In a message dated 11/17/2001 10:22:00 PM Eastern Standard Time,
bobmgtd@home.com writes:
> I don't know what the pitch is, but 55 mph is the speed at which the
> engine begins to sound scary and the car starts to shake. In the old days,
> brave souls used to take them all the way up to 80 mph. Don't try this
> unless you have at least 5K of break-in on the engine, and wheels that have
> managed to stay round after 50 years.
>
Well, I did acheive the "shake" part, on wheels that seem fairly round and
newish (albeit bias-ply -- not my choice, but then it's not my car) tires
hopefully well balanced. I do think at least one front shock needs oil, too
(not on hand today).
As for the engine sounding scary, that's a bit tougher to judge. This car
also has a fairly new stainless steel exhaust system; sadly, it doesn't quite
project that unique XPAG engine sound that I so fondly remembered.
Mechanically, the engine sounds pretty busy "at [whatever] speed," with said
noise competing for attention with typical 50-year-old gearbox and rear axle
noise.
Oh, and this engine probably saw that "5K" break-in sometime in 1952. To my
knowledge, it's never been that far apart again since!
--Andy
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