The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Ran my Flathead over 1200 miles last week, it was great!

rjlester · 08-12-2023, 12:17 AM

Took my 54 Meteor (Canadian Ford, we had the flathead one more year than the USA) last week on a big road trip, by myself for five days. The wife and I already did a cruise this summer, and I wanted to go back to my hometown to look around, reminisce etc. Not only did I get a real kick out of seeing all the places we used to live, and met a few people from the past, but the car absolutely kicked butt!!! I averaged 20 - 22 Imperial MPG (Borg Warner Overdrive). It didn't burn any oil the first 3/4 days until one evening the OD stopped working (I think the 70 year old solenoid is getting flaky). I was on the highway that night for about an hour at 65 mph and climbing steep hills so running it a bit hard. The next morning the OD worked fine (always fixes itself the next day lol) and when I filled up with gas I finally had to add a litre of oil. That was at 1000 miles.

The oil is still fairly clean too. It's on it's fifth oil change since I woke it up from a 55 year sleep two years ago. That engine never ceases to amaze me and it never skips a beat. I adjusted the points before the trip and it also made a noticeable difference. I could only get 20mpg if I babied it before, this time I drove it normally and got better mileage.

At the start of the trip, I brought the car to the guy I bought it from and he was real pleased to see it. He is a che!y guy, but had that car for ten years in his garage. He was supposed to restore it for his wifes very elderly aunt, but was not able to. I found out the Aunts name is Francis (still alive at 93) so that is what I'm going to name the car.

He had never heard of the Borg Warner Overdrive and thought it was amazing. Every time I "kicked it down" he laughed so hard!!

I camped out every night and the large trunk in the car came in handy for my gear. One add-on I did beforehand was a trunk light. So glad I installed that. Made a real difference when I got back to the campsite at night.

It was an amazing trip I will never forget and the car really made it a joy. Got so many waves/thumbs up/smiles etc.

08-12-2023, 12:17 AM	#1
rjlester Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 254	Ran my Flathead over 1200 miles last week, it was great! Took my 54 Meteor (Canadian Ford, we had the flathead one more year than the USA) last week on a big road trip, by myself for five days. The wife and I already did a cruise this summer, and I wanted to go back to my hometown to look around, reminisce etc. Not only did I get a real kick out of seeing all the places we used to live, and met a few people from the past, but the car absolutely kicked butt!!! I averaged 20 - 22 Imperial MPG (Borg Warner Overdrive). It didn't burn any oil the first 3/4 days until one evening the OD stopped working (I think the 70 year old solenoid is getting flaky). I was on the highway that night for about an hour at 65 mph and climbing steep hills so running it a bit hard. The next morning the OD worked fine (always fixes itself the next day lol) and when I filled up with gas I finally had to add a litre of oil. That was at 1000 miles. The oil is still fairly clean too. It's on it's fifth oil change since I woke it up from a 55 year sleep two years ago. That engine never ceases to amaze me and it never skips a beat. I adjusted the points before the trip and it also made a noticeable difference. I could only get 20mpg if I babied it before, this time I drove it normally and got better mileage. At the start of the trip, I brought the car to the guy I bought it from and he was real pleased to see it. He is a che!y guy, but had that car for ten years in his garage. He was supposed to restore it for his wifes very elderly aunt, but was not able to. I found out the Aunts name is Francis (still alive at 93) so that is what I'm going to name the car. He had never heard of the Borg Warner Overdrive and thought it was amazing. Every time I "kicked it down" he laughed so hard!! I camped out every night and the large trunk in the car came in handy for my gear. One add-on I did beforehand was a trunk light. So glad I installed that. Made a real difference when I got back to the campsite at night. It was an amazing trip I will never forget and the car really made it a joy. Got so many waves/thumbs up/smiles etc.