I am looking at possibly buying a finished car to drive while still working on my project. I have always liked the 46-48 tudor sedans and think it would be a good car for family cruising but I also want to try and drive it on a daily basis to work and such.Mostly around town 45-60 mph. I found a 47 that is stock, in good condition and doesnt need much to start driving it. Its all stock, 6 volt generator, flathead with 3 on the tree, drum brakes, etc. with dual exhaust being the only real change I can see. One of the previous owners has a well documented maintenance log on it and he recorded his gas mileage as well. It looks like it was a consistence 10mpg. Is that the average mileage for this vehicle when it was new? I have seen others claiming higher mileage on similar stock vehicles. Trying to figure out if this is what I need to figure on or should I be looking for a problem that it would have.
10 mpg. seems too low. You'll be stopping at every gas station. Peruse this info. 15 mpg. should be expected. https://www.automobile-catalog.com/auta_perf1.php
Yeah sounds about right for in town maybe 15 with more constant highway use around 55mph I’ve never had a Flathead get better that being said I love my 46, and all my friends that have 46-8 tudors will agree they are about the best handling/ riding/ daily driving straight axle ford you can find
Sweet. So was that an average of town and highway? Did it only get 10mpg for certain areas? It looks the po only drove it 700-900 miles per year, mostly to car shows. My ot daily averages 15-17 mpg and I was hoping it would be closer to that.
So this is basically what it will come down to, over 55 mph your mpg is gonna start dropping as the car is shaped like a wall. if you can cruise at 55 on more or less levelish highway you’ll probably creep towards that 15 mpg If you are creeping along in the city stop light to stop light it’s not gonna be very good. However stock they do keep up well with highway traffic for the most part. I’d say if your commute was 1 or two miles of sneaking threw neighborhoods to get to the highway, 7 miles on the highway, and 2 or 3 miles of 35/45 mph “business roads” you’d get an average of 12 depending on hills and how you drive. not terrible, but I wouldnt expect a zillion mpg I know @flatout51 dad has one with a straight six and a two speed Columbia rear that they ran from kc down to joplin for the drags. Maybe he’s got some thoughts. He also has owned more Flathead cars than I have
I would expect from 10 to 15 mpg, depending on how you drive, where you drive, how well the car is working, etc. Give it a good tune up, make sure everything is in good condition, and don't worry about the mileage. You'll have plenty of other things to worry about, driving a car that old every day! trust me
Ok it sounds like 10-15 mpg in normal. How do they run on regular 87 octane? I am a little hesitant about the 6v system and would probably want to convert it to 12v.
I have had several old flat head Fords. The average mpg in town was 10-12 mpg. On the highway 15 -18 mpg at 55-60 mph. These old stock cars were not built for the high ways of today. They also were not built for speeds much over 60 mph. Even with over-drive. But I do enjoy driving them!
i have a hot rod healey with a 462 chevy motor.........what is this gas milage you talk about...i dont under stand...
if the 6 works roll with it, easy to swap it to 12 volt but really not a huge improvement in my experience over a good 6 volt system. gas I would tend to run premium because most premium fuels don’t have corn in them. Which is going to not play nice with old rubber found in your fuel lines and carbs. it will run on 87 just fine though, it’s got pretty low compression and old fuel in the 40’s was trash anyways.
Was thinking that they probably make ethanol compatible carb parts. Fuel line and filters are kinda standard these days. I noticed a number of people installing an electric fuel pump inline as well.
Yes, if the 6v works, use it...but eventually stuff will quit working, and it's not so easy to find 6v stuff to fix it, as it is to find 12v stuff. But it's up to you. Perhaps give it a try stock for a while, and see if it works for you. I would not bother with premium. I would bother working on the fuel system before it gives trouble--perhaps a new pump, new rubber hoses, carb overhaul, using new parts made for new gasoline. I would not add an electric pump unless you find it is necessary, perhaps to keep it running when it's hot out. And the same applies to the brakes, it would be a good idea to replace all the rubber parts at least, so you know that they will last for a while. The cooling system, as well...although if the coolant is not rusty, just change it, and you should be ok. Like I said, there's a lot more to worry about than gas mileage!
you never can tell. driving/ bad make a big difference .I never get the millage advertised ! I do drive a 03 lesabre because of full size comfort and 30 mpg real life on the hwy doing70 . and i can easily sneek 3/4 friends in to the drive in with no trouble!!
Understood. The po before the current owner has a well documented maintenance history and kept it up. The other issue is finding quality rubber replacement parts. I totally get the old car, have to work on it constantly to keep it going. New cars have spoiled us in that you can drive it into the ground for at least the first 100k miles without doing much to them.
Interesting question, gas mileage on a Hobby car, our classic 51 Buick Roadmaster 320 CI Dynaflow got a consistent 10 mpg. Reminds me of a rodder I know that built a 41 Willys, 572 BBC blower motor and always complained about the bad mpg to which I asked after tiring of the whining, did you think it would be good ? what did you expect ? his reply, the standard FU, but we no longer had to listen to the crying/whining every time he came around. IMO Thinking back then gas was .15/.20 per gallon, I don't think the mpg was a thing like it is today, I started driving in 1964 .30/avg. and the cut rate bulk gas stations had specials, 5 gallon for a buck on tuesdays. Those were the days, now we are thrilled if it's under $3.00/ have paid $4.00+ on occasion in past.
If you're reasonably confident that the car is in good condition, you might just want to get a few spare parts that have some lead time, and then not worry about using them until you have problems. Should be a fun adventure.
if you really want good millage swap rear ends . seems the only way while maintaining stock look .my 50 dodge gets 20mpg hwy with 2.56 rear and i can go 70 all day ! im getting ready to put a 3.08 in my 41 any day!
Don’t let the MIles Per gallon deter you from driving and enjoying an old car. As others have said your fuel economy may vary- it’s not an econo-box. Every day will be an experience What you may sacrifice in miles per gallon will be more than made up in ‘smiles per gallon’ Go for it!
I am planning on driving it on a daily(give or take) basis. So I am trying to get an idea of what it will take to make that happen. My daughter started high school this year, so its only going to be 3-4 years before shes out, and I feel the better option is to spend time with family as much as possible. So I can put off working on my project and enjoy something thats already finished. I know I am going to have to work on it to keep it going but thats fun to and I have the space and tools to do that.
no reason why it cant be reliable when all is right .maybe elect. ign. but points aint that bad either
Points are fine. Remember when every gave their car a tune up in spring and fall? Just stick to that schedule, and of course look over the recommended lube schedule, so it gets a lube job every 1000 miles, and an oil change every 2000 or whatever they recommended back then.
recent flathead adventures for me, 9 mpg highway in the 40 Lasalle, and about 11-12 in the Hudson. Those are bigger cars than the Ford, so 15 as a "best" seems reasonable to me. The Y block I drove a while generally got 13 maybe 14 on the road. With overdrive. With one two barrel. In a big car.
Install a vacuum gauge in the dash someplace where you can easily monitor it. Be sure to connect it to a source of full manifold vacuum. Make every attempt to keep the vacuum as high as you can. It will require that you drive like you have an egg between your foot and the gas pedal. A sharp tune-up will improve driveability as well as mileage. Increasing the compression ratio a bit will pick up mileage as well. Make sure the engine warms up fully. Get the choke opened up fully as soon as possible. I wonder if a more efficient later model carburetor could be adapted without too much trouble? Maybe a set of radial tires if the looks don't bother you. But keep in mind also, as already mentioned, that driving above 55-60 mph is going to get you diminishing returns your mileage.
My flathead mileage has been 15-16 with dual carbs on the coupe with Highway gears. The pickup with dual carbs has been 10 with 4:11 gears before I changed them to 3:56’s and the Smileage increased two smiles per gallon. If you do buy it be sure your advance is working properly.
I have done some reading on electronic ignition and it is a consideration if/when I would change it over to 12v. I dont think it would add to the mileage any but might make a little more user friendly. Not sure whats changed over the years but the points I get for some other equipment dont last like the use to. They go from shiny and clean to oxidized gray in no time. Its whatever they are plated with that doesnt seem to hold up. My only other consideration is with how well they brake. Do the manual drums work ok in the below 60mph range? Are they self adjusting? I see you can get a disk kit for the front fairly reasonable but not sure it needs it. Would prefer to keep it as original as possible but improve things for safety and reliability. Everything else I think I have a handle on. The only change I would want to do to the car is to lower it some, nothing crazy.
Drive it as is, fix things to where they are working right in stock condition, before you get too far ahead of yourself with modifications. The brakes suck, but they worked sufficiently that most people survived. Self adjusting was a 60 years ago thing, not a 75 years ago thing. You do have to drive differently than you drive modern cars. Mostly, leave some room in front of you! and anticipate that the car may not stop straight, so be ready to correct instantly if it starts heading off to one side or the other. Again, you have to get all the parts working right, as designed, and once you do, it will work as well as a typical car of it's time. I don't know if there are any NOS or NORS points left for those cars, but if you can find a couple sets, they will probably last as long as you want to drive the car. If you want safety, find a late model car, you'll be an order of magnitude safer. If you want reliability, same thing. If you want a taste of what life was like 70 years ago, drive the old Ford every day in stock condition, and enjoy yourself.
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