Even in that Friday WAS a great day working on the dash AC/heat system, lets not make this page pegged I wanted to expound on something I think is very important….. now real rant… hey but maybe a little then I have a few other things to talk about so lets get this weeks party started…….
Janie, my social director, planned a great weekend in the snow…….. for many years, Ormond Beach brings a truckload of snow …….. don’t you guys up north bring in a load of sand and have a beach party? No? You may wanna try it but down here bring a load of snow and it’s a big party 
Hey, it’s a Florida thing……. but how this is relevant is I braved the bike because Janie went to the beach early…. 
Still hoping to do highway mileage on it I’m still an openroad newbee so a 2 hour ride was a “thing” to me. The ride over was fine…….. how does this have ANYTHING to do with GMC????? Just keep reading…… So the ride to Ormond by the Sea was uneventful… the cruise control is on the fritz but riding my usual 60-65 just about everything passed me. Hey, I’m used to that, I drive my GMC 60-65 ….. driving a Suzuki the speed limit is a desirable goal but I always figure why push a 479,000 mile car so you must understand I am one of those Ole Kogers owning the right lane!!! It’s just me……… but yeaterday heading home down I-95 I made myself a goal…. I usually don’t posess a vehicle that will do “keep up with the traffic”……. with this full dresser motorbike I DO have a machine that would do it so I set the goal to stay with traffic from Daytona south to Cocoa where I turn west to Orlando…. some 50 miles.
So here I am, I do crazy stuff but usually not going ….fast! I’m typing this so it means I lived through it but guys, I just kept up…. didn’t hit 100mph…. but some times it was close! Hey and there were some in the left lane passing!!!!! I have to tell you the speeds on our highway systems have gotten totally out of hand. I know this sounds stupid but really, the speeds have crept up…. some of these awesome new rockets will peal up pavement! What the heck? If you think a GMC can sustain 85 and 90mph on a long basis? You are simply expecting too much from a 40 year old machine! I said this statement a month or so ago and got sneered at somewhat but I’m going to say it again…….. You should NOT average over 65mph with a GMC and not drive any length of time over 70….expect problems!
I’m really sorry guys…. whe build up roller cam motors, do gear ration changes to not go fast like that…. all that is to keep the beast running! I had a class C motorhome pass me at 80mph! How the thin skin of that thing wasn’t pealing off was a wonder to me! THAT MAN IS STUPID!
We come and go, these classic motorhomes stay on so we need to be a good steward for our motorhomes and driving those speeds I saw is not caring for your coach…. call me whatever. Yes, we sponsored a GMC mOtorhome drag race rally for many years 
Ok but driving hi speeds for long lengths of time is wear far beyond mashing the gas for less than 1 minute in 1/4 mile!
So I guess what I’m saying is we are not building 40 year old motorhomes to drive 85mph as a regular day… they cannot sustain that level of abuse. I will just get over this bridge right now…… drive 65mph and a GMC may last a good long time… press harder and you are working your horse too much man!
OK, don’t kill me… I’m just saying…. would you make an old dog do a obstacle course?
Moving out of that mud hole… we have a new toy at the shop…. a new (to us) 2 post lift 
. Not big enough to lift a complete motorhome it’s main use is for lifting those ambulance boxes but it will also lift a motorhome body off a chassis….. think about that a minute, fun possibilities! Painting pictures in the sky with clouds… I get a pile of rain clouds having something like that!
Walking the shop this morning, Dave S. firewall is to it’s ready state for being #3 dash AC install 
, Texas Tux is also waiting for it’s closeup……. 
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And Ruby…. well she’s already on the table under anesthetic 
Our custom designed OEM style AC/heat/defrost equipment should arrive today…. to me it’s like that cooler arrives by messenger at the hospital bringing the new heart for the patient……. it’s all coming together so stay tuned for that!
To help with folks not thinking we’ve totally gone off the end of the planet we finished up rehabbing this original dash AC system…. works descent
and as expected, the original Hoeely we put into this restoration gave the usual problems 
So it’s back for the FiTech fuel injection system
Yeah, the owner went out and got a car cover for the truck 
sure helps us keep it clean in the shop……
So yeah, it was a good weekend…. did something my guess is I will not do again and this weeks got something exciting for me to do……. what more can there be in life?
See ya tomorrow……
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Yes the average speed is way up there over the last several years. I have a 1971 Honda Coupe, air-cooled 2 cylinder 600 cc. (Car). I used to drive it all over but noways I cant as the speed, even on main surface streets, blows me away. It will do 75 but not very wise as you point out.
Over the years I have found that every motorized vehicle I’ve driven or captained (no pilot license but assume same for planes) has a ‘HAPPY SPOT” where the motor purrs along and feels content. For the GMC I’ve now had 2 different engines in it, so I feel I can speak to this a little. I have to the best of my knowledge a stock 3.08 gearing and the 455 seemed pretty happy around 2500 RPM. The Olds 350 that’s in it now, likes it a just a wee bit higher around 27-2800 or so.
This puts us right in the mid 60s speed for both motors. My 455 was REALLY tired, so the 350 actually feels a bit stronger as it’s a fresh motor.
Also avg speed if you figure stops in with it drops at least 10mph over a days drive. In other words you drive 70mph for 8-10 hours with gas stops 10 min or under and you will avg. about 60.
When I’m in the GMC I drive about 15-20mph slower than I do in my car on the interstate. Therefore, I get off of the interstate and take Federal and State Highways and make the same time with far less of the stress of the ‘fast lane’. Of course on long hauls you don’t have much of a choice sometimes, but all things equal I get off the interstates in the coach