in my 1971 w/ 390 i was getting 12.5 and in the city about 6

 

is this a statement, or a question?

 

jpreeder, this thread was started in august of 2009 ,in case you never noticed. As far as i know it was the same thing over and over. Now ,whats you next question you need help on ?

 

When i purchased my 72 f250 4x4 w/ 390 rebuilt to (390) its has Edelbrock intake, edelbrock 600 cfm 4 bbl carb, hedman long tube headers, duraspark ignition, 40 series flows, 4.10 gears and has an extra 4 inch lift, I drove from Sacramento (filled before i left until fuel was bobbing in and out of fuel neck) i drove 110 miles exactly until i figured it needed gas (gauges were disconnected) pulled into an AM/PM and filled it back up,surprisingly it only took 9 gallons and some spilled, i was like what the heck: my 75 4x4 f250 only got about 8-9 mpg when i had it and it was not lifted.............. So i was getting about 12.3mpg at 62-65 mph, not bad. Like someone else said newer trucks with the 5.4 or 6.2 only get about 15-17 in the highway, not much more than a 40 year old truck.

 

New ones are not that much better as far as M P G. but they sure cost a lot more. If the M P G percentage went up as much as the cost of vehical percentage has went up, we would be getting fantastic M P Gs . It was common to get 20 M P G on the 50s and 60s v/8 cars back then. My 56 ford 292 Y/block with overdrive got 22 M P G back then. New vehicals are safer ,cleaner running,ride better and a have lot of other features we all like. I guess that's what we are really paying for,to bad we can't have it all and still be affordable. Sounds like you truck is doing real good.


2

92
y/block

y/b

 

Reading some of this stuff about MPG cracks me up. None of us buy these trucks for gas mileage and its a flat lie to say you get more than 12 max on a well tuned nicely setup 390 in a 4x4. People take these threads out of context in regards to lighter 2wd trucks and cars getting better mileage. If i had a nickel for every time some yay hoo with an F250 highboy tried to tell me it gets in the mid teens on the highway i would be a very rich man. Its actually quite annoying when used as a selling point to try and drive the price up. If someone truly gets A SOLID 14mpg in an old 4x4 ford with a 390 and documents it i will eat my HAT

 

My 360 4x4 gets 14 mpg if i drive it right, I don't know how you think someone can document it on here, you have no way to know what mpg people get in their trucks, just because you get lousy mpg doesn't mean everyone else does.

 

The highboy with built 390 in my signature got better MPG than the original 360, and the 390 got around 14-15 on the highway on VERY long trips. But then, my V10 gets 17 on the same road trip 20 years later

 

Yep we all have little tricks to aid in getting a little more mpg out these beast.
I've gotten as high as 14 when first built. This was a 500 mile run back from my son home in Henderson NV. to San Jose. Bu do have the OD 5spd run speed from 50-70
early morning to afternoon 8.5 hr drive 527 and also drive by a vacuum gauge. as it's called a Motor minder the show when your wasting gas..

I've been driving with this same gauge since the late 70's when, I put on a cab over camper 8.5" 1,500lbs 4:10 gear with 32"x11.5 tires 8-11 mpg with a 4 spd tranny.

No more camper but just a shell and can get some what good mileage in o/d @60mph 12-14 it's.. 416 cuin. hei dizzy holley 600cfm sanderson headers 2.5 pipes, 2006 gt mustang mufflers.. Dual air cool air intake tubes with K&N air filter. Intake & exh Ports cleaned an polish some what.

Orich

 

I dunno my friend. getting a solid 14 mpg with an FE big block running a non OD tranny is very far fetched. I have had fresh well tuned motors setup perfectly to the T (with electric fuel pump and other efficiency upgrades) and got 11 at best. But then again on the freeway i had to drive it about 65mph to stay with the flow of traffic. Maybe at 45 mph with 3.50 gears on small tires you MIGHT score 14. but even then i find it hard to believe. (btw my 4x4 was running 3.50 gears and didnt get that kind of mileage) These trucks werent built for mileage and people read these posts with claims of gas mileage like yours and try to use it as a selling point when in all practical reality its false.

 

See now what your saying makes sense. with an OD tranny and said upgrades your mileage is realistic and 100% believable. sounds like a nice rig btw bet it makes some damn good power!

 

Did not have the hei when but the P-igniter III unit then.



And my 19 yr old paint job, the hood is flaking clear coat. So now slowly getting it ready for paint.

 

Damn now thats one hell of a truck! i love the look trim and paint color very nice. Definitely a rig to be proud of. Love the HEI conversion and OD tranny. very smart well done build.

 

Excellent photos of your truck, Orich. Hopefully I can start on my 70 and 76 crews (his and hers; my wife prefers the dent body style) next summer.