My '55 Pat 352 was rebuilt with Egge pistons (properly installed) 6000 miles ago, runs regularly up and down the Florida Turnpike between Orlando and all points south (put 517 miles on it a week ago, Tuesday) at sustained speeds WELL over 65 mph. As several people have said, if properly installed, they'll do for everyday, average driving.

You may be right about the Thompsons. Most of the visible hits don't appear to've penetrated. The Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow car (when I saw it in the early 1950s) demonstrated the efficacy of using something with a little more punch when the object is to penetrate auto bodies.

"my 56 Caribbean with dual 4 bbls gets about 14.5 to 15 in highway driving at about 55-65 mph (3.54 rear axle)"

Thanks. This is what I was looking for and corresponds to approximately what I was getting with the '55 Pat (with, of course one 4bbl and less cubic inches) BEFORE Governor Crist decided that we should ALL burn 10% ethanol. My last highway trip was on the FL Turnpike after the reformulation and I averaged 12.7 mpg. Around town usage dropped to a rather startling 8.2 mpg running the A/C.

The following two Wells hydraulic brake light switches will work on the 55th/56th series cars:

Wells BF 4805 - two prong for non torsion-level
Wells RB 403 - three prong for cars with torsion-level

The electrical connectors on the RB 403,(that fits early '70s VWs) three prong switch are different but, internally and operationally it is the same switch as the original and can be used by changing the wiring connectors.

The two-prong switch, listed above, is a direct replacement for the one on the 55th & 56th series, non torsion-level suspension cars. I do not know but would suspect that it can be used on earlier models.

I know that few who drive cars that are 50+ years old do as much highway driving as I do but am wondering what speeds are normally driven when such driving is done. When on the Florida Turnpike, I-4, I-95 and I-75, my '55 Pat WANTS to run 80 mph. I try to keep it closer to 70 - 75 but it's, "sweet," spot (where it seems that everything comes together, all components mesh in perfect harmony with each other and everything just seems, "right,") seems to be 80 mph. If you take your eyes off of the speedometer or let your attention wander and then look back at the speedo it's back at 79 - 80 mph. A couple of highway runs made with a tachometer and vacuum gauge hooked up in the cockpit seem to indicate that the engine is performing within its optimum operating range.

I know that the car's aerodynamics are bad and that it certainly doesn't achieve its best fuel efficiency at that speed but it's REALLY hard to keep it under 75. Being used as a daily driver, as it is, I've considered adding an aftermarket speed control.

"I'm glad to hear that Pertronix and multi spark units work together."

There was, initially, some confusion about that. The sales rep that I talked to on the phone said that it wouldn't. When they told me that I could return the unit if it didn't work with my application, I got it and tried it anyway. I figured that it would work - and it did. I did, actually, have to send the first unit back. Worked fine until the first time that I washed the car. Evidently the robot that inserts the sealer goo at both ends had malfunctioned on one production run. They replaced the unit, free of charge and with no additional shipping charges however, and this one has been working flawlessly through car washes and the almost one complete month of rain that we've had here to date. Jacobs advertises that their unit will work immersed in water. When I got the second one, I hooked it up, filled a plastic mop pail and tried that (it comes with plenty of extra wire) before mounting it to the car. It worked.

I'll step down the resolution on my camera and take some photos in the next few days.

"I have a Crane H1-6 multi spark unit on the shelf and was thinking of adapting it for my '47. I was thinking that I could use a 6 volt positive ground to a 12 volt negative ground unit as the power source. I have a Crane Hi-6 on my old 84 Volvo 240 with point ignition and it works very well. Any thoughts?"

As long as you can get a negative 12v timing signal to the control box when the points close I see no reason why this wouldn't work. The points or ignition module are merely switches in this application. I have to admit that I am a rank amateur at this type of work. I merely disconnected the one extra wire in the Pertronix, positive ground ignition module as it was the quickest and easiest way that I could figure out to get the negative 12v signal that the Jacobs control box required from what I was working with at the time. I ain't a mechanic nor an engineer. I adjust real property insurance claims for a living. That's one of the many reasons that I appreciate this forum so much. Even with it, since I decided to stop letting other people screw this car up and start screwing it up myself, I sometimes wind up having to do stuff two or three times before I get them right. This was one of the FEW things that I've done that worked right the first time.

As my '55 Pat is a daily driver and I do rather a lot of highway driving, when I started on it four years ago I installed the Pertronix, 12v, positive ground ignition module. Realising that I'd be hard pressed to find another on short notice, I bought two of them and threw one in the glovebox. It's still there.

About four months ago, after a round-trip from Orlando to Miami and back, I decided to try to improve my fuel mileage a bit and purchased a Jacobs, multi-spark ignition system and installed it, along with a 65,000v high amp output coil. Purists will probably object to this but the system can be hidden/camouflaged, if desired, and truly improves both performance and fuel usage. I looked at several MSD units and chose the Jacobs primarily because of its price compared to others. It does what I need it to do, was easily installed and works VERY well for the price.

I have wondered for the past several years why MSD systems aren't built into modern ignition systems. It would seem that, in modern applications, all they'd have to do would be to use a hotter coil and program the onboard computer/s.

Packard V8,

No I hadn't even heard any reference to it.