Starting and Shutting down a T34-85 - Need advice

[Needle]

I need to move the T-34 next week, and its been quite a while since I last drove it (by quite a while, I mean years).

Need some help/advice.

Starting:

1) Batteries are good and connected.
2) Main power switch on passenger side is engaged.
3) Pre-oiler is run.
4) Hand pumped pressure to fuel tank.
5) Foot brake is engaged.
6) Clutch is depressed.
7) Hand throttle set to about half

Can't get gear lever to shift out of second!

Do I start engine with clutch depressed, and hope I can then find a gear, or am I missing a step? (such as pulling levers to first stage to disengage differential clutches).


Also, if I get it out of gear, and engine runs via push button starter, how do I shut engine down? Is it just a case of pulling hand throttle all the way back, and engine will cut off by itself?


Time has played havoc with my memory, and I have too many other vehicles with a multitude of different start up and shut down procedures, that I may just be getting confused.

Thanks for any hep and/or guidance, since I want to do this as safely as possible before I attempt to put it on a lowboy next week.

Julian

 

[kcimb]

Did you figure it out?

 

[Needle]

Did you figure it out?

Yes. With engine off, pushed clutch in, and dragged tank backwards slowly, then dropped clutch, and it popped out of gear.
Use hand throttle when starting engine, and when setting idle. Pulling hand throttle all the way back shuts off engine.