Whats your max comfortable driving speed

Bill Stipe

Bill Stipe

Senior Member
What is your comfortable driving speed on the divided highway and the open single lane road. handling, braking, steering?
45, 50 ,55, 60, 65, 70?
How is your car setup?

tire size,
shock absorbers,
steering box,
Brakes, cast drums, steel drums, Mech or Hydraulic,

Bill
 
Whatever "She who must be Appeased" offers as friendly advice.

Anything above 45 and I wonder how my 81 year old Grandfather would like running down the hallway at top speed.

19's
Stock Houdaille's
Stock Box
Mechanical, steel drums
 
I have hydraulic brakes, mitchell overdrive, shocks, 35 wires with radial tires, and an F1 steering box. I go 60 with the overdrive on. I could go faster but don't see the need for it as I keep up with most on the Interstate.
 
29 Red Rocket said:
What is your comfortable driving speed on the divided highway and the open single lane road. handling, braking, steering?
45, 50 ,55, 60, 65, 70?
How is your car setup?

tire size,
shock absorbers,
steering box,
Brakes, cast drums, steel drums, Mech or Hydraulic,

Bill
Click to expand...

I remember going 75 once in 30 pickup truck. I'm comfortable at any speed but my sports coupe likes 50-55.
Good original brakes, good original shocks, good original steering. 5.5 head, Stipe 3/4 winfield cam, counter weighted crank.
 
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Fifty mph feels Comfortable cruisring, It will run a lot faster. I run 19 inch wheels , 3.78 gear ratio, friction shocks , two tooth steering, new sector and worm gear, needle bearings , shortened 1 & 1/2 inch pitman arm, teflon buttons in tie rod and drag link ends, mechanical brakes with steel drums. The car handles about the same as a modern car.
 
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Comfortable? 40.

The poor old gal shakes terrible above 50. Can hit 60, with some awful abuse.

Stocker.
 
30 cpe cruises nice at 45 or 60 in OD.I use 19" Firestones as they are about 1" taller than most.No front shocks yet.2-tooth steering box with needle & needle thrust brgs,short pitman arm ,teflon seats.Brakes have Teds Floaters & steel drums.OD is Columbia 2-speed with 4.11 & 2.94 ratios.31 S/W sedan has same mods except for stock A engine & I cruise at 55 in that one.No shimmys or shakes in either car.
 
45 - 55 mph. 1929 Town Sedan, 21" Firestones, stock steering with shortened Pitman arm, 3.78 rear end, original shocks, 5.9 Brumfield head, insert bearings and counterbalanced crank, F150 OD, various Zenith carbs, front and rear Panhard bars, Cling serpentine fan system, V8 hydraulic brakes, electronic ignition, centrifugal advance thingy in the valve compartment.
 
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45 mph or there abouts, I'm more worried about farmer Joe who thinks he has the right to pull out in front of me because it's an old car than anything else, but it doesn't deter me from driving. I just have to be highly vigilant and continue to plan escape routes for the bad decisions of others.
 
I have driven all day comfortably in the 60-65 range on the PA turnpike, the car will always creep up over 50 when I am trying to drive slower, most times I just drive the speed of traffic.

Blue ribbon stock, "B" cam, diode in the cutout, halogen headlight bulbs, 3:78 rear

Properly working shock absorbers make a huge difference in the comfort of driving at highway speeds, I know that on my car having good shocks made a scary ride at 45 into a comfortable ride at 65.
 
Sedan- Inserted stock motor from Skokie. Zenith carb, FS ignition, & high comp head: about 55 mph. Getting an overdrive next week so will probably be more like 65 after that. Stock shocks, but will soon get modern tube shocks from Ken Davis. Has 19 rims, but has BF Goodrich Silvertown edition tires size 550- they are taller & wider than normal model a tires (and cheaper). Mechanical brakes. Pressurized radiator.

Coupe- Stock babbit motor, Weber downdraft, FS ignition & 4 speed overdrive: 70+ mph all day long. Stock tires & shocks. Does have hydraulic brakes.
 
Stock, except HC head, Local conditions is what stops my car. Highways and turnpikes have lawful limits of 70 MPH so traffic moves at 80. Some local long streaches have seen the car near 60 but shot shocks makes me worry. The car and myself seem happy at about 45.
 
About 55 mph. 31S/W Town Sedan with inserted engine and HC head; stock wheels/tires and trans; tube shocks; Mitchell overdrive; currently in progress converting to cast iron drums and rebuilding service/parking brakes.
 
40-45 is comfortable,, 50 if needed.. I don't worry so much about the car as I do other people.. I don't think an accident in one of these monsters would be enjoyable..
 
Rebuilt trans, rebuilt (babitted) engine. Snyder head, Zipper ignition, touring cam, short Pitman arm, juice brakes, C.I. drums, stock steering and wheels (19"), new radiator. She will do 60 but is much happier at 45.
As Daddy used to say "Don't work a race horse and don't race a work horse."
 
35 mph feels scary in my 29 Roadster.

It is a restored car other than the engine short block was not reconditioned. Uruguayan home-made hydraulic brakes work well but don't inspire confidence.

The Roadster is quieter with the top down - actually pleasant at 30 mph on an open road with no need to gun the engine.
 
50-55 is what I strive for. 5.5 Snyder head, Weber carb, 19" Firestones, friction shocks. Will be putting an F150 OD in shortly, not to increase speed, but to decrease RPMs
 
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