need for speed in an antique car or truck

[sidevalvepete]

For my 2 cents worth I am just so looking forward to driving my old gal again after pulling it down and starting an often delayed rebuild over 35 years ago. Had a few vehicles since but none that pushed my buttons like Grandad's 38. Probably because of all the family stories around it and those times. Had frustrations and hold ups but also a lot of fun getting to here in meeting car people,  tradies and suppliers, private and commercial . Just need to hit the road and drive man.....! Forty to fifty mph will seem like a hundred.

[50 coupe]

Picked up a big block 383 that I will put into my coupe after I am done with the million and one things I need to 'fix' in order to make it street worthy of the big block. Already have a Ford 8.8 rear end and disc brakes all around. Definitely want it to be a safe driver. Had it running with the old 218 but can't really drive it where and how I wanted to with that motor. I know this is always a debate on this forum and I admire the guys that can keep the old stuff running satisfactorily!!

[Los_Control]

31 minutes ago, 50 coupe said:

Picked up a big block 383 that I will put into my coupe after I am done with the million and one things I need to 'fix'

Yeah not bad engines, my grandmother drove one after she cracked the windshield in her studebaker ... pouring hot water on it to defrost it in the mornings 

 

[JWB]

For me, with the various ol vehicles I have and have had, I take a look at what their advertised max speed was when they were being sold and use it as a type of measuring stick as to how fast I should attempt to take it. On my 47 D24, Dodge advertised 80mph as the max speed for the car. So that was my target while restoring him. I'm proud to say after replacing and repairing from front to rear, ol Doc and I can achieve 78mph at 5,000ft ASL. He'll cruise down the Interstate at 65mph all day long with one finger on the wheel. The only issues that come up is he may get a tad bit warm after pulling a 5% grade or steeper for a few miles. Going to slightly wider tires helped with the excessive hunting on the highway. Speed demon, he's not. Able to take extended trips at a reasonable speed, most definitely. 

[soth122003]

On 6/10/2020 at 11:00 AM, Plymouthy Adams said:

ranks right up there with tired butt old retired codgers in their motor homes in the far left lane 10 or greater below the speed limit....place for everything....if you realized you capacity and stick within that envelope fine, people can account for your speed if you are in the correct lane...else just curl up and die and get it over with...just do it in the far right lane is all....

I was reading this post and was going to address this at the end, but I saw your comment and thought I would add my 2 cents worth. If you want to appreciate the slow life of these old cars, get a big old gas guzzling motor home. They are most happy at 55-60 mph. Can they go faster? With no problem at all, but any speed above that severely affects the gas mileage. And at 8-9 mpg at 60 mph it drops to about 7-8 at 65 mph and at 70 mph about 5-6 mpg. Taking that into account the average 30 foot motor home goes about 500 miles at 60 mph and at 70 mph about 350 miles. The gas tank size on the 30 footers is about 50 gallons. So most RV owners will drive a little slower to save a lot of money on gas especially at $100-$150 per tank of gas at current prices. I should know, just got back from a week with my dad in the Bankhead Nat.l Forest in Alabama. 

 

Now what do these Land Yachts and old Mopars have in common? At higher speeds a simple mistake or momentary distraction can be catastrophic. Land Yachts and Mopars don't handle or brake well at higher speeds and with how old some of us are, our reaction time is slowed. So with all that being said, slow down, take your time and enjoy the drive. Roll the windows down and smell the journey as well. (fresh cut grass, hay, pine forests are just a few things I enjoy on the back roads. Dead skunks on the other hand, not so much. But you gotta take the good with the bad. At least the smell doesn't stay in the car very long.) 

 

Joe Lee