Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

For what its worth, I drive my '49 at 70 mph from time to time with no issues at all. It's just a plain old 288 with overdrive.

What I find though is that I don't LIKE driving it that fast. I'm always thinking about, "Hmmm, did I get that axle nut tight last time?" and things like that! I guess I'm too close to the car, and I know how bad I can be with forgetting to finish things up.

That said, I'm VERY comfortable driving along the freeway at 60 mph. I like going in the slow lane just so I can have people pass me and give me a thumbs-up. That's always fun.

As brakes go, I'm not thrilled with my brake system. If I had the know-how I'd put disk brakes on the front. I just don't know how to do it.

Jay

The area I live in is surrounded by highway safety corridors and constant construction because they never fix the road right. They only band-aid it. To get to real highway driving, I'd have to go about 20 miles in either direction. That only happens around the holidays when I go on vacation. My 48 is used semi-daily about 8 months a year and I've had no stopping or steering issues with it at all. In fact, it stops and steers better than my 50's cars.
Just the other day, I had my 75 tbird on the highway and no one was going over 60. Still, the choice is yours.