VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Cruising speed

I presently own a 1930 and I'm looking to acquire another old Chevy with a little better cruising speed.

Would say a 1934 or 1935 cruise with little effort at 55 MPH ??

Thanks guys, Larry.

My 35 with a 207 will cruise at 55. Rev's a bit much though. Long trips, no. 411 gears in the [bleeped] end.

The '30 will reliably cruse at 55 mph. It will make some noise and shake a bit and take a while to stop from that speed mainly due to the small tire pattern on the road. The later cars have much more rubber touching the pavement.

I drove my '34 for years on interstates at 55 to 60 MPH.
The engine must be in good condition to do this. You can not just jump into any car and do this without knowing the condition of the engine etc.

Larry,

The answer to your question on the 34-35 is no. Well, let me qualify that. As Gene says, the engine must be in good condition and you must know the car and its innards real well so that you can sense when something is not well with its engine.

I'd say move up to a 41 or later and go with a 3:70 or 3:55 rear gears. Even a 235 or 261. A 261 with 3:55 gears will run with the big boys and not look very out of place in the engine compartment.

I wouldn't worry about going above 55 though. That's fast enough on but the busiest four lanes and interstate highways without stacking up traffic and creating a "parking lot."

On most two lane roads the speed limit is still 55 but those who want to exceed that can pass you, if they know how and don't create a situation where some driver has to pass you and the car immediately behind you to get on down the road. This last part happens a lot. Just pull off once in a while and let them go on down the road.

Another consideration is the fact that in a 65-70 mph interstate cars now go about 80-90 mph. Closing rate on you doing 55 or so is rapid and can be right scary. Forget going the minimum of 45. They will blow you off the road.

Good luck with whatever you choose.
Charlie

I agree with Chev Nut, a 34 will do 55 all day without a problem. That is with a good engine...or one that you know the limits of.

Thing is though, the question was whether it would cruise at 55 without little effort. Well, maybe we need to qualify cruise, little, and effort.

Cruise. Going along a 55 at a steady pace for 8 to 10 hours with little break in speed.

Little. Small as in relatively minor portion of capabality.

Effort. Relative to the amount of effort at a diminished pace as opossed to maxiumn pace.

The above definitions are solely mine. I know, I know.

Given those parameters then the question becomes a bit more thought provoking than if the question was " Would it get up to 55 now and then?"

Well, it would cruise at 55 with little effort for the first 10K miles after break-in of a new or properly overhauled/rebuilt engine and one willing to endure the extreemely loud wind noise, straining like engine noise (probably no radio so who cares), and the parts a-flying off.

If, as Gene, JD and 32 Rebel says, they will consistently cruise (see my definitions above) at 55 all day long, then why is it that when you see them they're a-creeping along at 35 or so a-holding up traffic? I whiz by them in my 41 all the time. Anybody got an answer to that?

Actually, relative to what is expected today from modern vehicles and my excellent definitions above, it will do the 55 but with a great deal of effort and the cruise will likely be interupted by periods of sitting by the road for repairs. Next time you drive a 34 or 35 take it up to a true 55 and hold it there for a few hours. You'll soon see what I mean.

Qualifier: I really don't know crap. Just having some fun here.

Charlie

Sure! Either they are afraid to drive their cars faster or their vehicles are mechanically unsafe.

Hi Charlie,

Lets state some facts here....First off I have both a 32 and a 34 and have driven them many miles and everyone on the chat that knows me will state that I do drive the cars.

A 32 can drive, or I'm willing to drive it at a steady 45 mph, have taken it up to 50, but that is pushing my car a little. It does have an original engine which has never been worked on, on the bottom end that I know of.

Now some facts about a 32, top speed advertised by Chevrolet was 60 or 65 mph for 1932. Horse power was 60.

And by the way, running the 32 at 45 takes very little effort!

Charlie, I see that you’re a VCCA member, so you have seen my 34, it was in the June G&D as Best 6 cylinder.

A 34 can drive, or I’ve driven mine at 55 from Portland, OR to Mount Vernon, WA which is about 400 miles about. That is also driving straight through down town Seattle. When I went to restore the car I did find out how bad the engine really was….I’m very convinced that a 6 cylinder can just about take anything and keep running.

Facts about a 34, top speed as advertised by Chevrolet was 80 mph for 1934. The horse power was 80. This was also the first year for a true modern style combustion chamber as we know them today. If I remember it was also the first time Chevrolet used the term blue flame.

So to answer the question…..a 1934 Chevrolet can and will run with no effort all day at 55 mph and more. With the horse power they had that year, they can pull a small hill in high gear still at 55 mph.

"32", Did the Chevrolet ad also state how long a '34 engine would stay together at 80mph? That is the kicker!

Granted my speedo is about 5mph fast around 60, this ol' '41 really wants to go. The way it feels reading 70-75mph, I'm sure it would easily hit 90 (if it didn't burn the rods & pistons first). No long distance high speed runs (I ain't stupid), I have seen it at 70 & occasionally 75 for short distances. I have to constantly watch the speedo. The little 216 goes from an indicated 65 to 70 & 75 all too willingly. I'm trying to keep this lil' engine alive. It wants to commit suicide!

As for hills and even the mountains around here, with that ol' 4.11, it climbs 'em like a young goat!

Even at my age, (76) I must constantly force myself to keep this 216 around 60-65mph (as I block traffic everywhere I go).

my 35 master coupe will run 60 all day it has about 40000 miles on the 35 engine and to my knowlage has never been taken apart . the only kiker is it has the 3.80 rear end and a working radio . just humms along i have not driven it 400 miles at one strech but have made at least 300 .my wife said it rides better than her new buick . and the brakes are good . hope this helps

I can verify what oldpush wrote. It rides as good as a new Cadillac and just motors down the road.

In a 1934 Chevrolet sales catalog....Try it for a mile at.50, 60, 70 ,80 miles per hour and it seems like only 45..
The proving ground top speed of a 1934 sedan was like 77 MPH. Thats a two way run with a four passenger load. I had mine up to 75 once or twice and doubt is it would have done much more on the level.
The proving ground top speed of a 1941 was like 82 MPH. The 1941 I had back in 1951 would do 80 to 82 on a long run. With a 4.11 rear end thats a little over 4000 RPM, a speed where the engine power drops off a lt. With a 3.73 gear the top speed was listed at 84 MPH.
I would check the error of your 1941 speedometer against that of another different car because it is unusual to find a 1941 with that much error....I assume you have 6.00X16 tires. Radials tend to be smaller in diameter and give higher speedo. reading.

The 300 to 500 mile break-n speed of a 1941 was 60 MPH. 40 MPH for the first 100 and 50 for the next 200

In 1949 automotive journalist Flloyd Clymer took a new 1949 Chevrolet and drove it wide open for 100 miles at the Muroc Dry Lake.....see Old Car Manuals....test of 1949 Chevrolet.

Well, I can't let this latest unfounded and supported challenge go unacknowledged.

I can see that my doubt and skepticism for the 1935 to cruise at 55 with no effort has brought many claims in opposition out in droves. So be it.

If it's war y-all want then I'll give you something to think about before you start a-raising the flag of victory above my dead body. (Disregard the "zzzzs) Read on.

In 1935 most states had no paved roads except the major US ones. Even they were poorly maintained with pot holes and uneven slabs of concrete or boards. The tar pavement on US 66 was still green, for crying out loud). Even the Joad family burned out a bearing a-trying to do on 25 mph all day long On a hot day, one could bog down in it around Stroud, OK. Every state had a speed limit of 35 to 50 mph and during the war years it was 35. Accordingly, one didn't find the opportunity very often to sustain (cruise) no stinkin' 55 mph.

Even thought the 1935 would get up to 80 or so, (down hill with a strong tail wind, once perhaps) Chevrolet surely didn't intend for it to be driven that fast on a sustained (cruise) basis. What kind of warranty did they have back then? None?

The farthest one could travel without coming up on a mule and cart or into some burg with a 20 MPH downtown speed limit that existed from city limit to city limit and a bunch of unneeded stop lights, was, on average, about 10 miles. So, accordingly, the old 35 could only be driven at 55 for a few minutes at the time, even if passing a Ford.

If you want really truly test the old 35 horseless carriage, then take it out on any interstate and stomp it up to 55 with no deviations (maintain it whether going up hill or not) and hold it there all day long. If you fill it up before you enter then you can try to sustain the speed for a long and telling time. Maybe 300 miles. Stop only when the needle approaches the "E" mark and then get right back on the road a-doin' 55 again. Do this every day until you have toured the whole of the Interstate System. As courageous as our mates from down under are, they would not attempt to do this. Too many wild animals hopping all over the place and Mad Max a-needing your gasoline (petrol).

If you do this then at the end of the day, you will find yourself ahead of every Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus and Prowler (ugh ) out there. You see, they have to stop and take a whiz at every other rest stop or pull into a gas station, and burger joint , DQ or Stuckey's. You are not permitted to do none of that cause you are a-challenging poor ol' know-nothing Charlie. See? Yep, no circling the DQ to show off your overheating ride. Take along some apples and a pee jug. For those from Texas a two-liter coke bottle will do, and probably fit, nicely. MrMack gets to use a Mason jar.

Good luck a trying to best me on my (albeit unrecognized) superior knowledge about this subject. See if you can walk the walk instead of talk the talk. I concede that some of you may be able to back up your claim but the rest, which will be a large majority, will find yourself "on the hook." Will too!

Y-all be dreamin'.

Ain't this fun?

Charlie

Charlie: The original question by Larry was "Would say a 1934 or 1935 cruise with little effort at 55 MPH ??" The answer is simple....yes! His question had nothing to do with driving on cow paths, wagon trails, pot holes in washed out roads that barely existed back in 1934 or 1935. All Larry wants to know is if he buys a 1934 or a 1935 Chevy will it be able to sustain speeds of 55 MPH on the highways of today. Simple question....simple answer, but, like always, you take a question and turn it into a major thesis on the history of roads in the USA in 1934. Do too!! That was an interesting essay on your part, but it has nothing to do with Larry's original question.

You are rambling again.



Thanks guys, Larry.

JD,



It took a lot of imagination for me to go off on an unrelated tangent, and while it was fun, I have 'bout run it into the ground.

Just for the record, I do believe that any of the old 207s or 216s will cruise at 55 with little effort assuming the engine is in reasonably sound condition.

I took this about as far as I can without being seen as a complete idiot as opposed to a partial one. So, time to move on.

Thanks everyone for participation and I hope Larry has enough information to make a wise decision on whatever he wants to obtain for his cruises.

Good luck Larry and best to everyone,
Charlie

I love a good Charlie Rant!! Man, that was a good one! You need to write one of these as a "My Story" for the G&D sometime! All of the follow-up letters to the editor the next month would make good reading too!!

Gene, "Try it for a mile" was a relatively safe way for Chevrolet's ad to be worded.

Re my speedo, wife followed me in her '04 Gran Marquis on about a 100 mile trip. I was registering 62-63mph. at 3 stops, she said I was running 57-58mph. Not too scientific but consistent, at least. (Yeah, I know more proper ways to check it.)

The tires are 225X75X15 radials. (I sold those bias wide whites.) The reargear is 4.11.

This ol' 216 is very "willing". I'm confident it would register 85 to 90 very easily. It just might not live through it (and then, it might!)

I don't know how Clymer got the '49 engine to stay together in that test. Why did it take it?

Thanks, Gene (and others, too)

I agree with the old timers: In the late 1940s and early 1950s many of us drove 34-51 Chevrolets as our daily drivers to work on vacations and even in drag races and circle tracks. I inherited. A 34 pickup, later a 48 pickup my Dad used to pull trailers and a boat to the lake ran steady at 60 mph. Then I had a model A ford. Several friends has 35,36,40 Chevies, 46'to 51 Chevies and we had no problems doing the 60mph speed limit. We made 150 and 250 mile trips without worry.I think some of our VCCA later day vintage Chevie drivers ate over cautious when it comes to driving their precious shined up cars.I drove my old 1930 Model A 55 mph and at times at 60. My first trip with our 1928 Chevy. (a much better car than a 1930 Model A Ford) 55 mph to a local car show on a 104degree day. Without it heating or missing a lick. Yes it hummed and whined and roared but suffered no damage or pain. A good steadyspeed for our 1953 Belair 2door is 60 -65. I figured the previous owner. (a 24 year old guy never drove it over 40 or 45' since my first trip at 60 mph lost all 4 of the poorly installed wheel covers.