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drolston · 03-15-2018, 04:48 PM

3.78 gears in my '41 put cruise rpm on the interstate up around 2900, which is loud and uneconomical. Considered the cost of both Columbia and Mitchell as too high. I switched to 3.27 gears from VanPelt and now cruise rpm is down around 2300 which sounds much less busy and mileage went up to 17 mpg. Tried the gears in Staunton VA, which is very hilly, and had no problem starting on some pretty steep grades.

Note that I have a big inch (284) engine with Offy heads and exhaust headers, which make it quite strong on the low end. But your roadster is much lighter, so I expect you will find similar results with a stock engine.

03-15-2018, 04:48 PM	#7
drolston Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Williamsburg, VA Posts: 1,627	Re: 3.27 gears for flathead v8 3.78 gears in my '41 put cruise rpm on the interstate up around 2900, which is loud and uneconomical. Considered the cost of both Columbia and Mitchell as too high. I switched to 3.27 gears from VanPelt and now cruise rpm is down around 2300 which sounds much less busy and mileage went up to 17 mpg. Tried the gears in Staunton VA, which is very hilly, and had no problem starting on some pretty steep grades. Note that I have a big inch (284) engine with Offy heads and exhaust headers, which make it quite strong on the low end. But your roadster is much lighter, so I expect you will find similar results with a stock engine.