What was the average speed our trucks traveled back in the 1950's ?
( I'm guessing 45 or 50 MPH ) What was top speed of a new F1 with a flathead ? What was the average yearly miles put on a truck in those days ? I have often wondered for what reason my trucks were purchased ( most likely work or farm use ). I know there was no major interstate roads but I do know people traveled far distances for family visits and vacations, My mom told me of travels from Michigan to Florida in a Nash Metropolitan for vacations. I do know US1 in florida was a major thoroughfare, you still see some of the mom and pop hotels in certain areas but sadly when the interstate came thru those hotels saw considerably less traffic.

 

A lot would depend on the owners and location. I can remember when you got out of town there was no speed limits, just a sign "Proceed on". As for the vacation I would think cars would have been preferred over trucks. The trucks would have been mainly stayed home for work and farm.
So I would guess 50 or 60mph within a 100 mile range would be close for the first 10 years. Getting into the 1960's and 70's it would change

 

I wouldn't think these trucks would have run anymore than 55 MPH. I know as a kid, without Interstates, we would travel roads that rarely were suitable for 55. And the Towns! Every time you'd get cruising you'd run into another little town. We'd get stopped for parades, trains, even building fires. I don't miss those days at all.
Even into the 60s trucks and vans were work vehicles. Not a lot of frills (A/C etc.). I use to see a lot of trucks in the salvage yards with less than 60/70 thousand miles. Of course this is when if your vehicle had more than 75,000 miles on it you were waiting for it to die any minute.

 

Forgot, years ago I knew someone who was passed down his fathers old work truck. He received it in 1980, his Dad bought it new in 1955 and it had 20K miles. He's Dad was a house painter and used it daily but rarely went out of town.

 

I remember my first car, a 66 mustang with 98,000 miles. i purchased it at 14 yrs old with help from my dad, it was my summer project to clean it up and get it ready for the day i would get my drivers license. I was always ready for it to die, as most stuff with 100,000 miles was ready for the bone yard. That took place in the mid to late 1970's.

 

When I began my project the neighbor dropped by. He had owned a new 53 F100. I remember the first words from his mouth were, "I hope you can make that thing get some gas mileage. My old flatty 8 was just terrible". I'm guessing that meant it stayed on the farm most of the time.

I do remember when 100K miles on a vehicle was an event to celebrate. Later it definitely caused me to sell a few cars not realizing they had years of service left in them. Engines burning oil well before 100K caused a lot of classic cars and trucks to be crushed. The untreated steel caused many of them to rust to oblivion in most climates so I guess it probably didn't matter anyway.

 

From the old service stickers, there were 50,000 miles put on my truck during the first 15 years (that's about 3300 per for us public school types). Having watched a few farmers back in the day, typical speeds were in the 35 to 45 mph range. Between roads, loads, and pace of the times, that was good enuf.

 

People can't even phantom getting a tune up every 15,000 miles, changing from summer to winter oils and even thermostats. Only 20,000 miles on a set of tires and batteries every 2 or three years. There were a lot more services to be done back then.

 

Don't forget the joy of having to file and adjust the points on the side of the road.

 

That's exactly right. Back then, vehicles were worn out mechanically, drivetrain and chassis, long before they reached 100,000 miles, and the bodies didn't need to last that long. oil changes were recommended every 1000 miles, and service stations stayed in business because of that. Some oil companies made their name by having a longer lasting product.

 

More than that, I remember having to drain water out of the fuel system, because of leaky underground gas tanks at the stations. It seems like it happened every time we took off on a vacation in the family wagon.

 

I am going back a slight bit farther than the years trucks we are probably discussing here. I have at least a couple thousand miles center and right side seat time in a larger 1947 Ford truck. It had a 14' or 16' flat bed, DRW with 8.25 tires and a two speed axle. As I remember, typical cruise speed on then US highways was 35-45 MPH, with down hill at a max of 50 MPH. Georgia overdrive could yield higher speeds.
Uphill when heavily loaded, speeds could get down to single digits.

Question: How many have heard the term, "Georgia Overdrive?"

But, the question was in reference to the smaller trucks so I digress.

 

I grew up in the city of Buffalo. I'm not as old as most of you commenting on the old days but I didn't know ANYBODY with a truck when I was a kid in the 60's. We had one car and dad had it at work. We walked or took the bus.

The only people with trucks were those that lived out in the country. If they were smart they didn't bring the truck into the city. If the city slickers knew you had a truck, guess who got called whenever someone had to move.

My father never maintained his cars. I remember taking a valve cover off and finding sludge the shape of the valve cover. His block and heads blew out one winter because the antifreeze..........wasn't.

I don't think he EVER had a car go over 30 K miles before it fell apart from rust. We hit a bump one time going to the drive in and the rear seat of the station wagon fell through the floor. With a bunch of us kids on it.

So for roads traveled..........for me. Pot holes in summer and snow drifts in winter. THANK GOD................slow speeds in the rusty death traps we had. Not really a truck story but it got me thinkin.

 

I remember driving US 30 from western Chicago to Ames IA in the 60's. It was 2-lane concrete, but with expansion strips every 20 ft, so you got that ka-thunk ka-thunk ka-thunk and right at 55 the car would pitch up and down enough to make you seasick. It was barely 20 ft wide, no shoulders, and in IA it had vertical concrete curbs. If you happened to kiss the curb it would throw you over into the other lane, right into oncoming traffic.

 

I remember signs saying it was illegal. If it's what I think it is. I heard it called downhill overdrive here in KY.