How fast does this baby go ?

[Spoo 2]

I just bought a '62 type 2.The max speed I feel the engine can handle is 60 MPH/100 KPH while I'm in overdrive. Does this sound right or should I be able to coax a Bit more out of the Engine? What was the Max when they came out of the factory ? Thanks Geoff.

 

[RootesRacer]

I just bought a '62 type 2.The max speed I feel the engine can handle is 60 MPH/100 KPH while I'm in overdrive. Does this sound right or should I be able to coax a Bit more out of the Engine? What was the Max when they came out of the factory ? Thanks Geoff.

Series II, not type 2.

It should be able to break 100 in OD, or at least they did when new.

 

[alpine_64]

Geoff,

Why do you feel the maximum is 60mph?
Is the motor sounding stressed at this speed?
Is the speedo reading correctly?
What is the rev counter reading? Is the rev counter reading high?

A SII with O/D should be running a 4.22 rear from the factory.. and at 60mph will be pulling around 3-3100rpm in OD top.

Maybe your car has a shorter rear end in it from a hillman? maybe the tacho is over reading?

give us some more info.. what revs are you getting at say 40mph in direct top?
what size tyres and wheels are you running?

 

[tony perrett]

To accurately check your actual road speed, get e friend to follow you in a modern car and make comparisons at various speeds.

 

[Hillman]

Or temporarily hook up an electronic tach and check the speed with a GPS. I took my SII (ok, it has a 1725) on a 3,000 mile round trip and it had no trouble cruising at 70-75 in OD. Never did check out the top speed.

 

[mattinoz]

To accurately check your actual road speed, get e friend to follow you in a modern car and make comparisons at various speeds.

A very effective way of assessing road speed is to get yourself a GPS. Most of these show your ground speed and are very accurate. Using a modern car to test road speed is not always as accurate as you might think. My Honda Accord Euro shows 118 khp hour on the speedo when the GPS shows 102 khp. I never rely on the car speedo. I have used the GPS method to test my Alpine speedo and it too show faster than my actual speed as measured by the GPS

 

[sunbeam74]

At 60mph without the O.D. the car should be comfortable. Overdrive should really let the car cruise without the buzzing.

There are a couple of things which some people have mentioned;

- final drive ratio (could be a shorter rear end like a 4:86. Rear ends get changed by previous owners)
- Tire size (usually not that much of an issue but it does make a difference)
- Tach or Speedo could be wrong
- Sometimes, if the engine has loose tolerance and is worn it can really sound like a sewing machine at speed. (I had a Series V with worn out connecting rod bushings which my Alfa friends claimed had a "Diesel" engine due to the noise it would emit!)

Steve

 

[RootesRooter]

Have you owned an older British roadster previously? Modern cars cruise at 60mph at about 2/3'rds the rpm's that an Alpine w/OD needs, or 1/2 w/o OD. If you're not used to the rpm's that older cars turn, it can seem like the noisy Alpine's engine is about to explode at what were typical rpm's for its era.

 

[Bill Blue]

I just bought a '62 type 2.The max speed I feel the engine can handle is 60 MPH/100 KPH while I'm in overdrive. Does this sound right or should I be able to coax a Bit more out of the Engine? What was the Max when they came out of the factory ? Thanks Geoff.

"Back in the day", my Series II with OD managed 105 mph southbound, 95 northbound, over the same stretch of road and within minutes of each other. Until verified, do not believe anything the dash gauges of a 50 year old car tell you.

Bill

 

[Spoo 2]

Thanks for the advice

Have you owned an older British roadster previously? Modern cars cruise at 60mph at about 2/3'rds the rpm's that an Alpine w/OD needs, or 1/2 w/o OD. If you're not used to the rpm's that older cars turn, it can seem like the noisy Alpine's engine is about to explode at what were typical rpm's for its era.

This is my first Alpine/ sports car and I'm pretty much babying it right now. From the replies I've been getting I can push the engine more , which I'll do <slowly>.
What great support I've gotten from this club.Thanks.

 

[Spoo 2]

Thanks for the help

The tires are 14 's Every thing about the car seems to work fine. I think It's a case of me having a new car which I know nothing about and worried about breaking anything. I'm going to push the engine more as all the advice I've been getting is pointing this way.What would the maximum rev's be in O/D be that's normal for the S11 ? thanks ,Geoff

Geoff,

Why do you feel the maximum is 60mph?
Is the motor sounding stressed at this speed?
Is the speedo reading correctly?
What is the rev counter reading? Is the rev counter reading high?

A SII with O/D should be running a 4.22 rear from the factory.. and at 60mph will be pulling around 3-3100rpm in OD top.

Maybe your car has a shorter rear end in it from a hillman? maybe the tacho is over reading?

give us some more info.. what revs are you getting at say 40mph in direct top?
what size tyres and wheels are you running?

 

[alpine_64]

The tires are 14 's Every thing about the car seems to work fine. I think It's a case of me having a new car which I know nothing about and worried about breaking anything. I'm going to push the engine more as all the advice I've been getting is pointing this way.What would the maximum rev's be in O/D be that's normal for the S11 ? thanks ,Geoff

Geoff,

Before you get to what safe max revs are etc.. you should do an audit of where the car is at mechanicaly (and in terms of info its giving you)

*What oil pressure are you getting at idle? What are you getting at 3000rpm?
*What water temp reading are you getting while dirving along? and at idle in traffic?

You still had not informed us of what rpm you were pulling at a given speed. Given your wheels are apparently 14" (original was 13") depending on the tyres you have your speedo will most likely be incorrect anyway.

Where is the dip stick located on your motor? Does it go into the side of the block, or into a tube that runs to the sump? This will tell us if you have a 3 main or 5 main engine. (3 main 1494, 1592 or 5 main 1725)

In my original post i gave you the revs for a stock OD trans SII at 60mph.. but depending what your car has in it, and what other variables you may get a different result.

I drove my alpine without OD for many years and would sit on long journeys pulling 4000rpm without trouble (but lots of noise)

max torque in these engines doesnt come into play till around 3800, so thats where the engine should feels strongest.

 

[Jay Laifman]

Two other comments:

(1) Speed is relative. Back in the late 70's, when I first got my stock Alpine, and I was a new driver, I did over 100mph down a long stretch of PCH with a buddy in his Mazda next to me. Now, with the same Alpine, 35 years later, fully restored, with dual side draft Webers, rally cam, Holbay head, and OD, I don't think I've done over 90! Looking back at it, that 100 mph stretch in Malibu was STUPID!

(2) Make sure your tires are new if you are going to push high speeds - well, even if you are not going to push high speeds. Lots of our cars sit on tires that look great because of how few miles we've driven them, but we forget just how many years it has been. Yeah, the 5 year window the manufacturers say is probably too short. But, there have been way too many stories of guys in sports cars that have wrecked because of age hardened and cracked tires (including a tragic crash with a Tiger that rolled - I don't know what ultimately happened to the driver and his wife, but last I heard one of them was in a coma - but this was many many years ago).

Jay

 

[anduril3019]

Two other comments:

(1) Speed is relative. Back in the late 70's, when I first got my stock Alpine, and I was a new driver, I did over 100mph down a long stretch of PCH with a buddy in his Mazda next to me. Now, with the same Alpine, 35 years later, fully restored, with dual side draft Webers, rally cam, Holbay head, and OD, I don't think I've done over 90! Looking back at it, that 100 mph stretch in Malibu was STUPID!

Jay, I had to laugh at your speed run, because I did the exact same thing on the stretch of PCH between the Zuma entrance and Trancas in my first Alpine about 30 years ago, probably 1981. Agreed, it was stupid, speedo read just over 100 but I had a hard time reading it with all of the cowl shake. At least no other cars were around, it would have been just me if something had gone wrong.