Need some old timer advice please,

I would try it with the tires you have on it now first and see what you think.
Like I mentioned before I ran the wheels off of the old big cam 3's at 1500 when cruising, and just dropped a gear when in a pull, with no problems.
In my way of thinking 1600 would be close to perfect, that said mine were 400's, but cruising on flat ground , without a big windload, it doesn't take a lot of hp to maintain speed.

 

Maintaining your speed isn't the concern so much as cracking a liner off and possibly kicking a rod out the block.

 

So idle curiosity? Any history on this truck ?

 

Cruising at 1500 will never hurt it, it does not build heat and start scoring liners till you start giving her fuel.
Unless I was in a big hurry I never ran mine over 15 or 1600 until I needed more power, then dropped a gear and kept it over 17 when pulling. Even higher if much of a pull.

 

Interesting as there wernt a lot made so had to ask .
I know victory Express in dayton oh had a bunch of them
I was at dart from 88 to 92 and they bought like 4 of them but didnt keep them long , I think they were Detroit powered .

 

I just my old man snapped a line off lugging his big cam 3 too much. I don't know how it didn't punch a rod out the side, we took it apart and while barring the engine over you could see the piston crank around in cylinder.

 

W

Were you there in the 70's? Automatics were unheard of. I knew one guy that had a Mack quad axle dump, and needed an automatic because of a leg injury. That truck was on the hook more than it was on the road.

 

In the mid 80s one of our school buses had the first of allisons. The last manual school bus I rode in was about 1983ish. And the two mile pull it would run off it's gasoline 450 ford was something. We gonna make it? HA....

Even the allison in that light school bus with the tiny engine in it was a harsh shifter. We got used to it. But when you nod off going home on a hour plus ride every gear wakes you up.