I just took 'Grandma' on her first 'long distance' trip... to town, which is 18 miles on a rough dirt road, climbing 2,000 ft in elevation, up and down canyons and over a mountain and down into Silver City, NM. (Total 52 miles round trip).... The engine ran smooth and the tires did not spin out, at all, in the gravel, on steep inclines.... first gear is a bit noisy, but second & third are totally quiet... the new brakes were not adjusted right.. so the new shoes have seated themselves into the shape of the drum.. making the pedal go lower towards the floor than I would like...(I will adjust them up now that they are seated..) I was amazed at how smooth the Dubonnet Suspension & the double action tube shocks were on the washboard dirt road.... better than any vehicle (vintage or modern), that I have driven on that road..... The steering wheel has a little more side to side free play than I like... (so it will need adjusting too)..... I went through a heavy thunderstorm down pour and the clay/dirt road got slick and the rear end was sliding around a bit... but all in all.. we were both happy to be back on the road again... With the new 3 core aluminum radiator and new water pump.. it didn't get warmer than 150 degrees..... and the oil pressure stayed at 6-8 lbs when at idle and -12-15 when hot and driving (thanks to the replacement vane style pump) I really appreciated the synchro-mesh between 2nd & 3rd gears... made down shifting up those steep hills a pleasure.... Thank you all for you advice & help getting 'Grandma (89 years old), back on the road.... photos below... Loving LIFE, Sunny
Sounds like you had fun which is what these old cars are for. The new brake shoes may require adjusting a couple of times before they settle fully. The noisey gearbox was a factory fitted feature and not many have succeeded silencing it. Tony
