Chug Chug Chug, Eleanor is ON THE HILL! Well you all were right on the money! She indeed chugged up the hill, with her three speeds and her slightly modified dual carb 261!. I was able to run the lower section in 3rd, as I could keep the rev's above 2500, but the upper more steep section was all in 2nd. What I learned is that this 83 yr old truck is happier on a mountain road then in the city. She was more suited to this kind of terrain. I learned a good bit about the road it self. In the automatics we own, we did not realize that the upper section of the road was steeper then the lower part. With this old 3 speed, you know exactly when its climbing and when it not working as hard. I spent the 2 hours with one eye on the road and one eye on the temp gauge. It never got over the half way point, and once it was there I turned on the electric fan in front of the radiator, but it was really just keeping up the speed as best as you can to keep the temp under control. She will be in the July 4th parade, and a week after, we will see how she does going down. As I was changing the gear oil in her pumpkin prior to the trip, I noticed one of her rear brake cables was frayed and down to a few strands. With that repaired, I am one step ahead on the trip down. StoveBolt Independance Day!!!
