tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
I have never really taken the Polara out for a long drive so decided to do so today and at the same time clean the cooling system. On Saturday got everything drained from the radiator and block before filling with water and Cascade. While under the car I also replaced the worn out sway bar bushings. Next up those strut rod bushings and then the U-joints.
With that off we went for roughly a 160 mile drive heading up US 780 to CA 12 to US 80 towards Sacramento and then up 505 north which is a nice uncrowded two lane highway. First, stop to top off the gas as I am still unsure what my mpg is. The car pretty much takes up two spaces at the pumps after pulling up far enough to get the hose to the filler tube. Luckily the guy in front had his tank filler all the way at the back quarter as I just about pushed him out into the open. He did say nice antique although I don't believe the car is based on my method of classification.
So what I noticed. The engine performed flawlessly. Smooth idle and smoothly running the whole nonstop trip. However, the thing that bothers me is that the engine doesn't seem to have much in the way of torque off the line with the standard high gearing. Strong thoughts about when time to rebuild make the engine a 408 stroker and concentrate on more torque.
On CA 12 there was some wind and I noticed the car did respond to the crosswind. Drives straight as an arrow though when hands off the wheel and road flat. Brakes have never been an issue as they have always worked well since it was the first thing done after buying the car. Only one clanking noise and it turned out to be the corner of the ash tray hitting the top of it's housing despite the bumpers. After that it was also a quite drive leaving the AM radio off. Have to get the AM/FM radio checked out and get it into the dash.
Thinking about it this is the first time I have driven one of the older cars more than 100 miles non-stop since 1977. In 1977 I drove the Cougar from San Diego to the Bay Area when I started grad school.
With that off we went for roughly a 160 mile drive heading up US 780 to CA 12 to US 80 towards Sacramento and then up 505 north which is a nice uncrowded two lane highway. First, stop to top off the gas as I am still unsure what my mpg is. The car pretty much takes up two spaces at the pumps after pulling up far enough to get the hose to the filler tube. Luckily the guy in front had his tank filler all the way at the back quarter as I just about pushed him out into the open. He did say nice antique although I don't believe the car is based on my method of classification.
So what I noticed. The engine performed flawlessly. Smooth idle and smoothly running the whole nonstop trip. However, the thing that bothers me is that the engine doesn't seem to have much in the way of torque off the line with the standard high gearing. Strong thoughts about when time to rebuild make the engine a 408 stroker and concentrate on more torque.
On CA 12 there was some wind and I noticed the car did respond to the crosswind. Drives straight as an arrow though when hands off the wheel and road flat. Brakes have never been an issue as they have always worked well since it was the first thing done after buying the car. Only one clanking noise and it turned out to be the corner of the ash tray hitting the top of it's housing despite the bumpers. After that it was also a quite drive leaving the AM radio off. Have to get the AM/FM radio checked out and get it into the dash.
Thinking about it this is the first time I have driven one of the older cars more than 100 miles non-stop since 1977. In 1977 I drove the Cougar from San Diego to the Bay Area when I started grad school.
