I've wanted to get Lazarus (52TD) to "stretch his legs" ever since he
came back from the proctologist's with his 4.3 rear end. By the time I
got up to about 60 mph the shakes coming through the steering wheel and
the seat-of-the-pants said "back off". Recently installed new bushings,
etc. in the front suspension, installed a pair of Apple shocks (I'll let
you know how they hold up, Barney). Still didn't do it. Finally figured
it out. The PO had installed a nice, new set of Semperit 165-15's
(tubeless). During the five years that the car sat in the garage while
the restoration was in progress it was necessary to periodically top up
the air in the tires (tyres?). Since the TD wheels were not designed for
tubeless tires I decided to install tubes. BTW, the NEMGTR requires
tubes for a car to pass its Safety Fast inspection. The tubes, acquired
through a tire dealer, seemed a bit baggy/sloppy/excessive when I
watched them being installed.
I began to wonder about how stable these tubes were in the tires. I
noticed that Moss sells two sizes of 15" tubes, viz., for 155/165-15 or
175/185-15. I ordered a pair of the 155/165's and had them installed
today. The wheel balancing was done with care. Took Lazarus out onto the
divided highway where the speed limit is 55, but the norm is 65. Watched
the tach climb as I started to catch up with the light traffic. In a few
moments Lazarus discovered new territory, the left hand passing lane! I
took my foot out of the SU's at an indicated 5200 on the tach, which is
an actual 4600rpm. With these tires and the 4.3 gearing Lazarus gets
16.2mph/1000rpm. This works out to about 74mph. Probably doesn't get a
'duh' out of you folks with your A's & B's but it sure put a smile on my
face.
Moral is -- if you're running with tubes -- make sure that they're
the right size for your tires. Next month, on the way to Abingdon's
Autojumble 97, there will be some roads with a 65 mph limit. Let's see
now, the theoretical maximum speed for a vehicle with the TD's frontal
area, pushed by a 54 hp engine is what? What if I put the windscreen
down?
Bud Krueger
52TD (with its legs stretched)
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