"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
...
> Ed Price wrote:
>
>>
>> "David" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>
>>> "Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>
>>>> James wrote:
>>>>
>>>> If
>>>> you can deal with the lack of power the slant six will run forever, and
>>>> truth be told it's not *that* slow,
>>>
>>>
>>> They had sufficient power, but they were pretty slow when you consider
>>> the poor fuel-economy.
>>>
>>> I've had inline-6 versions of a couple of the cars on the list. The
>>> only one
>>> I remember the fuel economy for was the Rambler American, 3-speed, no
>>> OD.
>>> I could almost get 21MPG on the highway if I kept the speed to about 55
>>> MPH.
>>> At 65, gas mileage dropped into the teens.
>>>
>>> My 6cyl auto car today accellerates & stops much faster, handles better,
>>> has much
>>> better traction in poor conditions, and approaches 30MPG at around
>>> 70MPH.
>>>
>>> But for frugal-living (since that seems to be a goal of the OP), if one
>>> did ones own repairs,
>>> a decent Dart or Rambler American might not be a bad choice.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Having owned both a 49 and 55 Studebaker, I can assure you that they
>> should only be recommended for calibrating crash-test dummies.
>>
>
> I'm not sure I understand that comment - by '55 Stude had better brakes
> than anyone else on the market, and the V-8 engine was near bulletproof.
> (the Champion six was a good engine but underpowered, and tended to only
> last 100K miles or so before burning oil) Rust was a killer tho.
>
> By comparison, the brakes on a six-cylinder Dart are pathetic... 9" front
> drums? sheesh!
>
> nate


Having never owned a Dart, I can't comment on it. OTOH, both of my
Studebakers were straight six engines; about 230 cu inch IIRC. Underpowered?
Hmmm, yes. I was once beat going up a hill by a bus. Just love those Study
heaters, located under the front seat. They put out just enough heat to keep
you in a state of constantly alert pain. By the time the air blew up to the
defrost vents, you might as well just breathe of the windows. Are you
nostalgic for vacuum operated wipers that almost stop when you accelerate?
How about the idea of placing the distributor somewhat low on the left side
of the engine, so as to maximize the probability of a splash of water
shutting you down? The 49 had king-pin front-end geometry, but I can't
remember if that was also on the 55. I don't recall the 55's brakes being
any better or worse than those on, say, a 60 or 63 Chevy (although the Chevy
was a bit heavier). And rust; well, rust was a factory option.

If I had owned my Ruger at that time, I would now be able to tell you if the
engine truly was bulletproof.

Ed