Type IV Morro Bay trip

Alan Merklin asked me the cost to drive from Hot Springs, AR to Morro Bay. Here is a recap including the cost of fuel:

Total miles driven, 3,837 (3,584 highway plus 253 touring around=3,837.)

Total gallons of fuel used 148
Highway speed avreage, 75-80
Average MPG for the trip, 25.9
Fuel stops, 27 (my tank is 8 gallons)

The type IV ran flawlessly with zero issues and used about 40oz of
10W50 Brad Penn oil. It was even much stronger towards the last of the trip than at first. It had only about 600 miles since new when we began the trip.

Totally the trip cost roughly $2,000 for gas, hotel and meals; and worth every cent!

The car is in a show here next Saturday so I'd better start getting the bug carcasses off the front! Thank goodness for the bra or it would be worse.

Jack,
those are great numbers!
I am impressed with the MPG at those speeds considering the engine is still so fresh. I guess my mix of RPM range Vs gearing was spot on for the way you drive :-)

I look forward to the Carlisle report!

Gearing is 3.88/.89 ???
Whats RPM @80mph ?

The gearing I used for Jack's Speedster isn't very compliant at all with a T1 based engine.. They generally lack cooling capability and the necessary torque to pull gears as tall as Jack's

jack, what size main jets are u running?

Bob--The Morro bay trip was from between sea level and and 7,700 at the continental divide nera Flagstaff. I used 130s for the whole trip and the engine was happiest at between 2,500 and 4,000 feet above sea level. My altitude at home in Hot Springs is 550' and I will change to 135s or 140s this week. These should be a good choice for the run from here to Carlisle. I lean towards the 140s but will try 135s first. The carbs are 40s.

I was glad to see that I could use one size for the entire trip but it wasn't 100% optimum and I could have made changes as I went along but it really wasn't necessary as I did ok all along. There is a driving style that can compensate some---along with higher octane gas. The highest I ciuld get after leaving AR was 91 and we have 93 almost everywhere here.

As a note, gas in CA was $1.00 higher than any other state I crossed!
The tree huggers and crunchies out West have gotten special blends of gas to be required in CA and it costs us money for no real benefit. IMHO.

Dave, I have the same fourth gear and a Type IV; it'd be almost exactly 4,000 rpms.

Dave, my speedster does 4k at 80 mph, 3 thou for 60, 2 for 40.

Would that be a 3.88?

Its very easy to over gear a TIV or any aircooled engine... Finding the best mix of running temps, noise, RPM, and engine load is the key when designing a gearbox.

Most of my 4 speed boxes do 100 MPH at 4200 RPM, but Jack's is different based on the target speed that he gave me during his interview. All of Jack'e efficiencies crossed at a critical point because of the way he drives the car. This carried over into the tuning of the engine when I worked to get max efficiency at that same point.

Jake---you certainly did that in spades!

Spades, maybe it was Hearts, Diamonds or Clubs???

Jack, now what does your engine have in common with a shovel anyway?

Lane--I would have to say reliability is right up there with a shovel.
Not many moving parts with a shovel and I have never seen a shovel on the side of the road----or with an accelerator malfunction!

See you at Carlisle--look for me in my shovel---oops I mean my Speedster!