Been looking at a 54 Pontiac with a straight eight in it now for a few years and very interest in buying it.. The car is completely stock and runs great..what I want to know is how are these engines like for driveing at highways speeds. If I get it I would like to leave it as it is and drive it but I hoping that it is not a slug on the highway or for that matter will the engine have a high RPM at highways speeds.car in qustion is the one on the right!! guy has two of them!lol
That would be a dandy to put a 350/350 combo in it. Never had any experience with straight 8s so ----
If it's fresh, it'll roll all day at 75, but you'll know you've been driving. I'd add power steering and brakes if nothing else. Nice looking car! Brian
They'll cruise comfortably at about 65-70, and do pretty good around town if the Hydramatic is working right.... worth keeping.
the pontiac straight eights are good rugged reliable engines...properly maintained they will cruise on the freeways all day long at 65-70....don't push them like a modern car and you will be fine...there's no overdrive...or engine oil filters either...inside the oil pan is a strainer system unique to pontiacs...you might want to drop the oil pan to clean out all the goo from the inferior oils of the 50s and later...just for piece of mind if nothing else....use no lighter than 15-40w oil or best 30w oil is perfect for higher engine speeds....and don't do the "me too" thing using a SBC...that's not unique...everyone has one.
My brother just bought a 54. Gets right along on the highway. Like others have said, 65-70 is probably about the upper limit of continuous cruising. Has no problems getting up and moving. It's really a good driving car.
Yep that about sums it up. My '54 Cheiftain has standard brakes and steering and rolls down the road at 60-65 with no issues at all.....but you know your driving something.....not guiding it down the road. Around town she is a little slower than most traffic and I like to give myself a little extra room for braking. In other words I drive like your supposed to, not like a 16 y/o with a cell phone in one hand and texting with the other, steering with my knees.
I been doing my homework and I heard alot of good things about the engine. Not a high rpm engine and hearing that it can maintain 60 or 70 is good enough for me.I wonder what it will be like on the hills! We have alot of them here.
it had power steering but he took it off and put in on the other car! I can live with not having that for now.. Not my first car without it.
well guess Ill have to put power steering and brakes on it so I can keep up with the young wipper snappers!!! lol
they are torque monsters should have no trouble with hills my friend had a 54 with a straight 8 my gf's 50 was a straight 8 but the previous owner wanted to be different (just like everyone else) and installed a chubby350/350 combo in it (i wish it had a poncho v8 in it atleast)
I vote to keep the straight 8...very cool with a couple of mods like a dual carb etc. I'm a fan of the SBC...but THE ONLY WAY I would even consider using one would be IF I had a pair of those rare original PONTIAC script SBC valve covers that came on Chevy powered Canadian Pontiacs. No covers...no way. (and I still don't think I could really do it...thats a straight EIGHT for cryin' out loud!!! hahaha)
You will be very happy driving driving your "Iron Indian" up and down the hills...Just make sure the drum brakes are in good condition....I love the "Chief Pontiac illuminated hood ornament too.....That's WAY COOL !!!
...least but not last do not forget what a beautiful engine that is! large as a fridge, i love fridges!!
I had one years ago. Smooth, quiet, surprisingly good mileage (around 20, if I remember correctly?), and it would cruise at 70 all day long BUT it would ONLY go 70 mph. Once it went up to 75 going down a hill but that was it. You could hold it to the floor and it would just keep chugging along at 70. I eventually put an Olds 350 in that car and never regretted it for a second.
My dad bought one new in '54. I damn near ran him over with it. He was assuming I knew how to drive and I didn't. It got him and us around OK at the time. Cracked block between cylinder and exhaust valve. He bought his first and last V8 a '58 Plymouth after that.
Road tester Tom McCahill did an informal survey of mechanics at garages along the New Jersey Turnpike in the early fifties. This was one of the first limited access highways and had no speed limits. A tough workout for cars of that period, and many suffered blown engines, failed fuel pumps, overheating etc. #1 choice among the mechanics for a car for their own use was Pontiac. Of course the question of cost came into it, but they seemed to feel the Pontiac was one of the best for highway travel. If the car is in top shape you should have no trouble maintaining 60 - 70 MPH.
Keep the staight eight,they are great engines,plus there are something different to look at.Better than the no brain idea of running a freakin 350.Good luck
now this is kinda funny. awhile back i was trying to sell a pontiac st.8 for 400. hell ive been trying to sell it for 2 yrs. still got it!!i was told good boat anchors. and got that from alot of people right here!! ive got the engine with the trans still on it and it is clean and still sittin in my floor.lol
that's a phenomenon, maybe these engines last as long as an anchor.. member speters offered one too from his '48, at last for free, i'd like to take it but shipping is way to big, damn. i would like to have another one to make some little improvements to it.
And.....Since you're up in the cold country. in the winter, if it won't start, with the hydro matic, they can be pushed started in a pinch. Keep it original. if you want something that'll drive like a new one...then get a new one. We had a 54 as our family driver years back.(a hundred years ago it seems like) Even with a cracked head, it was a good runner (Never did get it fixed). No it wasn't designed to be driven down the interstate at 75 or more, so if it were me, I wouldn't even try. But if the speed limits is 65 or under. have a great day. The 54 is just a great straight (pun) forward car. HellRaiser
...I just sold a 1948 Chrysler straight 8 and trans for $100.00....I advertised in the AACA forums and I got loads of emails...first guy to show up with a pickup took it home...it ran fine, too...sold it cheap because I needed the room in the garage.