Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Chugging up hill ... need some wisdom ... 1940 KC 1/2 ton

So its time to see if Eleanor (1940 KC) can climb the hill to Idyllwild Ca. Her down the hill garage is at 1,500 ft, and our home on the hill is at 5,500 ft. That 4,000 ft. gain happens in about 20 miles. She has a 1959 261 cid with dual carbs, but otherwise her drivetrain seems to be original, so 83 yrs old. To all of you veterans, what do I need to be cautious of, to check, to fill and service, for her to have a decent chance of making this run in such a way that she does not end up on a flat bed tow truck? Is vapor lock an issue? I have tried out her 3 speed on some hills around here, and 2nd pulls great but slow, 3rd pulls if the revs are high enough. I am going to use turn outs to prevent the sedans and modern pickups from hating me as I "CHUG" up this hill. I welcome your wisdom, experience and guidance ! Assume that I am new to this and need all the salient points that you may know!
Ed

Ed, welcome to Stovebolt. My opinion is you have a darn good engine in that 261. It should do the job and leave you smiling. Check the tires, top off the coolant and go for it.

Ed,

Just a suggestion, but it would be great if you would start a new conversation with your "pre-drive" questions in the General Truck Talk forum for folks to be able to provide useful feedback on getting the '40 on the road.

You can also start more specific conversations on any of the main Tech related stuff (engine, driveline, etc.) if you want to get the best on-topic replies to your questions.

You have graduated from the "Welcome Centre".

Time to move into the "getting going" forums my friend.

Dan

Moved Ed's post here (in GTT) as Dan's suggested.

Bring on the "wisdom" ...

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the 261's performance.
When you hit the grades keep the rpm up from my experience at about 2500 or higher depending of course what gears your running and what speeds that will get you
Report back.

John

Your 261 was only offered new in the big trucks and they all had governors set at 4000 rpm, so don't be afraid to wind her up...get the rpm's up and keep the up and you'll do fine!

Let us know how it goes,

Mike B

Thank you for putting this post where it is supposed to be, appreciate the navigation, as this site is pretty daunting for a newbie. I understand the revs and have found that at 2500 rpm's there is tons of torque. I feel that making the climb up (all 2 lane, 40mph for normal folks) should be fine if she holds together. The next step is getting her back down after the July 4th Parade. Her drum brakes will be inspected before I leave, and I will be checking fluid levels again before I come back down. For the Parade, she came equipped with an aftermarket electric radiator fan that I hope will keep her cool at low speed. The parade is down hill, so we got that working for us. I did a check of the radiator this morning and its filled with clear fresh antifreeze, with no sign of rust. Would love to hear from others about their first drives with their bolts.

Have fun! It should be quite an experience.

I don't know anything about your dual carb setup, but all things being equal, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

All I drive and all I've ever driven my entire life are old cars. By "old", I mean pre 1972 cars and pre 1980 trucks. I used to worry like you about their capabilities but no more. Our motoring forefathers and automotive designers weren't as primitive as many people think.

I've driven my vehicles thousands of miles (actually hundreds of thousands of miles combined) all over the country in all kinds of conditions , including mountainous regions with large changes in elevation. I've never had a problem with a vehicle's factory drum brakes, carburetion, or anything else you might worry about.

Your 1959 261 is "modern" enough engine that there shouldn't be any problems at all climbing the mountains.

In a downhill parade , you need great brakes.