Register now to get rid of these ads!

Customs Freeway driving a stock '48 Chev?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Fawndeuce, Aug 28, 2016.

  1. Fawndeuce
    Joined: Jun 5, 2007
    Posts: 15

    Fawndeuce
    Member
    from Montreal

    Hi,
    I've been in old cars for may years, love to drive them. My oldest has been a stock '62 Vette, four drums and no power anything, but runs fine at 70 MPH with the stock 327/300.
    I have a line on a very nice '48 Chev aero coupe, bone stock.
    I live in a big city, have to take a freeway to get almost anywhere, can a stock '48 run at 60~65? Trucks will run you over if you go any slower...

    Thanks,

    Paul
     
  2. draggin'GTO
    Joined: Jul 7, 2003
    Posts: 1,792

    draggin'GTO
    Member

    The older babbit-pounders without full-pressure oiling will die a quick death trying to cruise much faster than 50 MPH or so for any kind of distance.

    Nix the idea of using it for a freeway driver.
     
    ClayMart and Hnstray like this.
  3. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    I drive old cars a lot, and when I am driving one on the freeway, I'm the only one...no one else seems to want to drive them any more. you can do it, but it can be nerve wracking, and like he said anything from about the mid 50s or older is really only designed to go about 50 or so. Unless you get a big luxury car, they were better on the highway. But the brakes still suck, the lights are small and dim, gearing is more for slower speeds, etc.
     
    ClayMart likes this.
  4. Mine screams its guts out over about 50 MPH, stock driveline with a 235. I like to be kind to my mills, so It doesn't see much above this.
     
    F&J and Hnstray like this.

  5. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    50 MPH cutoff is bullshit. You can get up to 60 but you'll be pushing it at 65. If you plan a long drive, plan to stop along the way, to rest the motor and check things. By the way, I'm speaking of the 216. If you have a full pressure 235, you can push it more. You have a car, so it's designed for highway speeds, but you won't be doing 100 MPH.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2016
    firstinsteele likes this.
  6. Cosmo49
    Joined: Jan 15, 2007
    Posts: 1,552

    Cosmo49
    Member

    I'm over 100k miles in a '49 Chevy 1/2 ton with a '56 235, Fentons, 2x2 holly-webers on an Edelbrock intake, '69 3sp+od, 3.90 rear. Cruise 70-75 mph no sweat, 2200rpms. You'll need a full pressure 235 at least, open driveline with an overdrive. I have stock brakes, Huck, and can lock them up with the best of them, just takes more leg muscle.
     
  7. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    A STOCK one is good for 50 MPH. Go any faster and you will blow the engine, if not today then within a few weeks.

    There are basically 2 things you need. Both look practically the same as stock and are bolt in modifications. One is a newer engine, 1953 - 62 with full pressure oiling and insert bearings. The car probably already has this. Very few old Chevs have the original engine anymore. The other is 3.55 rear axle gears. Easiest and cheapest way to get them is from a 1951 - 54 Powerglide equipped Chev. If you can get the whole rear axle all the better, it has better brakes. If you can't find a used rear axle you can buy the gears new for around $350 US.

    I see you are from Montreal. Canadian Pontiacs had a 135HP 261cu in six cylinder engine from 1955 to 1962. They are the primo bolt in engine for the old Chevs. If you have one of those under the hood, and the hiway gears, you can drive 70 all you want. But your gas mileage will be a lot better if you keep it down to 100KM Hr.
     
    Torkwrench and Cosmo49 like this.
  8. 302GMC
    Joined: Dec 15, 2005
    Posts: 7,856

    302GMC
    Member
    from Idaho

    Some 216s are way better than others. Those that give the good ones a bad name weren't cared for and were usually 30W or 40W oil victims (heavy oil kills them) if they had any oil in them at all. Flow & volume, not pressure lubes the rods.
    If the rods are poured with the right type babbit, shimmed to .0015 - .002, squirters adjusted to hit the slurpers dead on & full of 10W oil, they don't mind 70 with 4.11 axles ...
    Years ago, I had a '46 panel with under 50,000 miles on the factory engine. The bottom end was still as new, so some rings, valve grind, Gotha intake rockers, headers, a Weiand intake with 2 BVOX-2s & a dual point plate gave me years of fun. Got 18 MPG, ran 74 MPH 1/4s with a crash box, and ran as good as any 235.
     
    firstinsteele and winduptoy like this.
  9. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    Arguing about whether they will sustain 50 or 60 mph without self destructing is moot. The man asked about freeway speeds. In my experience throughout the United States, that means when traffic is flowing you must maintain 65 to 80 mph if you are going to keep up with traffic. And keeping up with traffic is the safest speed.

    The risk of accidents increases with the difference in speed between vehicles more so than with speed itself.

    On the other hand, some urban freeways are so clogged with traffic at certain times of the day they more resemble parking lots than roadways. What is the case in your area?

    The vehicles produced in the '30s, '40s and '50s were built for the average roads of those periods........which for most folks meant two lane, often, but not always paved, and they followed terrain. The cars were geared to negotiate those roads with minimal shifting, i.e., axle ratios commonly found from 3.70 to 4.40. There were exceptions, but not a lot until the mid-'50s.

    In spite of comments to the contrary by respected members of this forum, my experience with 'Babbitt Pounder" Chevy sixes suggests to me that, as factory geared, they were the least suited to sustained "high speed"......meaning above about 55 mph. And that, only if maintained as 302 GMC outlined.

    And, just for reference, "my experience" spans many decades of owning and driving quite a few vehicles from the eras under discussion, including several each of Chevy sixes and Buick straight eights, among others.

    Rural users got years of service from well worn 216/235 Chevy sixes because they putted around country roads at 15 to 35 mph........but driving one of those 'heart patients' for 50 miles at 60 mph or above was often too much for the 'ol ticker.

    Ray
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2016
    blowby, tubman, tractorguy and 3 others like this.
  10. Worries are not limited to just the engine with that car. How does it steer and stop? Freeway and Expressway driving at elevated speeds are a real test of reflexes and how the car reacts. I drive my '59 Ford on the highways, but not in the rush hour zoo traffic. It stops okay with the disc conversion, revs at 70 are under 3000, handles well with the new front end and radial tires. But if I have to be somewhere fast in congested traffic, I take one of my OT cars.
     
    tractorguy likes this.
  11. Fawndeuce
    Joined: Jun 5, 2007
    Posts: 15

    Fawndeuce
    Member
    from Montreal

    Thanks for all the great feedback guys, you are edumacating me!
    I think the sad reality is that you have confirmed what I already suspected, a no go as she presently sits, and I just don't have the time or space for yet another project, I basically can't drive it as is...
    As far as I know its an original no rust everything with 32k miles on it, body and interior were redone, a real honey of a car at a resonable price.
    One small glimmer of hope though; I know a guy who bought a '53 Chev coupe and dumped a LS in it, wonder if he kept the old drivetrain...?
    Paul
    IMG_20160826_200137a.jpg
     
    blowby, Cosmo49, tractorguy and 2 others like this.
  12. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    1950 is a step up, but still a few years from where you want to be....
     
  13. southerncad
    Joined: Feb 5, 2008
    Posts: 949

    southerncad
    Member

    Just stay out of the fast lane & leave plenty of room in front of you to stop;)
     
  14. Rex_A_Lott
    Joined: Feb 5, 2007
    Posts: 1,148

    Rex_A_Lott
    Member

    Although its not the popular thing here, I'd much rather have the LS motor. I have the '55 235 w/ cast iron powerglide and the 3.55 gear that some recommend and it sucks on the highway. It runs 60- 65 no problem, and if you want to hear it scream it will run 70-75, but I dont like to do that very much. I guess its just me, but it drives me apeshit to be poking ass along in the slow lane while everybody and their mother is zooming past running 20 mph faster than I am. So much so that I just avoid the interstate and take the backroads when I can. Good Luck.
     
    F&J and Hnstray like this.
  15. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    That is a beauty!!

    're the '53 drive train....for '53 models, Chevy used low pressure and babbited rods for stick shift models and full pressure with insert rod bearings for Powerglide equipped cars. The '53s do use the old style valve cover so is less conspicuous com pared to the four screw flange mounted VC '54 and later.

    But that still doesn't solve the rear end gearing problem. A small V8, 283 thru 350, with corresponding drive line, would allow effortless highway use, in at least regard to the power train. Brake upgrade would be advisable as previously suggested by others..

    Ray
     
  16. dirty old man
    Joined: Feb 2, 2008
    Posts: 8,910

    dirty old man
    Member Emeritus

    Back in the late 60's I had the need of another car to drive while I did some major work to the Dodge p'up that was my DD and also the tow rig for dirt track racing. It was the off season and I figgered if I could get awhile to keep the p'up off the road with a car bought on the cheap, I could sell it later.
    Friend with a used car lot had a '50 Chev. they had gotten from the estate of a prominent local attorney, long ago retired, who had bought the car new. Car was bent on every panel except the top, as the old man apparently wasn't much of a driver in his old age. But it only had about 60K actual miles. So I bought it for less than $200.
    That old car ran and drove so great that I kept it long after the p'up was back on the road and only used the p'up when needed to tow race car.
    Drove the living Hell outta that Chev, Xways at 70 mph, 150 mile trips one way to Ernie Elliot's shop to get race engines balanced, trips all over GA to races that were outta the class of my car but at tracks I wanted to look things over, you name it. The only problems I ever had were a intake valve burnt, and a rear axle that went to howling like a banshee till I replaced it with one from a junkyard. Did finally sell it.
    I would be more concerned about the inattention of other drivers than I would the mechanical abilities of the old Chev. Get hit in a normal DD? Get another with the insurance check, but where would you find another beautiful ,48 Chevy like that one? And none of the specialty ins. firms like Hagerty or Grundy will insure it as a DD.
    Maybe find a way to install a big ass stoplight somewhere that can be removed when you aren't driving on Xway or heavy traffic and don't want to detract from the appearance.
     
    firstinsteele likes this.
  17. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    One thing not mentioned here yet: Some of us really enjoy driving a bone stock car of a certain vintage.

    I worked on a guys 47 Ply woodie wagon that the owner wanted me to "drive the wheels off it" to make sure it was reliable for his wife. I normally don't like to take someone's expensive car in todays traffic, but it was such a treat to drive it on back roads as well as State secondary roads. The old flat six purred and pulled good, column shifter felt great, brakes were good, fantastic ride feel.....I hated to give it back to them.

    My point is, that I would not remember this car so fondly, if it was a restomod with V8 Auto overdrive etc. I did not take it on the expressway, as I'd bet my fun would have stopped.

    .
     
    Hnstray and leadfootloon like this.
  18. If you really wanted to get that (very nice) car, maybe you could find a way to get where you're going using surface streets - when I lived in Las Vegas, NV, you could take the freeway zooming along at 75 unless there was an accident, which happen several times a day. Usually ended up being that you could take some surface streets and get where you were going faster. And the stress level was lower................................
     
    Hnstray likes this.
  19. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    It would be a shame to modify a nice original car like that. You are right, you should be looking at newer cars. At least the late fifties or sixties, cars that were made for the new interstate highways and have V8 engines and better suspension etc.
     
  20. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    Agreed.......was just responding to the question presented......

    Ray
     
  21. Lebowski
    Joined: Aug 21, 2011
    Posts: 1,564

    Lebowski
    BANNED

    The minimum speed limit on an interstate highway in the US is 45 mph. I had a stock '50 Studebaker (85 hp) several years ago and I drove it on the freeway all the time at 50-55 mph except when going uphill it was more like 45 mph. It was a 3 speed stick with OD which helped. I think you should just buy it and drive it as is and if something happens to the engine down the road then you can look at alternatives for a replacement engine. By the way, that car is a beauty. Good luck....
     
    firstinsteele and upspirate like this.
  22. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    I was not taking offence to your post. I think my point was to drive a stock car at conditions that it was built for...rather than beating it, and listening to it scream which sucks.

    My feeling on starting to change things, is that it snowballs into a car that acts like a newer one, but just does not have the old time feel anymore.

    Case in point; a 32 Ford 50s style rod with A/T ..AOD... gosh what a thrill..I'd be bored shitless
     
    Hnstray likes this.
  23. I drive my 37 Chevy Ute, all original, up to about 60 mph without trouble. Much beyond that it is too much for the 216. I do run 7.00x16 rear tires to get a little poor man's overdrive help. Stock 3 speed trans and torque tube drive with 4.11 gearing.

    If you can get the 3.55 gearset that would help vs 4.11, and a bit taller rear tire like I use gets a bit more help to reduce engine rpm vs mph.
     
    lbcd likes this.
  24. That Fleetline looks like a cracker! If it really is as good as it looks, Buy it, use the back roads, cruise it (remember that?), enjoy the ride, take your time (you will live longer). Leave the freeways for everyone who is in a hurry to get home in their big dumb SUV's . Or you could put the car in a big box and send it to me, I will pay the postage!
     
    Frankie47, Hnstray and F&J like this.
  25. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,013

    belair
    Member

    I have a 48 Fleetline coupe. The 216 didn't live long at 60-70, and I tried not to kill it. Replaced the running gear with a 250 6 cyl, th350 and bolted in a 57 Chevy rear end. Headers and a four bbl carb, front disc brakes. It runs and stops like modern car. But then it should, right?
     
  26. junkyardjeff
    Joined: Jul 23, 2005
    Posts: 8,588

    junkyardjeff
    Member

    I have a 37 Chevy p/u with a 57 235 that has a T-5 bolted behind it and 3.55 gears so it goes down the road just fine at 65,when it had the original trans and rear end the motor was screaming at 55 and now has me wondering if the original driveline caused the worn bearings at 10,000 miles.
     
  27. Caddy-O
    Joined: Aug 8, 2006
    Posts: 1,644

    Caddy-O
    Member

    I had to double check, but the speedometer in my 216 powered 49 Chevy says 100 mph.
    60 mph feels about right to me though. Unless you make a few changes to the drivetrain, I just cant imagine that it would be feasible for daily highway driving.
     
  28. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    The speedometer in my son's OT 1970 car says 150. It has a six and powerglide. Same deal...way more speedometer, than motor!
     
  29. Caddy-O
    Joined: Aug 8, 2006
    Posts: 1,644

    Caddy-O
    Member

    ....My speedometer take was Just an attempt at humor, and,
    I vote no to original question posed. That is a beautiful rig though.
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2016
  30. very nice car, just buy it and drive it where you can...those fasrbacks can be a pain to see out the rear tho
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.