Nice Tour in my ‘38 Chrysler

[keithb7]

Yesterday morning my wife and I left home and headed on a 300 km road trip to Osoyoos BC. My Chrysler was fantastic. OD was engaged on the hiway the whole way. Great cruising. Ambient air temps about 30 cel. The cooling system stayed between 170F, then up to 180F. T-stat would open then drop back to 170. The thermostat cycled and regulated perfectly. I did inatall a 6V electric aux pump incase needed. The whole trip was great.  When we arrived in Osoyoos we got into some traffic. Stop and go. After 10 mins or so we got out of it. I hit the accelerator and she hic-cuped and sputtered a bit. I hit the switch on the electric pump, and it worked perfect.  Just as I had hoped. 
 

300 km back home tomorrow. Then I’ll post my fuel economy numbers. About and hour from departure I did advance my timing slightly. I could feel it. She got a little more jump in her step!

 

A few picks of our area.  Its been a great tour. More confidence building. More tours are to come!

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by keithb7

[Booger]

that is so awesome. your reward! thanks for sharing

[Doug&Deb]

Awesome Keith! That’s what these old girls are for. Enjoy!

[Saskwatch]

Colour me “Green with Envy” ! 
  Two thumbs up ??

[Happy 46R]

Hey Keith, a beautiful car to go with a beautiful part of the world. Being an old Pentictonite I know what I am missing when I see your pictures. Have a great return trip. Dave

[keithb7]

385 miles round trip. Nothing to report about the car’s reliability , other than excellent. Calculated fuel economy worked out to 12.5 mpg. Seems too low for an OD equipped flathead era Mopar. Perhaps its time to look deeper. Float level high maybe. Rich main-jet maybe. I will look into it. I’ll check plugs, put some test equipment on it. Look at vacuum l, dwell etc.  This was my longest trip in the car, hi-way driving. First time calculating fuel economy on my Chrysler coupe. The trip included hilly terrain. Some stop and go traffic thru Kelowna. Speeds of 55-60 mph mostly. Some strong head winds for about 1.5 hrs coming home today. 
 

Momma was comfortable and happy. Always a good sign when thinking about more tours. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by keithb7

[Booger]

yeah that mpg seems a little hi for an OD car.But thats a great trip. If anyone can dial that fuel consumption its you. Booger gets around 14 mpg. If I recall my previous plymmies got around 17-18. (50 yrs ago)

[Dan Hiebert]

Pretty good bet those head winds are what did your mileage in.  These cars have the aerodynamics of a chicken coop.

[Sniper]

I was going to report on my Sunday trip, to the grocery store, but the other day I had left the key in the ignition, in run and killed the battery.  So when i went to fire her up Sunday morning, nothing.  Not even a clickity click,

 

Getting old sux

 

[soth122003]

Hills and headwinds will kill fuel consumption. That and 15-17 mpg is the norm anyway. Next trip plot out a flat land trip and check the mileage. Check the tire pressure as well. A low tire by a few pounds adds up. Of course the lead foot syndrome might be a culprit as well. LOL

 

Joe Lee

[OldPly]

Is Your gas milage of 12.5 mpg US gallons or imperial gallons ?

[keithb7]

US gallons. 

[Marcel Backs]

Way to show that beauty off Keith! In full motion the way it should be. Your coupe is an excellent example of cars from the golden age of style, Thanks for sharing your voyage!  & many more to come! M

[soth122003]

7 hours ago, keithb7 said:

US gallons. 

But Keith, You're Canadian right? So shouldn't you be using liters?.....

 

Nice pics and seeing as you had a great trip, what's a little extra for the experience. Most great times are worth it.

 

Joe Lee

[maok]

Also, highway speeds above 45mph is wasting a lot of fuel on pushing the wind with you.

[OldPly]

Hi Keith l really believe these old cars like to be driven on long drives & all parts up to temp good oil, grease, & all adjusted/settings set right etc  (front to back) l know you drive your car a lot so you should have the winter storage gas out and fresh gas in tank by now 

I have driven actress Canada many times in last 25 years 5 tanks of gas at least,per trip  started to get good milage that I could not believe, (to the point of starting question my math) (vehicle computers km to empty only go to 999 need more)

These old cars like to perr (like a happy cat) 

Every one knows "Happy wife happy life . Happy car happy driver"

 

 

[keithb7]

19 hours ago, soth122003 said:

But Keith, You're Canadian right? So shouldn't you be using liters?.....

 

Joe Lee

Growing up everyone spoke in miles per gallon. Its programmed into my DNA.  Additionally, probably 90% of all flathead Mopars ever made were sold in the USA.  That too reflects membership here.  I tend to convert to imperial for the majority here. 

Litres per 100 km just doesn’t have much jingle to it. Here it is: