1418 Mercedes Benz Top Road Speed

When I first picked up the 1418 L series Mercedes Benz (1969) a few months ago she had been left sitting in a paddock and not run for about six to nine months so I wasn't expecting great things from her, but to be fair the engine ran great with none of the bad noises you hope not to hear.
After getting her home I got rid of a huge horse float and replace the wooden floor with another wooden floor and repainted her.
I have now turned my attention to the engine and lack of road speed.
Everyone I've talked too and research I have done said I should expect about 55mph to 59mph, but my old girl is flat to boards at 49mph.
Things I have tried to improve speed are.
Dump the old fuel.
Clean out both fuel tanks
Change fuel filters.
Check fuel line from tank to filters are clear.
Change oil and filters.
Clean air filter.
Pull radiator and have it flushed.
Two new batteries.
Make sure correct tyre pressure.

At 49mph the diff and gear box are quite, the engine isn't screaming. That

What revs at that speed? Sure the diff is in high?

you need to see what revs the motor is doing (you can adjust the governer if it wont reach its max rpm).. i have a 1980s model mercedes 1217 ..6 cyl turbo you can get 90km/h out of it(on the redline) but its more happy at 80 - 85km/h . . but unlike yours mine will quickly loose speed on any small hill . . its also possible that german horsepower was once measured using very small ponies

all the 1418 mercs that I have drive and owned over the years ( and there have been many ) only ever had a top speed of 48 MPH in their standard format with 1000x20 tyres. Have driven a couple with 15 speed overdriven roadrangers and this ups the road speed but not by a lot.
Just a great old bit of german engineering so kick back, put the brain in the ash tray and enjoy it for what it is

I keep the truck locked up in a friends yard but will check the rev counter on Monday.
I've started driving her by not even looking a the speedo anymore but keeping the needle on the rev counter just below the red window on the display.
I think this is 2400rmp but I need to double check.

When asking the question about a 1924 benz with a 355 engine....
I was told...don't take it over 2000 revs son...it'll last forever! That was by frank brandimarti in geelong...
Still reckon it was good advice!

chocs
As ol mate said...just sit back and enjoy the ride..

Kenny I would dispute the small ponies when it comes to Mercs. Their horsepwer is( correct me if I'm wrong ) rated at the rear wheels and not at the flywheel like a lot of other manufacturers. The old 1418 is still a truck that will get you there and get you home. They may not have been to big on creature comforts but they were big on reliability.
I still (as you might have noticed ) have a huge soft spot for the 1418.

As for the diff being in low I'm pretty sure it is in high. I drive around town with the diff in low and when I head out of town passed the 60 km sign I come off the revs push the level down and push the cultch in.
The revs always dive down and I change back to fouth and build speed up from there.

good on fuel, ride was good, noise wasn't too bad, mine even had a heater and a wireless!
Made a lot of blokes a good livin, for along time..
chocs

Scrubby the 1418 had a million mile speedo in it so the milage your quoting is likely to be the genuine thing unless its done more than 10,000,000 and that, even if it is a bemerc is highly unlikely