Just wanting to see what guys are running in regards to engine, tranny, gears, tires and seeing what kind of gas mileage you are getting. Looking soon to pick up a 79 Extended Cab long box 4x4 and would like to completely build it up, running 37" tires. Every one here runs a standard 6" lift and 35" tires. Just want mine to stand out a little bit but want to be able to drive it! I like the showy type trucks and have absolutely 0 experience with diesels but thought it might be interesting to see what everyone is doing. Thanks guys.

 

Specs of my 73 in my signature below. 3.50 rear gears... 11 MPG

 

75 f250 SC, 2wd, 460, warm build, C6, 3.54, 265/70/16 = 6.5 mpg.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-mileage.html

 

79 f150 shortbed
4x4 D44/9"
400 with all of the bolt on goodies
NP435
4.56 gears
35x12.5 BFG A/T KO

Before the fuel leak..12mpg

 

Thanks guys. Also thanks to somethingclever for the link. Its dis-heartening to read the lower numbers, but honestly don't know what I expected. I have a 77 f-150 2wd with a stock 351m that was getting just as good as my 2002 f-150 4wd with the 5.4. I would like to build something that I could drive 30-40 km's a day and not have it break the bank. Very hard to do when I want at least 37" tires. I was kind of thinking a 400, fuel injection, 4x4, automatic, 4.10 gears. A few of the typical tricks to save fuel but I guess it's a huge truck with a large rolling mass.

 

Before parking mine I was getting 10-12 mpg combo with mostly highway driving only in town hitting all the stop lights I could literally watch the gas gauge go down, it probably wouldn't be as bad if I had a 4.10 or shorter gear. My truck is a 78 supercab, 4x4, 460, c6, 3.54 gears and 33's

I'd be tempted to go with a shorter gear combo than a 4.10 if you're going with 37's. If you do build one up completely I'd consider an overdrive transmission or something like a gear vendors unit which will help some on the highway.

 

I average about 11mpg, but as someone else here had said before, spg's (smiles per gallon) are off the chart!

'79 F350 supercab 4x4 - 400 - T18 4spd - 4 .10's & 38.5" tires
I do have a gearvendors O/D unit, but not installed yet.... I'm considering smaller tires or lower gears once the GV goes in.

 

The joy of driving my truck outweighs the small gain in MPG. My '98 only got 13-15 and never got a single look. With my 79 im kind of disappointed if someone doesn't strike up a conversation about it. Often times its an older guy who had one back in the day, or wanted one. A guy at Kroger saw my truck and was so inspired he vowed to get his dent back on the road. To me, its priceless.


As for getting improved mileage, proper gearing and an OD tranny will get you further than a new EFI system. A properly tuned carb works wonderfully!

 

I'm running a 77 100 4x4, 302, np 4 speed, 350 gears with 37's and I'm around 8mpg cruising. That damn thing won't pass a gas station but hey, Its the conversations at them all that I get a kick out of!

 

I definetly agree that these are great to see on the road. So friggin close to getting my 77 2wd on the road that everyday feels like a month. I, personally can't fathom spending $35-$60 grand on a new truck and in a few years have it be worth nothing. I would rather put money into something old that I can fix and make "pretty". Not in it for the money, but would have a better chance selling later on I would think. I had wondered about the overdrive before and am interested and now will check it out further. The plan is to get a good sized loan so would be able to build rather than a piece here then wait 6 months, but will see what happens.

 

I'm thinking about the OD trans too, haven't done much research yet but I'm thinking late 80s donor should probably be the ticket but would like to hear what others are using

 

In my 2WD '70, a Tremec TKO-500..... with EFI. It's still under construction but getting close...: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ide-build.html

 

Beyond the specs in my signature, I'm running 4.10 gears. So far I'm at 11.5 MPG for my daily commute which I average about 25 MPH. At 40 MPH, I'm getting around 13.5 MPG. But I'm still tweaking the carb to see if I can improve it a tad more.