Hello everyone!

I am from Manila, Philippines and I have a 1969 MS55 Crown Deluxe which I use as a daily driver. It has a 2M engine and 3-speed OD trans, unfortunately the OD does not work anymore due to a dead solenoid and the original owner removed the entire wiring harness from the transmission (due to the common occurrence of floods during the rainy season). But the car was still able to reach 150 kph recently in direct 3rd gear and still cruises easily at 100-120 kph, so I guess I can live without the OD.

The freewheeling makes it very enjoyable to drive, even when in the freeway I leave the OD lockout knob pushed in so I can lift my foot off the accelerator while the car goes at the same speed for a short while. The stock drum brakes are surprisingly powerful, I can stop the car easily from freeway speeds despite the absence of engine braking! (I do pull out the knob before going on a long downhill to prevent the brakes from fading.)

My question is, with the 3-speed trans and 4.875 diff that my car has, what are the 'correct' speeds when shifting gears? I always shift from 1st to 2nd at 30 kph, and the 2nd to 3rd shift at 50 kph. Am I doing it right or am I shifting too late?

My Dad had a '59 Impala with a 3-speed column-shift, he said he shifted from 1st to 2nd at 20 MPH (30 kph) and shifted from 2nd to 3rd at 30 MPH (50 kph). I thought it might be just the same for my MS55, since they are both 3-spd manuals, but I may be wrong...

Thank you very much in advance for your responses!

-Jonathan