixed "zero" that tries to automatically calculate a lead angle for you. And it is implemented in such a way, that the "target aspect" variable (ie: is your target flying towards you or at an angle) is always set to "automode" and you can not switch it off.

 

What is "auto mode" and what does it do?

 

Short answer: whenever you turn the gun turret, the sight wanders (left/right) because the turning of the gun auto-changes the assumed target aspect angle. Depending on what other values (range&target speed) are set, this will lead to a completly unusable sight, if the values are not set, for most angles.

 

My solution: ignore the sight and watch the tracers, but with pressing "reset sight" (which I have bound to middle mouse button for frequent use) once, with the crosshair on target, so the sight is at least facing with the bore axis of the gun (pointing in target direction)

 

 

Long answer:

How it works is not, that it actually relates to any target.. but an orientation (independent of truck facing) that is set by the "sight reset" key..

now whenever you turn the gun the away from the vehicle independent direction where you pressed "sight reset" (lets say 0° north) and which corresponds to a target flying directly at you, the automode assume you are tracking a target flying on straight line, ie if you turn your gun to the East (90°) or the West (270°) the sight will dial an automatic max deflection, it´s assuming you are shooting at a plane flying at max deflection (+/- 90°)

Now, the problem is that a lot of planes don´t fly straight line, and if an AI plane circles you.. the aspect ratio actually largely stays the same (depending on the quality of the planes circle).

 

Lets say a He111 circles you clockwise.. in a perfect circle with you in the middle, then you would have to set always a 90° deflection.  In the above example with 0° aspect beeing at 0° north your sight (without re-setting) will only be usefull, if the plane is east of you.

The maximal error will be if he is west (ie: max lead in the wrong direction) and  north and south are also not good, but better because no lead is put in.

 

So in this theoretical example, you would have to constantly press the target aspect angle adjusting key to keep the 90° deflection from changing. In the real GAZ, juding by the 3D models mechanic as implemented, there was apparently a foot pedal, that when pressed, turned off the automatical adjustment. However, the only way you can switch in game is via "sight reset" (which shows the pedal animated) but it flips back up and automode is automatically engaged a millisecond after again.. ie: you can not depres the pedal for a time to keep a constant target aspect angle, like you most likely could IRL. And for me, that is a sad missing feature making the GAZ much harder to use (then if you had a sight that could keep a  dialed in zero, regardless of movement-- The coming german sight should be much better in that regard)

 

That should not say that the sight is useless, it can infact be very fun and usefull, especially against AI coming towards you from the horizon where you can get very satisfying long range hits (like 2 KM out), especially against bombers.. if you have the sight settings accurate (target aspect, range and the speed adjustment)  Seeing a Heinkel explode 2km out is very very satisfying.

But in a much faster paced online environment where keeping situational awareness is key, the fumbling with the sight will bring you very much pain and death and it will ONLINE or in hot situations not be nearly as usefull as when you have time and enemies that stick to coherently planned courses to attack waypoints.

 

 

 

 

Other pointers:

- when versing the AI.. park next to other units but not on the side the attack comes from

Why? Well, occasionally planes will target you and since the AI fires from very long distances with area effect HE, you will 99% of time be toast, when that happens.. except if you keep another friendly AI vehicle/object between you and the attacker, then that thing gets attacked. So remember: strategic parking saves crew lives!

 

-Take only good shots

The AI does not care much for suppression and ammo is scarce, so against the AI it can be very usefull to only fire at good angles. Good angles are when the planes fly towards you or almost towards you. IF they come directly towards you (0° aspect angle front view) and there is no other AI target between you and the attacker.. run! They are going to attack you. But the AI does very poorly in adjusting the attack, when you move.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Monostripezebra

[jollyjack]

Super, i owe you a an extra stripe !! I put your guide in my manuals section, and it might be a good sticky ... (Rapidus?)  Thanks

I put your tips in a RTF: feel free to use it, mail me when you want changes or use it for your own sake; can remove it as such.

Download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/vtdci89dpsaans3/Monostripezebra%27s_guide_for_the_GAZ_AA_truck.rtf/file

Edited June 24, 2021 by jollyjack

[Monostripezebra]

1 hour ago, jollyjack said:

Super, i owe you a Pizza !! I put your guide in my manuals section, and it might be a good sticky ... (Rapidus?)  Thanks

 

You´re welcome.. I would also always recomend that everyone with a GAZ watches at least the sight bit of Requiems tutorial.  The sight can be very helpfull, if set right.

 

But when faced with the short time frame you have a good shot window, it can often be a lot better to rather focus on the shots itself in that window then to fiddle with the sight.

 

Another good thing to know is, that you can change the movment range of that odd white courser ball that moves the gun, if you set it to 10 in the options, you can move the gun quicker/easier. The downside of it is, though, that everytime you switch through the stations (crt+c) when you come back to the gunner, the ball gets instanciated at max left deflection, ie: your gun moves left when you cycle through the stations, a little right mouse input on station change from driver to gunner helps.

 

Against human opponents it is good to think more about what shots to take. I kind of classify the situations as best as I can: 

a)if alone, I prefer to fire only at close enemies.. preferably at their belly,  in 3-5 shot burst.. that makes it harder for them to find you

b) if you have dogfights or friendly air units nearby, it often makes sense to fire longer burst and longer range bursts, as flak bullets are really usefull for pilots to spot enemy planes. You may not get the kill, but the guy you highlight is gonna have a problem sooner or later..

c) anyone putting his aircraft nose onto me is automatically the priority target and all other considerations will cease to be important untill I am either dead or he is pulling of. The GAZ is highly vulnerable even to nearby shots so making any attack run as pressured as possible is what I think is the best defence. But one of tha GAZses secrets is that it can be surprisingly resilient to solid armor piercing shots (like a lot of planes, also) so you can actually survive hits of those anti-tank stukas.

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Monostripezebra

[jollyjack]

i set targeting and shooting to joystick controlled ... maybe that's more difficult too?

[Monostripezebra]

1 hour ago, jollyjack said:

i set targeting and shooting to joystick controlled ... maybe that's more difficult too?

 

I guess that is a matter of preference.. I mean, some kids are even really good with gamepads. But I am an old dude and mouse aim is king, for me.

 

1 hour ago, jollyjack said:

I put your tips in a RTF: feel free to use it, mail me when you want changes or use it for your own sake; can remove it as such.

Download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/vtdci89dpsaans3/Monostripezebra%27s_guide_for_the_GAZ_AA_truck.rtf/file

 Feel free.. I just want to see more happy GAZ users, it is really nice and having a working player AA only makes the game better for all of us.

Edited June 24, 2021 by Monostripezebra