I don't know where you see a 85 mph limit . never saw anything over 70 ? that 85 is the speed slow drvers run but ive got to see a limit sign with 85 befor ill believe it !!
I've got an overdrive behind two flatheads, In my '47 with 3:78's and a Mitchell it's allowed me to take the car on rod runs out of state. I still keep it around 70 on the highways but I wouldn't do that for any length of time without the overdrive. In my roadster I've got a BW R10 and 4:11's. Same thing, it's allowed me to run 4:11's comfortably and I wouldn't hesitate to get on the highway. Though if I was planning a long out of state highway run I'd probably swap the 4:11's out for the weekend and really have a highway flyer.
I would have out a Tremec in my Ford, but didn't want to run the risk of altering the floor pan, so the M20 will have to do right now. The car has plenty of power, at 65 I'm running 3k, at 70 about 3200. I can easily pull it up to 80 or 90. But rarely do, just got an expen$ive ticket with my OT ride.
Just completed a 500 mile trip in my 47, with 350/350 combination, and calculated the fuel mileage of 1 leg of the trip on the way home at 17.5 mpg, that's pretty decent for car with all the aerodynamic's of a barn door hauling ass down the hwy at 70 - 80 mph for almost 200 miles. I'm not sure an OD would net me much more fuel mileage than that. In that car, it's not the engine RPM's that keep the speed down, it's the damn poor condition of the road surface that 70 year old suspension technology doesn't handle so well at elevated speeds that keep speeds down.
Texas SH 130 , a bypass if you will around Austin, has a section from I 10 north for 40 miles with 85 MPH limit. Ben
I had a 3.42 rear in my 54 with a rowdy 235 and a 3spd and all that car wanted to do was haul ass on the interstate... I could roll comfortably all day at 70 but around town and in traffic it sucked. I was either going too fast for 2nd or too slow for 3rd and it would lug... now with that said I have a t5 in my wifes model A with a merc flatty and a 3.78 banjo. it does great around town and honestly isnt terrible on the interstate in 4th but when it goes to 5th it tends to lug and kinda sucks. so I typically keep it in 4th and in the right hand lane.
I was actualy referring to the grt? state of ca that's where ducedude s says hes from and I am . 70 mph state wide ?
Jim, what are you driving? Going solo.? I thought about trying, just not sure my car fits. Is this a "$500" car tour? Ben
Our speed limit on the piece of 4 lane I drive the most, was 75, (120 km/hr), but has recently been lowered to 69 mph (110). I don't know the reason, but even when driving at 5mph over, I experienced a lot of cars passing me. I would bet that very few of them would not have known what to do in an emergency. One bimbette was on her cell phone, so I was happy to see her well ahead of me. Bob
Wyoming does also, and Utah has an 80mph limit from the state line at Evanston down to the Echo rest area.
My coupe has an ax15 od with 3:55 rear gears, 225 x 78 15 tires, and an off topic efi V6. It will run the interstate at 80+, but it really feels like I'm pushing it. I much prefer the state highways and the 65-70 limits. We put a bunch on miles on the coupe. There have been times when I've forgotten to shift into 5th gear, coming out of a town. It doesn't take long before you recognize the car is laboring to maintain speed, and the motor rpm is up (no tach), and I put it in 5th gear. The car gets 17 mpg in town, and about 22 on the highway at 70 mph. When you get past 70 and the mileage drops pretty quickly. So with the OD, I can feel the difference in the car and hear the difference in the rpm. I've not driven it far enough in 4th (1 to 1) to see if there is a difference in mpg. Gene
Traffic usually don't keep up with me , unless my wife is along . My cam comes in at 3600 rpm and at 80 will set you back in the seat when the two end carbs open up. Caddy mill is all top end at 130 there's lots more to go , but my foot starts a shaken . Forgot to say that it has a Muncie 4 speed and a 3.42 rear
The last thing you want to do is lug the engine. I had a 3.56 rear in my Ford and it lugged bad around town and I really needed more gear with the cam. So I went to a 3.89 rear and it got a lot better, I can do 30 to 40 and the revs are between 1500-1900.
Yep. When I was there in the late 60s, I was told by a local, that the cops could, and sometimes did, still ticket a person for speeding. I can't remember the reason he gave me. I still took advantage of it a few times. Bob
Even in those states that had no speed limit, I think you can add Arizona and Wyoming, there was still the “ Reasonable and proper” law. So while 95 out in to open could be ok, 95 in traffic maybe not. Bones
In addition to the higher cruising speed with overdrive, I found using 2nd overdrive and 3rd were useful gears in mountain driving or with a full load in my flathead powered Dodge panel. The old school overdrive is quite useful with the limited rpm range of flathead MoPars. The regular 3 speed in those has a pretty big ratio change between 2nd and 3rd. 2nd overdrive is a good split between the two if the trans is wired for manual engagement. If I were to do one today I would certainly consider a 5 speed. Never tried to run them at 85, but cruise all day at 70.
Yes, several Western states had no limits. I recall driving through AZ or NV and seeing road signs that read "End Speed Zone", meaning: "Let 'er rip!". I recall when the states finally ditched the federally mandated 55 mph limit, it was an issue in Montana, which was going back to the old "no limit" laws, but in limited areas. They caught a lot of grief for that by the more conservative (or would that be Liberal) states. I don't think that lasted, the insurance companies were not keen on it.
My old Ford F800 service truck had a 2 speed rear axle, w/ 5 speed manual trans. I split shifted it all the time, most every trip through the ranges included split shifting with the 2 speed axle. Never used the clutch either, except to get rolling.
Overdrive is becoming a non-debatable requirement for me in my old cars. I've never had an old car with OD, and I'm at the point now where I'm sick of the compromise without it. I will be the first to tell you, I like left lane driving on the highway, especially when I'm running long distances. My BMW has 8 speeds including 2 ODs and will not break a sweat below 100 mph. Between 70-90 is my normal commuting speed, traffic allowing, and I try to keep it to around 80. That's just what I've become accustomed to. In my '57, with 3.50s I was relegated to the right lane, since I don't like running the engine above 3000 rpm for extended periods of time. That held me to about 60-65 mph. I took the 3.50s out and put 2.73s in. This allowed for 80 mph cruising, but completely neutered the car off the line. An OD trans would give me the best of both worlds. It will also be the reason why ultimately I take the 394 out of my Olds and put a Chevy in its place, since the cost of the 394 is only compounded by the cost of the transmission, which together I can't justify for the car. As much as it pains me to do that, I probably won't be feeling bad about it while driving all over the east coast at modern speeds in comfort.
If you're running a 3.50:1 rear gears, and at 65 mph the rpm's are >3000, then your rear tires are only 25" tall. Is that correct?
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