cruising and max speed on a 1956A 1600 super engine

[Pierre Ducroit]

Hello ,i am a newbie in these beautiful 356 World.i wonder if you could help me knowing what could i expect in terms of speed from a 1956 356A with a 1600 super motor. what would be the cruise speed and the top speed for this car,i mean usually?
thanks for all your replies.
Pierre

[Greg Scallon]

Hello Pierre,
Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of the 356. I have a '58 speedster with a stock transmission so my top gear will be a bit shorter than yours. I drive for hours on the freeway at 70 miles per hour at 3600 RPM. I don't know what my top speed is as I've never pushed it that much.

Regards,
-Greg

[C J Murray]

Top speed for a Super should be maybe 105mph. Cruising all day as in long trips with coupe C or D forth gear is not stressed when running with modern traffic and that is generally around 80mph.

[Martin Benade]

Your ears may wish for an unavailable 5th gear, but the engine will be happy all day.

[Pierre Ducroit]

thanks for all your knowledge,any more people?

[Pierre Ducroit]

by the way i know this is a blasphemy for purists but wht dont add 5th gear?

[Jules Dielen]

it does not fit in the housing pierre. You would need to modify the body and install a 901 or 915 gear box.

It's a lot easier to install a 'tall 4th', but you will need an engine with some power.

[Jon Schmid]

A stock 1600 Super running BBBC gears will (off the record) do 110 MPH maximum indicated. At least a car that I know of will...

[Jules Dielen]

A stock 1600 Super running BBBC gears will (off the record) do 110 MPH maximum indicated. At least a car that I know of will...

for how long, Jon?

[Neil Bardsley]

A stock 1600 Super running BBBC gears will (off the record) do 110 MPH maximum indicated. At least a car that I know of will...

for how long, Jon?

http://356enterprises.com/transmission- ... rsche-356/

While we are on the subject of gears doesn't else some it confusing that for gear 3 and 4 they ratios v letters are strange. For example A is the shortest, then F then B then D and C?

[Wes Bender]

"While we are on the subject of gears doesn't else some it confusing that for gear 3 and 4 they ratios v letters are strange. For example A is the shortest, then F then B then D and C?"

Huh?

[Tim Berardelli]

I think the best answer to the question was provided by Richard von Frankenberg. In 1951 after a series of long distance runs, during which a number of International records were broken, at the Montlhery race track in France, he was asked about the RPM's used to maintain the speeds at which the cars were run. He replied that the car's speeds were dictated by the oil temperature gauge.

Tim Berardelli

[David Jones]

I would agree 100% Tim but one should know beforehand what the temp is according to the position of the needle. Remember that back then the gauges had graduations on them showing actual numbers. At this point in time how many cars have gauges which are known by their owners to have needle positions on their gauges that correspond to a known temperature?
I know what is hot and what is not because I compare actual temps at the sensor with the gauge position against my IR gun. In my experience there is a wide variation in gauge readings for the same temperature between cars.
A temp gauge in the dip stick position is a good idea but even then it is not what the gauge is seeing so we have to keep all the variables in mind and not make erroneous decisions on actual engine oil temps.

[Jon Schmid]

A stock 1600 Super running BBBC gears will (off the record) do 110 MPH maximum indicated. At least a car that I know of will...

for how long, Jon?

Around here I'm more worried about cops than engine longevity. 8)

[Jacques Lefriant]

back in the late 60s a VW squareback passed me and i keep up with it until the temp climbed in my T5 cpe. i think we were doing 100+. a lesson in Aerodynamics.
j