504 Open Road Performance

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120L

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Fellow Frogger
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Oct 31, 2010
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Sydney
Hi

I'm very seriously thinking of setting jy sight on a 504 but I'm wondering if a carburettor 504 has any issues climing hills at highway speeds. For example do you need to floor it to keep 110km up hills on the Hume Highway? If you are familiar with My Ousely in Wollongng, do you need to floor it to get it up Mt Ousely in 4th?
 
My memory of sitting in the backseat of a 504 was that we'd shift down to third. My LTI has a BW35 auto, and will downshift itself from 3rd to 2nd when going up sustained inclines.

Never worried the car though; the engine doesn't mind a little revving!
 
My memories of driving 504s are fading somewhat but, as far as I can recall, driving an 1800 up a hill usually requires dropping down gear/s, a 2L was often okay (depending on the hill) while a Ti (as distinct from an LTi) was usually okay. Auto 504s are a bit sluggish (LTis and mostly the later 504s) and set the world on fire even less than manual 504s. All depends on the steepness of the hill, of course.

Others please feel free to disagree. I still have a few 504s but it's many years since I've driven one.
 
Thanks

I'm not after a performance car. From what you've said it might need a downshift but nothing major. I don't seem to get the impression that they struggle.

Regards

Alan
 
You will need to change down on the steeper climbs , just use a few more revs to maintain road speed .
The Tis were much better .
You could put a 4.1 diff and 5 speed in it ,
 
5 speed cars lose speed up hills. You need to change into 4th early, if you wait too long you have to then go back to 3rd.
 
Mt ousley is heavily policed at 80kph and 504s idle up it beautifully in 3rd gear. That is what the gear lever is for. In the old days before radar my TI s used to fly up there backing off at 120 in 4th. The carby cars would sit at100 in 4th but the lower limit now means 3rd is probably easier. The 504s are great cruisers in manual mode and certainly can keep up with modern traffic.
 
I always enjoyed driving 2 litre 404s to Sydney. With low 4.2 diff they would be right in the powerband for the long hills in NSW, pass everything easily.
 
The 2 litre was a very competent long distance highway cruiser and would comfortably travel at 90 mph for hours on long outback highways. Highway hills didn't require a change down but I didn't travel in the mountains. In comparison to more modern five speed cars it feels under geared.
 
504 and 404 are excellent highway cruisers ( and excellent at pretty much everything else as well )

One just has to adapt one's driving style - cant rely upon having a gazillion turbocharged horsepower to correct any error, so philosophy has to be "conservation of momentum" - keep the speed up and use gears carefully. They have the roadholding and brakes to allow this ( although best to minimise unnecessary use of brakes by planning ahead as much as possible )

None of which is helped by having idiots doodling along two-three abreast in outer "fast " lanes

Could absolutely recommend a 504, especially given the various upgrades possible

Andrew
 
504s are great highway tourers. I well remember puting away 180 miles in 2 hours in my injected 504 and averaging 70 mph Broken Hill to home in southern Sydney. Gaol time for that now! i haven't had one now for about 5 years but the carby one sure had no trouble keeping up with the Sydney traffic.
 
Russell Hall said:
The 2 litre was a very competent long distance highway cruiser and would comfortably travel at 90 mph for hours on long outback highways. Highway hills didn't require a change down but I didn't travel in the mountains. In comparison to more modern five speed cars it feels under geared.
Click to expand...
Didn't realise there were still new 5 speed cars being sold :thanks:
 
GRAHAM WALLIS said:
I remember leaving Ivanhoe in outback NSW at dawn and arriving in Mt Gambier in time for lunch, fantastic trip in 504 Ti.
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Let's calculate Ivanhoe NSW to Mt Gambier 760 Km in 6 hours. That is average 126km/hr. More than 25km/hr over limit, there are towns as well.
Please go to local Police Station, hand your licence for 6 months with $1650 cash payment :mallet:
 
driven said:
Didn't realise there were still new 5 speed cars being sold :thanks:
Click to expand...
I didn't say a new car I said more modern five speed cars. The 504 was a car of the '70's but by the 90's the five speed was the norm. Easy to make smart comments when you don't read what's written but this is the internet.
 
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driven said:
Let's calculate Ivanhoe NSW to Mt Gambier 760 Km in 6 hours. That is average 126km/hr. More than 25km/hr over limit, there are towns as well.
Please go to local Police Station, hand your licence for 6 months with $1650 cash payment :mallet:
Click to expand...

Watkins' first legal principle

"Nothing's illegal until you're caught"

Our rural speed limits are rubbish, although one has to factor in a fair bit for the idiots one meets along the way

In Germany one can't get a licence without proving that one can drive safely at 160 with cars doing 250 coming up behind . Here if one does that they call you a hoon and take the car away ( to say nothing of what they'd do to the guy doing 250 ).

Lot to be said for driver education which goes to teaching one to drive, not just to obey the rules. Can't see it happening though.

Andrew
 
Russell Hall said:
I didn't say a new car I said more modern five speed cars. The 504 was a car of the '70's but by the 90's the five speed was the norm. Easy to make smart comments when you don't read what's written but this is the internet.
Click to expand...
Apologies, for the comment on 30 yo cars.
 
In days of yore when roads were de-restricted the police had to prove dangerous driving in court. Cars of course were less capable then. Then treasury decided speed limits everywhere with a fixed ticket penalty would be very profitable, and the lower the limits the easier to collect it.

So our first designed for high speed motorway, from Sydney northward towards the Central Coast and Newcastle, was suddenly signposted to between 80 kph and 110 kph. That's 40 mph to 68 mph. Whoever then travelled in the country in a car at those speeds?

Enforcement is usually on the safe stretches.
 
When you're young with a new car like a 504, there seems to be no reason why it's not a good idea to travel very fast over long distances. As the old MG ad says, Safety Fast. As you get older, been sent to clean up after an accident or two, worried about speedsters while droving, towed ridiculously large equipment down highways at 50kph, been scared by speeding logging trucks and B Doubles driven outside the laws of physics, the speed limits may continue to annoy but raising them doesn't seem such a good idea.
 
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