Up till now my rebuilt engine had less than 500 total miles on it. Last Friday I drove my '64 Galaxie to Augusta, Georgia, which is about 608 miles one way. This is the first trip of any distance for the modified 390. I used about 49 gallons of hi-test on the way down, and a little more on the return.
The engine performed absolutely flawlessly and was really a pleasure to drive. Not too loud inside the car, but I used my Ipod instead of the radio to help pass the time. It was a 9.5 hour trip and I stopped only long enough to buy gas, check the oil, and usually spend a few minutes talking with interesting strangers who always seemed to come over to admire the car, ask questions, etc. I've found that quite often many of these people had a car like this, or their parents did. Some ask to take a picture, which I always find very complimentary.
The engine did use a quart of oil (VR-1, 20/50). Seven plugs were tan with #7 having a whiteish film on it. The threads of most of the plugs had oil on them. I don't know what this indicates, but my previous engine had the same "problem", if it's actually a problem, even after 10k miles. Dual points showed no wear at all. Carbs needed no readjustment either.
A cop in South Carolina came over and talked for a few minutes, which I found interesting since I was running my restored original Calif Black Plates, instead of my Maryland registered ones! Still the Cal plates came on the car in 12/63, and our state does allow original-year plates to be run; they just never said I couldn't run the "original" black plates.
My 71 to 75 mph (rear?) vibration was still present, and continued to go away above 75, so I stayed either at 70 or over 75. S. Carolina still has 70 mph speed limits! Interestingly, when the tank was full the vibration was almost non-existant. I don't know if this would have related the pinion/driveshaft angle or not. When I reached a half tank the vibration would slowly return.
There are a few quite respectable mountains in the Carolina's and part of Virginia and the FE ran them like I expected it would. Plenty of power with a ton in reserve. It was really hard to hold it back, but those areas are always patrolled heavily.
I either blew a collector gasket or a weld broke on the pass side near the end of the return trip. Other than what's mentioned here it was a great trip which added just over 1200 miles to the new engine.
Everyone I talked to asked if they could take a look at the engine, most of them asking questions about the FE. All of the above is what provides the incentive for me to continue this very enjoyable, but sometimes frustrating/challenging hobby that I've been addicted to for nearly fifty years.
Me on the right.
