Posted by Matt Wilson [108.162.221.249] on Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 15:42:58 :
In Reply to: Serious question regarding miles posted by Marty [162.158.146.81] on Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 01:26:49 :
So based on yours and others' responses (not based on your original post), it seems that you are not so much questioning how many miles a flathead in a Power Wagon can accrue before needing a rebuild, but whether most drivers could tolerate putting a lot of miles on a Power Wagon, considering that they are not terribly comfortable. And of course, that assumes you're not talking about workers who were required to drive the Power Wagon as part of their terms of employment - they might have put a lot miles on theirs, but not necessarily by their own choice.
I drove my '49 Power Wagon for about 15 months as my sole source of transportation, although I only put an estimated 8 - 10k miles on it (odometer wasn't working to verify, but my routine was very consistent), since I lived close to my job and most of my other activities were not far from where I lived. It's fun to drive but I also looked forward to when I could get my 1990 F150 back up and running, as it was significantly more comfortable and faster, and just a more refined vehicle overall.
I think three things that would make the Power Wagon driving experience significantly better are: faster acceleration, a less bouncy seat and a lower noise level.
To hopefully improve the acceleration, I'm currently in the process of building a 265 flathead with some performance goodies (been working on that for a long time, as other things keep getting on the way). I can't stand the idea of anything other than a flathead in my truck (just my own preference), and I know it still won't have the get up and go that it would have with a V8, but the flathead is a big part of the truck's character, so I'm not going to get rid of that. Some people will notice the dual carb setup and dual exhaust, but almost nobody will notice the engine being two inches longer than the original 230. It'll still look pretty close to original. It'll also have the original non-synchro transmission, so it'll have the gear whine, which is somewhat important to me in maintaining a certain level of originality.
As for the bouncy seat, I may replace the original with a modern seat that is less springy. That way, hopefully it'll bounce less than a foot up and down and less than five or six times before settling down every time I hit the smallest bump in the road.
Finally, the noise level is significantly improved with sound insulation, which I added years ago. It made a big difference, although it's still fairly noisy. I plan to add more insulation and do things like others have suggested, such as raising the cab up off the frame.
Of course, there are other things like air conditioning that could be added, but that's expensive, draws power off the already-under-powered engine and lessens the originality further. I also question how effective it would be, given how drafty the cab is. If it did work, though, it would be a real plus here in Texas. I lived without air conditioning in my daily drivers for most of my adult life, till just a few years ago, so I kind of doubt I'll ever add it to the Power Wagon.
I could also add power steering, but the "Armstrong" steering never bothered me all that much.
There's also the lack of steering return to the center, since the truck doesn't have caster (or is it camber?). This requires the driver to intentionally return the steering wheel to the center after making a turn. It also lends sort of a "wandering" feel to the steering that's a bit annoying. I've read that this can be remedied by tilting the front axle rearward a few degrees. Not sure I'll ever do this either, but it would improve the experience a little bit.
I know you didn't ask for ways to improve the comfort of the truck, but I'm kind of rambling at this point. All of these things would make it so that I'm more likely to drive a lot more.
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