Alex, Geoff, Per and Walt!

This is the great thing about this Club. I have been out of town for a few weeks, but have been able to watch your discussions via email. I have learned so much and I really appreciate your input on this topic!

I drive my 1930, Standard 8 at about 45 mph most of the time. We do not believe the engine has ever been out of the car and it likely has not received the tender loving care that it deserves, so I don't want to push it. I agree with several comments that when I hit 50, things get "busy" and it just doesn't feel too comfy.

Of course, on the list is a rebuild of the engine among other things. I had the tranny gone through last year by Will Moon, so I feel good about that. I would like to investigate a different differential gearing just to get a bit more cruising speed. Is there a good resource for this?

Again, thank you so much for your lively discussion. It is great to have your collective knowledge available!

Scott

Scott,
I drove my 1934 Hudson 8 on a couple long trips (each more than 350 miles) this summer and the car managed to hold a steady 55-65 MPH with no difficulty. This is a 9 year old restoration that just turned 4000 miles so, I like to think the engine is through it's break-in period.

The one significant change I made when restoring this car was changing the rear differential gears from the stock 4.11 ratio to 3.50 gears manufactured by the Railton folks (Pat MacDonald I believe) in the U.K. The 1934 eight cylinder produces its maximum power at 3,800RPM, assuming I'm running at 70 to 75% of this RPM - or approximately 3,000 RPM, with the 4.11 gears I'd be doing 60.63 MPH; with the 3.50 ratio I'm runing 71.19 MPH. I suppose theoretically, at 3800 RPM she should be able to do 90.18 MPH!

As pointed out earlier - I'm still relying on mechanical brakes so, at anything over 35 MPH you need to leave lots of room.

Jim