I was under the impression that a car like this would cruise effortlessly at 70+ mph, but mine seems to be tacking real high when I approach 70. I checked the transmission and its full. When you guys are on the interstate in your boats can you cruise doing 70 at part throttle or are you at 3/4 or more? Obviously weight, engine power, rear end gears, tire size etc. affects all this, but I assume most of these cars are setup similarly. Thanks, Rex
My '67 Electra at steady 70 mph needed very little throttle. You've got something odd happening. Are you even getting to third gear??? Devon
Today I took the car out again and drove it on the interstate for about 10 miles. It seemed a lot better than last night (maybe i'm going crazy) and cruised at 70 with relatively little trouble. Getting up to 80+ took longer and more throttle than I expected. I've done very little to this engine and everything on it seems to be original or at least very old. I'm sure it would benefit from plugs/wires/points and a new fuel filter to. I'm going to tune up the engine and see where that gets me. Thanks
I had a 71 Electra about 30 years ago and that thing would fly if it had wings. One time I had it up to 120 in 2nd before I shifted into drive and it was still going. 70-80 should be nothing for that car.
Smartin, no tach, so I don't really know. Kwanderi, thats kind of what I was expecting, so I must have something going on.
w/ 3.42 gears you'll probably be at around 3.5k at 70mph. That's what I remember mine being at, which felt like it was revving quite a bit.
:gp: With a performance rear gear, they do turn some revs at 70. You could buy a cheap tach and string the wire into the cabin to check.
I'd rather not guess at the rpm's but I'll try to get a tach hooked up as soon as possible. And I'll keep the vacuum advance in mind to. After looking things over better today, I can see that the positive battery cable is in tatters. Over an 8-10" section, its missing most of its insulation, is kind of frayed and very oxidized!
Sounds like it's time to go over the whole car, brakes & fuel system especially, before you even think about hitting the road again. Devon
The brakes are in good shape at this point and the fuel system will be looked at today. Unfortunately, this is the only transportation I have at this time which is why I really need to get everything lined out.
I've changed the fuel filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and positive batter cable. I'll give it another test and report back. I still need to install a tach and some gauges though.
Make sure you buy enough adapters & fittings to keep your stock temp and oil warning lights working as well as adding the gages. Devon
