Another 31' pickup question

[Don Meredith]

Now that everything is running and driving great on the 31' pickup, I have another question. The gears seem a bit strange, when I'm at the top of second gear(high rpm) and shift into third, it seems lug way down. Then at about 30 mph it seems that the truck is really wound out in third gear(at it's absolute top speed). This thing must run a little faster than that, or am I wrong? Thanks for any help you can give, Don

[MCHinson]

If your truck is a Model A, yes it should drive faster than 30 mph. Where are you located? Perhaps some other Model A guy nearby can help you figure out what is wrong with it.

[Don Meredith]

I'm near Fort Worth, Texas. What could be the problem? At 30 mph it sounds good, but like the rpm is at the top of the range. Thanks for the quick response...Don

[MCHinson]

I am a long way away from you. I would go back to the basics. What Model A books or reference materials do you have? How much experience do you have with Model A's? If you have no experience with Model A's, perhaps you are not advancing the spark? You could have a carburetor or gas tank problem and might not be getting enough fuel through the carburetor? There are a lot of possibilities.

It might be easier to find someone local to you from the following site, and have them come over and give your Model A a once over and give you a lesson in Operation of your Model A.

http://www.mafca.com/chapters/TX.html

[JFranklin]

The A trucks usually had 4.11-1 gears and you are really reving at 30, but it should go 45. change to a standard 3.78-1 or high speed 3.54-1. Since you will be spinning things faster make sure the fan is in good repair and well balanced.