I have a 1976 f100 with a 360 that is my daily driver. Looking to get better mileage and changing the gears is something that might happen soon just want some info before I decide. What should I go with and where should I get them from?

 

What trans and what existing gears? What tire size and type?
What mpg are you getting now?

It is almost impossible to get decent mpgs out of a 360FE in a pickup.

 

I have a c4 automatic tranny...15"wheels

 

Oh with 10mpg and a teo barrel carb thats brand new...i dont want awesome gas mileage just respectable mileage

 

What existing gears do you have now? 360 has decent torque, and an f100 2wd isnt terribly heavy. im assuming you have a Ford 9" rear axle, lots of gear choices. get yourself some higher axle gears, add an aftermarket performance intake, a small 4bbl carb, look for tires marked as "Low rolling resistance", tune the truck perfectly, and expect a good solid 11.5, maybe 12 mpg for the $1500+ plus you spent.......For less money you can buy an econo daily driver Honda or Toyota, or similar

 

4bbl intake $50-$300.....9" pumpkin with your choice of gears from junkyard $50-$150......headers $100-$300..... good 4 bbl carb $100-$300....puts you around $1000 not $1500...... shop around you can find good deals and you can get decent gas mileage from a 360 i do it every day in my 66 i get 16 mpg daily and when i work it I get around 10-12 mpg but i live in a kind of flat area so that helps, downside is i have lead foot-itis..... if your 360 is stock the first and best thing is get some headers and pipes on that poor old girl, the stock exhaust manifolds have about the worst flow in the history of exhaust.....second upgrade i would do is find around a 3.00 to 1-ish gear rear end ratio.....third upgrade would be intake cast iron ones can be found decently cheap but at around 80 lbs they are a PITA to install so if its an option find aluminum for obvious weight advantage and they have a lot better flow than any 2bbl intake ever thought of (in stock form at least)......fourth upgrade get a good 4bbl carb (as long as you drive her politely gets better mileage than a 2bbl on most occasions)....... do all this and you will have a nice flowing motor that leads to better fuel mileage..... an FE makes good power and torque at lower RPM's and due to its factory oiling its not made for higher RPM's (highest i would ever go on stock motor is 4500-5000 rpm and that's pushing it and not needed) but i have found that around 2100-2400 in fourth gear is where i get the best gas mileage vs power for highway cruising........my truck is a 66 f100 weighs 4000 lbs,on 265 x 75-16's has 2.78 to 1 gears in the rear, stock 360 from a 71 with some gasket match ported heads, stock edelbrock performer 4bbl aluminum intake, holley 600 cfm 4bbl on top of a 2" spacer with a homemade protection screen, and some long tube 3" headers in all honesty i only have around $350 invested in this setup (did some good dealing) and $500 in the truck......... after all this rant time i will end with my 2bbl motorcraft on this setup gets a steady 14 mpg, highest was 17.8 mpg and with my holley 600 i get a steady 16 mpg, and have achieved 19.4 mpg on long distance...... and that's a fact 85e150six4mtod and anyone who cares to dispute it

 

Smoken, i was just basing my opinion upon what sounded like a rather mechanically inexperienced person.......Re read the original post yourself, does this person sound as if they can do all the install themselves? because if not, if you consider labor, the costs will increase.........Im not disputing your numbers, although they are better than ive typically heard, but clearly you are able to do your own modifications..........

 

Just because i dont know all the terms and know how to word things does not mean that i cannot tighten bolts and learn how to do things. Isnt that what this forum is for,to learn things and help others? Not to degrade them and act above them. I thought his post was really helpful, way more so than yours.

 

In case you haven't been already, I'd like to welcome you to the board.

 

i got most of the prices directly off of ebay as i was writing it and know from experience the rest... and you can never know about someone due to their spelling on a computer, i know a 36 year old who can barely spell his name but can rebuild a motor or trans better than about 90% of the reputable shops in a 100 plus mile radius.......we learn by doing......

 

Thats right...and thank you for welcoming me. A lot of the time though I am replying on my phone and during so I dont have a lot of time to check for grammar and spelling. Going to look into headers and new exhaust but my tranny probably needs to be rebuilt because when I put it into drive it will not shift to second unless I manually put it into second...but when I am going 51 mph and put it back into deive it will go into thord and stay there until i go below 35 mph and then it will down shift into second and stay there. Also if I come to stop after doing all that it will go back into first but I have to start the process over again. It will not kick down or up shift like it is supposed to.

 

probably a better deal instead of replacing with a manual trans just get your trans rebuilt c6's are tough and durable and making a auto into a manual is a PITA

 

2x... my brother reported 15.7 mpg on a 500-mile trip on Interstate 5 from SF to San Diego.. stock 2-bbl 360FE, C6, with 3.00 gears driving btwn 60 and 65 mph. He drove it like a nun.

 

Im going to sound stupid but what is a PITA? My trans is an auotmatic it just wants to act like a manual I guess...any suggestions on price ranges for rebuilding including labor...thats a little bit more complicated than I would like to tackle.

 

Pain In The **** (or my favorite gender neutral derogatory term A**hole)!