MTFCA Forum

I live in an area here on the Texas Gulf Coast that is relatively flat so I shift into high gear and stay there the vast majority of the time. I am curious as to those that have driven in mud or up steep hills without a Ruckstell what is the longest amount of mileage you’ve had to drive in low gear in yards or miles?

Not very far. I'd say 50 yards at the most.
Not including parades, but I try to avoid those anyway. Luckily I now have a car with a ruckstell if I wanna do a parade.

On a motor club tour over Exmoor in Devon, England, recently we drove 76 miles and ascended and descended 7000 feet. One part involved climbing 1500 feet with little respite, so we must have been in low for about 2 miles just on that climb.

When I went on my 48 state tour, I drove up Wolf Creek pass way up on the Great Divide. I low-pedaled many miles toward the top. At one point there was a sign that said "Summit 8 miles", so I drove at least eight miles in low pedal. I was going about 8 mph, so I held that pedal down for over an hour. I got passed by a guy on a bike.

Two occasions that come to mind- 1) the last few thousand feet elevation to the top of Pikes Peak, so about 1-2 miles and then with Dave Huson on one of his wonderful tours going up over Trail Ridge, and probably 3-4miles with 4 people and all our gear.

I accidentally got onto this road in Greenwood County.

The satellite view doesn't show how steep and rough it is. There's a lot of short but steep up and down, lots of ruts, rocks, and holes. I think I low pedaled it for a couple of miles, but it seemed like a lot more.

by Tom_Carnegie » Sat Nov 06, 2021 9:17 am

When I went on my 48 state tour, I drove up Wolf Creek pass way up on the Great Divide.

Great. Now I have that song in my head.

You guys are my heroes. Cheers, Bill

About 100 feet - the length of my driveway.

John, Don’t you drive the mountains in Florida?

Once on a trip my clutch started to slip, so I had to drive home in first. About 20 miles.

The longest for me was pulling the Beartooth Pass out of Red Lodge, Montana. The summit 10925 feet about 8 miles of the 16 mile pull was in low pedal, my leg was on fire. I invested in a Ruckstell soon after.

National tour in Colorado in 2000. Optional route to about 10000 feet elevation. No Ruckstell. I did about ten miles in low. I think there were maybe two stretches I could get into high for maybe 100 yards. Like Pat, my left leg burned and cramped. I stopped for a few minutes and went the remainder of the climb with my left leg hanging over the side and right foot on low.

Somewhere in eastern Washington or perhaps Idaho, there is a six mile descent to the bottom of a valley and a seven mile climb out again. The T I was driving was totally reliable but quite tired. The sveen mile climb was done entirely in low gear. Like others, my leg was burning. I alternated left and right and even jammed my fist between my thigh and the steering wheel for a while.

Allan from down under.

2007 Rocky Mountain Tour. Spent the night in Steamboat Springs and started the next day by driving to the top of Rabbit Ears Pass. Would have to see if Google Maps can tell me how far I drove in low, but it was all the way up as I recall. I pulled over and stopped like this a couple of times to let things cool off. No ruckstell, so no choice.

MichaelPawelek wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 06, 2021 5:58 pm

John, Don’t you drive the mountains in Florida?

Yup - all three feet of them.

My record in low is one hour, about 15 miles.

I got the coupe running in 1978 but I had no idea what to expect. I had no Ruckstell, indeed I didn’t even know they existed. There were no T clubs in the San Diego region. So I accepted what I got.

Now 45 years later there are two clubs in the area and I have driven over 100 different T’s so I know what to expect. Also I now know some of the tuning techniques, so now the same coupe will go up the grade 80% in high and the rest in Ruckstell
Some of the engines I have built go up all the grade in high all the way, indeed one will accelerate between the corners….

I also did Steam boat springs to Rabbit Ears pass in my 10 T with 4 adults. It was a long hard pull and a sore foot but very memorable. Thanks to Dave Huson for all the beautiful scenery, a great tour.

I climbed the pass leaving Laramie Wyoming headed toward Cheyenne in a heavy 27 Tudor with old cast iron pistons. There were several miles that seemed like a very long stretch - but still went to high gear several times to relieve my tired left leg for a few seconds. I was wishing I had a long stick to hold the clutch down tight. My excuse was I was giving the low band some oil. Now that I live in Kansas ....I just follow the yellow brick road all in high gear. Stu