From: Paul H. Anderson (pha@pdq.com)
Date: Fri Jun 20 2003 - 06:32:38 PDT
I bought my first MV - a 1952 M-37 back in November. I got it towed to my
parent's house about 20 miles from my home. Since then, I've done a bunch
of cleanup work trying to get it in shape to drive it home. Finally,
Tuesday night, all was working well enough for a quick test trip to town
for gas for the longer trip. That went well, so after returning to my
folks place, I decided to drive it the 20 miles to my house.
This was the first long trip the M-37 has had in a looong time, and the
first time I've driven an MV on the road, so I brought a cell phone and a
fire extinguisher along (not to mention a bed full of tools).
Amazingly, the trip went real well - no new problem developed or showed
themselves.
I was able to maintain 45mph comfortably, and 50mph was no problem,
either. There were times that I saw an indicated 55mph (not downhill). I
think the governer is working, because 3rd gear tops out around 33mph,
which the data plate says is the max.
The steering and tires were a little loose, but really not bad. From some
earlier test drives on pavement, I was expecting it to be a lot worse. I
can see how with new tires and a bit of work, one could put a 318/360
chrysler in and hope to see 70+MPH safely. Oh, you'd definitely want new
brakes... oh yeah.
The brakes function well, but I haven't replaced the shoes yet, so the oil
soaked ones in there don't grab as well as they should. Safe to drive
with no load at modest speeds, but still marginal.
Overall, it was a neat experience, and I had a big smile on my face the
whole time.
Oh, the other cool thing was that I was able to keep up with traffic on
the country roads. I didn't pass anyone, mind you, but no one passed me.
Of course, they were probably scared to.
Now that I have my toy home, I can get into more serious repairs - new
manifolds, rebuild the carb, replace the weatherstripping, work on paint
some, etc. Hopefully, I can do a driving restoration, and enjoy scaring
the local folks here in liberal Ann Arbor a little bit.
Paul
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