Driving on the freeway

Good morning, I have driven Seattle to KC , Oklahoma City and back in a 51 F1. The average speed was 70 at 2000 ish rpm in overdrive. Yes you can drive it at speeds but stopping is another thing as you don't have anti-loc power disc like the of the cars out there. Add heavy traffic and now we have a comfort level that I don't care for. One other thing about the early F1s was the farm fan as we called it,(big six blade with a shroud) screams at 2000 rpm so loud you would swear you were at 4000 plus rpm. This too can affect your comfort speed. Bottom line, find your sweet spot and some open road and when your smile goes ear to ear your doing the right speed. Tim
 
Out here in the west if your rig isn't capable of stopping/handling and running at 70-75 mph I would not consider the interstate.
What's a "yalls"?
 
Wiggles said:
Thanks for the info everybody. I guess I need to see what my rear end gears I have and measure some tires. And maybe get a tachometer. Speaking of which what rpms do these motors like to spin at where do they not like to spin at?

Good stuff either way-

J
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Check the ID plate inside the glove box door. It will give you the rear end ratio as long as some prior owner has not changed the gears.
 
I typically run 55-60 tops in my older vehicles. Remembering that back in the day they were geared for then 55 highway speeds .
Vic
 
in the 40s the PA turnpike speed limit was 70, was lowered to 65 during ww2, then back to 70, and i’m sure people drove faster
 
pistonbroke said:
Good morning, I have driven Seattle to KC , Oklahoma City and back in a 51 F1. The average speed was 70 at 2000 ish rpm in overdrive. Yes you can drive it at speeds but stopping is another thing as you don't have anti-loc power disc like the of the cars out there. Add heavy traffic and now we have a comfort level that I don't care for. One other thing about the early F1s was the farm fan as we called it,(big six blade with a shroud) screams at 2000 rpm so loud you would swear you were at 4000 plus rpm. This too can affect your comfort speed. Bottom line, find your sweet spot and some open road and when your smile goes ear to ear your doing the right speed. Tim
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Sounds about right- here in queens, NY the traffic moves slow enough on the parkways that 65 is rarely seen and lots of knuckleheads doing 50 in the passing lanes till you get far enough north or south to get on the backroads. I’m thinking 50-55 is the sweet spot for the truck according to seat of the pants testing. Thanks everyone for the input. That gear ratio calculator will come in real handy too! Sure is fun to drive nonetheless and I’m learning about the sketchy nature of bias ply tires real quick;)
 
I cruise on 65mph here in Western Australia we have good freeways [but bad drivers] I pass people easy... 3.78 rear with 7.50 x 16 tyres.
 
For a guy of 68 years, I've had way too many different classic cars in the past 10 years. Both stock classics and modified street-rods. Ford, Mopar, GM, Nash and Triumph to name a few.



Living in rural Oregon there are "only" country roads so it's easy to have an excuse to go slower. That being said I prefer to keep the vintage suspension automobiles on the country roads (lower speed) and drive my custom Buick at high speeds in wide-open spaces!


That's about as technical as I can get.
 
IMHO If you are not hauling heavy stuff or towing I would go for taller gears . 3:50-3:70s would be a good compromise . If I was hopping up the flathead or going ohv later I would go even taller . Father had 51 F1 with 3:92s. went across the US , 2x. Flathead was buzzing. But speed limit was 55 back then. Different story now
 
pistonbroke said:
Yes you can drive it at speeds but stopping is another thing as you don't have anti-loc power disc like the of the cars out there. Add heavy traffic and now we have a comfort level that I don't care for.
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If I had the Blue Shield Interstate all to myself I'd be happy to cruise it all day 60-65mph in my stock '41 flathead coupe. Haven't checked the rear end ratio yet, on my short list. Maybe I'd be comfortable going even faster.

In Driver's Education class 45 years ago, the three second following rule was taught. Maintain a 3 second following distance from the car in front of you so you can stop if needed. What that means now is "Old fart wasting freeway space, there's room for three or four more cars in this lane." If you're young and have ABS disc brakes, that might be OK. But if you're old enough for Social Security and driving an 80 year old car with drum brakes it's not so good.

Turn signals? For me that means my left arm out the window. Although new cars have them stock from the factory, using them is often considered a sign of weakness.

OK. I've done my imitation of a grumpy old man for the day. I'm really not, but it's an old car.

Like the t-shirt says, "It's really weird being the same age as old people."
 
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Great thread. Really got me thinking. Haven't even driven my car out of the county since I bought it a year and a half ago. Essentially, the only way out is on a blue shield interstate with a 65 -70 mph average speed. In principle I'd like to do a long road trip.



I inadvertently found myself on I-5 following some friends a few months ago. 60 mph felt ok but it also felt like the comfortable top end both for the engine and suspension. Going faster than that doesn't feel right. Don't think there's anything wrong with the suspension, just that solid front axle feel like an old 4x4 pickup. Maybe the original shocks aren't doing so well; haven't checked them yet.



Got more interested and found a thread saying the rear end gears are stamped on the bottom rib of the banjo rear end. Found the 9 38 stamp which calculates to a 3.78 rear end. That works out to about 2700 rpm at 60+ mph. So, at 2700 rpm the engine sounds ok but more doesn't. Without an overdrive, I think I'll plan on <65mph.


Buying that overdrive or Columbia for 1-4 road trips over the rest of my life may not be very cost effective, but, who knows, maybe there will be more.

tubman said:
The engine is really happy at 2300 RPM, and starts to get unhappy at 2700 RPM.
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Remember one BIG thing right up front, The truck will cruise all day much faster than many people are QUALIFIED to drive.
 
SoCalCoupe said:
Great thread. Really got me thinking. Haven't even driven my car out of the county since I bought it a year and a half ago. Essentially, the only way out is on a blue shield interstate with a 65 -70 mph average speed. In principle I'd like to do a long road trip.



I inadvertently found myself on I-5 following some friends a few months ago. 60 mph felt ok but it also felt like the comfortable top end both for the engine and suspension. Going faster than that doesn't feel right. Don't think there's anything wrong with the suspension, just that solid front axle feel like an old 4x4 pickup. Maybe the original shocks aren't doing so well; haven't checked them yet.



Got more interested and found a thread saying the rear end gears are stamped on the bottom rib of the banjo rear end. Found the 9 38 stamp which calculates to a 3.78 rear end. That works out to about 2700 rpm at 60+ mph. So, at 2700 rpm the engine sounds ok but more doesn't. Without an overdrive, I think I'll plan on <65mph.


Buying that overdrive or Columbia for 1-4 road trips over the rest of my life may not be very cost effective, but, who knows, maybe there will be more.



:cool: I[/QUOTE

9-38 is 4.22 9-34 is 3.78
Bill
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In an F-2 I find thtat with the aerodynamics of a billboard and the refinements of an old truck I don't enjoy driving an F-1 much faster than 50-55. You can certainly re-gear the rear, or push the motor harder, and go faster, but it just isn't the vehicle for fast traveling for me.
 
Yesterday evening I did my longest sustained run on the interstate. 60 mph for 15 minutes. It's an urban 6-12 lane highway with lots of tricky interchanges and a 65 mph speed limit. The car is a stock 41 coupe with a 3.78 rear end, stock 6.00x16 tires, stock brakes, 6V lights, one tail light and no turn signals. It was close to dusk because that's when traffic is very light on this stretch of road. It really gave me the creeps; like walking through a bad neighborhood.


Guess I was doing about 2500-2600 rpm. The engine can take it but it sounds like it's really winding out. Not like my daily driver with overdrive. I have brand new Diamandback radials so the handling was pretty good for it's age; like an older 4WD pickup.


Changing lanes without turn signals was the worst part. Hand signals at 60 mph are rough. No trouble maintaining speed but didn't have much acceleration to spare. Kept thinking, "what's going to break with this much stress on the car?" Although the car was "stressed" the cooling and charging worked great at this rpm and speed.



Although there are several aggressive drivers around here there are very few angry drivers. Most people are surprisingly polite. No issues with other cars. Nothing broke on my car.


My impressions are, in no particular order, if I do this regularly:
1. I want auxiliary big lens LED turn signals even though they don't go well with the car. Already have all the parts

2. I should install the Columbia overdrive sitting in my garage
3. The 3-point seat belts and an LED 3rd brake light I already have are very comforting
4. I should have the 6 LED headlights mentioned in another post
5. The Lincoln Bendix brake conversion would be really nice to have
 
Does your 41 have two tail lights? If so, a period correct turn signal switch can be installed with a few changes, your front marker lights too can be blinkers if you have some skills in that area. I rarely drive on urban freeways, but when I do, I pay attention to whats around me, and make the lane change with no signal.
I do this in my modern car too, Why? If there is room to move, and you are traveling at the same speed as the cars around you, just do it....its called merging. Law says, no signal required for...I forget, 500', or 1000', but again, if you can do it safely, just do it!
A flat tire and you are trying to get to the shoulder ASAP, is a different matter, yes, signals are a good thing.
Here's a pic of my 40's vintage signalstat 700 in my 34 jalopy. I shortened it up to meet my desires, and to run on two filament bulbs require a series of relays. Not a big deal, I mounted it all high on the kick panel out of sight.
Installing ugly plastic hardware store lights will get a swift reprimand from me, the self appointed light police. I have the wiring schematic for the relays if you wish.
Well shoot, wrong pic, as there is no signal on the car, but you see the other pic of a stock, and shortened model 700 signalstat. lots of em on ebay, I have some too
 

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cas3 said:
Does your 41 have two tail lights? If so, a period correct turn signal switch can be installed with a few changes, your front marker lights too can be blinkers if you have some skills in that area. I rarely drive on urban freeways, but when I do, I pay attention to whats around me, and make the lane change with no signal.
I do this in my modern car too, Why? If there is room to move, and you are traveling at the same speed as the cars around you, just do it....its called merging. Law says, no signal required for...I forget, 500', or 1000', but again, if you can do it safely, just do it!
A flat tire and you are trying to get to the shoulder ASAP, is a different matter, yes, signals are a good thing.
Here's a pic of my 40's vintage signalstat 700 in my 34 jalopy. I shortened it up to meet my desires, and to run on two filament bulbs require a series of relays. Not a big deal, I mounted it all high on the kick panel out of sight.
Installing ugly plastic hardware store lights will get a swift reprimand from me, the self appointed light police. I have the wiring schematic for the relays if you wish.
Well shoot, wrong pic, as there is no signal on the car, but you see the other pic of a stock, and shortened model 700 signalstat. lots of em on ebay, I have some too
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515142


515143
 
Hey Cas3 - I would like to know what you're doing with relays and that add-on turn-signal device. If I'm going to drive my 32 more, really need to upgrade the lights. The single rear light and no turn signals is just not a good thing.
 
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