Just curious if someone could give me an idea of what to expect out of a stock 4 banger in a '32 pickup as far as top speed? Mainly concerned with driving it on road trips etc. It still has mechanical brakes etc so probably wouldn't want to be traveling at mach 1 or anything but is 55 out of the question? Mootz
55 should be fine as long as the rear-end isn't geared too low. A 50 h.p. Model B engine should be capable of 55 to 60 in a pickup. A set of 3.54:1 gears would be helpful.
You have plenty of torque, but of course extremely limited RPM range and an engine that shouldn't be run too much at the top of that. 3.78 will likely give you tolerable cruising speed, 4.11 won't. Be$t course would be those 3.54's, expensive, or even more expensive but better, something like a Mitchell overdrive (replaces your torque tube) and 4.11's. 3.78's and big tires in back would be a sensible cheap course.
HAMBer Panheadgeorge had a bone stock Model A. With a little tunin', he had it goin' 71 mph. Nutz. That's the only way I can describe it.
It's amusing to hear Allllll of this theory, from those that lack the experience, about not running a model A wide open. That is a bunch of hooey. Done right, babbitt is as good as anything. In the 1950s my brother and I inherited our grandpa's 1929. It had 19,000 miles on it. All it knew was wide open. Wide open in low gear when hunting coyote and rabbits, wide open on the highway in second gear up to 35-40. On the straight with no sheriff in sight, wide open period. Actually when on a gradual uphill grade a Model A will run faster in second than in high. We drove it for several years, over 75,000 miles on it's from the factory babbitt. 10 weight oil in the winter, 20 weight in the summer in Colorado, because except in August there's only a few days in the summer where the temp is over 90. We didn't do much day-driving anyhow, worked the farm in the day. In Arizona, where it gets over 100, one should use 30 weight in the summer. People ruin those old motors by running too heavy of oil, read the owner's manual. Even with straight grade oil like was then, the oil didn't/couldn't, break down until over 300 degrees, no way to get it there if you didn't overheat the water. Duh...!. Pistons and cam, valves, are lubed with ATOMIZED oil. 30 weight don't atomize good until it's about 200 degrees. Speed? 50-55, 65-70 downhill. In those years we boiled the water over several times. There was a hole in the center of the radiator cap, and when it squirted water onto the windshield, we pulled over and stopped. After letting it cool, add water and go again. It was a matter of being smart. Somehow we knew that overheating wasn't good. Today, people overheat a motor, then keep on going. Stupid? Don't listen to their elders, those with experience? I don't know. Go figure. In about 1960 the motor was overhauled. All new babbitt, re-bore, the whole nine yards. It's running like a dream, even today, and is still on that second set of babbitt. As for brakes, a panic stop at 55 is a pretty safe bet, as long as you have them adjusted just right, if not you're in deep shit, it'll take the ditch. If you can't lock them up on pavement, you need to renew all of the cams and bushings and linings and keep adjusted, not snug, but right where it is almost to 'cam-over' when pushed real hard. After about 200 miles, they'll be ready for re-neutralizing, whether you are or not.
Earlier in the year I drove my rpu about 1200 miles up our country, for most part it was flat knackers, we rung it's neck all the way, was only sittin on 55 odd, it got better as we went, there were 2 of us and all our gear, spare fuel, and had no worries, only got hot once after 100 miles, no worries after that. Good fun!! Oh yeah mechanical brakes. Outback
This may not be much help. But my 31 tudor ran 50 mph with not much problem. I only had it for the last half of the summer and i tried to baby it and take pretty good care of it and mainly i just don't know a whole lot about the engines. But it would come to a stop good from that speed. The only time my brakes felt weak was with 4 people and coming down long hill, so i guess they should fell weak in that case. anyway, this is just my experience. I felt luckly it would stop at all after giving everything a close look.
I've been told that RPM's over 2500 for extended periods are hard on the middle bearing. The crank will "wobble" and knock out the babbit.
2500 is okay, 3-3250 for extended periods is gonna cause trouble though. A very simple an reasonably inexpensive hop-up for a stocker is a high-comp head. If you don't want to do anything else, the head is a good move.
Thanks for the info on the "atomized oil" lubrication. Makes sense to me. I need to get lighter oil in my 30 speedster. Rusty.
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