Road Trip!
It was a warm day (70*) here in Kansas City, so I took the L79 on her maiden voyage (with me, anyway) to find out her temperament on the road. I logged 110 miles of interstate, country 2-lane, and city driving. I would appreciate your comments on a number of observations I made while on the road.
Although I know this has been discussed ad-nauseum in the archives and such, the operating temperature was the most important item I wanted to get a feel for. City driving (30-40 mph) found the needle just a hair east of the first mark (180*?). Country 2-lane driving (55-65 mph) found the needle midway between 180* and 210*, while higher rpm interstate driving (65-75 mph) pegged the needle right at 210*. Would you say those readings are reasonable for an ambient temp of 70* and high humidity? How would one speculate those readings would change if the ambient temperature were 90*?
Oil pressure was at 60 psi or slightly better at all speeds. A 750 rpm idle found the pressure at 37-40 psi. My mechanic tells me that people spend big bucks to get that kind of oil pressure, but I'm not so sure...
I don't plan on doing this a lot, but at full throttle the engine starts to miss at about 4500 rpm and beyond. At 3/4 throttle, the engine revs smoothly to yellow-line; in fact, on a flat (and secluded) stretch of interstate, I was able to coax her to the century mark at about 5500 rpm. Is that about right for an M21 with a 3.70 posi? What might be causing the misfire under full throttle?
Anything else I need to keep my eye on? I hope to make a local chapter 3-night road trip in early July and want to work out the bugs well before then. Again, thanks to all for your interest and thoughts!
Although I know this has been discussed ad-nauseum in the archives and such, the operating temperature was the most important item I wanted to get a feel for. City driving (30-40 mph) found the needle just a hair east of the first mark (180*?). Country 2-lane driving (55-65 mph) found the needle midway between 180* and 210*, while higher rpm interstate driving (65-75 mph) pegged the needle right at 210*. Would you say those readings are reasonable for an ambient temp of 70* and high humidity? How would one speculate those readings would change if the ambient temperature were 90*?
Oil pressure was at 60 psi or slightly better at all speeds. A 750 rpm idle found the pressure at 37-40 psi. My mechanic tells me that people spend big bucks to get that kind of oil pressure, but I'm not so sure...
I don't plan on doing this a lot, but at full throttle the engine starts to miss at about 4500 rpm and beyond. At 3/4 throttle, the engine revs smoothly to yellow-line; in fact, on a flat (and secluded) stretch of interstate, I was able to coax her to the century mark at about 5500 rpm. Is that about right for an M21 with a 3.70 posi? What might be causing the misfire under full throttle?
Anything else I need to keep my eye on? I hope to make a local chapter 3-night road trip in early July and want to work out the bugs well before then. Again, thanks to all for your interest and thoughts!
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