Hot Rods 140 Horsepower. 3 gears. 3.08:1. 28" tires. 3200lbs

I’ve driven a few Flathead cars all with factory type 3speeds and I gear them around 3.00. I’ve had no problems driving them all over the Midwest. 2200RPM’s seems to be the sweet spot for cruising interstate on the cars I’ve had they turn more easily but mine have always been really happy at about 2200 They are a bit luggy taking off from a standstill, but never seemed to be an issue ever. Sure they could be way, way better, but they always seemed to do just fine.

 

This presumption that 50's cars are not capable of highway speeds because of design , metallurgy , rpms , etc is bunk . In the 60's there were a whole bunch of 50's cars/ trucks on the road , I-80 was posted at 70 mph , most 2- lanes were 65 . Straight axles & kingpin suspension is still used under big rigs ( they cruise @ 80 real well) , 3k rpms aren't going to blow up your engine . You adjust your driving to the capability of your brakes . Most of the drive line parts in my T are 50+ years old , 75 - 80 on the interstate isn't unusual .

 

Thank you, sir!!

Ben

 

My 55 chevy has a rebuilt 235 ( .030 over, 848 head, a bit decked and head cut) , a 3 speed with the BW overdrive and a 3.55 rearend that I swapped in for the stock 4.11s. Tires are 205/75 15s all around. Looks like grandma´s car, that what ´s also fine for me. She´s quiet, runs great at 80mph and the 3.55s are perfect for the local backroads while making miles in OD on the Autobahn is where the long legs really help.

 

Warning. Graffic images. Woman merges vintage Chevy into 4 lane traffic.

oh the humanity

 

Baumi! Oh my goodness if you knew what it was like growing up in 1990's America talking about - dreaming about - comparing everything to the Autobahn. We all were thinking Benz, BMW, McClaren etc. Here you are PRACTICTALLY talking about a trifive on it haha you made my freaking day! We here all viewed it as this magical road where you can just max out any car. Now as a grown man, I like that I can gently cruise at 90 in a family car. Ironically we get that here. In a 75 zone with other family cars. But the Autobahn... man so cool. The info is helpful as well. My sedan will get a 250, 200-4r and 3.55 or 3.73. Here I dont want or need to go over 75 or so. I am happy to spend 90% of my time putting at the magical 63mph.




Anthony thanks for that. Man I love how original that truck looks. Someone started to restore mine. I am committed to building it like a farmer would in the 50's when it was newish. Just going to get some paint on it to protect the metal. Its probably going to be implement paint with hardener. Let it fade. I dont care. Mechanically, you know what I am after. Drivable like a corolla. S10. Not a corvette not a 3500 Denali HD. That video shows me to be less concerned with 60mph than 40. She was just about that (40) and all over the road haha. Good tie rods, tight steering gear, new king pins and radial tires should help but still. Probly not taking this thing on a 1500 mile trip haha

Every august I go 400 miles to a mens retreat on a mountain in PA. Last year I took my convertible and LOVED it. I could see taking the truck when its done, but leaving early getting there and coming back

 

Since I have a 49 Chevy truck currently in limbo while I attend to other projects, I have looked at mods for them very closely. My neighbor had one someone had put on an S10 frame. Front wheels sat so far in that they looked abnormal. The back wheels had spacers and the frame mounts for the bed to sit right looked goofy......but it drove fine. I'm building an S10 because the V6 in my old DD S10 puked one day. If you want to see "tight", an LS in an S10 frame/engine compartment fits that description. If you only want to drive 65mph, I don't see why you can't do that with the V8 that's already in it.......but that's your choice and experience is a great teacher. There seem to be two sides here, those that are telling you it will be great and live up to all your expectations, and those like myself that are trying to point out the downside to using a smaller inline 6. I think the actual answer is that you are enamored with the beauty of the little six that you already have, and are convinced that it can do what you want. I have seen many times in the past where people get hung up on "using what they have". I can understand that when finances dictate it, or someone is talented enough to adapt something on their own. In the fifties I saw a lot of people "use what they had or got cheapest" and it was usually still an improvement. Today you are starting with something more capable and moving toward nostalgia that will still have to exist amid all those other drivers in a hurry to get somewhere. I wish you well with your choices and hope it meets your needs as expected.

 

Fully rebuilt babbitt 216, 2 one barrels, aluminum pistons, corvette cam, Langdon mini-hei, and cast fenton headers, about 110HP, 47 chevy coupe factory listed weight 2990lbs. 29" rear tires. 3.08 camaro/nova 10 bolt rear. And the only deviation is I have a T5. I have the NWC with 4.56 1st and 0.86 OD out of 4 cylinder S10. The usually too steep 1st combined with the 308 rear make this car actually jump off the line and you can run it out a bit before shifting. The lack of power is worse than the lack of gearing to pull seep and long hills. I have been known to outrun econoboxes up a twisty North Georgia Appalachian mountain road so its not as bad as a camry, for what that is worth. The OD is useless on all but the highway, but I can use it to travel 80+ and keep up with traffic and not over spin the babbitt at 2400RPM. Long highway hills do take a down shift sometimes and crossing the top around 55mph. I even tow a 850lbs trailer/aluminum boat with it occasionally. I have 7000 miles on this setup now and cannot recommend it enough. The original 4.11 and 3 on tree was miserable to drive at 60mph.

 

That was a nicely written and very honest post.............well done. May I ask appx what it cost to rebuild and upgrade the engine you used ? I know some of these parts are harder to come by.

 

Yep. That truck video was not fast.
Drove mine with better gears much faster.
No issues. Drove it every day for 3 years. Over 30k miles. So a simple 1000+ mile cruise would be nothing
Broke in a 350 with a th400 (so no overdrive) on a 1100 mile trip. 4:10 gears.
Yep. You can drive em as far as you want

 

The downside for having the Autobahn is, we don´t have any regular drag strips. But I pretty much now what my cars run for top speeds. The 55 hits the wall at 177 kmh/ 110mph according to the GPS, ( it surrly takes a while to get there) but neither the 235 nor the overdrive sound happy doing so. I ´m running the stock 1 bbl , so the engine really falls on its face above 3500 rpm . It´s happy place is up to 3k.
It doesn´t need to break any records, it just needs to haul the family on road trips and vacations without breaking a sweat. Granny´s up to the task, hahaha

 

I purchased the split exhaust, twin carb intake manifold, carbs, and mini-hei dizzy all direct from Tom Langdon one at a time in the 1997-1999 time period and used on a previous worn motor and switched to the new one. I cannot remember how much I spent on each as it has been a long time but I was poor back then so it was not too much; a few hundred here and there as I came by it. I got lucky on the motor. I found it on eBay when eBay was small in 2001. It was a take out from a restored car becoming a hot rod but had aluminum pistons and the upgraded cam already in it.. I was the winning bidder at $350 + $100 freight shipping strapped to a pallet. I was in grad school and had it shipped to my parents house. I put it in during the summer between my second year and final internship year, 2002. The bell housing is a 1958 from a 6cyl 4 speed car off ebay, less than a hundred. Stock flywheel, new clutch disc was cheap and pressure plate around $100. No adapter needed with this bell just a 10 gauge steel spacer someone on here used to sell for around $40. The trans I also got off eBay, fully rebuilt and shipped to me for $950, I got that in 2015. Its been about slow upgrades. Keeping the car for 28 years so far has its perks. I do not get guys who change cars like underpants. I scrimped and saved and bought what I wanted and kept slowly refining and improving. This was not overnight.

 

I fully identify with this mentality. Aside from a couple total junkers that I hated I've never actually sold a car I bought to build and/or drive. I'm forty and have one car I bought the day before I turned 20. Even on my current 53 project I build as funds and deals surface. Even on parts I prefer to trade over selling..... though I have no issue buying a part

 

At 60 a 28" tire with 3.08 gears is going to turn about 2,200 rpm. At 72 (a respectable highway speed) it'll turn about 2,660 rpm. 2600-2700 is not an issue. Most cars turned that just 40 years ago.

 

I run a couple 235's, both with RV or 3/4 grind cams, headers. Only the stock carb and intake hold them back from making more power! My favorite combo is in my '57 2-door sedan, with a Vega 4-speed (3.11 low) and 3.08 gears. 70+ is no problem on the freeway, takes off well from stoplights. ANYTHING you can do to help the six breath is a great thing! I LOVE those Sagnaw boxes, as they were never hurt behind the Vegas, Monzas. A cheap set-up would be a used Clifford 4-bbl intake with a small 2-bbl or Edelbrock 500cfm 4-bbl, Fenton headers, dual pipes, 3/4-grind cam.

 

I would like to use 49 through 54 car hubs (I believe they are direct fit for a 47 through 55 truck) so the whole entire truck uses Chevy five lug[/QUOTE]

I have those hubs available, located near San Diego. Message me on FB, Tim Beall.

 

I had a P__to... 4spd. 1600cc 55hp cam in block. I used to race it. Consistent. 22.50 et @ 50mph in the qtr.... rolling death trap. Had the factory blow up gas tank, got recall letter from Ford, never took it in for update.

Drove fine. Just dont pull out in front of anyone.

 

Hello,

My 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery had a normal stock 80 hp Flathead with a LaSalle floor shift transmission. It was the most reliable hot rod I ever owned and drove for thousands of coastal exploration miles all along the So Cal coastline and into Baja, Mexico. It never conked out and never required any repair. It did use oil, but never dripped oil on the backyard grass parking space, our mom’s pristine concrete floor in the garage or concrete pad in front of the two car garage. It did not smoke or leak oil on the motor or trans.

It just ran like a top and it puzzled every expert Flathead mechanic in Long Beach and Los Angeles. So, since I did not have extra money or time to put the sedan delivery motionless for the time it would take to rebuilt the motor, it was left alone. Even a rebuilt motor was not a guarantee that it would not use up oil. The color of oil was good and no miniscule pieces were floating in the oil, when checked.

Jnaki

The motor was underpowered to say the least. It may have been the extra weight of two/three heavy longboards, plus the necessary items for a week long camping adventure on those very long distance road trips to Santa Barbara coast line or down into Baja, Mexico. But, the 80 hp motor just did not have it to go up sloping grades in three specific spots on coast highway during our journies, without having to down shift to 2nd gear and sometimes 1st gear.

No, it was not the slowest car on the road, and it kept up with the normal flow on highways. But, the first steep hill made us downshift to 2nd gear just to get over the top of the grade and long hillside slope. If there was any traffic, it was the slow lane all the way to the top. If there was too much traffic in any lane, and it was slowing, a first gear selection was necessary to make our journey continue.

On normal highway surf trips, it ran fine and we enjoyed the things it offered. Free overnight sleeping area, good gas usage and space for two or three of us plus gear.

Note: We could have used more horsepower over the 80 hp. But your specs of 140 may not have been enough to make those steep coastal road grades passable in 3rd gear. Even with a higher speed running start downhill on the opposite slope as an incentive. We just knew it was a down shift situation coming up.

One of our favorite San Diego surfing spots is at the base of the Torrey Pines Coastal Cliffs. Nice waves and great location. But, after our surf sessions, the steep grade was first gear uphill. No left turns across traffic lanes was permissible, even if it was, there was not enough HP to get us across and moving with the traffic. So, it was always a right turn and uphill in first gear. Sometimes with no traffic, we could shift to 2nd, but any curve or turn slowed us down enough to have to shift back to first to make it to the top in the slow lane.

When we did not stop to surf, we were in a speed run down hill from the opposite canyon outlet sloping road. As we gained speed, it was looking good with an empty lane ahead of us and no surf to the right of us. So, we charged ahead many times. But, at the first sign of any slowdown, it was down shift to 2nd and then at the mercy of the steep slope and moving traffic.

Note 2:

Even with 115 hp in a more modern car, with a 4 speed, we had problems on a steep road. A slight longish roadway with some traffic and a full car with 4 adults on one kid made us down shift to 3rd, then 2nd to make it up and over the steep roadway. It was not a very steep roadway like the coastal highway spots, but a “longish” climb in elevation. Definitely, it was a slow lane move.

If our Flathead sedan delivery had 200 hp as a modified Flathead was presented to us by Reath Automotive, that would have given us plenty of power for those 3rd gear climbs on the very steep grades. So, your 114 hp could use more horsepower. But back then, several week long surf exploration adventures was worth more than a powerful modified Flathead motor for my bank account. YRMV

 

Love the SoCal picture these words painted. Id trade my 90s western Ny upbringing for that any day

 

Most mid 70's smog Cameros had about the same HP or less if it was a 250 6 and they weighed about hat and they ran around just fine . Many had 308 gears .

My stock 56 chevy PU went down the road fine with a 235 I ran it up hwy 101 all the time . It had a 3 peed then a car 4speed . Gears unknown

 

What is the fixation with the late Chevy 6?
I am a die hard Inline but I absolutely hate the late Chevy 6, nothing interchanges driveline wise early to late six. I would rather see a period correct Small Block Chevy in a 49-54 Chevy than 250 or 292.

A fresh 235 or even better a 261 should have no issues keeping up in modern traffic. A hopped up Blueflame (if you chose to go that root) would have no issues.

For some reason everyone seems to for forget that was no National Speed Limit until 1974, and that the National Highway Act signed June 29, 1956 and states like New York and Massachusetts had starting building "controlled access" highways before National Highway act was signed. New York State Tru-Way opened in June 24, 1954.

By the late 40s and early 50s all the manufacturers knew the interstates were coming and build their cars with interstate travel in mind.

 

I had 3 OT vehicles with sixes ranging from 120 to 145 horsepower and 3500 to 4000 pounds, one manual no OD, one manual with OD, and auto with OD. They all did fine as daily drivers and were OK on the interstate. Definitely not race cars and they all seemed to perform similarly. These trucks were at home on the back roads. If this was my vehicle I would look for lower rear gears and an overdrive, maybe 4:11 s this would give better acceleration and still be OK on the free way, just my opinion. As far as loving or hating the set set up you have, only you will know but I think it’s OK at present. My opinion and 5 bucks should get you a cup of coffee.
Dan

 

To the OP, you should be just fine. I remember as a kid riding in the back of my dad's 1953 Chevy wagon on vacation trips, back in the early 1960s when the speed limit on many roads was 65 or 70mph. Mother and Dad in the front seat, three kids in the back seat, and a 4x8 utility trailer behind full of luggage.

 

I heard that NY drivers weren't very friendly............

 

the "Fixation with the late six" is the same as the fixation with anything else that not 100% of people like, which is literally everything. It's simply what I want. I know the cons. If all I cared about was easy and cheap i would do a small block or an LS. But I want a six =)

thanks folks! love to hear all this feedback.

 

I drove the sedan version of my avatar as a daily driver (1960 FB Holden sedan) for more than a decade, before pulling it off the road last year. 75BHP inline 6, single Stromberg, headers. Factory cam. Three on the tree 3-speed with no synchro on first, 3.89 banjo. Four wheel unboosted drums.

It did Sydney traffic every day. Towed a box trailer with camping gear stacked nearly as high as the roof. Towed the car trailer to shunt the avatar to paint and panel. Cruised contentedly on 300 mile runs at 65mph. Did dirt roads with ease.

When the kids were little, they travelled in the back (and threw up from time to time when not Mexican wrestling). They learned to drive in it. When their own cars were broken, they borrowed it and drove their friends around in it. Number 1 Son learned the life lesson that if you act the fool, the authorities can defect even a bog stock vehicle. The kids have had as much fun with it as I have.

Can you drive a lower powered 50/60's sedan as a daily and keep up? Absolutely. Takes a long time to stop smiling though.

Cheers,
Harv

 

The specs initially listed sound like most 1/2 ton pickups GM produced from the mid 70's to the mid 80's. , cars too !

 

Harv that paints an awesome picture haha. Love it. And thanks

2old2fast yes it does! But i grew up out of that era and the only car I had set up like that was my avatar. and with a dying early 235 (low pressure truck), a worn 3 speed, and a chattering clutch, it sucked. I also was much more intersted in keeping up with traffic then. I need to decide if I want to have like 3.73's and overdrive, or 3.23 or so, and no overdrive. Or compromise with 3.55 but be screaming at highway speed. But how fast is comfortable in a stock 54 chevy truck anyway? Would be a shame to invest insane time and money into a 70 mile per hour pertrain for a truck that becomes unpleasant at 50 haha

 

Very true