Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

kts, assuming your engine is in good condition you should be fine cruising at 50 mph. I've got the same 5 inch stroke, poured bearings, and 4.69 rear axle with the even less advantageous 17 inch tires and I've driven for tens of thousands of miles keeping my max cruising speed about 50 mph.

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I remember as a kid my dad was working on a blown diesel two stroke truck engine...detroit diesel i believe?

If i recall, he said if it backfired it could start in reverse, burning engine oil up and running wide open with the exhaust as a wide open intake. Only way to shut it down was to put a board over the exhaust.

Fairbanks Morse - 8cyl 2 stroke

youtube.com/watch?v=SmQDxrAdGvY

Another great FM video:

youtube.com/watch?v=cY7hTT-Zk5M

If any of you are in in the CT area a museum / show that showcases quite a few running Fairbanks Morse engine is:

ctamachinery.com/

Lots of steam engines also, usually 80% of what they show is running.

Small car show also.


Saturday May 5, 2012 - 8th Annual Spring Power-Up - confirmed dates of the 2012 edition of CAMA's spring show event (Click here for link to 2012 Spring Power-Up page)

Sunday May 6, 2012 - CAMA Annual Meeting - election of board members and open house for CAMA members only (Click here for the Annual Meeting page)

Saturday June 9, 2012 - Rock and Mineral Swap and Sale - sponsored by the CT Museum of Mining and Mineral Science and the Danbury Mineralogical Society

Friday, Saturday and Sunday September 28, 29, 30, 2012 - CAMA's famous Fall Festival. (watch here for a show page in the upcoming months)

ctamachinery.com/index.htm#Calendar_of_Events

All 4-stroke engines fire all of their cylinders in two revolutions of the crankshaft, regardless of the number of cylinders - 1 or 16 - it doesn't matter. That is why the more cylinders there are, the smoother the power pulses will be.

(o[]o)

I totally agree with Owen's comment about 50 mph cruising. I knew people who drove their Packards for years and years without problems when they used 45-50 mph cruising.

I knew someone with a 626 who drove it from Miami to New Jersey and back every other year. The thing just never wore out.

In the 1930's the speed limit on the Merritt Parkway was 35 mph so 45-50 was a premium speed.

Higher ratios might add 5-10 mph, but hills become a problem. When Nixon (USA) lowered the national speed limit to 55 it helped keep older cars on the road. But those days are gone and so I would stick to secondary routes.

I had an old Ford that I used to drive with my foot to the floorboard. One day I was on the Garden State Parkway running flat out when I crested a hill and came up on a traffic jam. I just managed to stop that Ford from around 80 mph. But I still get a chill when I think about.